Classical Music-Loving Animals to Bring a Smile to Your Face

Humans aren’t the only animals who love big orchestras! Check out our favorite videos of animals dancing along with, singing to, and enjoying classical music.

Don't Miss a Beat

Meet the Conductor Who’s Resurrecting Maria Callas (in Hologram Form)

With a laugh, Irish conductor and composer Eímear Noone describes herself: “My background is very traditional classical, and my love of all things shiny and new and technological brought me to this world where the orchestra meets technology.” By her description, she seems like a logical candidate to conduct a cutting-edge orchestral recital featuring a hologram Maria Callas.

‘He groped me’: Singer Says Opera’s Domingo Grabbed Breast

The glittering production was a high point of the Washington Opera’s 1999-2000 season: Jules Massenet’s Le Cid, about a legendary Spanish conqueror, starring a tenor legendary in his own right — Plácido Domingo, then the company’s artistic director. The opera, also being filmed for broadcast on public television, was unquestionably a career break for a 28-year-old singer named Angela Turner ...

Celebrate Art Song and Living Composers in Chicago and Beyond at this Three-Day Festival

In the eyes of tenor Nicholas Phan, living composers and the classical music genre of art song both face a similar obstacle: they’re often overlooked when it comes to programming and promoting classical music.

Working for a Living: 5 Studs Terkel Conversations for Labor Day

Over his almost 50-year career at WFMT, Studs Terkel continually amplified the voices of working people — the nurses, teachers, factory workers, cab drivers, custodians, air traffic controllers, and countless others.

Video: Watch Pianist George X. Fu Perform Works by Debussy and Beethoven

Audience members, listeners, and viewers alike were treated to a sensitive, dynamic Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert when pianist George Xiaoyuan Fu took the stage at the Chicago Cultural Center.

Playlist: Piano Études for Your Back to School Studies

Since there is a type of musical composition named for studying — études, for you non French-speakers — we have the perfect musical accompaniment while you hit the books.

“Kerry, it’s Norm!” — Remembering Norman Pellegrini

When this particular phone call came, it was usually trouble. What often followed was something like “I don't believe there’s a ‘cough’ in Prokofiev. Love you madly! Goodnight.” Norman Pellegrini, WFMT’s illustrious program director of 43 years, was always listening — vigilant, protective of the station’s values, always blunt in his criticism, and usually right.

Cecilia Bartoli talks, again, of US return

SALZBURG, Austria (AP) — There was a time a generation ago when Cecilia Bartoli’s many U.S. fans could count on seeing her regularly in opera or in concert. The Italian mezzo-soprano noted for her warm sound, dramatic intensity and dazzling coloratura agility had shot to fame in the early 1990s while still in her 20s on the strength of best-selling ...

Once Lost, Saint-Saëns Sonata Unearths a World of Artistic Possibilities

It’s not every day an artist can re-discover a piece of music by a master from the Romantic era. Yet this was the enviable privilege of cellist Juliette Herlin, who in 2017 gave one of the first performances since 1919 of a lost cello sonata by Camille Saint-Saëns.

Playlist: Classical Music From Composers’ School Days

Just because the school year is right around the corner doesn’t mean that you have to stop playing (or writing) music. As proof, here are 16 pieces from composers written when they were still students!

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