Classical

29-year-old Aristo Sham played Bach, Beethoven, and Rachmaninoff on his way to the top prize at this year's Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. Recorded live in Fort Worth, see and hear his amazing artistry at the link.

What happens when 400 harmonica players get together in San Antonio? One heck of a jam session, that's what. Check out this segment from KPAC's Classical Connections featuring some unique arrangements of classical and folk melodies for harmonica and piano.

We're back at the 2023 Cliburn International Junior Piano Competition and Festival. You'll hear more incredible performances, including some with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, and meet semi-finalists and winners of the competition.

New music performed by the Unheard-of Ensemble will be filling the air at seven venues around San Antonio this month. Hear their surprising sounds at the link!

Vitaly Starikov, silver medalist at the 2025 Cliburn, says that when he's on stage, he's not thinking about the competition. In fact, he's having fun, performing for an appreciative audience. Hear the joy in his performance in this special program featuring highlights from his early rounds.

In part 2 of this interview, TPR's James Baker visits with the Library of Congress's Mark Horowitz about Stephen Sondheim's early years and mentorship under Oscar Hammerstein II. The Library of Congress recently acquired the Stephen Sondheim collection.

Beginning this week through August 16, we’ll listen together to some of the great early-round performances from this year’s Cliburn Competition. featuring the three Finalists: Evren Ozel, Vitaly Starikov, and Aristo Sham.

On this edition of NPR's "From the Top," a teen guitarist from Colorado plays a beautiful work by Bach, a cellist plays an emotional Elegy by John Williams, and a teenage bassoonist shares what it's like living with neurodivergence. We also meet a young clarinetist who left his home in Peru to pursue music in the U.S.

Over 100 years old, the group offers young musicians from grades 1-12 opportunities to perform and develop their skills in a supportive setting. Hear some of their KPAC performances live at the link.

Stephen Sondheim took American musical theater to places it had never gone before through harmonic invention, and of course, in his lyrics. The Library of Congress recently acquired materials from Sondheim's estate—and TPR's James Baker interviewed the man tasked with overseeing the collection, Mark Horowitz.