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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In his newest work, Falling Out of Time, composer Osvaldo Golijov explores a painful subject — the death of a child. He was inspired by a unique literary work by Israeli writer David Grossman. -
As Los Angeles experiences a significant increase in new COVID-19 infections, the Recording Academy and CBS have decided to postpone the annual music awards until March 14. -
The French jazz pianist was best known for his 1975 collaboration with classical flutist Jean-Pierre Rampal. It stayed on the Billboard charts for more than ten years. -
The actress and producer was 82 years old. Her publicist announced Wednesday she died of complications related to the coronavirus. -
The musician FKA twigs has filed suit against her ex-boyfriend, actor Shia LaBeouf, alleging that he had physically and mentally abused her. She says another ex-girlfriend has made similar claims. -
The television host announced Thursday that she has tested positive for the coronavirus but is "feeling fine." Her talk show has been put on hold until January. -
Universal Music Publishing Group announced Monday that it had bought the lucrative publishing rights to over 600 Bob Dylan songs. The deal is worth a reported $300 million. -
The actors and their supporters say that the union is dropping nearly 12,000 people — many over the age of 65 — from its health care plan at the height of the coronavirus pandemic. -
It is the first major jazz club in New York City to shut its doors permanently due to the coronavirus crisis. Its owners announced the club's closing on Wednesday, after more than two decades. -
Audio engineer Bruce Swedien, who shaped the sound of several albums with Michael Jackson and Quincy Jones, died Monday at age 86. He also collaborated with artists from B.B. King to Jennifer Lopez.
