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Leonard Bernstein wrote his Mass to memorialize John F. Kennedy. But conductor Marin Alsop says that the dizzyingly eclectic work reveals more about its composer than anyone else.

Tod Machover's goal is to put music into the hands of people who want to play it — or at least imagine it. He and his team at MIT helped to create Guitar Hero, and one of his latest projects helps people with disabilities write and perform music.

Earl Scruggs' name is almost synonymous with the banjo. And for a good reason, too — he helped pioneer Bluegrass music with his three-finger banjo picking technique, now known as "Scruggs Style."

Blogger Drew Kerr talks about his critique of the many title songs accompanying James Bond movies. He's ranked all 20 of them from best to worst and talks about his selections and criteria here.

Guthrie has had a profound influence on American music, and he was such a prolific writer that some of his lyrics have yet to be set to music. Having been given access to the Guthrie archives, singer-songwriter Jonatha Brooke recently released The Works, which adapts previously unreleased Guthrie lyrics.

This election season, hip-hop artists flocked to their mixing boards in unprecedented fashion in support of Barack Obama. Rapper Young Jeezy and professor Mark Anthony Neal discuss the effect of an African-American president-elect on hip-hop.

A mecca for classical composers looking for ways to bridge music and technology, IRCAM in Paris has been an incubator for some of the most compelling developments in contemporary classical music and acoustics of the past three decades.

The Oslo-based trio of vocalists introduces a Norwegian Christmas tune, as well as a few traditions from their homeland, in NPR's Studio 4A. The group's latest recording has just been nominated for a Grammy Award.

Friend and patron to several generations of composers and artists, Freeman was the catalyst behind the opera Nixon in China by John Adams, as well as pieces by John Cage, Harry Partch, Thomas Ades, Philip Glass and dozens of others.

The latest album by best-selling Irish solo artist Enya explores familiar spiritual themes and brings a fresh perspective on the new year. In an interview, she reveals the influence The Beatles had on her new songs, as well as her attitude toward critics.