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This was a big year for jazz musicians who focused on their small groups. Their really, really small groups.

Alan Held makes an impression as the mysterious title character in Wagner's The Flying Dutchman, at the Washington National Opera.

John F. Kennedy helped boost American interest in the arts when he asked poet laureate Robert Frost to speak at his inauguration 50 years ago this month — and soon after asked cellist Pablo Casals to play the White House. Now, the Kennedy Center honors that legacy with a star-studded arts festival.

The mild-mannered pianist is fiercely devoted to expressing rhythmical freedom in the musical line. Hear her pick favorite recordings by artists who share her aesthetic.

The Bad Plus isn't the only piano trio to have recorded parts of The Rite of Spring. Hear from the band E.S.T. and its late leader, pianist Esbjorn Svensson, about their hidden take on "Spring Khorovod."

Conductor James Levine is known for bringing out the best in musicians and ensembles. Here, he reflects on his 40-year tenure with the Metropolitan Opera, his life in music and the back troubles that recently led him to step down as the musical director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

New Orleans singer and accordionist Amede Ardoin made some of the earliest zydeco recordings. Those rare 78 RPM discs have been collected and remastered on a new compilation.

Drawing from ten different traditional ragas, the Indian master has created an East-meets-West mashup for sarod and symphony orchestra. Hear a sneak preview of the May 10th release.

Pianist Shai Wosner has been performing to critical acclaim for years, but has just made his debut recording. Music critic Tom Manoff has been looking forward to the CD, having recently heard Wosner in recital.

Portico Quartet's "The Visitor" mixes the flavor of indigenous percussive music with a heady, chamber-jazz rigor, creating sounds both ethereal and musically solid.