Special: Ryan Opera Center Rising Stars in Concert
May 12, 2024, 6:00 pm
A showcase performance by The Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center 2023/24 Ensemble with the Lyric Opera Orchestra conducted by Stefano Sarzani.
A Tribute to Radu Lupu
May 3, 2022, 8:00 pm
Hear the exceptional pianist Radu Lupu, who recently died at age 76, in some of his signature repertoire: concertos by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Robert Schumann.
From the Studs Terkel Radio Archive: Terezín Chamber Music with Mark Ludwig
April 26, 2022, 8:00 pm
In this program for Holocaust Remembrance Day, WFMT looks back on Studs Terkel's 1991 interview with Mark Ludwig on music from composers interned at the Terezín concentration camp during World War II.
Music and Conversation with Angèle Dubeau
April 19, 2022, 8:00 pm
On the 25th anniversary of the Canadian string ensemble La Pietà with the group’s founder, violinist Angèle Dubeau.
Journey to Freedom
April 12, 2022, 8:00 pm
Solomiya Ivakhiv, the accomplished concert violinist, chamber musician, and educator, shares a highly personal playlist of works by composers from her native Ukraine.
Music and Conversation with Dame Jane Glover
April 5, 2022, 8:00 pm
A conversation with the legendary British conductor, author, and one of the foremost interpreters of 18th century music. In addition to numerous prestigious conducting assignments, Dame Jane Glover was music director of Glyndebourne Touring Opera (1981-1985), artistic director of London Mozart Players (1984-1991), Director of Opera at the Royal Academy of Music (2009-2016), and has served as music director of ...
Barbara Hannigan at the Philharmonie de Paris
March 29, 2022, 8:00 pm
Hailed by Opera News as “one of today’s most astonishing artists,” Barbara Hannigan serves as conductor and soprano soloist in music by Stravinsky, Offenbach, and Weill.
Celebrating Marin Alsop
March 25, 2022, 6:30 pm
Each day in the week leading up to the premiere of the new Great Performances: The Conductor on WTTW, host Candice Agree will share five favorite recordings conducted by Marin Alsop.
Being Alive: WFMT Remembers Stephen Sondheim
March 22, 2022, 9:00 pm
Celebrating the great composer-lyricist of our time, Being Alive: WFMT Remembers Stephen Sondheim gathers up a wealth of Sondheim’s stage and screen creations to revisit... or discover.
The Price of Admission: A Musical Biography of Florence Price
March 22, 2022, 8:00 pm
A program that illuminates the music and legacy of Florence Price, one of America’s pioneering but nearly forgotten composers.
Music and Conversation with Claire Cowan
March 15, 2022, 8:00 pm
An interview with the award-winning composer and multi-instrumentalist based in Auckland, New Zealand.
For the People of Ukraine: Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9
March 10, 2022, 2:00 pm
Join us on March 10, when, in partnership with members of the European Broadcasting Union, WFMT airs a special broadcast promoting peace – a 2006 performance of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 by the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra and conducted by Daniel Barenboim. Listen to For the People of Ukraine: Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9. Stories About UkraineIn one Ukrainian city, ballet in ...
Lara Downes: My Life in Music
March 8, 2022, 8:00 pm
The trailblazing performer, recording artist, activist, arts advocate, and NPR host Lara Downes introduces a very personal playlist.
Music and Conversation with Mary Elizabeth Bowden
March 1, 2022, 8:00 pm
An interview with the entrepreneurial classical trumpeter, who has worked to establish new trumpet repertoire collaborations and commissions.
Black Music Spotlight (Week 5)
February 28, 2022, 8:30 am
For the final selection of the month, hear an arrangement of the Black National Anthem: "Lift Every Voice and Sing."
Black Music Spotlight (Week 4)
February 25, 2022, 8:30 am
This week’s selections are by Shawn Okpebholo, Orbert Davis, Jonathan Bailey Holland, Omar Thomas, and Steve Wallace.
Music and Conversation with John Jeter
February 22, 2022, 8:00 pm
Oliver Camacho interviews the music director of Arkansas's Fort Smith Symphony on Florence Price and how her music may be the key to diversifying the canon.
Black Music Spotlight (Week 3)
February 18, 2022, 8:30 am
This week's selections are by Jessie Montgomery, Julia Perry, Nathalie Joachim, Eleanor Alberga, and Dorothy Rudd Moore.
Scott Joplin’s ‘Treemonisha’
February 15, 2022, 8:00 pm
Scott Joplin's ragtime opera Treemonisha is the story of a young freedwoman who faces persecution and danger because of her education. Though completed in 1911, the opera did not receive its first complete performance until 1972.
Ryan Opera Center: Rising Stars Concert 2022
February 13, 2022, 7:00 pm
The 2021/22 Ryan Opera Center Ensemble performs music of Jacques Offenbach and other Romantic-era French composers with members of the Lyric Opera Orchestra conducted by Enrique Mazzola.
Lyric Opera 2022-2023 Season Preview
February 12, 2022, 2:00 pm
George Preston sits down with Lyric Opera of Chicago general director, president, and CEO Anthony Freud and music director Enrique Mazzola to discuss next season's offerings.