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Johann Johannsson

The 10 Best Classical Albums of 2022

Julia Bullock's Walking in the Dark is one of NPR Music's top 10 classical albums of 2022. Photo illustration: Jackie Lay/NPR / Photo: Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images hide caption

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Photo illustration: Jackie Lay/NPR / Photo: Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images

Deceptive Cadence

The 10 Best Classical Albums of 2022

Discover a broad spectrum of this year's most compelling classical music, from booby-trapped string quartets and chilled-out piano to full-throttle percussion, electric guitars and high-flying vocals.

NPR's favorite music of March, from sledgehammer punk to a radiant cantata

Clockwise, from top left: Soul Glo, Kilo Kish, rusowsky, Jenny Hval, Jóhann Jóhannsson. Courtesy of the artists hide caption

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Courtesy of the artists

All Songs Considered

NPR's favorite music of March, from sledgehammer punk to a radiant cantata

March's best new music includes Kilo Kish's pop treatise on this game called life, Jenny Hval's philosophy on art-making, Soul Glo's punk rage and more.

NPR's favorite music of March, from sledgehammer punk to a radiant cantata

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New Music Friday: The top 5 albums out on March 18

Rosalía's highly anticipated MOTOMAMI tops our shortlist of the best albums out on March 18. Daniel Sannwald/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Daniel Sannwald/Courtesy of the artist

All Songs Considered

New Music Friday: The top 5 albums out on March 18

Two of the year's most anticipated albums — Rosalía's MOTOMAMI and Charli XCX's CRASH — drop today, along with Johann Johannsson's posthumous Drone Mass, Yumi Zouma's Present Tense and more.

New Music Friday: The top 5 albums out on March 18

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All Songs Considered: The Year In Music 2018

Childish Gambino (left) performs onstage during the 2018 iHeartRadio Music Festival. Rosalía speaks onstage during the 19th annual Latin GRAMMY Awards. Janelle Monae performs in Los Angeles in June and Kacey Musgraves performs at the 2018 Stagecoach Festival in April. Kevin Winter/Getty Images for iHeartMedia; David Becker/Getty Images for LARAS; Kevin Winter/Getty Images; Christopher Polk/Getty Images for Stagecoach hide caption

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Kevin Winter/Getty Images for iHeartMedia; David Becker/Getty Images for LARAS; Kevin Winter/Getty Images; Christopher Polk/Getty Images for Stagecoach

All Songs Considered

All Songs Considered: The Year In Music 2018

The All Songs gang looks back at this year's anthems and unmissable milestones, from Kendrick Lamar's Pulitzer to Childish Gambino's mind-blowing video for "This Is America," Rosalía, Mitski and more.

All Songs Considered: The Year In Music 2018

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Oscar-Nominated Composer Jóhann Jóhannsson Dies At 48

Jóhann Jóhannsson at the 2015 BAFTAs, where he was nominated for the music he composed for the film The Theory of Everything. Ian Gavan/Getty Images hide caption

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Ian Gavan/Getty Images

The Record

Oscar-Nominated Composer Jóhann Jóhannsson Dies At 48

The renowned film composer, who scored Arrival and The Theory of Everything, died Friday in Berlin, Germany.

Listen To Jóhann Jóhannsson's 'Arrival' Interview With All Things Considered

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A Five-Song Playlist, From 'Morning Becomes Eclectic'

Frazey Ford of The Be Good Tanyas will release her solo debut album in July, titled Obadiah. courtesy of the artist hide caption

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New Music

A Five-Song Playlist, From 'Morning Becomes Eclectic'

KCRW

Host Guy Raz checks in with Jason Bentley, host of KCRW's influential music program Morning Becomes Eclectic. Bentley spun five cuts, including music from Jose James, Avi Buffalo, Johann Johannsson, Frazey Ford and Delta Spirit.

A Five-Song Playlist, From 'Morning Becomes Eclectic'

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Review

Song Of The Day

Johann Johannsson: Ambience In Action

By the time the song has begun to approach the seven-minute mark, Johannsson's "Melodia" has transformed itself into a wholly absorbing, head-clearing instrumental epic — the kind that induces trance-like bouts of concentration on long drives and in late-night stretches of near-catatonic relaxation.

'Melodia (Guidelines for a Space Propulsion Device...)' by Johann Johannsson

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Song Of The Day

Johann Johannsson: Computer on the Radio

The Icelandic composer pits the string orchestra against the computer in an epic struggle of man vs. machine. "Part II - IBM 1403 Printer" sounds barren at first, propelled by the glacial sound of radio frequencies. Then, a string orchestra flourishes and builds to a wall of sound.

'Part II - IBM 1403 Printer' by Johann Johannsson

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