Click on Classical this Weekend: a brand-new website

This week, Classical MPR unveiled its brand-new website. Make sure to take a tour — and to help you kick the tires on our new site, here are three feature recommendations for you.

How to navigate the new site

Learning a new website is a bit like arriving in a city you’ve never visited before: It’s important to learn your way around. After Classical MPR launched its new site on Wednesday afternoon, Managing Digital Producer Brett Baldwin put together this guide to navigating the new site. All the features you enjoyed before, like audio streaming and playlists, are still on the site — they’re just in different spots now!

How a composer feels at a premiere

Perhaps it’s like rolling out a new website, perhaps not … but how does it feel for a composer to hear a piece of music performed publicly for the first time? Daniel Nass, who’s a digital producer at Classical MPR, is also a composer. He recently premiered a piece in New York — an original composition for flute, alto flute and cello. As the ensemble performed the work, Dan explains his feelings, which are always a combination of fear, anxiety and exhilaration.

How to make a living building harps

Another Dan, MPR News reporter Dan Olson, recently visited Duluth, Minn., where he stopped into the workshop of harp builder David Kortier. A former orchestral musician (bassoonist), Kortier has been building Irish harps since the 1980s. Kortier’s approach to instrument building combines tradition, woodworking skills and musicianship. It’s a fascinating story, and Dan Olson’s photos are really captivating. It just may make you want to learn to play the harp — or learn to build them (Kortier might just want an apprentice).

Have a great weekend!