Soprano Danielle de Niese.
I'm a complete TED fangirl. I get irrationally excited when I see new talks from the TED (Technology, Entertainment and Design) conference arrive. I just feel smarter listening to intelligent people from around the globe speaking about their passions and creative pursuits of all sorts, from writing to developing solar technology to advances in neurology.
But it's also become a rich treasure trove of musical performances and talks about musicians' creative processes, as you can see in these five videos. Enjoy.
5 Great Classical Performances And Talks from TED
Danielle de Niese at TED Global
- Artist: Danielle DeNiese
- Album: Handel Arias
- Song:
On the lighter side of things, the soprano sings a flirty "Meine Lippen, sie küssen so heiss" from Giuditta by Franz Lehár, accompanied by Ingrid Surgenor and recorded in Edinburgh in July 2011.
Soprano Danielle de Niese.
Benjamin Zander On Music And Passion
- Artist: Benjamin Zander
- Album: Beethoven: Symphonies No. 5 & No. 7
- Song:
The conductor and compelling public speaker Benjamin Zander in what has become one of the classic TED talks. (I will admit a certain bias here, as I was lucky enough to attend small weekly master classes with Zander in high school — but more than 1.8 million people have watched this one.)
By the way, if you've ever wondered what the name of our blog means, check out his pithy explanation, which starts around 10'37".
The conductor Benjamin Zander on music
Evelyn Glennie
- Artist: Evelyn Glennie
- Album: Her Greatest Hits
- Song:
Says the marvelous (and deaf) percussionist Evelyn Glennie: "My aim really is to teach the world to listen." Recorded in February 2003.
Percussionist Evelyn Glennie.
Ethel Plays Phil Kline
- Artist: Ethel
- Album: Ethel
- Song:
A gorgeous performance of the third movement of Phil Kline's The Blue Room And Other Stories, filmed in February 2006.
The string quartet Ethel.
Comments
Please keep your community civil. All comments must follow the NPR.org Community rules and terms of use. See also the Community FAQ.
NPR reserves the right to read on the air and/or publish on its website or in any medium now known or unknown the e-mails and letters that we receive. We may edit them for clarity or brevity and identify authors by name and location. For additional information, please consult our Terms of Use.