Lloyd Schwartz
Lloyd Schwartz is the classical music critic for NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross.
In addition to his role on Fresh Air, Schwartz is the Senior Editor of Classical Music for the web-journal New York Arts and Contributing Arts Critic for WBUR's the ARTery. He is the author of four volumes of poems: These People; Goodnight, Gracie; Cairo Traffic; and Little Kisses (University of Chicago Press, 2017). A selection of his Fresh Air reviews appears in the volume Music In—and On—the Air. He is the co-editor of the Library of the America's Elizabeth Bishop: Poems, Prose, and Letters and the editor of the centennial edition of Elizabeth Bishop's Prose, published by Farrar, Straus, and Giroux in 2011.
In 1994, Schwartz was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for criticism. He is the Frederick S. Troy Professor of English at the University of Massachusetts Boston and teaches in the MFA Program in Creative Writing.
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On Robeson, opera singer Davóne Tines pays tribute to the musician often remembered for singing "Ol' Man River." Tines' album pairs well with the 14-CD album Paul Robeson: Voice of Freedom.
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Many music lovers consider Ives, who died in 1954, to be the first truly great American composer. A new recording by pianist Donald Berman is a major addition to the Ives discography.
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The 28-year-old conductor has been making news lately — getting rave reviews for renditions of Stravinsky and Debussy, and also for being the music director of more than one major orchestra.
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Soundies were 3-minute musical films which you could watch at a bar or club on a large jukebox with a screen. Film historian Susan Delson has curated a selection in Soundies: The Ultimate Collection.
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In 2018, three years before his death, the pianist and composer gave a concert in Sardinia that included both Mozart and George Gershwin. A live recording of that concert is now available.
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Widely considered the greatest singing actor in opera history, Callas died in 1977 at the age of 53. Now, several new releases celebrate both her singing and her acting.
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Verdi imagined each of his operas painted with a different tincture. Conductor Riccardo Chailly puts together an exciting new album of Verdi's choruses, from his best known to his most obscure.
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This set features excerpts from most of Flemming's 26 roles at the NYC Met. Fleming's studio recordings have always captured her lovely voice; these live recordings prove her magic on the stage.
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In 1909, the Russian impresario came to Paris and created a sensation with a company he called the Ballets Russes. A new 22-disc set revisits the music of Diaghilev's legendary ballets.
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On the occasion of what would have been Garland's 100th birthday, Warner Bros. has been re-issuing her films on Blu-Ray; classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews the most recent release.