NPR Music Marks 10th Anniversary of September 11

In the days following the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, NPR listeners wrote that the music within the news broadcasts offered comfort and time for reflection. A decade after the tragedy, NPR Music explores music's role in both dealing with and memorializing the events on 9/11.

All this week, NPR Music is looking at how artists and audiences used music as a source of comfort and means to respond to the attacks. The online reports culminate Sunday afternoon with a live webcast of the Remembering September 11 concert from the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Temple of Dendu in New York.

Highlights from the week, in order of date, include (all times are ET):

First Listen: Steve Reich's WTC 9/11

Week of September 5

www.npr.org/2011/09/04/140144067/first-listen-steve-reich-wtc-9-11

As part of its First Listens series, NPR Music offers an advance stream of Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Steve Reich's musical response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. For WTC 9/11, Reich partnered with the Kronos Quartet, which performs the pieces.

Deceptive Cadence: Classical Composer Interviews

Week of September 5

www.npr.org/blogs/deceptivecadence/

The classical blog interviews five composers who created pieces influenced by the events of 9/11. The composers and works include Ned Rorem's Aftermath, Steve Reich's WTC 9/11, John Corigliano's One Sweet Morning, Michael Gordon's The Sad Park and Christopher Theofanidis' opera Heart of a Soldier.

The Record: Ann Powers Essay

September 8

www.npr.org/blogs/therecord/

Critic Ann Powers offers an essay about live music and community in the days following the events of September 11. Ann writes that attending concerts provided some comfort by communing with fellow audience members, and release through experiencing live music. She offers her story and others' accounts of going to shows in New York City in the weeks immediate following 9/11, including contributions from Nate Chinen, Will Hermes, Anthony De Curtis, Craig Marks, Alex Ross, Jody Rosen and Amy Linden. Accompanying the piece are music moments from performances around the world in the days following, including a Radiohead show in Germany on 9/11, Leonard Slatkin's changes to the program at the Royal Albert Hall, Paul Simon on SNL, U2 at Madison Square Garden and Sonny Rollins' performance in Boston.

All Songs Considered Blog: The September 11, 2001 episode

September 8

www.npr.org/blogs/allsongs/

As NPR covered the 9/11 terrorist attacks, many audience letters relayed how the music within the broadcasts allowed time for reflection and offered comfort. Bob Boilen resurfaces the first show following the attacks, which includes some of those songs. Bob also posts 10 songs he used in the All Things Considered broadcast he directed on 9/11, and explains why he chose them.

Choral Performance at Trinity Church: Live Video Webcast
September 9, 8:30-10:30PM, Live at NPR Music and WQXR's Q2

NPR Music and WQXR's Q2 present a live webcast and video of a concert of choral music held at Trinity Church, next to Ground Zero. Six choruses, including the Young People's Chorus of New York City, The Washington Chorus and The Bach Choir of Bethlehem, unite for the performance.

Remembering September 11: Live Concert Webcast
September 11, 3:30-5:30PM, Live at NPR Music and WQXR's Q2
NPR Music and WQXR's Q2 present a live webcast and broadcast of this anniversary concert from the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Temple of Dendur. Part of the groundbreaking Wordless Music Series, the concert features the world premiere of an orchestration of William Basinski's The Disintegration Loops, as well as music by Ingram Marshall, Alfred Schnittke, and Grammy Award winner Osvaldo Golijov.