The NPR Classical 50
Critic Ted Libbey and radio host Fred Child recommend 50 recordings any fanatic or first-timer should not be without.
Leonard Bernstein does full justice to the still racy and spontaneous score of Rhapsody In Blue in this 1959 recording. As both conductor and pianist, he brings a smoky, sultry jazziness to the piece.
Recent The NPR Classical 50
August 11, 2009 Hear conductor Carlos Kleiber bring out all the pent-up emotions in Brahms' final symphony.
September 1, 2009 The original Broadway cast recording still sounds fresh more than 50 years after the show opened.
December 1, 2009 The Chicago Symphony, playing as if it had been set on fire, set a standard for Bartok back in 1955.
June 2, 2009 Hear the lanky Texan's iconic Tchaikovsky recording, made just after his historic Moscow victory.
November 10, 2009 Cellist Jacqueline Du Pre exposes both the tenderness and pain in Elgar's late-career concerto.
October 13, 2009 Franz Liszt's multi-layered sonata can spark a powerful emotional experience in the listener.
July 28, 2009 Ted Libbey recommends an all-star cast performance of Mozart's last opera, The Magic Flute.
September 22, 2009 Hear the extraordinary opulence soprano Jessye Norman brings to Strauss' final songs.
December 15, 2009 Monteverdi's set of Vespers illustrated a mastery of blending Renaissance and Baroque styles.
November 17, 2009 Powerful orchestral sounds, as well as silence, elicit an emotional response from the listener.
