Suzanne Bona

The Kanneh-Mason family includes seven sisters and brothers who all play musical instruments at an exceptionally high level. Raised in Nottingham, England, the award-winning siblings all play either violin, piano, or cello, and have pursued conservatory level training. Today’s Beautiful Music features three of the Kanneh-Mason sisters — Isata, Konya, and Jeneba — playing a […]

Kansas City-born musician Shelley Washington is a saxophone player and composer. She cites inspiration from jazz, rock, American folk and other music, and proudly asserts, “I love making lots and lots of noise.” She is also a vocalist, and doubles on flute, piccolo, clarinet, and English handbells. Use the link below to learn more about

In 1890, at age 13, Pablo Casals bought a used copy of Johann Sebastian Bach’s 6 Suites for Unaccompanied Cello that changed his life and the life of every serious cellist since then. Casals swore by his routine of starting each day playing something by Johann Sebastian Bach. Today’s Beautiful Music features cellist Eva Lymenstull

Lorraine Hunt Lieberson (1954-2006) was a professional violist before she became a professional singer. The mezzo soprano came from a musical family — her mother was a singer, and her father was a music teacher — but she only began her training as a singer at age 26 when she enrolled at Boston Conservatory. Her

Today’s Beautiful Music features two top-tier early music specialists: The Folger Consort and Stile Antico. Their collaboration from early 2020 concert at Washington National Cathedral featured Renaissance music by women composers — Raffaella Aleotti and Leonora d’Este, Stile Antico singer Helen Ashby introduces the program and provides information about the composers.

Composer Elizabeth Maconchy lived from 1907-1994. Born in Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, her Irish parents moved the family to Ireland when she was ten, so that’s where she spent her early years learning music. As a teenager, she began studying at the Royal College of Music in London with prominent teachers including Charles Wood and Ralph Vaughan

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day! Today’s Beautiful Music features songs by Ina Boyle, an Irish composer who lived from 1889-1967. Her early musical training was provided by her father and her governess, and she grew into an accomplished composer whose teachers included Ralph Vaughan Williams. Boyle composed a wide variety of works, including opera and ballet,

Elisabeth-Claude Jacquet de la Guerre was an outstanding Parisian keyboard virtuosa, singer, and composer who lived from 1665-1729. She was the first woman to compose an opera in France. Born into a family of musicians and instrument makers, she made a splash as a child prodigy musician playing for France’s King Louis XIV. You can

Beware the Ides of March! Today’s Beautiful Music is a selection from George Frideric Handel’s opera JULIUS CAESAR, sung by Danielle de Niese — described by New York Times Magazine as “opera’s coolest soprano.” There’s a link below to her website so you can learn more about the multi-talented musician as you listen to her

Violinist Florence Malgoire grew up in a musical family. Her mother France Gombert played flute and her father Jean-Claude Malgoire led the early music group La Grande Écurie et la Chambre du Roy in which Florence played. She was also a member of La Petite Bande, a period instrument group that was led by her teacher,