Music

Composer Philip Blackburn is about to leave for Cuba, to bask in the hot sounds of that island's legendary music. Blackburn is on a mission: he wants to create a sound portrait of Cuba and hunt out undiscovered musical talent.
Minnesota Public Radio listeners get a double treat on Sunday February 22 at 6 pm: the first performance of a warmly received new opera—with a Minnesota singer in the title role. The singer is boy soprano Nathaniel Irvin of Maple Grove, and the opera is a new setting of the beloved fantasy The Little Prince by Antoine de St.-Exupéry.
Most people who visit Duluth spend some time sight-seeing on the waterfront. But the sounds of the harbor can be just as inspiring as the sights. A young composer has turned those sounds into music.
To complement your Valentine's Day, Minnesota Public Radio music director Rex Levang recommends recordings by three women whose stunning voices pull at the heartstrings.
The St. Cloud Symphony Orchestra has been around since the early 1970s. But just in the past couple years, it has attracted critical raves, and popular support.
Most people know the modern piano evolved from the harpsichord. But few know there was an intermediate instrument, called the fortepiano. A Duluth concert features a rare treat: matched fortepianos playing works of Mozart in a way rarely heard today.
After years of slumping CD sales and the illegal downloading of songs, the music retail industry is finally embracing the digital age. Online music sales through companies such as Apple Computer, Napster and even Walmart are growing, and several major record labels are converting their music catalogs to digital. Many industry observers say the shift to digital delivery of music spells doom for the independent record store. Yet, the few such stores that remain in the Twin Cities say reports of their impending death may be premature.