A departure this week on Need to Know. Jay and I leave politics behind and indulge in a guiltless pleasure — great music. With Jay as our guide, we dip into a sampling of some of the greatest compositions in the Western canon. Jay, who knows everything, introduces us to Thomas Tallis (perfection!) and of course we pay homage to Bach (“greater than Shakespeare?” muses Jay), Schubert, Mozart (who, as a biographer put it, “seemed to shake masterpieces out of his sleeves”), Beethoven and many more. The excerpts are all too brief, but enough to whet the appetite. Enjoy!