Composer, violinist, and vocalist Caroline Shaw shares memories of playing Mendelssohn’s “Octet for Strings” as a music student and how it helped spark a lifelong love for chamber music.

Hanna Arie-Gaifman on Bach and Survival

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.