What would happen if a local performing arts organization gave KUSC’s Brian Lauritzen carte blanche to program one of their concerts? That’s exactly what the Salastina Music Society has done for their performances on February 17 and 18.

The Breadwinner is a family movie you don’t see every day. It follows a young girl named Parvana, who lives in Afghanistan under the shadow of the Taliban. When her father is unfairly arrested, she chops her hair off and takes care of her family the only way she can under her circumstances: as a boy. Listen to our extended interview with director Nora Twomey.

LA Times and KUSC Film Critic Kenneth Turan talks with Gail Eichenthal about a dreamy Oscar-nominated movie now streaming on Netflix.

This fall marks the 15th anniversary of the opening of Walt Disney Concert Hall. It took even longer than that for Frank Gehry’s vision to become reality, but everyone—especially the LA Phil’s Conductor Laureate Esa-Pekka Salonen—says it was worth the wait. Salonen is in town for the next two weeks conducting his own music at Walt Disney Concert Hall, including Wing on Wing—a tone-poem he wrote inspired by the hall and incorporating the voice of architect Frank Gehry.

Listen to more of our interview with James Conlon discussing Leonard Bernstein’s Candide.

The great American opera? It’s on stage right now at LA Opera. The opera is Candide, by Leonard Bernstein. Okay, so it started out as a Broadway show and is technically considered an operetta, but LA Opera music director James Conlon tells me, Candide’s universality is what makes it, and Bernstein, so unique.

KUSC’s Alan Chapman has a lot to say about music, but can he say it in 60 seconds? That’s the Chapman Challenge. We ask a question and Alan has a minute to answer it. Today’s question comes from Jason in Boston, who says: “You play a lot of symphonies by Haydn with nicknames. Did he name them himself?”

LA Times and KUSC film critic Kenneth Turan is back from the Sundance Film Festival with a report about the unexpected star of the festival and a documentary experience unlike any other.

Hope you don’t have plans for Friday night. Classical KUSC is inviting you to a birthday bash, live on the air! Here’s KUSC’s Brian Lauritzen with all the party details.

If there’s one thing Americans from all points on the political spectrum can agree on, it’s that America is divided. But, it turns out, one path to healing and understanding can be found on the miles of train tracks that crisscross the country. Specifically, the dining car of a cross-country Amtrak train. That’s where musician and composer Gabriel Kahane spent much of the two weeks immediately following the 2016 presidential election. Gabriel Kahane joined KUSC’s Brian Lauritzen to discuss his project, 8980: Book of Travelers.