Stories

Sondra Radvanovsky in sleeveless black leather dress, elbows resting on a stack of opera scores, hands folded under chin, smiling, in a girlish pose, strawberry bonde hair, on stage of the Ardis Krainik at the Civic Opera House, empty auditorium out of focus in background.

New Releases Mar 31: Puccini, Vivaldi, and Jóhann Jóhannsson

A mix that includes an all-women a capella ensemble, late Icelandic composer Jóhann Jóhannsson, and lute concertos beyond Vivaldi’s own.

Keegan MorrisAugust 5, 2025

New Releases Aug. 5: Bach, Coleridge-Taylor, Hovhaness

Clayton Stephenson sits with a piano in the background

Keegan MorrisAugust 4, 2025

Chicago Sinfonietta’s 2025-26 Season: Ignite

Woman in colorful robe and jade colored earrings against stone wall

Associated PressJuly 30, 2025

Russian soprano’s case alleging national original discrimination against the Met Opera to proceed

white outline of grammophone over patchy purple blue gradient background

Live Results: Grammy Awards 2026

Adela SkowronskiNovember 10, 2025

Chicago artists Mavis Staples, Third Coast Percussion, and Shawn E. Okpebholo are counted among this year's nominees.

Fiesta! Host Elbio Barilari to be Honored by the International Latino Cultural Center

WFMTNovember 6, 2025

WFMT’s Elbio Barilari, longtime host of the station’s Sunday evening series Fiesta!, will be among the Community Champions honored at the International Latino Cultural Center’s 25th anniversary gala.

Playlists

Playlist: The Best Classical Music to Serve at Your Next Cookout

Playlist: 3 Latino “Mozarts” Classical Music Lovers Should Know

Playlist: 10 Shakespeare-Inspired Operas You Should Know

women composers caroline shaw Nkeiru Okoye unsuk chin

Playlist: 10 Composers Changing Classical Music (Who Also Happen to Be Women)

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Woman smiling holding sax in front of colorful urban background and sky

New Releases Jul. 29: Sax Phenom Jess Gillam & Shakespeare

Keegan MorrisJuly 29, 2025

A highly varied exploration of classical, folk, and contemporary in saxophonist Jess Gillam's PRISM, Vol. 2, and a survey of 16th-century music written for Shakespeare's plays.

closeup of man in suit and glasses onstage

Tom Lehrer, song satirist and mathematician, dies at 97

Associated PressJuly 28, 2025

His songs included "Poisoning Pigeons in the Park," "The Old Dope Peddler" (set to a tune reminiscent of "The Old Lamplighter"), "Be Prepared" (in which he mocked the Boy Scouts) and "The Vatican Rag."

Music Inspired by Greek Mythology

Katherine Buzard

Greek mythology is replete with dramatic and musical potential.

Midday with Lisa Flynn