Celebrate Chicago’s vibrant classical music scene.
Music in Chicago gives you a front-row seat to some of the best classical music concerts presented throughout the Chicago area. Every day in the noon hour, Lisa Flynn features recent performances from the city’s soloists, orchestras, choirs, bands and chamber ensembles. The Elgin Symphony Orchestra, St. Charles Singers, Rachel Barton Pine, Dover Quartet, Civic Orchestra, Midwest Mozart Festival, and Chicago Latino Music Festival are among the many artists and organizations that have been heard on this weekly program.
WFMT is always looking for new groups and musicians to feature on Music in Chicago. If you or your ensemble would like to be considered for our program, audition online to let us know more about you and to send us a recording.
January 17 – January 21, 2022
January 21, 2022
On this week's Music in Chicago features, we'll highlight the Chicago Sinfonietta, the Waller and Maxwell Guitar Duo, and William Ferris Chorale. Also join us for a live broadcast by the Avalon String Quartet in the Dame Myra Hess Series and an Impromptu encore with Anthony Molinaro and Howard Levy.
Chicago Latino Music Festival: Guitarist Iván Reséndiz
December 14, 2018
Originally from Mexico City, Iván Reséndiz began his study of classical guitar at the age of sixteen. He has performed around the world in events such as competitions, university courses, and concerts. Reséndiz was chosen to represent Mexico as one of the ten international finalists in the World Guitar Competition in April 2012 in Serbia. Since 2011, he has directed ...
Bach’s Christmas Oratorio with Music of the Baroque
December 14, 2018, 12:00 pm
From the heaven-storming timpani of the opening chorus, the Bach's Christmas Oratorio unfolds with moving arias and inspiring chorales — performed with the power and passion by Chicago's Music of the Baroque.
Music from 17th-Century Mexico with the Newberry Consort
December 7, 2018
Directed by David Douglass and early music vocalist Ellen Hargis, the Newberry Consort plumbs the Newberry Library’s vast music collection and assembles a star-studded roster of local and international artists to offer world-class performances of music from the 13th to the 18th centuries…and occasionally beyond. In April 2016, the Consort performed music of Juan de Lienas, a composer who was ...
Pianist Joseph Kingma Plays Liszt
December 7, 2018
Pianist Joseph Kingma is quickly gaining a reputation as a virtuoso in the grand style. Known for both the beauty of his sound and the emotional intensity of his performances, he garners invitations from orchestras and performing venues across the country. Kingma was the first prize winner of the American Liszt Society’s inaugural Franz Liszt International Piano Competition held at ...
Chicago Latino Music Festival: KAIA String Quartet and Fareed Haque
November 23, 2018
Guitar virtuoso Fareed Haque and the KAIA String Quartet, a rising star among American chamber ensembles, performed music from their new album on October 24, 2018, at the Old Town School of Folk Music. They presented works by Latin American masters, from Astor Piazzolla to Eduardo Angulo and Leo Brouwer, from Afro-Cuban to tango, from the Caribbean and Mexico to ...
Music of the Baroque Performs Handel
November 23, 2018
Under the direction of internationally acclaimed British conductor Jane Glover, Music of the Baroque occupies a special place in the rich cultural life of Chicago. Long recognized as one of the region’s top classical groups, MOB’s professional chorus and orchestra is one of the leading ensembles in the country devoted to the performance of eighteenth-century works. In September 2018, MOB’s ...
Orion Ensemble Plays Schubert
November 23, 2018
Recognized as one of Chicago’s finest chamber music groups, the Orion Ensemble has been performing since 1992. With the possibilities inherent in its unique combination of instruments — piano, string trio and clarinet — Orion offers exciting interpretations of standard repertoire, introduces audiences to rarely performed masterpieces, and inspires composers with commissions for new works. The ensemble opened its 2018/29 ...
Callisto Quartet Plays Mozart
November 9, 2018
Grand prize winners of the 2018 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, the Callisto Quartet was formed in 2016 at the Cleveland Institute of Music, bringing together four dedicated and passionate musicians who share a love for chamber music. The quartet was a prizewinner at the 2018 Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition and is the only American quartet selected to ...
Chicago a cappella Celebrates Chicago History in Song
October 19, 2018
Chicago a cappella opened their 25th anniversary season with a musical tribute to their home city titled “Chicago, Chicago.” Multi-Emmy winner Geoffrey Baer of WTTW served as narrator alongside vivid projections illustrating Chicago’s past and present. Prepared by Principal Music Director John William Trotter, the 10-voice ensemble guided audiences through a Chicago time capsule.
Elgin Symphony Orchestra Plays Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite
October 19, 2018
Named “Orchestra of the Year” an unprecedented four times by the Illinois Council of Orchestras and winner of a 2010 Elgin Image Award, the Elgin Symphony Orchestra is now in its 67th season. The orchestra is respected for exceptional performances, innovative education programs, and community outreach initiatives. The ESO’s 2018-19 season opened with a program led by Music Director Andrew ...
Thirsty Ears Festival 2018
October 19, 2018
In August 2018, Access Contemporary Music presented the third annual Thirsty Ears Festival, Chicago’s only classical music street festival. It featured two days of stellar soloists and ensembles, alongside craft beer, food trucks, vendor booths and kid-friendly activities. Pianist Ariella Mak-Neiman presented a program including music of Bach, Debussy, and Brahms. Members of the Chicago-based Ursa Ensemble played Schubert’s Violin Sonatina ...
Pacifica Quartet Plays Mendelssohn at Ravinia
October 12, 2018
Recognized for its virtuosity, exuberant performance style, and often-daring repertory choices, over the past two decades the Pacifica Quartet has achieved international recognition as one of the finest chamber ensembles performing today. The members of the quartet live in Bloomington, Indiana, where they serve as quartet-in-residence and full-time faculty members at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music. This past summer, the ...
Violinist Pinchas Zukerman and Pianist Angela Cheng at Ravinia
October 5, 2018
With a celebrated career encompassing five decades, Pinchas Zukerman reigns as one of today’s most sought after and versatile musicians – violin and viola soloist, conductor, and chamber musician. He is renowned as a virtuoso, admired for the expressive lyricism of his playing, singular beauty of tone, and impeccable musicianship, which can be heard throughout his discography of over 100 ...
Chicago Chamber Choir
October 5, 2018
Founded in 1996, the Chicago Chamber Choir is passionately committed to creating a moving experience for audiences by performing exceptional choral music that celebrates the unlimited power of the human voice. The choir’s 40 singers come from a variety of backgrounds. Some are professional musicians, others are teachers, and still others have careers in fields as diverse as law and medicine. They are ...
Jorge Federico Osorio at Ravinia Festival
September 28, 2018
Pianist Jorge Federico Osorio has been lauded throughout the world for his superb musicianship, powerful technique, vibrant imagination, and deep passion. Highly revered in his native Mexico, Osorio resides in the Chicago area, where he serves on the faculty at Roosevelt University’s Chicago College of Performing Arts. He performed a wide-ranging recital on July 26, 2018, at Ravinia’s Martin Theater. Osorio’s ...
Miriam Fried & Friends at Ravinia Festival
September 21, 2018
Violinist Miriam Fried and friends took the stage at Ravinia’s Martin Theatre to perform a program of chamber works by Mozart and Schubert. The program from June 28, 2018, marked the 30th anniversary of Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute, the conservatory at America’s oldest summer music festival. Each season, talented young musicians from around the world come together at RSMI to make music ...
Rembrandt Chamber Musicians Play Milhaud
September 21, 2018
Founded in the fall of 1990, the Rembrandt Chamber Musicians features six of the most highly accomplished musicians in the Chicago area, including principal members of the Lyric Opera of Chicago orchestra. The ensemble’s expansive repertoire, ranging from historically informed performances of Baroque classics to contemporary works by local composers, has consistently garnered high praise and recognition. Hear the Rembrandt Chamber ...
Chopin in Paris at the North Shore Chamber Music Festival
September 14, 2018
Opening night of the 2018 North Shore Chamber Music Festival at Northbrook’s Village Presbyterian Church was titled “Chopin in Paris.” The concert on June 13 featured a chamber version of Chopin’s First Piano Concerto. The performers were William Wolfram, piano; Vadim Gluzman and Lisa Shihoten, violins; Masumi Per Rostad, viola; Ani Aznavoorian, cello.
Violinist Paul Huang Plays Dvořák
September 7, 2018
Violinist Paul Huang made his Grant Park Music Festival debut this summer, playing Barber’s Violin Concerto. While in Chicago, the recipient of the prestigious 2015 Avery Fisher Career Grant and the 2017 Lincoln Center Award for Emerging Artists returned to WFMT’s Fay and Daniel Levin Performance Studio to play on the Impromptu series. Huang was joined by Chicago pianist Marta Aznavoorian.
Baroque Splendors with the Pilgrim Chamber Players
September 7, 2018
During the 2017/18 season, the Pilgrim Chamber Players presented a concert of mostly Baroque music for the first time. Harpsichordist Jory Vinikour was joined by musicians who are Baroque specialists performing Bach’s great Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 and a Trio Sonata. Vinikour presented a mini recital of harpsichord solos by the French composer Jean Philippe Rameau. The program also included a rarely heard ...
