VIDEO: Go behind the scenes with the inimitable What Makes It Great? host Rob Kapilow! Take an exclusive tour of his pre-concert routine, and find out what REALLY “makes it great”!
Hear musical masterpieces with new ears!
What Makes It Great? host Rob Kapilow "is a winning combination of Leonard Bernstein and Bill Nye the Science Guy, an infectiously enthusiastic explainer of the inner mechanical workings of music, that most abstract of all arts." – New York Times
The New York Times recommends Rob Kapilow's LISTENING FOR AMERICA: Inside the Great American Songbook From Gershwin to Sondheim as one of 6 New Paperbacks to Read This Week!
The 2022-23 performances explore music by George Gershwin, Benjamin Britten, Leoš Janáček, W.A. Mozart, and Carole King and Joni Mitchell. Featured artists include pianist Terrence Wilson, Accord Treble Choir, Special Music School Treble Choir, Ulysses Quartet, Manhattan School of Music Sinfonia and Broadway star Brittain Ashford.
Host Rob Kapilow unravels and explores great musical masterpieces with audiences and performers on stage, asking what makes great music great? He takes listeners inside the music, unraveling, slowing down and recomposing key passages to hear why a piece is so extraordinary. Next, the piece is performed in its entirety, followed by a Q&A with the audience and performers. Characterized by his unique ability to create an “aha” moment for his audiences and collaborators, whatever their level of musical sophistication or naiveté, Kapilow’s work brings music into people’s lives: opening new ears to musical experiences and helping people to listen actively rather than just hear.