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The Open Ears Project

by WQXR & WNYC Studios
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Latest episodes

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    April 29, 2024 · 13 min

    “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring” is one of Bach’s best known works. For acclaimed violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter, it has been part of her life since she was a child and has accompanied her through some of her life’s most important moments. As…

  • Víkingur Ólafsson on the Unpredictable Futurism of Rameau

    April 22, 2024 · 16 min

    All classical musicians are devoted to the art of reinterpretation — of trying to make the old feel new again. Pianist Víkingur Ólafsson actually manages to pull it off. Whether he’s performing keyboard music hundreds of years old or a…

  • Garth Greenwell on Finding Refuge in the Music of Britten and Pears

    April 15, 2024 · 20 min

    By now, Garth Greenwell is an award-winning author, poet, literary critic, and teacher of writing whose novels include “What Belongs To You” and “Cleanness.” But his first creative aspiration was as a musician: He attended the Interlochen…

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About the show

Part mixtape, part sonic love-letter, The Open Ears Project is a podcast in which people share the classical track that means the most to them and why. Created by journalist and former WQXR Creative Director Clemency Burton-Hill, each episode offers a brief and soulful glimpse into human lives, helping us to hear this music — and each other — differently. Guests from the worlds of film, books, dance, comedy and fashion as well as firefighters, taxi drivers, and teachers share cherished musical memories and remind us that extraordinary things happen when we simply stop and listen. Transcripts are posted to individual episode pages as they become available. The Open Ears Project is produced by WQXR and WNYC Studios.