Conductors (Music)

There are many recordings of Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro. Do we need another?

German conductor Wilhelm Furtwaengler is regarded as one of the greatest musicians of the 20th century, but his legacy was affected by his decision to stay in Germany during WWII. Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz looks at how Furtwangler is seen today.

Note: Wilhelm Furtwangler's last name is typically spelled with an umlaut over the 'a' character. The npr website does not support characters with umlauts over characters. A variation of Furtwangler's name without the umlaut is spelled Furtwaengler.

He's been at the forefront of contemporary music and conducting for more than half a century. Marking his 85th birthday this spring, a number of new Boulez CDs and DVDs have been released. Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews three of the latest.

On February 26, conductor Lorin Maazel led the New York Philharmonic in an unprecedented concert in Pyongyang, North Korea. It was the first time a major American orchestra performed in the communist country. The concert was broadcast nationwide.

It might come as a surprise that such superstar conductors as Claudio Abbado, Simon Rattle, and Daniel Barenboim think that most important thing going on in the world of classical music is not taking place in one of the European capitals but in Venezuela.

Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews a new DVD collection of conductor Arturo Toscanini's live NBC symphony telecasts between 1948 and 1952.

Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz tells why he likes the soundtrack for the Preston Sturges film Unfaithfully Yours, now out on DVD.

He supervised and conducted the music for the film adaptation of Chicago. His previous credits include the Broadway musicals Aida, Sunset Boulevard and Aspects of Love.

Composer Alf Clausen, the man behind the music of The Simpsons. This interview first aired May 14, 1997.

Broadway music director Paul Gemingani. He's been the musical director of almost every Stephen Sondheim work over the last 30 years. His other productions include Kiss Me, Kate, Crazy for You and High Society. Last year he received a lifetime achievement award at the Tony Awards. This interview first aired May 30, 2001.