Live broadcasts from the WFMT studios with some of today’s best artists.
Our live afternoon series of “impromptu” music and conversation features some of today’s most sought-after musicians from around the world. Previous guests on Impromptu have included cellist Yo-Yo Ma, mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato, and author Salman Rushdie. Other guests have included Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, tenor Joseph Calleja, violinist Joshua Bell, and the vocal ensemble Chanticleer. Broadcast live from the Levin Performance Studio at WFMT, the program also features local performers who are vital to Chicago’s vibrant musical culture.
Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center
During this festive Impromptu from 2015, members of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center performed a pair of the great Brandenburg Concertos by Bach: No. 5 in D major, BWV 1050, and No. 6 in B-flat major, BWV 1051.
US Coast Guard Saxophone Quartet
The United States Coast Guard Band Saxophone Quartet visited WFMT when they were in Chicago for the 2017 Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic. This Impromptu includes music for the holiday season.
Celebrating Beethoven
Today, in honor of the 252nd anniversary of Beethoven’s birth, Impromptu presents two pieces by the iconic German composer. Enjoy historic WFMT performance by The Orion String Quartet and the Goldstein Peled Fiterstein Trio.
Chanticleer
Chanticleer is known around the world for the seamless blend of its twelve male voices ranging from countertenor to bass. In December 2012, Carl Grapentine welcomed this “orchestra of voices” for an Impromptu filled with music of the season.
Pablo Sáinz Villegas, guitar
The soul of the Spanish guitar runs in the blood of Pablo Sáinz Villegas. This charismatic, intimate performance took place in WFMT’s Levin Studio in 2016.
