NPR Music's classical critic shares his favorite records of the year, spanning a wide range of genres, from experimental folk to operatic pop to recordings featuring harp and pipe organ.

From Gustavo Dudamel to Esa-Pekka Salonen to Claire Chase to Peter Sellars, classical music had many bright spots in 2025.

Few art forms are as burdened by canons as classical music and opera. That, perhaps, is why I love to be surprise ...

Making a list of the best Disney Plus movies is no easy task. As well as a regular stream of new movies, Disney is also the ...

Looking back on 2025 is like trying to recount a dream — a mix of dagger-sharp details and foggy stretches that fall apart ...

Listen to a playlist of the year's best songs as selected by The Times' August Brown, Cerys Davies and Mikael Wood.

Bookshelf speakers, also called standmounts, are a compact way to enjoy serious hi-fi. Typically measuring around 25-35cm tall, they’re designed for small- to medium-sized rooms and usually feature a ...

Letters for the Ages: Great Musicians edited by James Drake and Edward Smyth (Bloomsbury Continuum) The heartbreaking Heiligenstadt Testament written by Beethoven on becoming deaf and Elton John’s ...

Sabbath, Maiden, Metallica: the story of heavy metal contains plenty of big hitters. Lurking just outside the spotlight, however, are countless albums that deserved far more love than they ever ...

It's Friday, it's mid-November, and the weekly deluge of new albums felt like it was finally starting to slow down as we approach the holidays — until we looked at our Nov. 14 list of LPs, EPs, ...

Performances in N.Y.C. Advertisement Supported by Meredith Monk’s “Cellular Songs,” a Kurt Weill rarity and a new take on Bach’s “Well-Tempered Clavier” are among the highlights. By The New York Times ...

Neil Young was born in Toronto on Nov. 12, 1945. Over his career, he has been known as a lot of things: a folk hero; a rock icon; an innovative guitarist; a filmmaker; a political and environmental ...