Big Ears artists Lara Downes and Vijay Iyer are both celebrated for expanding the boundaries of classical and improvised music—and for using their art to ask deeper questions about culture, identity, and connection. In this powerful interview on Downes’ NPR series Amplify, recorded live at Big Ears 2025, they explore what it means to truly listen—to each other, to history, and to the world around us.
Their dialogue echoes the spirit of Big Ears: adventurous, thoughtful, and rooted in the belief that music can be a force for transformation.
As Downes says, “listening is how we build bridges.”
