Anastasia Tsioulcas
Anastasia Tsioulcas is a reporter on NPR's Arts desk. She is intensely interested in the arts at the intersection of culture, politics, economics and identity, and primarily reports on music. Recently, she has extensively covered gender issues and #MeToo in the music industry, including backstage tumult and alleged secret deals in the wake of sexual misconduct allegations against megastar singer Plácido Domingo; gender inequity issues at the Grammy Awards and the myriad accusations of sexual misconduct against singer R. Kelly.
On happier days, Tsioulcas has celebrated the life of the late Aretha Franklin, traveled to Havana to profile musicians and dancers, revealed the hidden artistry of an Indian virtuoso who spent 60 years in her apartment and brought listeners into the creative process of composers Steve Reich and Terry Riley.
Tsioulcas was formerly a reporter and producer for NPR Music, where she covered breaking news in the music industry as well as a wide range of musical genres and artists. She has also produced episodes for NPR Music's much-lauded Tiny Desk concert series, and has hosted live concerts from venues like the Metropolitan Museum of Art and New York's (Le) Poisson Rouge. She also commissioned and produced several world premieres on behalf of NPR Music, including a live event that brought together 350 musicians to debut a new work together. As a video producer, she created high-profile video shorts for NPR Music, including performances by cellist Yo-Yo Ma in a Brooklyn theatrical props warehouse and pianist Yuja Wang in an icy-cold Steinway & Sons piano factory.
Tsioulcas has also reported from north and west Africa, south Asia, and across Europe for NPR and other outlets. Prior to joining NPR in 2011, she was widely published as a writer and critic on both classical and world music, and was the North America editor for Gramophone Magazine and the classical music columnist for Billboard.
Born in Boston and based in New York, Tsioulcas is a lapsed classical violinist and violist (shoutout to all the overlooked violists!). She graduated from Barnard College, Columbia University with a B.A. in comparative religion.
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Early rock recording executive Art Rupe has died at 104. He founded Specialty Records, which launched the careers of Little Richard and Sam Cooke, and helped make R&B popular with white audiences.
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Known for his sonic brashness and unyielding artistic vision, Birtwistle was awarded a British knighthood in 1988. He was one of the U.K.'s most prominent composers for decades. -
The Ukrainian springtime tradition of intricately decorating eggs has taken on new urgency during the war with Russia. Now, people are using this art to fundraise and bring awareness for Ukraine. -
In a year of particularly wide-ranging nominees and competitive fields, bandleader Jon Batiste and the duo Silk Sonic came away with big prizes. Ukrainian president Zelenskyy also made an appearance. -
The longtime drummer for the megaplatinum band has died. On Saturday, Colombian officials released a statement, saying they found evidence of 10 types of substances in Hawkins' body.
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The Artistic Freedom Initiative contends that consolidated state power under right-wing Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and artists' self-censorship has led to an "existential crisis." -
Many WNBA players head overseas to play during the off-season, where they can be paid much more than they earn in the U.S. Griner, who was arrested for allegedly transporting drugs, is one of them. -
While Russian artists and institutions grapple with how they are viewed internationally, American cultural organizations make what amounts to foreign policy decisions. -
The famed New York opera house said Thursday that the soprano will not appear there this season or next, after she declined to distance herself from Russian President Vladimir Putin. -
A number of Russian stars from the performing arts world are using their voices and international platforms to denounce the invasion of Ukraine and speak up against Russian President Vladimir Putin.
