Stories

Brazilian bossa nova pioneer João Gilberto dies at 88

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — João Gilberto, a Brazilian singer, guitarist and songwriter considered one of the fathers of the bossa nova genre that gained global popularity in the 1960s and became an iconic sound of the South American nation, died Saturday, his son said. He was 88. João Marcelo said his father had been battling health issues though no ...

Celebrate Independence Day with WFMT!

This Independence Day, WFMT will share rousing and patriotic classical works for the whole day — here are some highlights that you won't want to miss.At noon, Music in Chicago shares a recent Elgin Symphony Orchestra performance of "Hoe-Down" from Copland's Rodeo Starting at 1:00 pm, we'll share another Copland masterwork: Appalachian Spring. You'll also hear Gottschalk's The Union, "America" ...

Your Guide to Chopin’s Nocturnes

Frédéric Chopin composed nocturnes throughout his career, including 18 published between 1832 and 1846 and 3 published posthumously. The first person to title instrumental works of this kind “nocturnes” was John Field. He published a collection of piano nocturnes in the early 19th century. In a eulogistic preface to an 1859 edition of John Field’s collected nocturnes, composer Franz Liszt ...

Playlist: Your Guide to Chopin’s Orchestral Works

Though Chopin did not compose many works for piano and orchestra — just six! — he kept them in his concert repertoire throughout his career.

This Breakdance Duet to Chopin’s ‘Fantaisie-Impromptu’ Will Send You Spinning

When Frédéric Chopin composed his Fantaisie-Impromptu, he probably didn’t expect for the work to serve as the music for a breakdance duet. But at Arabesque 2014, an international ballet competition hosted by the Perm Ballet Opera Theatre, one entry in the “modern choreography” category used Fantaisie-Impromptu for just that purpose. Fantaisie-Impromptu was written in 1834, but it wasn’t published until ...