With the summer travel season underway, we asked the WQXR hosts to name the music they'd listen to when behind the wheel or riding shotgun.

Whether you're headed to Vermont, the Hamptons or points upstate, it's the season for music festivals to flourish. Here are 12 highlights. Tune in to WQXR on Tuesdays at 9 pm for our weekly Summer Concert Showcase.

In this Saturday's cartoon, Bugs Bunny plays a terrible houseguest trying to push all of Yosemite Sam's buttons.

In this 2003 edition of The Vocal Scene, George Jellinek presents song recordings by the late German baritone who died on Friday.

John Dowland is often considered the pinnacle of refined Elizabethan music. But for Michael Slattery, the composer may not represent England at all, but Ireland. He shows why in the WQXR Café.

Last week, host David Garland talked about movies and music with three film experts from Slate, plus composer Howard Shore. Watch the archived webcast.

Richard Wagner’s Prelude to Act III of Lohengrin opens the 1936 Disney cartoon called "Mickey’s Grand Opera." Later in the cartoon, it's "Bella Figlia Dell’Amore," from Verdi’s Rigoletto

The Metropolitan Opera recently concluded its Ring Cycle, which went down as one of the most hotly debated opera events in modern times. Give us your review and read what others had to say.

Steven Isserlis, the English cellist, came to embrace Beethoven and Bach comparatively late in his busy career. He told us why, and performed live in the WQXR Café.

We’re celebrating Brahms's birthday this week with the help of the young and charismatic conductor, Gustavo Dudamel, and the Radio France Philharmonic Orchestra.

Gioacchino Rossini’s Overture for his opera William Tell has been featured in numerous cartoons, including this 1947 Walter Lantz "Wally Walrus" cartoon in which a flippered maestro tries to wake up his sleepy symphony orchestra.

An unusual weekend is ahead, even by New York's varied and vibrant standards. Our picks include a Gertrude Stein-themed marathon, a New York Phil premiere and a YouTube competition winner.

The seventh annual Opera News Awards took place Sunday night at the Plaza Hotel. Host Midge Woolsey caught up with the winners.

Nathan Gunn is known for such roles as Billy Budd, the Count in Marriage of Figaro and Lancelot in Camelot. Outside the opera world, he's the proud holder of a spot in People magazine’s “sexiest men alive” issue.

For this week's cartoon, we have selected Richard Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyries" from Die Walkure, which is also today's Metropolitan Opera broadcast.

F. Paul Driscoll, the editor in chief of Opera News magazine, gives us the inside scoop on this year's honorees. They are two sopranos, two baritones and a stage director.

Mischa Maisky is known as a cellist that audiences turn to when they want a particularly soulful, passionate performance. In this one-hour special, he speaks with David Garland about his eventful career.

Tim Fain accompanied Natalie Portman in Black Swan and has been a regular collaborator with Philip Glass in recent years. Watch this video of him performing Glass's Partita.

From Romeo and Juliet to Othello, the Bard’s plays have served as the inspiration for numerous classical pieces. Today, on what may be William Shakespeare’s 448th birthday, we'll be playing several of those pieces.