Accessibility links
Miles Hoffman Miles Hoffman is a music commentator on Morning Edition.
Miles Hoffman
Stories By

Miles Hoffman

200 Years Of Abraham Lincoln

If Abraham Lincoln Had An iPod

If Lincoln had used an iPod, it would have needed a lot of memory. Classical music commentator Miles Hoffman reports that the 16th president's musical tastes ranged from popular ballads to opera, and that his No. 1 favorite may have been, surprisingly enough, "Dixie."

If Abraham Lincoln Had An iPod

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/100675699/100747083" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Music Interviews

Musical Families For Thanksgiving

Relatives can be an important ingredient to a successful Thanksgiving. Classical music commentator Miles Hoffman points out some important musical relatives of Mozart, Bach, Schumann and Mendelssohn.

Musical Families For Thanksgiving

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/97444604/97569088" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Music Interviews

Stravinsky's Riotous 'Rite of Spring'

Just in time for the change of the season, music commentator Miles Hoffman considers the lingering reputation of Igor Stravinsky's ballet The Rite of Spring as the shocker that altered the art world. The work has been called "one of the most daring creations of the modern musical mind."

Stravinsky's Riotous 'Rite of Spring'

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/88490677/88732994" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Music

Italian: The Language That Sings

Even when it isn't sung, the Italian language sounds like music, which is part of why Italian words are used to tell musicians how to play—presto, lento, adagio, forte. Commentator Miles Hoffman explains why Italian is the lingua franca of classical music.

Italian: The Language That Sings

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/15040264/15090868" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Music Interviews

Heifetz and Kreisler: Setting Standards for the Violin

Jascha Heifetz and Fritz Kreisler were both born on Feb. 2 — Kreisler in 1875 and Heifetz in 1901. But the men share more than just a birthday. Music commentator Miles Hoffman discusses the two fiddlers and how they each set new standards for the art of playing the violin.

Heifetz and Kreisler: Setting Standards for the Violin

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/7121113/7122360" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Music

For Thanksgiving, the Other Kind of Drumsticks

If it's Thanksgiving, it must be time for another musical pun from Miles Hoffman. The music commentator joins Renee Montagne for a holiday review of drums, triangles and other percussive instruments.

For Thanksgiving, the Other Kind of Drumsticks

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/6525209/6525259" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Music

Organ Music: Pulling Out All the Stops

The organ has been described, along with the clock, as the most complex of all mechanical instruments developed before the Industrial Revolution. Miles Hoffman unravels the complexities and the mysteries of the musical giant.

Organ Music: Pulling Out All the Stops

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5448985/5449017" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

New Music

A Sampling of Stormy Classical Music

More composers than you might think have written thunder and lightning into their works, and commentator Miles Hoffman says when you stop to think about it, it makes sense. He discusses the theme of stormy weather in works by Antonio Vivaldi, Giuseppe Verdi and Johann Strauss.

A Sampling of Stormy Classical Music

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/4776354/4776355" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Music News

The Venerable Juilliard, Turning 100

The Juilliard School celebrates the 100th anniversary of its charter, marking a century of preparing fine musicians and performers. The school was the first American institution to rise to the level of its European counterparts.

The Venerable Juilliard, Turning 100

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/4659381/4659414" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript