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"Fear Country" is the sort of polemic that would come off as clumsy in lesser hands, but singer/producer T Bone Burnett smartly juices the song with sinister, shuffling rhythms that somehow maintain the intensity while taking the edge off.

The organ has been described, along with the clock, as the most complex of all mechanical instruments developed before the Industrial Revolution. Miles Hoffman unravels the complexities and the mysteries of the musical giant.

Toumani Diabate is a storyteller and musician known for his talents with the African harp, or, Kora. He teamed up with producer Nick Gold of Buena Vista Social Club fame to produce a CD that explores the varied styles found in Mali.

The hook-heavy foundation of The Format's Dog Problems is aided by involvement from an assortment of power-pop greats. The album does a terrific job of paying homage to the band's pop elders — Brian Wilson, Harry Nilsson and others — while keeping its sound refreshingly current.

The song "Promiscuousl" has been everywhere lately: the top of the Billboard charts; the No. 1 iTunes download; and all across the radio dial. The song is a dialogue between singer Nelly Furtado and the producer and musician Timbaland. Their flirting conversation in the song generated a conversation among several of the young men and women at Youth Radio.

For listeners suffering from an overdose of cerebral rock, The Grates may be the perfect antidote. Undeniably catchy, the two-minute sugar rush of "19-20-20" is suitable to inspire hordes of bedroom dancers.

The Budapest Festival Orchestra performs "Improvisations on Gypsy Music," joined by Hungarian folk musicians. And members of the Keller String Quartet perform selections from Bartok's 44 Duos for Two Violins, based on folk tunes.

At this summer's Aspen Music Festival, pianist Wu Han and cellist David Finckel open with a short piece by Alexander Borodin. Then, violist Masao Kawasaki and violinist Lev Polyakin join Finckel and Han onstage for the closing movement of the Piano Quartet by William Walton.

The concert poster for Judy Garland's 1961 performance at Carnegie Hall proclaimed her the "world's greatest entertainer." Rufus Wainwright is certainly less well-known than Garland, but he's retaining the set list and the superlative billing for his recreation of that legendary show.

Although the Fifth Symphony is considered one of Beethoven's greatest musical works, at the time of its premiere his contemporaries were still smitten with his Third Symphony (the "Eroica"). Understanding of the piece grew as audiences began to associate it with Beethoven's life and musical style.