Marin Alsop

A portrait of Ludwig van Beethoven, painted in 1804 by W.J. Mähler. Wikimedia Commons hide caption

NPR's Scott Simon spoke with Marin Alsop about the end of her tenure as musical director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and a less heralded part of her career: her 1980s swing band. Anthony Wallace/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

German composer and pianist Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827), painted by Kloeber circa 1805. Hulton Archive/Getty Images hide caption

Composer Olivier Messiaen in 1983, at the organ at the Trinité church in Paris where he held the post of organist for over 60 years. Francois Lochon/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images hide caption

Ballerinas of the New York City Ballet perform Serenade by George Balanchine at the Mariinsky theatre in St.Petersburg, July 30, 2003. AFP/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

Marin Alsop is the music director of the Baltimore Orchestra Symphony. Alessandra Fratus/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

Baltimore Symphony Orchestra percussionist John Locke stands beside conductor Marin Alsop, who holds the giant hammer Gustav Mahler includes in his Sixth Symphony. Izabel Zambrzycki/Baltimore Symphony Orchestra hide caption

Marin Alsop and John Adams at a performance of Adams' Dr. Atomic at the Cabrillo Festival in 2008. Cabrillo Festival hide caption

Conductor Marin Alsop (right) with composer Christopher Rouse at the Cabrillo Music Festival Cabrillo Festival/R.R. Jones hide caption

Tanesha Mitchell, one of 80 amateur musicians who participated in the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra's Academy Week, describes the experience as life-changing. Richard Anderson Photography hide caption

From a 2012 New York Philharmonic production of Candide, Marin Alsop conducts a cast that includes (from right) Kristin Chenoweth, Jeff Blumenkrantz, Paul Groves and Janine LaManna. Randy Brooke/WireImage hide caption

Soviet composer Dmitri Shostakovich's once brilliant career took a dive after the official party paper criticized one of his operas in 1936. Shostakovich responded with his powerful Fifth Symphony. Central Press/Getty Images hide caption

Titania awakes clinging rapturously to Bottom, still wearing the donkey's head, in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Mendelssohn wrote music for a production of the play in 1843. Henry Fuseli/Getty Images hide caption

Gustav Mahler wanted each of his symphonies to contain a world of emotions and ideas. Library of Congress hide caption

Gustav Mahler wanted each of his symphonies to contain a world of emotions and ideas. Library of Congress hide caption

Benjamin Britten takes a cup of tea during rehearsals for his War Requiem at Coventry Cathedral, in Coventry, England in May, 1962. Erich Auerbach/Getty Images hide caption

Stride piano pioneer James P. Johnson had dreams of becoming a successful symphonic composer. William Gottlieb hide caption