Kyle MacMillan, a contributor to Sounds & Stories, wrote this feature for Listen magazine. The article is reprinted below, with the magazine’s permission. It’s also available online (subscription required) at this link.

American classical music has witnessed great performances and memorable debuts, such as the 1944 premiere of Aaron Copland’s ballet Appalachian Spring, or 17-year-old pianist André Watts bursting into national prominence in 1963 with the New York Philharmonic as a substitute for soloist Glenn Gould. But some moments were magical enough to enrapture the public at large and become part of the fabric of the American cultural landscape. Here are 10 of them: