"Classical Music Happy Hour" podcast shows a different side of classical music

NPR | By Mallory Yu,

Rob Schmitz, Tinbete Ermyas

Published April 19, 2026 at 4:01 PM CDT

NPR's Rob Schmitz speaks with pianist Emanuel Ax about his new podcast "Classical Music Happy Hour."

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Mallory Yu

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Rob Schmitz

Rob Schmitz is NPR's international correspondent based in Berlin, where he covers the human stories of a vast region reckoning with its past while it tries to guide the world toward a brighter future. From his base in the heart of Europe, Schmitz has covered Germany's levelheaded management of the COVID-19 pandemic, the rise of right-wing nationalist politics in Poland and creeping Chinese government influence inside the Czech Republic.

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Tinbete Ermyas

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