In this video, Juilliard organ department chairman Paul Jacobs shows us how Bach is played on the pipe organ.

If Handel's Messiah is the quarterback of holiday music, Bach's Christmas Oratorio is the second-string walk-on. But on Sunday, WQXR gives Bach's underplayed work a starting spot in the lineup.

There we were in Central Park, watching the rehearsal for that evening’s concert broadcast, when in the distance was a children’s choir, writes Jeff Spurgeon. See what happens next.

The New York Philharmonic offered some big sounds in its season-ending program, and served them up on a really big plate: the Drill Hall at the New York Armory. Jeff Spurgeon reports.

Every day, the piano manufacturers at Steinway & Sons face an essential question: How to balance craftsmanship with making a profitable instrument. See how it happens in this video tour.

On Monday, the French pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard spoke with WQXR’s Jeff Spurgeon about programming and the distractions a performer sometimes endures.

"When I hear recordings by pianist Rudolf Firkušny, whose was born on February 11, 1912, the word that comes to mind every time is 'warmth,'" writes Jeff Spurgeon.

The radio microphones were present at a Boston Symphony Orchestra concert at an extraordinary moment in American history.

The flamboyant organist Cameron Carpenter offers us another example of his remarkable technical and musical skills in a new recording and video of “Sleigh Ride.”

Jeff Spurgeon remembers a scandalous moment involving wedding music. Perhaps you’ve attended a wedding where the music choices came with a twist, or didn’t quite work out as planned. We'd like to hear about them.

As WQXR celebrates Powerhouse Pianists throughout January, we spotlight a pianist known to give the keyboard a workout. Hélène Grimaud is frequently admired for her enormous technical command and her keen musical curiosity.

Jeff Spurgeon observes: "In how many churches this Christmas Eve will 'Silent Night' be the emotional climax of the service? This little carol is something very special."

Steve J. Sherman is a familiar face to concertgoers in New York, as the city's most prominent concert photographer. One of his most famous subjects was iconic conductor and composer Leonard Bernstein.

Conductor Simon Rattle talks with Jeff Spurgeon about making his long-awaited Met Opera debut, his work with the Berlin Philharmonic, and why he learned to stop worrying and love The Nutcracker.

Jeff Spurgeon writes: "I’ve sung in good choirs and not-as-good choirs, in ensembles large and small, singing early music and brand-new music. I’ve been a useful chorister, and, at least one time, a completely useless one."

Sounds like a horror movie, doesn’t it? As Jeff Spurgeon tell us, for family and friends, perhaps it was. But his trombone tale is very much a happy one.

British Pianist Stephen Hough, last heard in New York at Avery Fisher Hall in this past summer’s Mostly Mozart Festival, is back in town for a recital tonight at Carnegie Hall.

The young French pianist David Fray is fast gaining notice for his charismatic, sometimes eccentric performances of Bach and Schubert. Just don't compare him to Glenn Gould.

If you’re running the New York City Marathon this Sunday, what classical music will be on your iPod? Or if you’re strictly a spectator, what classical selections would you suggest? Tell us and listen to this week's Arts File.