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The Austin 100: Lambert

Lambert.
Andreas Hornoff
/
Courtesy of the artist
Lambert.

Hometown: Berlin, Germany

Genre: Classical

Why We're Excited: Neoclassical pianist and composer Lambert insists on performing his evocative, cinematic instrumentals while shrouding his face in a Sardinian mask — a move he says gives him freedom to avoid self-consciousness and tap into greater creativity. It also looks awesome, and speaks to Lambert's willingness to subvert expectations: He's released dance remixes of his works and collaborated with bands, singers and electronic musicians, while always returning to a solo career steeped in stately beauty.

Listen to Lambert's "Vienna"

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Stephen Thompson is a writer, editor and reviewer for NPR Music, where he speaks into any microphone that will have him and appears as a frequent panelist on All Songs Considered. Since 2010, Thompson has been a fixture on the NPR roundtable podcast Pop Culture Happy Hour, which he created and developed with NPR correspondent Linda Holmes. In 2008, he and Bob Boilen created the NPR Music video series Tiny Desk Concerts, in which musicians perform at Boilen's desk. (To be more specific, Thompson had the idea, which took seconds, while Boilen created the series, which took years. Thompson will insist upon equal billing until the day he dies.)