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Miles Hoffman

Morning Edition music commentator Miles Hoffman is the author of The NPR Classical Music Companion, now in its tenth printing from the Houghton Mifflin Company. Before joining Morning Edition in 2002, Hoffman entertained and enlightened the nationwide audience of NPR's Performance Today every week for 13 years with his musical commentary, "Coming to Terms," a listener-friendly tour through the many foreign words and technical terms peculiar to the world of classical music.

A nationally renowned violist, Hoffman is violist and artistic director of the American Chamber Players, with whom he regularly tours the United States and Canada. With the American Chamber Players he has recorded works of Mozart, Bruch, Bloch, Stravinsky, and Rochberg for a series of compact discs produced by the Library of Congress and distributed internationally on the Koch International Classics Label. He has also appeared as a soloist with many orchestras around the country, performing a broad repertoire that ranges from baroque to contemporary compositions, and he has been a featured lecturer for orchestras, universities, chamber music series, festivals, and various other organizations.

Hoffman is a graduate of Yale University and the Juilliard School. In 2003 he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Centenary College of Louisiana in recognition of his achievements as a performer and educator.

After winning awards in the National Arts Club and Washington International Competitions, he made his New York solo recital debut in 1979 at the 92nd Street Y, and has since played recitals in many cities in the U.S. and abroad. He gave the first American performance of Krzysztof Penderecki's "Cadenza" for solo viola and the first Washington area performance of the Penderecki Viola Concerto, and he has had works written for him by composers Bruce Saylor, Max Raimi, Roger Ames, and Seymour Barab, among others. In 1982 he founded the Library of Congress Summer Chamber Festival, which he directed for nine years, and which led to the formation of the American Chamber Players.

Hoffman presents children's programs, classes, and master classes in schools and universities around the U.S. when traveling as a soloist and on his tours with the American Chamber Players.

  • The Juilliard School celebrates the 100th anniversary of its charter, marking a century of preparing fine musicians and performers. The school was the first American institution to rise to the level of its European counterparts.
  • Musician and writer Miles Hoffman says the great composer, born 234 years ago this week in Bonn, Germany, is still revered for his forceful music — and admired for writing a share of it after losing his hearing.
  • September marks the 350th anniversary of the first Jewish settlement in America. Music commentator Miles Hoffman says one way to celebrate is to listen to a new collection from the Milken Archive of American Jewish Music.
  • Bolero is perhaps best known from the 1979 movie 10 soundtrack. But Maurice Ravel didn't strictly have romance in mind when he composed the classic piece, music commentator Miles Hoffman says.
  • Music commentator Miles Hoffman, a nationally renowned violist, and NPR's Steve Inskeep visit the Library of Congress' small, priceless collection of Stradivarius instruments. Hoffman plays some of the rarest instruments in the collection, including a violin called the "Betts," crafted in 1704 by Antonio Stradivari.
  • Vladimir Horowitz, born 100 years ago today, was considered by music critics to be the greatest pianist of his time. Like magic, his fingers would fly over the keys, leaving audiences awestruck. On Morning Edition, music commentator Miles Hoffman talks with NPR's Bob Edwards about what made Horowitz such a great musician.
  • It's hard to imagine a graduation ceremony without Pomp and Circumstance. Music commentator Miles Hoffman stops by Morning Edition to explore the famous processional, which was by Sir Edward Elgar (left), and other marches of the season.
  • Romeo and Juliet's love story has inspired composers throughout the ages. On this Valentine's Day, commentator Miles Hoffman takes NPR's Bob Edwards on a romantic journey through the music influenced by Shakespeare's tragic couple.
  • On Morning Edition hear about the perfect accompaniment for preparing the holiday turkey. Music commentator Miles Hoffman joins the show to discuss pizzicato and the joys of plucking stringed instruments.