Deep Cuts

"Classical music has a problem with race," Philip Ewell says. The New York City associate music professor speaks widely on that topic and what it means for classical music in the future.

Jason Max Ferdinand drew from the success of his acclaimed choir, the Aeolians, to create a guide that combines sound choral concepts with awareness for social justice issues.

Researchers are still digging into the question and sharing their findings decades after the Nazis sacked the homes of Jews during World War II.

Plagues and epidemics are ages-old phenomena. They've triggered both fear and inspiration. NPR's Tom Huizenga surveys musical responses from composers over the centuries.

Brain scans show that when people listen to songs, an area in the left hemisphere decodes speech-like sounds while one on the right processes musical information.

Here at Classical MPR and American Public Media, we each have our own opinions about what is the most romantic instrument. Here's the input from current and former members of our classical staff.

The harp is perhaps an instrument that has one of the strongest stereotypes associated with it. Why do we think of such a narrow image of harp players? Learn how gender roles and stereotypes have changed for the instrument throughout the years.

Do you believe in ghosts? Composers from Mozart to John Corigliano have written them into their operas. Take a tour of some famous operatic phantoms.

Why do we call it a 'French horn' when it isn't French at all? Horn player Emily Green dives into why so many U.S. classical fans have been calling the popular brass instrument by the wrong name for so long.

So you're sailing down the Pacific Coast Highway in your 1964 Ford Mustang convertible (with the top down, of course), and "Blue Moon," sung by the Marcels, comes on the radio. What do you do? C'mon — admit it — you sing along with the bass line! You can't help it. Why? Because singing bass, especially in a choir, is awesome!