Stories

Playlist: Classical Workout Music

Get your heart pumping with some Holst. Practice pushups with some Prokofiev. Take down those deadlifts with Tan Dun.

Stephen RaskauskasMay 9, 2016

Chicago Fringe Opera Brings Rarely Performed Glass Opera ‘In the Penal Colony’ to the Windy City

Stephen RaskauskasMay 4, 2016

How Stephen King’s ‘The Shining’ Became an Opera

Maestro Mariss Jansons (Photo: Bayerischer Rundfunk)

Michael San GabinoApril 10, 2016

Conductor Mariss Jansons on Shostakovich’s “Leningrad” Symphony, Music, and Politics

“¡En la guitarra está todo!” Eliades Ochoa, Grammy-Winning Guitarist on the Power of Cuban Music

Michael San GabinoAugust 9, 2019

"For me, the guitar doesn’t have a secret. In the guitar, you will find everything." These are the words of Eliades Ochoa, the Grammy Award-winning guitarist of the internationally acclaimed ensemble Buena Vista Social Club.

Meet the Pianist Who Is Setting Some of the Internet’s Most Hilarious Viral Videos to Music

George PrestonAugust 9, 2019

We know that music makes our lives better, but sometimes, it can make funny things even funnier! Take Charles Cornell, for instance, who is turning viral tweets and videos into songs.

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Tenor Javier Camarena on His History-Making Met Encore

Stephen RaskauskasMarch 23, 2016

Tenor Javier Camarena made history on March 12, 2016, when he performed an encore during a performance of Donizetti’s Don Pasquale at the Metropolitan Opera, making him one of three singers to offer encores so in the company’s recent history. He spoke about performing the encore, the music itself, and other exciting moments in his career in anticipation of his upcoming performance in ...

“Rhythm is universal”: Tabla Player Zakir Hussain on Music, Politics, & Cross-Cultural Collaboration

Stephen RaskauskasMarch 18, 2016

When Zakir Hussain, one of the world’s greatest percussionists, speaks about his childhood in Mumbai, it’s easy to understand how his career has led him to collaborations with diverse artists from Ravi Shankar to Yo-Yo Ma to Mickey Hart of the Grateful Dead. “Every day I grew up studying the Quran, singing Christian hymns, and playing Hindu devotional music,” Hussain said ...

Playlist: 10 Contemporary Composers You Should Know (…Who Also Happen to Be Women)

Lisa FlynnMarch 17, 2016

During March, Women’s History Month, we draw special attention to the music of women composers past and present on WFMT. Here are 10 living composers who are changing music today, along with 10 albums featuring their music you might want to add to your library.

Midday with Lisa Flynn