If given the task to assemble a collection of music that reflects humanity, what would you choose?
Kick off the summer with WFMT for a free, lively, and fun live broadcast event on Chicago’s lakefront!
These composers' works and words are an inspiration!
Studs waltzes along with the Newberry Library’s latest dance exhibit
Natya Dance Theatre performers dance in Shakhti Chakra (Photo: Natya Dance Theatre) Studs Terkel was known for a lot of things-his Pulitzer Prize-winning oral histories, his seemingly boundless appetite for life, and even his penchant for cigars. One of Studs’ less well-remembered legacies, however, is his tremendous admiration for the art of dance. Studs hosted a plethora of dancers and ...
LISTEN | Late critic Andrew Patner celebrated during panel featuring Riccardo Muti and Alex Ross
Andrew Patner, WFMT’s late critic-at-large and music critic at the Chicago Sun-Times, passed away in February 2015, but his characteristic wit and wisdom live on in his book, A Portrait in Four Movements: The Chicago Symphony under Barenboim, Boulez, Haitink, and Muti. A Portrait in Four Movements, which was published in April 2019 by the University of Chicago Press, compiles ...
Studs Terkel turns 107, his archive turns 1
Studs Terkel, the gregarious, cigar-chomping oral historian, used to say of his birth that, “when the Titanic went down, I came up.” Born May 16, 1912, Studs hosted The Studs Terkel Program on WFMT for 45 years. During the run of his legendary interview show, Studs moved like a comet, illuminating great political and cultural upheavals of his time and ...
10 of the most creative, unconventional recordings of Schubert’s “Ave Maria” on the internet
Dogs can sing, too! Did you know Franz Schubert never actually wrote a piece called "Ave Maria?" The famed melody comes from Schubert’s “Ellens dritter Gesang,” or “Ellen’s Third Song,” which was part of his Opus 52 — a collection of seven songs based off Sir Walter Scott’s 1810 legendary epic poem, The Lady of the Lake. Scott's poem is set ...
Met Opera ticket sales improve slightly off 2015-16 low
NEW YORK (AP) — The Metropolitan Opera’s percentage of box office revenue rose slightly this season, giving general manager Peter Gelb hope the company’s finances have rebounded. Gelb said the season that ended Saturday saw 69 percent of box office revenue capacity realized, up from 67 percent in each of the previous two seasons and a low of 66 percent ...
Where Are the Women Composers? How Classical Music is Faring in the Fight for Gender Equality
American orchestras have taken some steps to represent women composers, but that there is still a long way to go. So says a newly-released study by Women’s Philharmonic Advocacy (WPA). This non-profit organization, which promotes the performance of works by women composers, analyzed the subscription series of 2019-20 seasons of the 21 American orchestras with the highest operating budgets. Here ...
North, South Korean musicians hold rare joint performance
SHANGHAI (AP) — South Korean violinist Won Hyung Joon took the stage, nodded once to his North Korean soprano partner, and placed his instrument on his shoulder. With a flick of the conductor’s wrist, she began to sing, and he began to bow — the beginning of a rare joint performance Sunday that they hope will bring the Koreas closer ...
WFMT takes NYC | Postcards from Host Peter van de Graaff
Another fantastic trip with Earthbound Expeditions and WFMT! Although we visited the Metropolitan Art Museum, The Frick and the Guggenheim and had a tour of the city and Ellis Island, the highlights, of course, were the amazing concerts: Richard Strauss’ Ein Heldenleben with the New York Philharmonic and Semyon Bychkov, paired with the gorgeous and rarely-heard Bruch Two-Piano Concerto with ...
Marvelous Music For Your Mother’s Day
Celebrate Mother's Day with this playlist of wonderful classical music inspired by and dedicated to mothers and grandmothers! And while you're celebrating, make sure to share a dedication for the special mothers in your life — we may read it on air!
Orchestra searching for child who charmed crowd with ‘wow!’
BOSTON (AP) — America’s oldest performing arts group is looking for a child who was literally wowed by a recent classical music concert. The Handel & Haydn Society had just finished its rendition of Mozart’s “Masonic Funeral” at Boston’s Symphony Hall on Sunday when a youngster blurted out loudly: “WOW!” Boston classical music station WCRB-FM captured the exuberance on audio. The crowd ...
