ARTSEDGE: The Kitchen Sink

Continuing our musical journey into the through the 20th Century, this segment explores how America took its place as force in the world of classical music; not so much through its experimental work but through the music of Hollywood movies. Miles Hoffman, Morning Edition music commentator and dean of the Petrie School of Music at Converse College in Spartanburg, South Carolina, takes us through the early years of the last century and discusses where we can, sometimes unexpectedly, find new classical compositions today.

Get to know the musical beginnings of the aspiring composer.

Stephen shares the development of Pippin and advice from the legendary Hal Prince.

Stephen Schwartz discusses and performs "Corner of the Sky" from Pippin.

Stephen explains how he learned of the book, Wicked by Gregory Maguire, his quest to convert it to a musical and collaboration with librettist, Winne Holzman.

In this insightful selection, Schwartz takes you through the genesis, adaptations, and final version of this Wicked hit song.

In this selection, Schwartz discusses the influences that Leonard Bernstein had on him, beginning with their collaboration in 1971 on the Mass that opened the Kennedy Center.

Jazz is a purely American form of music. With one exception. In the 1930s, Hungarian guitarist Django Reinhardt created a unique form of jazz – Gypsy Swing – that mixed traditional Eastern European music with an American beat. In this episode, Gypsy Jazz violinist Tony Ballog introduces us to the music of Django Reinhardt and Gypsy Swing.

In the 1930s, two types of American music, the rural Country/Western and the urban Swing Jazz, were combined to create Western Swing, a popular type of music that crossed racial boundaries. In this episode we’ll learn about the roots of Western Swing, and hear the music of its most famous performer, Bob Wills.

This segment looks at some little-known stories about American Classical music like the role of Cuba in Classical Music and the American who made "Carmen" a hit. NPR's Miles Hoffman continues to lead us through the development of a uniquely American take on traditional European music.