Explore New Orleans-Style Jazz
New Orleans is at the nexus of cultures: influences from the African diaspora, from France, from Native American communities, and many more.
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Listen to a Dramatic Reading of Pianist Khatia Buniatishvili’s Artist Bio To End All Artist Bios
If you’re a music lover, you’ve likely read your fair share of artist biographies in program notes, liner notes, or artist websites. But you’ve never read an artist bio quite like Khatia Buniatishvili’s, which contains choice lines such as, “nothing can be imposed on this young lady of the air whose wing-beats pollinate works and who sprinkles a musical cloud ...
Register Now to Visit the WFMT Archives October 6-8, 2016 During Chicago Open Archives
The Chicago Area Archivists (CAA) is hosting its second annual Chicago Open Archives event this weekend. From October 6-8, 2016, over thirty local archives, research centers, and other institutions will open their doors to let the public explore their holdings, and to engage with local archivists, researchers, librarians, and curators. WFMT is proud to be included among the many institutions ...
New Yorker Illustrator Tom Bachtell Talks Trump, Clinton, and Obama
Even if you don’t know the name Tom Bachtell, you know his work. For over 20 years, the Chicago-based illustrator has been a regular contributor to The New Yorker, which includes his drawings and caricatures in “The Talk of the Town” each week. You may also have seen Bachtell’s art in other publications including The New York Times, The Wall ...
Playlist: 15 Classical Works to Help You Fall into Fall
Need some music to help you warm up this fall? We've got the perfect soundtrack.
How Western Opera Changed Singing in Chinese Opera
If you have ever heard Peking opera, you might think that one of the only things this style of singing has in common with Western opera singing is that they both contain the word "opera."
Video: How A 440 Became Standard Concert Pitch
Surprisingly, Chicago's Ravenswood neighborhood is at the center of this musical standard.
Playlist: 10 Lesser-Known Violin Concertos You Should Hear Right Now
For every cherished Beethoven or Tchaikovsky violin concerto, there's a concerto by Szymanowski or a Berwald that deserves some more love!
Is Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto in D “Unplayable”? Violinist Jennifer Koh Explains…
Violinist Jennifer Koh on what makes this piece such an enduring favorite, her own journey with the piece, and why the concerto was once considered “unplayable.”
15 Sopranos Singing One of the Craziest Coloratura Arias
One of the most difficult coloratura arias in the entire operatic repertoire is popularly known as "The Doll Song."
Philip Glass: “What’s Most Misunderstood About My Music”
Philip Glass is simultaneously one of the best known and most misunderstood composers of our time. Though he has many fans, he also has many critics.