The Open Ears Project
WQXR & WNYC Studios
Part mixtape, part sonic love-letter, The Open Ears Project is a podcast in which people share the classical track that means the most to them and why. Created by journalist and former WQXR Creative Director Clemency Burton-Hill, each episode offers a brief and soulful glimpse into human lives, helping us to hear this music — and each other — differently. Guests from the worlds of film, books, dance, comedy and fashion as well as firefighters, taxi drivers, and teachers share cherished musical memories and remind us that extraordinary things happen when we simply stop and listen.
Transcripts are posted to individual episode pages as they become available.
The Open Ears Project is produced by WQXR and WNYC Studios.
Transcripts are posted to individual episode pages as they become available.
The Open Ears Project is produced by WQXR and WNYC Studios.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Oct 1, 2019 • 8min
22. Alison Stewart on Just Letting Go
WNYC host Alison Stewart talks about how she gave up learning the piano when she was young after the sudden death of her piano teacher, and how the rocking ebbs and flows of Satie’s Gymnopédie No. 1 helped her come back to the instrument as an adult — and learn to let go.
Keep listening after the episode to hear the full track.
Sep 30, 2019 • 13min
21. Daniel Libeskind on Perspective
Architect Daniel Libeskind reflects on the healing power of music and architecture and reveals his lifelong obsession with the dazzling Toccata and Fugue by JS Bach.
Sep 29, 2019 • 8min
20. Jacqui Cheng on Resolution
Digital strategist Jacqui Cheng shares how she discovered the music of Bach via her 1980s Atari 2600 habit, but it’s the Violin Sonata No. 1 that helps walk her through a period of grief.
Keep listening after the episode to hear the full track.
Sep 28, 2019 • 6min
19. Wynton Marsalis on Time and Consciousness
Jazz Trumpeter Wynton Marsalis discusses how Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 16 helped him understand the role of music — and musician — in connecting the past and the future.
Keep listening after the episode to hear the full track.
Sep 27, 2019 • 17min
18. Eva Chen on Nourishing The Soul
Instagram’s Eva Chen talks about how Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 17 helps her switch between gears as she moves from a busy life in fashion to being a working mother to writing a successful series of children’s books.
Keep listening after the episode to hear the full track.
Sep 26, 2019 • 8min
17. Eddie Izzard on Elevation
Comedian and actor Eddie Izzard talks about how Debussy’s Clair de Lune became “comfort music” after her mother died when she was a child, and still elevates her from the noise and chaos of everyday life.
Sep 25, 2019 • 10min
16. J'nai Bridges on Forgiveness
Opera singer J'Nai Bridges discusses what she learned about forgiveness, memory and legacy from Henry Purcell's heartbreaking Dido's Lament.
Sep 24, 2019 • 11min
15. Joe Young on How We Listen
US Army reservist Joe Young talks about how Steve Reich's Music for 18 Musicians helped him through a period of deep depression when he was stationed in Texas and required to perform funeral rites for his fallen soldier colleagues.
Sep 23, 2019 • 9min
14. Robert Macfarlane on A Quiet Kind Of Miracle
Writer Robert Macfarlane reflects on the transporting fragility and beauty of Frédéric Chopin's Berceuse heard in a time of war.
Keep listening after the episode to hear the full track.
Sep 22, 2019 • 15min
13. Nicola Benedetti on Empathy
Violinist Nicola Benedetti reveals what hearing Beethoven’s Violin Concerto as a child taught her about listening, empathy and vulnerability.
Keep listening after the episode to hear the full track.
