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Miles Hoffman

Morning Edition music commentator Miles Hoffman is the author of The NPR Classical Music Companion, now in its tenth printing from the Houghton Mifflin Company. Before joining Morning Edition in 2002, Hoffman entertained and enlightened the nationwide audience of NPR's Performance Today every week for 13 years with his musical commentary, "Coming to Terms," a listener-friendly tour through the many foreign words and technical terms peculiar to the world of classical music.

A nationally renowned violist, Hoffman is violist and artistic director of the American Chamber Players, with whom he regularly tours the United States and Canada. With the American Chamber Players he has recorded works of Mozart, Bruch, Bloch, Stravinsky, and Rochberg for a series of compact discs produced by the Library of Congress and distributed internationally on the Koch International Classics Label. He has also appeared as a soloist with many orchestras around the country, performing a broad repertoire that ranges from baroque to contemporary compositions, and he has been a featured lecturer for orchestras, universities, chamber music series, festivals, and various other organizations.

Hoffman is a graduate of Yale University and the Juilliard School. In 2003 he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Centenary College of Louisiana in recognition of his achievements as a performer and educator.

After winning awards in the National Arts Club and Washington International Competitions, he made his New York solo recital debut in 1979 at the 92nd Street Y, and has since played recitals in many cities in the U.S. and abroad. He gave the first American performance of Krzysztof Penderecki's "Cadenza" for solo viola and the first Washington area performance of the Penderecki Viola Concerto, and he has had works written for him by composers Bruce Saylor, Max Raimi, Roger Ames, and Seymour Barab, among others. In 1982 he founded the Library of Congress Summer Chamber Festival, which he directed for nine years, and which led to the formation of the American Chamber Players.

Hoffman presents children's programs, classes, and master classes in schools and universities around the U.S. when traveling as a soloist and on his tours with the American Chamber Players.

  • Musician and writer Miles Hoffman says the great composer, born 234 years ago this week in Bonn, Germany, is still revered for his forceful music — and admired for writing a share of it after losing his hearing.
  • September marks the 350th anniversary of the first Jewish settlement in America. Music commentator Miles Hoffman says one way to celebrate is to listen to a new collection from the Milken Archive of American Jewish Music.
  • Bolero is perhaps best known from the 1979 movie 10 soundtrack. But Maurice Ravel didn't strictly have romance in mind when he composed the classic piece, music commentator Miles Hoffman says.
  • Music commentator Miles Hoffman, a nationally renowned violist, and NPR's Steve Inskeep visit the Library of Congress' small, priceless collection of Stradivarius instruments. Hoffman plays some of the rarest instruments in the collection, including a violin called the "Betts," crafted in 1704 by Antonio Stradivari.
  • Carroll Musical Instrument Rentals is a a huge warehouse in New York City that rents all types of exotic bells, whistles, and acoustic effects to orchestras, movie studios and musicals across the country. Hear commentator Miles Hoffman and NPR's Bob Edwards as they take an audio tour of the warehouse.
  • John McCormack was one of the greatest, most versatile singers of the last century. Not only did the Irish tenor sing famous folk songs like "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling," he also was a much-admired opera singer. Commentator Miles Hoffman and NPR's Bob Edwards offer a special St. Patrick's Day retrospective of McCormack's career. Hear samples of Irish folk songs performed by McCormack.
  • All the world's a stage, and nowhere is that more true than politics. But music commentator Miles Hoffman says that in some ways the competition for a spot on an orchestra can be just as intense as a run for the White House. Hoffman and NPR's Bob Edwards discuss the similarities -- and the differences.
  • The celesta, an instrument invented in 1896, gets its name for its "celestial," tinkling sound. It provides the distinctive music that accompanies the dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker. NPR's Bob Edwards discusses the instrument with Morning Edition music commentator Miles Hoffman, and Lambert Orkis of the National Symphony plays some celesta riffs.
  • Vladimir Horowitz, born 100 years ago today, was considered by music critics to be the greatest pianist of his time. Like magic, his fingers would fly over the keys, leaving audiences awestruck. On Morning Edition, music commentator Miles Hoffman talks with NPR's Bob Edwards about what made Horowitz such a great musician.
  • Host Bob Edwards talks with music commentator Miles Hoffman about the history and beauty of Moravian church music, which was first played in America during colonial times. A Moravian music festival is now under way in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. {Music played in the segment: Most of the music in this piece, including the introductory music and the ending music, comes from Lost Music of Early America - Music of the Moravians. Boston Baroque, Martin Pearlman, director (Telarc CD-80482) The lively cut of the wind ensemble (which Bob describes as "very festive") is from David Moritz Michael: Parthien 10-14 Pacific Classical Winds (New World Records 80580-2) The cut of the Civil War Moravian band is from A Storm in the Land Music of the 26th N.C. Regimental Band, CSA. The American Brass Quintet Brass Band. (New World Records, 80608-2)