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An Italian Town Fell Silent So The Sounds Of A Stradivarius Could Be Preserved

Wim Janssen, one of the musicians involved in the recording project, plays a viola made by master luthier Girolamo Amati in 1615. Courtesy of Native Instruments hide caption

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Courtesy of Native Instruments

An Italian Town Fell Silent So The Sounds Of A Stradivarius Could Be Preserved

February 17, 2019 • The mayor of Cremona, Italy, blocked traffic during five weeks of recording and asked residents to please keep quiet so master musicians could play four instruments — note by note — for posterity.

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Station Breaks: The Best New Songs From NPR Music Stations

Bayonne (left), SASAMI and Jonathan Scales. Courtesy of the artists hide caption

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Courtesy of the artists

Station Breaks: The Best New Songs From NPR Music Stations

A sweet lullaby by Girl In Red, Bayonne's cavernous ambient track and a jazz number from Jonathan Scales Fourchestra. There's a lot to discover on this new station-curated playlist.

Listening For The Future During Black History Month

Left to right: Briana Younger, music editor and writer for The New Yorker; Jon Batiste, jazz artist and bandleader for The Late Show; Rodney Carmichael, staff hip-hop writer for NPR Music. Courtesy of Briana Younger / Abby Ross / Lauren Zillinger/Courtesy of the contributors / NPR hide caption

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Courtesy of Briana Younger / Abby Ross / Lauren Zillinger/Courtesy of the contributors / NPR

Listening For The Future During Black History Month

Late Show bandleader Jon Batiste, New Yorker writer Briana Younger and NPR Music's Rodney Carmichael join World Cafe for a spirited conversation on the black creators shaping the future of music.

The Grammys Don't Have A Hip-Hop Problem. The Grammys Have A Grammy Problem

Drake won the Best Rap Song Grammy for "God's Plan," which was the No. 1 song in America for 11 weeks in 2018. Speaking to his peers of the award, he said, "You don't need this." Emma McIntyre/Getty Images hide caption

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Emma McIntyre/Getty Images

The Grammys Don't Have A Hip-Hop Problem. The Grammys Have A Grammy Problem

The Recording Academy stepped up on Sunday, giving major awards to Childish Gambino, Cardi B and Drake, but these efforts might be too late to make up for decades of turning its back on the genre.

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First Listen

Hear upcoming albums in their entirety

Adia Victoria

Silences

For Adia Victoria, the role of Southern blueswoman is wily, radical, thoroughly contemporary and rife with real darkness.

42:15

Benny Sings

City Pop

You've heard the Dutch pop and R&B singer's music before and probably didn't know it. Now, he makes a perfectly timed bid for stardom.

32:12

Julia Jacklin

Crushing

A breakup inspired the Australian singer-songwriter to make a powerful record about intimacy, chaos, loneliness and sense of self.

39:29

Our Native Daughters

Songs Of Our Native Daughters

Rhiannon Giddens, Amythyst Kiah, Allison Russell and Leyla McCalla form a banjo-wielding supergroup dedicated to the history of both string-band music and black women in America.

49:33

Ray Charles

Modern Sounds in Country & Western Music Vol 1 & 2

Charles laid claim to the center of American popular music on these 1962 classics, and ended up with some of the brashest and best-selling music of his career.

1:14:02

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Yola Carter

Walk Through Fire

Two and a half years ago, the British singer had a career-sparking moment at a music festival. Now, she's releasing her powerful debut with the help of producer Dan Auerbach.

39:08

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