Frank Sinatra - Fly Me To The Moon (Live At The Kiel Opera House, St. Louis, MO/1965)

Sheku Kanneh-Mason: Tiny Desk Concert

One measure of an artist’s popularity is how long it takes to book them for a Tiny Desk concert. In the case of British cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason, it took about three years. Granted, the pandemic got in the way, but ever since his 2018 breakthrough performance at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, he’s been -- needless to say -- in demand. Nearly 2 billion people worldwide saw his royal performance on television. At the Tiny Desk, Kanneh-Mason played for only a handful of NPR staffers, and the performance felt like a direct communication from his luminous cello (built in 1700) to our heartstrings. It was especially true in Kanneh-Mason’s own arrangement of “Myfanwy,” the mournful Welsh folk song the cellist first heard from his grandmother. Accompanying himself with left hand pizzicato, Kanneh-Mason makes his instrument sing like a sad old Welshman with a tear in his eye.

Joep Beving - Paris s'enflamme

Performed and recorded during a solo piano session on the 24th of January 2022 at Atelier Artefact in Paris, France.

Ludovico Einaudi: Tiny Desk Concert

Ludovico Einaudi was on a North American tour, playing before audiences in the thousands, when he stopped by the NPR office to play a far more intimate setting: a Tiny Desk set. It’s the first tour for the Italian pianist and composer since the beginning of the pandemic, following the release of his 2022 album, Underwater. It’s an album that captures how many have felt in the pandemic — feeling underwater, or trapped in another world. It’s that relatable feeling — like we’re treading water trying to remain above the surface, powering through the adversity of the last two years — that makes Einaudi’s music so emotional and reflective. The pulsating strings of the opening song to his Tiny Desk concert, the track “Experience” from his 2013 album In A Time Lapse, demand attention, captivating the audience. The fact that the song recently went viral due to a TikTok trend only proves how welcoming Einaudi’s music is — and why he is the most-streamed classical pianist of all time. Ludovico Einaudi’s presence at the piano keeps you waiting for more. His fingers glide over the keys effortlessly, but he never seems rushed. As he plays, his eyes are closed. And in this concert, you can tell his music moves him as much as it does his audience. SET LIST “Experience” “Fly” “Flora” “Low Mist” TINY DESK TEAM Producer/Director: Kara Frame Audio Engineer: Josh Rogosin Director: Joshua Bryant Creative Director: Bob Boilen Series Producer: Bobby Carter Editor: Kara Frame Videographers: Kara Frame, Joshua Bryant, Michael Zamora, Pierre Kattar Production Assistant: Jill Britton, Joby Tanseco Tiny Desk Team: Suraya Mohamed, Marissa Lorusso, Hazel Cills, Ashley Pointer, Maia Stern VP, Visuals and Music: Keith Jenkins Senior VP, Programming: Anya Grundmann

FKJ - Just Piano

0:29 Sundays 3:53 Last Hour 6:36 Anthem 9:13 G.F 11:21 Cashew 13:41 Meeting Again In The Void 15:42 Fée 17:06 Pe

Lori Goldston - Music for Études N°11

Lori Goldston Music for Études N°11 runway show Recorded January 19, 2017 in Paris

Ólafur Arnalds - Sunrise Session II with Josin

To celebrate the winter solstice this year we decided to try something a little different. Sunrise Session II features my friend Josin on vocals and 13 wonderful musicians from the Reykjavík Recording Orchestra.

Sofiane Pamart live under the Northern Lights, in Lapland, Finland for Cercle

Sofiane Pamart playing the first live on a grand piano at freezing temperatures under the Northern Lights, in Lapland, Finland for Cercle.

Patrick Watson - Can't Stop Staring At The Sun

Dancers: Anthony Bryant, Gianinni Semedo Moreira, Nicolas Walton

Ólafur Arnalds - New Grass

To me, New Grass represents revival, growth and exploring new paths. So when Benjamin showed me some experiments he had been making, exploring how moss reacts to water, I instantly felt that this minuscule world would be the perfect way to express that.

Ólafur Arnalds - Woven Song

Woven Song was one of the first songs I wrote for 'some kind of peace' but ended up becoming a defining moment of the writing process. It is a metaphor for being embraced by something larger than yourself while exploring new territories, the feeling of being held while you open your heart.