Accessibility links
Jeffrey Freymann-Weyr Jeffrey Freymann-Weyr (FRIME ‘n’ WIRE) is a Producer and Editor for NPR's Arts Information unit, primarily dealing with the subjects of classical music and digital technology. He has co-produced, with David Schulman, the occasional series “Musicians In Their Own Words.” (Their profile of Ladysmith Black Mambazo’s Joseph Shabalala won a Silver Award at the 2004 Third Coast International Audio Festival.)
Stories By

Jeffrey Freymann-Weyr

Story Archive

Books

Something Is Rotten In The State Of ... Wisconsin?

Two new books bring the story of Shakespeare's Hamlet to the American Midwest, where — in addition to the usual vengeance and depression — the prince of Denmark must contend with a kennel full of dogs or hunting deer from a tree.

Something Is Rotten In The State Of ... Wisconsin?

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/92029508/92383761" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Movies

'Indiana Jones' Another Hit for Spielberg

Steven Spielberg's Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull made an estimated $126 million when it debuted over the weekend. One author says there's a method to Spielberg's success: He draws from his own family experiences to create characters that will resonate with audiences.

'Indiana Jones' Another Hit for Spielberg

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/90841009/90840955" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Books

Dovey's 'Blood Kin' a Study of Human Behavior

Ceridwen Dovey says it might be too early to call herself an author, but her first novel, Blood Kin, is being published in 11 countries. At 27, she has made a documentary film about farm labor relations in post-apartheid South Africa, studied anthropology at Harvard, and is now a doctoral student at New York University.

Dovey's 'Blood Kin' a Study of Human Behavior

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/88200245/88201349" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Music News

See-Through Piano Lid Transforms Performances

A piano lid with transparent, louvered slats, or "sound mirrors," is changing performances. The Steinway-designed lid makes it easier for pianists to also conduct from the stage, because their view of the orchestra is no longer impeded.

See-Through Piano Lid Transforms Performances

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/15059580/15084570" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Music

Play Dramatizes Beethoven's '33 Variations'

An often-overlooked piano work of Beethoven has a starring role in a brand new play in Washington, D.C. Characters in 33 Variations include Beethoven himself, and a 21st century musicologist obsessed with the composer's "Diabelli Variations."

Play Dramatizes Beethoven's '33 Variations'

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/14265733/14266607" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Music Interviews

Edward Elgar, Britain's Musical Icon, Turns 150

We know him as the man who wrote the music used at graduations, but in Britain, Edward Elgar means a lot more. It's the 150th anniversary of the birth of the composer who gave the British "Pomp and Circumstance" and one little "Enigma."

Edward Elgar, Britain's Musical Icon, Turns 150

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/10640054/10640055" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Music Interviews

New Technology Recaptures Pianists of the Past

Decades of amazing musical performances are hidden behind the limits of audio technology at the time they were recorded. Now, a new technology re-performs and records classics by Glenn Gould, Alfred Cortot and Art Tatum.

New Technology Recaptures Pianists of the Past

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/10439850/10441820" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Music Interviews

Master Cellist, Conductor Rostropovich Dies at 80

Russian cellist and conductor Mstislav Rostropovich, who courageously fought for the rights of Soviet-era dissidents and later triumphantly played Bach suites below the crumbling Berlin Wall, died Friday in Moscow. He was 80.

Master Cellist, Conductor Rostropovich Dies at 80

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/9870484/9870485" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Music

Concerto in Rhythm with Tap-Dance Revival

A newly composed concerto for orchestra and tap dancer showcases the beauty of tap, which is enjoying a bit of a revival. Composer Rob Kapilow wrote the part of the dancer like a drum solo, without really knowing what the steps might be.

Concerto in Rhythm with Tap-Dance Revival

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/7176585/7176589" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Science

Edward Tufte, Offering 'Beautiful Evidence'

Edward Tufte has been described by The New York Times as the "Leonardo da Vinci of Data." Since 1993, thousands have attended his daylong seminars on Information Design. That might sound like a dry subject, but with Tufte, information becomes art.

Edward Tufte, Offering 'Beautiful Evidence'

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5673332/5676926" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Music

Composing Music for 'Tin' Ears

A composer suffering from a hearing problem mimics it in a new musical piece called Tinnitus Quartet. Jeffrey Freymann-Weyr talks with composer Brent Michael Davids about the constant ringing in his ear — and how he's translated it musically for his audience.

Composing Music for 'Tin' Ears

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5020435/5020436" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Music

Tribute to Thomas Tallis

British composer Thomas Tallis was born 500 years ago. One of his most celebrated pieces of choral music was "Spem in Alium," a motet he wrote to be sung by eight five-voice choirs, each singing a different part.

Tribute to Thomas Tallis

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/4841127/4841128" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Arts & Life

Late Singer Merrill Expanded Opera's Audience

Opera singer Robert Merrill died this weekend, at his home in New Rochelle, New York. The baritone sang with the Metropolitan Opera for over 30 years. He also helped introduce opera to a wider audience, with regular appearances on talk shows, and at Yankee Stadium, singing the national anthem. NPR's Jeffrey Freymann-Weyr has an appreciation.

Late Singer Merrill Expanded Opera's Audience

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/4127543/4127544" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Browse archive or search npr.org