Veterans Day and Remembrance Day
November 10, 2024, 6:00 am
Following closely after the observance of All Saints, host Peter DuBois will share beautiful and poignant sacred choral and organ music to Veterans Day in the US, and Remembrance Day in the UK.
Sound the Shofar: An Ancient Instrument in Modern Times
September 5, 2021, 6:00 pm
Explores the instrument made from a ram's horn that is heard around the world during the Jewish High Holidays.
North Shore Chamber Music Festival 2021
August 31, 2021, 8:00 pm
Dave Schwan hosts a performance from the North Shore Chamber Music Festival, recorded in June, featuring the Piano Quintet by Franck and works by Moszkowski, Sarasate, and Fauré.
Ear Taxi Festival 2021 Preview
August 24, 2021, 8:00 pm
Presented by New Music Chicago, the Ear Taxi Festival will take place from mid-September to early October. This preview performance was recorded last week in Nichols Hall at the Music Institute of Chicago.
Happy 80th Birthday, Maestro Muti!
July 28, 2021, 6:00 am
Riccardo Muti turns 80 on July 28, 2021. In honor of the Maestro, WFMT is spending the entire day celebrating his legacy in Chicago music. We’ll share an array of recordings conducted by Muti, the CSO’s music director since 2010, and even a birthday greeting or two from some esteemed colleagues.
Rachmaninoff with the New Philharmonic
July 13, 2021, 8:00 pm
Pianist Wael Farouk, a faculty member at Roosevelt University, has performed internationally: in Europe, Colombia, Japan, and his native Egypt. An alumnus of the Manhattan School of Music and of Roosevelt, he visited the College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn in April, where he joined the New Philharmonic and conductor Kirk Muspratt for the virtuosic first three piano concertos by ...
Matthew Lipman Plays Bach and Telemann
July 11, 2021, 3:00 pm
From May 2021: violist Matthew Lipman and the Festival Orchestra perform Georg Philipp Telemann’s Viola Concerto in G Major and Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 6 at Nichols Concert Hall at the Music Institute of Chicago. Kerry Frumkin hosts.
Live From Ravinia: CSO’s Opening Night With Marin Alsop
July 9, 2021, 7:45 pm
WFMT joins forces with Ravinia and the CSO to bring listeners a live broadcast of the orchestra’s first 2021 appearance at the festival. Chief conductor and curator Marin Alsop and pianist Jorge Federico Osorio join the orchestra in music by Joan Tower, Mozart, and Beethoven. Kerry Frumkin hosts from the Ravinia Pavillion, and George Preston hosts an introduction with commentary ...
Music of the Baroque: A Celebration of 50 Years
June 28, 2021, 8:00 pm
Special: Join host Maggie Clennon Reberg as she celebrates the 50th anniversary of Chicago’s treasured early music ensemble Music of the Baroque.
Father’s Day on WFMT
June 20, 2021, 6:00 am
Celebrate Father’s Day with us! Share your dedications and requests in the form below (include keyword Father’s Day), and hosts Maggie Clennon Reberg and Oliver Camacho may select them for the air!
Let Freedom Ring: A Music Celebration of Juneteenth with Lara Downes
June 19, 2021, 3:00 pm
On a day when America commemorates the emancipation of enslaved people in our country, we welcome you to Let Freedom Ring: A Musical Celebration of Juneteenth with Lara Downes. Lara has been shining a bright light on the music and contributions of Black composers through her performances, podcasts and recordings. In this one-hour special, Lara takes listeners on a unique ...
Britten’s ‘War Requiem’
May 31, 2021, 8:00 pm
Kurt Masur conducts the New York Philharmonic in a performance of Britten’s seminal work. WFMT shares this recording in recognition of Memorial Day.
Memorial Day 2021 on WFMT
May 31, 2021, 6:00 am
All weekend long, WFMT will be honoring Memorial Day in music. Check out these highlights that you won't want to miss.
Mother’s Day on WFMT
May 9, 2021, 7:00 am
For Mother’s Day, Sunday, May 9, WFMT wants your dedications and musical requests. From 7:00 am to 5:00 pm, Maggie Clennon Reberg and Robbie Ellis will be playing your choice of music. Please submit your dedications or requests in one of two ways: Call the dedicated phone line to leave a voice message: (773) 279-2421 Submit your request on the Saturday ...
Barnatan Plays Mozart
April 7, 2021, 8:00 pm
Piano virtuoso Inon Barnatan joins music director Jane Glover and the Music of the Baroque Orchestra to perform Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 14. Mozart’s 29th Symphony and two works by Handel round out the performance, which was recorded live on March 29.
Apollo’s Fire – O Jerusalem!: Crossroads of Three Faiths
April 2, 2021, 8:00 pm
Grammy-winning Apollo’s Fire — led by founder and artistic director Jeannette Sorrell — presents a colorful, uplifting, and timely program for our time: a loving exploration of the three peoples whose music and faith brought such vibrancy to the Middle East and the Mediterranean. The sounds of oud, theorbo, medieval harp, vielle, qanun, strings, wooden flutes, and exotic percussion join ...
A Musical Feast for Passover With Itzhak Perlman
March 31, 2021, 9:00 pm
The springtime Jewish holiday of Passover is about liberation from slavery in ancient Egypt. In this one-hour special, superstar violinist Itzhak Perlman shares Passover music from many traditions, plus songs and memories from his childhood in Israel. The program draws its shape from the Passover seder and, like that ancient family ritual, the music gets progressively giddier as the show ...
Music and Conversation with Renée Fleming
March 29, 2021, 10:00 pm
Rebroadcasting a conversation Kerry Frumkin recorded with the distinguished soprano. Interspersed with highlights from Ms. Fleming’s numerous recordings. Co-produced by Louise Frank.
‘The Wreckers’ by Dame Ethel Smyth
March 25, 2021, 8:00 pm
Ethel Smyth (1858-1944) won a fair amount of renown in her native Britain, and elsewhere, in a time when women composers were generally looked down upon. She composed symphonies and a number of shorter works. Her 1906 opera, The Wreckers, was premiered in Leipzig – where she had studied at one time – but is based upon legends (and some history) ...
Artemisia Vocal Trio
March 22, 2021, 8:00 pm
A special performance by vocal trio Artemisia — entitled Sounds Like Us — recorded live on February 22, 2021. 8:00 pm.
Bach Birthday Bash!
March 21, 2021, 6:00 am
All day long, tune in to hear WFMT's celebration of Johann Sebastian Bach, who was born on this date in 1685.