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Exclusively on
Due to the contractual nature of the Fresh Air Archive, segments must be at least 6 months old to be considered part of the archive. To listen to segments that aired within the last 6 months, please click the blue off-site button to visit the Fresh Air page on NPR.org.
52:30

From Beyoncé to Debussy, Yannick Nézet-Séguin shares music that inspires him

Yannick Nezet-Seguin (yah-NEEK nay-ZAY say-GHEN), conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Metropolitan Opera, shares the music he listens to when he is not on the podium that inspires him. The playlist he made for us includes pop, hip hop, and classical music.

Exclusively on
Due to the contractual nature of the Fresh Air Archive, segments must be at least 6 months old to be considered part of the archive. To listen to segments that aired within the last 6 months, please click the blue off-site button to visit the Fresh Air page on NPR.org.
29:00

Fresh Air pays tribute to legendary composer Burt Bacharach

Bacharach, who died Feb. 8, wrote hits in the '60s and early '70s. We listen to a 1998 interview with Bacharach and Elvis Costello.

52:30

'This Is Why We Play': Amid Pandemic, Philadelphia Orchestra Livestreams Beethoven

Concert halls and music venues around the world have been shuttered due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, but before closing its doors, the Philadelphia Orchestra gave one last performance on March 12 — to an empty concert hall. Conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin describes the experience of playing in a vacant hall and hearing silence at the end of each piece. And we listen to a 2019 interview with Yannick.

52:30

For Conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Making Music Is 'Like A Religious Call'

Ever since he was a little boy, Yannick Nézet-Séguin knew he wanted to be a conductor. He likens the feeling to something "almost like a religious call." "Making music in the group is what animates me," he says.
Now 44, Nézet-Séguin is the music director of New York's Metropolitan Opera and the Philadelphia Orchestra, two of America's most storied musical institutions.

06:16

Quartets by the Most American of American Composers

Classical Music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews a new compact disc of the string quartets of Charles Ives, performed by the Lydian String Quartet. Schwartz says it's one of the best quartet performances on record.

Review

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