Two wonderful events with WQXR listeners in one day: first, a convergence at the "Play Me, I'm Yours" piano at the Columbus Circle entrance to Central Park. Lots of people turned up to listen -- and to perform!

Merriam-Webster defines diva (Italian for "goddess") as a prima donna (Italian for "first woman"). The dictionary gives two English definitions for prima donna: (1) a principal female singer in an opera, and (2) a vain or undisciplined person who finds it difficult to work…as part of a team.

This week marks the 200th anniversary of Robert Schumann's birth, which we've been celebrating all week long on WQXR. Robert Schumann was well known for writing music and prose--in addition to being a composer, he was also a music critic and journalist. But it's clear that Robert Schumann would not have had nearly the success he did if he hadn't married Clara Wieck, a highly talented pianist and composer who served as his partner and muse.

Tuesday marks Robert Schumann's 200th birthday. In celebration, WQXR presents "Robert and Clara," a Studio 360 profile of the Schumanns that Naomi Lewin created about THE musical power couple of 19th century Europe.

Lots of composers put the sounds of Nature into their compositions.  Think of Antonio Vivaldi's Four Seasons, or Ludwig van Beethoven's Sixth Symphony. In the 20th century, composers started putting outdoor sounds of a different nature into their work. György Ligeti's opera Le Grand Macabre (which the New York Philharmonic performed so brilliantly last week--you can hear the broadcast June 10 on WQXR), features not one, but two “Car Horn Preludes.” They're scored for twelve bulbed horns (like the kind on a bicycle), each one tuned to a specific pitch. Some of the Ligeti horns were so big and heavy that the percussionists had to stomp on them to play them!

I’m really looking forward to the New York Philharmonic’s production of Le Grand Macabre, by György Ligeti. Ligeti wrote some wonderful, innovative music.  When I was in college, I got to sing his Lux Aeterna (which also put in an audio appearance in "2001: A Space Odyssey"). It was one of the most memorable choral experiences of my life. 

Is there music that triggers instant memories for you that have nothing to do with the music itself?

I have a thing for bagpipes--especially Spanish ones. Last night I heard Galician gaiteira extraordinaria Cristina Pato. She's a member of Yo-Yo Ma's Silk Road Ensemble, but this time, she was with her own ensemble, serving as ambassador to the 2010 Holy Year (Xacobeo) in Santiago de Compostela, one of the great pilgrimage sites of the world.

I've been waiting for years to go to a Thomas Quasthoff concert. I'd seen him on T.V. and listened to his recordings, but last night I finally got to hear him in person at Carnegie Hall.

Good morning, good day! It's Pulitzer-Prize-winning lyricist Sheldon Harnick's 86th birthday. Isn't it wonderful?

This past weekend, I performed a wonderful 19-year-old piece: Four Seasons of Futurist Cuisine, by Aaron Jay Kernis, on a program that also included "Four Seasons" compositions by Antonio Vivaldi and Astor Piazzolla.

The article in The New York Times about people who don't like cilantro, and/or manage to acquire a taste for it, reminded me, in a strange way, of Maria Callas.

See what WQXR hosts have to say about romance and romantic music. Then tell us about the classical music that has added romance to your life. We'll play some of your selections on Valentine's Day.