What's the saying — the more things change, the more they stay the same? It seems that's how it goes in the ways we make music. MIT futurologist Tod Machover rethinks traditional instruments, coming up with new things like the hyperpiano; Pianist Michael Chertock gives it a go in an explosive excerpt below. And the piano itself, once considered a hi-tech invention, wasn't yet on the market when Handel published his keyboard suites. Lisa Smirnova makes a strong case for Handel's terrific harpsichord music using a modern Steinway. And then there's the original instrument — the human voice. For this visit to Weekends on All Things Considered, I opted for both adult and kids' voices — the exquisitely trained Tapiola Children's Choir sings music by compatriot Einojuhani Rautavaara, and Dmitri Hvorostovsky, with his voluptuous and velvety baritone, sings a Rachmaninov romance for Valentine's Day.
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