Deep Cuts

It’s road trip season, and you might be headed to one of America’s awe-inspiring national parks. It’s no surprise that they’ve also been an inspiration for composers who captured the grandeur and beauty of these natural wonders during their own travels (actual or imaginary). Here’s some music for the journey.

I feel like I'm entering a war zone writing about this topic: being a soprano in a choir. There are so many preconceived notions about sopranos. Let's get those stereotypes out of the way now.

In lots of choral pieces, many people would have a hard time picking out the alto line. Yet if the altos were missing, the piece would feel wrong and empty. A singer with VocalEssence offers praise for that inner line.

Sociologists speak of class envy, students of grade envy and Freudians of penis envy. But in the choral world (and what is the choral world, after all, but a trembling microcosm of the very world itself?), it's tenor envy that seethes just beneath the surface.

National Symphony Orchestra Music Director Gianandrea Noseda is reshaping the ensemble's sound with the help of 17th and 18th century instruments he purchased secretly.

Composer Anthony Davis has done the seemingly impossible yet necessary work of creating modern operas that speak to the struggles of Black Americans and other marginalized communities. From his Pulitzer Prize-winning ‘Central Park Five’ to the spiritual ‘Wakonda’s Dream,’ he has earned a place as one of America’s leading composers. Learn about four of Davis’ operas that share the sometimes violent experiences of minorities in America.

Commemorate Veterans Day or celebrate the Fourth of July with these six military marches, including works by John Philip Sousa and Henry Fillmore. All performances are by U.S military bands.

The influence can be traced back to the 1800s when opera companies and their star singers traveled from Italy to perform across the country.

The Hollywood playlist of Latino film composers includes Maria Grever, Agustín Lara, Lalo Schifrin, Gustavo Santaolalla, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Germaine Franco.

Hear the towering – and polarizing – author in conversation about his 4,000-page book, ‘The Oxford History of Western Music.’