Sara Fishko

Violinist Louis Kaufman went to Hollywood in 1934. He became a fixture in movie orchestras and played the soaring violin of Hollywood’s golden age. Kaufman’s memoir, A Fiddler's Tale, is about to see the light of day, thanks to the efforts of his frequent accompanist and wife of 62 years, ...

It used to be that poetry was an entirely spoken form. But then, thanks to the printing press, poetry became a mostly silent literary form. Sara Fishko discovers how disconcerting it can be to hear the words you're used to only seeing on the page.

The New York Philharmonic announced this week that it's moving out of Lincoln Center, where it has performed since the place opened 41 years ago and returning to Carnegie Hall, a half mile south. As Sara Fishko explains, this latest change shaking the classical musical world may also be ...

New York, NY —

Every composer dreams of having a work last forever. Some spectacular pieces of music, Sara Fishko tells us, do seem to last. One such undying favorite is the subject of today's Fishko Files - J.S. Bach's Chaconne.

Schoenberg

Rivals have been around as long as people have envied each other's success. Sara Fisko found some places where rivalry is productive — and where it isn't.

A look at why collectors are attracted to the intimate written thoughts of strangers. Produced by Sara Fishko.

The harmonies of a string quartet come from the score and the players of course, but also from the instruments themselves. Sara Fishko talked to the Miro Quartet, whose members are experimenting with the sounds that can be created from one old maple tree.

In the world of the jazz standard, improvisation is a very specific thing: it's a way of embellishing or even re-inventing a melody, using the structure of a song as a basis. Sara Fishko tried to get jazz improvisers to tell her about how they do it and she ...

A look at how we watch movies closely, and how even their tiniest storytelling flaws resonate on the set and off. Produced by Sara Fishko.

The beginning of the 20^th century was an era of revolution, and that’s true too of classical music. Twentieth-century composition went through a gigantic harmonic shift, and Arnold Schoenberg was at the heart of it.

Many of us think the first great revolution of the 20^th century came in October 1917 in Russia. But before Russia, there was Mexico. And with the Mexican revolution came an unparalleled period of artistic excitement and productivity. Sara Fishko has the story of a Mexican composer who was ...

The Canadian pianist Glenn Gould was born 70 years ago this week. He died shortly after his 50^th birthday. It was Gould's staggering performances of Bach's music that brought him — and Bach, for that matter — to broad popular attention. Sara Fishko asked pianists who play Bach today to comment ...

Classical music can give us the grandeur and gravity we crave. And the words can bring it down to earth, closer to the specifics of what we're trying to recall. Sara Fishko looks at memory, music, and the art of capturing a profound moment in time. 

Electronic-instrument inventor Leon Theremin turns out to be a Russian spy. 

Sara Fishko looks at how we watch movies closely, and how even their tiniest storytelling flaws resonate on the set and off.

A new CD set contains everything Frank Sinatra recorded in Hollywood from 1940 to 1964. One patriotic song in particular rose improbably to become a hit just after World War 2 — and its meaning changed in the process.

Filmmakers have explored the drama and brutality of boxing since the beginning of film history. Writers Victor Navasky and Jack Newfield talk about boxing at the movies. 

In the classical recording world, performance is thought of as a fluid, spontaneous art. But in post-production, thousands of tiny, inaudible edits shape the music to perfection. Should a listener care?

Two years after the centenary of German composer Kurt Weill, tributes are continuing, including a large exhibition and performance series now at the New York Public Library. Weill's music will always bear the imprint of one spectacular performer, his wife and muse Lotte Lenya.