Credit: Mark Parisi

Western classical music is often thought of as cerebral or abstract, but throughout its history, composers have repeatedly been inspired by themes of desire, sensuality, and physical longing. Because the overt depiction of sex was socially taboo during much of

Credit: NPR Classical on Facebook

Throughout the history of classical music, composers have written countless pieces of music that touch on themes of loneliness: abandonment, exile, grief, betrayal, and otherwise solitary experiences. Today, we’re looking at eight pieces of classical music that embody a feeling

Pianist Vanessa Wagner, a student of Fleisher, Fou Ts’ong, Perahia, and Weissenberg, is known for her innovative approaches that bridge traditional repertoire with contemporary and cross-disciplinary projects. Wagner is particularly known for her interpretations of minimalist works, especially Philip Glass‘s

Credit: NPR Classical on Facebook

Few composers have been associated with sadness as consistently as Frédéric Chopin. Across his nocturnes, preludes, mazurkas, ballades, and other works, Chopin returned again and again to expressing emotions of longing and resignation. Those feelings were shaped by exile, chronic