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For those who can't wait to hear songs from Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova's follow-up to Once, the pair played six new songs before performing the first-ever Tiny Desk Concert encore.

Jessye Norman's voice is built for Strauss' final songs, which sound at once intimate and grand. With impeccable control over phrasing, she sings long-breathed lines at the softest volume, yet with full tone.

Country singer George Strait is surpassed only by Elvis Presley and The Beatles in the number of platinum-selling albums he's had. Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews his new album, Twang.

Los Amigos Invisibles' members are true originals. For nearly 20 years, the Venezuelan sextet has been combining elements of funk, disco and jazz with Latin sounds to create a unique and groovy sound. In a session from WXPN, the band performs material from its new album, Commercial.

In July, thousands of NPR's All Songs Considered listeners cast votes for their favorite songs of 2009's first half. Bob Boilen, the show's host, discusses the results and plays some of listeners' favorite songs with NPR's Melissa Block.

Kurtis Blow, one of the first superstars of rap, celebrates his 50th birthday Sunday. His 1980 megahit "The Breaks" introduced to the world a new sound that would come to be called "rap." NPR's Guy Raz called him up in Burlington, Vt., where he is currently on tour, to find out what he has been doing lately.

The Canadian pianist's latest release is a collection of "easy" sonatas by Joseph Haydn. With lyrical proclamations and high-minded fun, Hamelin reveals Haydn's mastery of melody, harmony and form.

Opera places such a high premium on voices that it seems inconceivable to have one without them. Bassist and composer John Patitucci's mesmerizing "Scenes from an Opera," however, evokes opera's suspense and grandeur while eschewing obvious stereotypes — even doing away with vocals altogether.

In the U.S., the British folk scene has never been as well-known as its counterparts in rock and pop, but David Gray is changing that. For more than a decade, this wordsmith out of Manchester has been laying down album after album of bright folk music. Hear him in a session from WXPN.

NPR Music has assembled a blue-ribbon panel of Madonna fans to offer memories, commentary and analysis of highlights from the Celebration collection.