Nov 18th, 2008 · From the cold and bitter terrain of Iceland hails the warming voice of Emiliana Torrini. Best known for her work on the Lord of the Rings soundtrack, Torrini returns with a more bare bones record with with trip-hop flourishes. She performs material from Me and Armini in a session from WXPN.
Sep 13th, 2007 · Before The Lord of the Rings made him an international superstar, Ian McKellen was known as the finest Shakespearean actor of his generation. Now he's touring the United States in the Everest of classical roles -- Shakespeare's tormented King Lear.
Mar 17th, 2006 · After proving immensely popular on page and screen, The Lord of the Rings is about to take another leap. When J.R.R. Tolkien's epic trilogy of fantasy novels makes its debut as a stage production in Toronto, audiences will hear Hobbits and elves sing. Just don't call it a musical, its producer says.
Feb 17th, 2006 · Night Watch is Russia's highest grossing film ever, taking in more money in three weeks than the Lord of the Rings finale did in two months. The movie takes a Hollywood-style fantasy thriller about the battle between supernatural forces of good and evil and infuses it with a homegrown Russian soul.
Dec 12th, 2005 · The Chronicles of Narnia, based on the hugely popular children's book by C.S. Lewis, won this weekend's box office battle, bringing in over $67 million. Madeleine Brand speaks with Alan Jacobs, a professor at Wheaton College and author of The Narnian: The Life and Imagination of C.S. Lewis, about the relationship between the Narnia author and J.R.R. Tolkien, author of The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Both men were devout Christians, and their books share many Christian themes and allegories.
Nov 19th, 2005 · A composer suffering from a hearing problem mimics it in a new musical piece called Tinnitus Quartet. Jeffrey Freymann-Weyr talks with composer Brent Michael Davids about the constant ringing in his ear -- and how he's translated it musically for his audience.
Oct 13th, 2005 · Archaeologists have discovered further evidence that a race of tiny humans lived on a remote Indonesian island as recently as 12,000 years ago. Alex Chadwick talks to Ira Flatow, host of NPR's Talk of the Nation Science Friday, about this latest "little" archaeological discovery. The smaller-than-average humans remind some of the Hobbit characters central to the plot of the Lord of the Rings book and movie trilogy.
Oct 9th, 2005 · Howard Shore follows up his Oscar-winning soundtrack to Lord of the Rings with a more complex take on the good vs. evil battle in David Cronenberg's A History of Violence. The composer discusses his work with Liane Hansen.