Tom Huizenga

NPR staffers recommend non-fiction reads from our Books We Love list: "On Minimalism," "Anansi's Gold," "Asian-Americans in an Anti-Black World," and "The Wager."

Themes emerge quickly when you dig into the nominations for the 66th Grammy Awards. The major categories are dominated by women and seemingly up for grabs; elsewhere, progress is not always so clear.

A new album of music by the 88-year-old Estonian mystic seems to put an arm around you and whisper, "In troubled times, music can help."

In one of its very final performances ever, the durable and beloved string quartet says farewell with music by Beethoven, Walker and Ravel.

In our very first tap dancing Tiny Desk, the artists created an experience so unexpectedly fresh and suffused with joy, it moved some to tears and others to cheer for more.

The Brooklyn-based composer talks about the artistic powers of her island homeland, writing scores for America's top orchestras and making music with plants.

The young Icelandic pianist, once equated with Glenn Gould, exceeds the comparison in music by Bach that is played with transparent, lyrical joy.

The thoughtful violinist makes a set of contemplative music, including a piece by Philip Glass, sing sweetly on her $16 million instrument.

Absent from the recording studio for more than a decade, the restless musician has commissioned six composers for his new album.

The intrepid champion of new music turns her attention to female composers, offering a sampler of works by women across four centuries, including a favorite of Louis XIV and an Ethiopian nun.

With plenty of humor, the octogenarian talks about her far-reaching career — including why she fled the modernist school of composers — and some mysterious visitations from her dead heroes.

The intrepid violinist undertakes some of the most challenging solo violin music, marking the centenary of its creation by composer Eugéne Ysaÿe.

The widely acclaimed pianist serves up nearly 200-year-old music by Chopin mixed with a contemporary work that looks back in time.

Antonin Dvorak's "New World Symphony" is an anthem to American roots. It was written by a foreigner and required white classical musicians to respect Black spirituals and Native American music.

The band's sophomore album, Earthdrawn Skies, connects the dots in wildly diverse music spanning eight centuries.

The 14-piece Los Angeles-based ensemble's performance of music by Julius Eastman is nothing less than an exuberant house party unto itself.

Hear the outstanding vocalist, songwriter and activist in a supercharged performance that spotlights a crisis for Indigenous kids.

ÁTTA, the band's first album in 10 years, sports an orchestra of strings, high-flying vocalism and its signature bittersweet melodies.

Saariaho, who battled a male-dominated educational system in her native Finland, forged a strong and singular voice in contemporary music.

The Icelandic composer talks about the creative forces behind her distinctive music, her presence in the movie Tár and the "dome of energy" that fuels her country's artistic productivity.