From the Top

We meet a 14-year-old pianist playing a Chopin Scherzo, a classical cellist who also plays rock covers, and a young trumpeter who gives insight into the physicality of playing his instrument. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

An 11-year-old pianist knocks our socks off with Chopin Etudes and we hear from an all-viola quartet on a mission to spread the beauty of the viola to the world. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

A teen pianist plays Scriabin, an Irish American violist explores classical and Celtic fiddling, and a countertenor sings a gorgeous lullaby. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

What happens when a young violin virtuoso feeds classical music into artificial intelligence? She uncovers some of AI's secrets and shares her scorching rendition of a Kreisler composition. Plus a 16-year-old French Hornist evokes his childhood on a farm filled with music and animals! See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage yo...

A young cellist discovers a Sibelius work that was buried and unknown for over a century. We also hear from a young harpist playing Salzedo and an introverted trumpeter who lets her instrument do the talking. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

We hear a variety of American music from Bernstein’s West Side Story to ragtime piano and a young composer’s jazz-inspired saxophone performance. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

A trio of middle schoolers deliver impressive solo performances of Bach, Popper, and Saint-Saens with host Peter Dugan.  See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

A teen pianist shares her passion for Beethoven, and the son of professional vocalists falls in love with making the trombone sing. Plus we’re treated to a flashback finale featuring a Brahms horn trio. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

A teen violinist takes her love of film scores to new heights, a young flutist shares how he got his start watching online videos, and a passionate violist performs Brahms. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

Co-hosted by violinist and disability activist Julia LaGrand and host Peter Dugan, this week’s episode spotlights the perspectives and artistry of young musicians with disabilities and is part of a broader initiative by From the Top to increase inclusivity and transparency for disabled artists. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to...

Co-hosted by violinist and disability activist Julia LaGrand and host Peter Dugan, this week’s episode spotlights the perspectives and artistry of young musicians with disabilities and is part of a broader initiative by From the Top to increase inclusivity and transparency for disabled artists. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to...

We’re back at the famous FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. A teenage violinist performs Kreisler and a young soprano who shares her journey from Gospel to classical voice. Plus, guest artist KJ Willis, a talented soul singer who is currently featured on NBC’s The Voice, joins with host Peter Dugan and the young performers to pay tribute to Etta James, one of the legendary musicians who recor...

FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama has played a role in some of the most iconic recordings in American popular music history. Today it hosts From the Top and the next generation of classical musicians. We meet a 13-year-old bluegrass banjo player with a talent for improvisation. We hear from a 16-year-old pianist performing Amy Beach and learn about the challenges and rewards of the French Hor...

A young pianist describes how she finds inspiration in nature and performs Liszt’s Transcendental Etude. A saxophone quartet from North Texas share how winning the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition has boosted their confidence. Our Flashback Finale revisits the teenage performance of Vienna Philharmonic violinist, Lucas Stratmann. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection...

We meet an imaginative 13-year-old oboist who draws on colors, shapes, and stories in her performance of Marcello’s Oboe Concerto. An 18-year-old violist draws on his multicultural background in his performance of Bach and shares how he’s using music to help others. A 17-year-old guitarist showcases her adept technical skills and describes how volunteering with animals has impacted her musicianshi...

A teenage violinist compares the power of persuasion in oral debate and musical performance and a 17-year-old flutist shares the lyrical beauty of Georges Hüe’s Fantaisie. Young musicians from the San Diego Youth Symphony and the Sinfónica Juvenil de Tijuana conclude the program with a powerful cross-border collaboration. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal...

We meet a 13-year-old violinist with a passion for studying the connection between music and the brain. Next a 16-year-old clarinetist delivers an elegant Mozart Rondo and a teenage percussionist blends classical, Latin, and jazz influences. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Priv...

Sparks fly when 9-year-old pianist Alexander Zhou takes the keys. Orli Shaham hosts this episode where we also hear from a teenage violist performing Rebecca Clarke’s beautiful viola Sonata. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

Orli Shaham collaborates with a teenage pianist on a Mozart Sonata for four-hands. We also hear from a trumpeter who plays Gershwin and a 17-year-old violinist performing Beethoven. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

Grammy Award-winning bass player Victor Wooten joins us for our exciting musical journey out of Nashville. A talented teen flutist plays an elegant Bach Sonata and then improvises on that same work with Victor Wooten and Peter Dugan. We meet the drum major from Tennessee State University’s Aristocrat of Bands and hear selections from their Grammy Award-winning album. And if that’s not enough, we a...

Grammy Award-winning bass player Victor Wooten joins us this week as we celebrate great music out of Nashville! We hear an electric performance on violin, imitating sounds from Jimi Hendrix’s guitar, by a teen musician who already holds a real job in an orchestra. We meet a talented pianist who performs Beethoven. And a teen bluegrass mandolin player with a career on the rise performs solo and col...

We hear the From the Top premiere of Ellen Taaffe Zwilich’s Fantasy for Solo Violin, who is the first woman to win a Pulitzer Prize in music. It’s performed by a teen violinist passionate about championing classical music. We meet a flutist determined to make a difference in the world. And our flashback finale features the 2016 performance by Claire Wells, who just recently was named a Young Conce...

We’re speaking with young musicians about vulnerability and risk-taking, overcoming nerves, and how they draw inspiration from other passions like ballroom dancing. Plus, we are treated to incredible performances of a Turina piano trio, a Barber cello sonata, and a Chopin nocturne. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your...

We’re coming from Minnesota Public Radio in the Twin Cities with guest host Orli Shaham. We hear from a pianist/composer who performs a musical letter to his younger self, and an autodidactic teen violinist wows us with his journey. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Polic...

Orli Shaham joins us from Minnesota Public Radio in the Twin Cities, a place bursting with talented young artists, including a teen from a long line of Florentine musicians performing Ravel, a quartet who bonded in a forest, and a multifaceted cellist whose interests range from tennis to quantum computing. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponso...