Stories
As WFMT celebrates the centenary of Isaac Stern — who was born on July 21, 1920 — Michael Stern reflects on his father’s life in music.
Stephen Raskauskas | July 13, 2015
Hannah Edgar | November 5, 2018
Did you know that some of our nation’s leaders past and present could hold their own at a conductor’s podium? Regardless of their political party, many presidents from Jefferson to Nixon to Obama might all agree on one thing: music is important in our lives.
Keegan Morris | November 5, 2018
Clarissa Bevilacqua, a 15-year-old violinist living in Italy, describes the double-edged sword of being dubbed a “prodigy.” She is one of the three young classical musicians who come together to perform as a trio in Hear Us, an hourlong program that first airs on WTTW this Monday, November 5.
Playlists
Stephen Raskauskas | June 24, 2015
Music and dance provided an outlet for enslaved people to express their sorrow, though often their cries of pain sounded quite the opposite to slave owners.
Stephen Raskauskas | June 22, 2015
If you’re not familiar with these 9 composers, we’ve got 2 things to say: 1. You’re missing out on a lot of great music. 2. Now’s your chance to catch up! June is African-American Music Appreciation Month, and while you shouldn’t limit your appreciation of music by African-American composers to the month of June, it’s a nice excuse to explore ...
Stephen Raskauskas | June 10, 2015
If you’re a music lover, you may have heard of the so-called “Tristan chord” from Wagner’s opera Tristan und Isolde. Audiences were stunned to hear this infamous harmony when the opera premiered on June 10, 1865 in Munich, Germany. As Tristan turns 150, let’s take a look at what makes the Tristan chord so unique. The “Vorspiel,” or Prelude, to Tristan begins with with a “dissonant” chord. The terms “consonance” ...