Pianist Ruth Slenczynska, photographed in 2021. At 97, she just released her first record for the Decca label in nearly 60 years. Meredith Truax/Courtesy of the artist hide caption
Sergei Rachmaninov Sergey Rachmaninov artist page: interviews, features and/or performances archived at NPR Music
Sergei Rachmaninov
Rachmaninov in the Rockies: Pianist Daniil Trifonov dreams of playing the composer's Fourth Piano Concerto on a train. Michael Joseph McQuilken/DG hide caption
Clockwise from upper left: Confidence Man, Young Fathers, Hookworms Courtesy of the artists hide caption
New Mix: Young Fathers, Confidence Man, A Stunning Tiny Desk Contest Entry, More
Soprano Barbara Hannigan shines in let me tell you by Hans Abrahamsen. Elmer de Haas hide caption
Alessio Bax with his daughter at the Tiny Desk. Brandon Chew/NPR hide caption
After his First Symphony flopped, Sergei Rachmaninoff briefly switched careers. A London critic wrote, "It was such a spectacle as has rarely been seen anywhere in the Empire." Photo illustration by Jeff Curnow/Wikimedia Commons/Library of Congress hide caption
Serge Rachmaninoff, photographed in 1919, somewhere outside of San Francisco. Wikimedia Commons hide caption
Conductor Andris Nelsons led the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Tanglewood Festival Chorus Thursday in Prokofiev's Alexander Nevsky at Carnegie Hall in New York. AJ Wilhelm for NPR hide caption
A Tale Of Two Sergeys: Boston Symphony Orchestra At Carnegie Hall
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Cameron Carpenter's new album, If You Could Read My Mind, comes out Aug. 26. Thomas Grube/Courtesy of the artist hide caption
If You Could Read My Mind
Audio for First Listens is no longer available after the album is released.
Classical albums we loved this year. NPR/Denise DeBelius hide caption
Yuja Wang at NPR's studio in Washington, D.C. Denise DeBelius/NPR hide caption
Leonard Slatkin leads the Detroit Symphony Orchestra at the Spring for Music festival at Carnegie Hall. Torsten Kjellstrand/for NPR hide caption
Spring For Music: Detroit Symphony Orchestra At Carnegie Hall
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Van Cliburn in concert in 1993. Ron Jenkins hide caption
Lisa Smirnova studied Handel's suites for five years before recording them. ECM hide caption
Pianist Alessio Bax has a passion for Bach and Rachmaninoff. Lisa-Marie Mazzucco hide caption
The Poetry And Power Of Pianist Alessio Bax
Nikolai Lugansky carries on the tradition of the grand Russian pianist. Frank Stewart/Savannah Music Festival hide caption
Nikolai Lugansky's Power And Repose
Rachmaninoff's Symphony No. 2, with its lush slow movement, is a favorite of conductor Marin Alsop. Wikimedia Commons hide caption
American pianist Earl Wild performs at his 90th-birthday recital at Carnegie Hall. courtesy of the artist hide caption
Hear Earl Wild, At Age 90, Discuss His Career With Fred Child
