When an air raid siren went off recently in Kyiv, a young singer spontaneously began harmonizing with the alarm. The result went viral on social media.

Harriet Constable learned a lot about the real life of Anna Maria della Pietà — that she grew up in an orphanage, that she was a star violinist and a favored student of Antonio Vivaldi. But in her new novel, The Instrumentalist, Constable also merges fact with fiction to tell the story of Anna Maria's synesthesia and musical talents. In today's episode, she speaks with NPR's Scott Simon about Anna Maria's life, the challenges and excitement of the classical music world at the time, and what we make of Vivaldi today. To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookoftheday

Nearly 300 young musicians, their teachers and staff from their music school fled Afghanistan in fear for their lives as the Taliban took power. NPR caught up with them during their U.S. tour,

We're in Philadelphia where we meet a local teen composer who aspires to create more opportunities for fellow Black composers and learn how co-host Joseph Conyers, Philadelphia Orchestra's principal bassist, is making an impact through his service to the community. We also hear a young violinist perform a phenomenal work by contemporary composer Jessie Montgomery.

NPR's Steve Inskeep speaks with rapper RZA, who composed ballet music inspired by Greek musical scales during the pandemic, featured in a new album.

As music director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Heyward is the youngest to lead a major American orchestra and the first Black music director in the organization’s 107-year history.

A box set featuring previously unreleased recordings sheds new light on the life and legacy of Paul Robeson, a bass-baritone concert artist, actor, professional football player and activist.

NPR's A Martínez speaks with Bryce Dessner, a member of the rock band The National, about his classical music debut. The album -- "Solos" -- comes out Friday on Sony Classical.

Grammy Award-winning bass player Victor Wooten joins us on "From the Top" for our exciting musical journey out of Nashville. A talented teen flutist plays an elegant Bach Sonata and then improvises on that same work with Victor Wooten and Peter Dugan. We meet the drum major from Tennessee State University's Aristocrat of Bands and hear selections from their Grammy Award-winning album.