One day Megan Hickey had a vision and was soon teaching herself how to play a 60-year-old lap-steel guitar. Her band, the Last Town Chorus, was born. She spoke with Rebecca Milzoff.

These concerts, featuring anything but run-of- the-mill instruments, highlight the vivid spectrum of sound outside the orchestra’s realm.

Students at the country’s best conservatories, local and otherwise, play the city’s big halls.

Is City Ballet’s youth movement a danger or a delight?

Newlyweds reminisce.

Greatest registry hits (and not so great).

The Met’s new production of Il Trittico offers a delightful trifecta of Puccini—and does it with two intermissions, making the evening a little less of a chore. A guide to the fresh staging of the triptych.

They’re all part of ongoing series, but these performances stand out.

Performances enriched by friendships, past and present.

These talented vocal groups prove early music can enlighten and entertain as well as any symphony.