Quiz: How Well Do You Know the Well-Tempered Clavier?

Does Bach rock your socks? Do you think you know the music of the contrapuntal master, J.S. Bach, himself? See how well you know Bach’s “The Well-Tempered Clavier,” one of the foundational works of classical music and of keyboard literature.

Quiz: Which Symphonic Master Are You?

Are you a revolutionary like Beethoven, or are you obsessive like Berlioz? Take this quiz to see which symphonic master you most resemble.

A Musical Memorial and Tribute: Yo-Yo Ma Plays Bach’s Solo Cello Suites Live

Cellist Yo-Yo Ma will perform J.S. Bach’s six cello suites live as a memorial for those we have lost in the pandemic and a tribute to the resilience of our communities.

A Banjoist Takes on Bach’s Cello Suite No. 1

What does a Bach/bluegrass crossover sound like? It sounds like pure relaxation.

Calculating Chopin: WFMT’s New Digital Series Demystifies Math and Music

“Contrary to popular myth,” Dr. Eugenia Cheng explains, “math is not just about numbers, but about patterns, structures, and logic, and patterns and structures also pervade classical music.”

The Well-Tempered Election Analyst: How Arnon Mishkin prepares (with a little help from Bach)

Arnon Mishkin has been called a data ninja, analyzing exit polls and explaining shifting voting blocs. How then does he prepare for the grueling hours ahead on the day and night of a Presidential Election? He plays the cello.

Music of the Baroque Announces 2020-21 season

On February 21, Music of the Baroque announced its 2020-2021 season, the ensemble’s 50th.

Peter van de Graaff’s Postcards from Central Germany

With Earthbound Expeditions and Peter and Kathleen van de Graaff, WFMT listeners embarked on a classical music-oriented tour of Central Germany with Bach, Mendelssohn, and Clara Schumann at its center.

Video: Pianist Hilda Huang Plays Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven at the Chicago Cultural Center

Fresh off a performance as the collaborative pianist to clarinetist Sam Boutris during last week’s Dame Myra Hess Concert, Hilda Huang performed a scintillating program of works by Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven

Video | Cellist Kian Soltani Explains Why Classical Musicians Should Stay Curious

“I would not consider myself a composer at all,” says Kian Soltani, shortly after playing a piece of music that he composed called Persian Fire Dance. “I’m really a cellist first and foremost, but I try to be creative also.”

Video: Pianist Hélène Tysman Plays Debussy, Bach, Chopin, Ravel

On an overcast, early fall day, pianist Hélène Tysman shared a sensitive, illuminating performance of piano works by Bach, Debussy, Chopin, and Ravel for this Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert broadcast. Watch the full program here!

Playlist: Classical Music From Composers’ School Days

Just because the school year is right around the corner doesn’t mean that you have to stop playing (or writing) music. As proof, here are 16 pieces from composers written when they were still students!

Video: Violinist Anne Akiko Meyers Plays Ave Maria

Bach and Gounod’s Ave Maria has always held a special place in violinist Anne Akiko Meyers’ repertoire: she grew up playing the beloved work. “It’s just one of the most beautiful pieces,” Meyers shared during her appearance on WFMT’s Impromptu.

Video: Pianist Kimberly Han, 18, Plays Bach, Haydn, Chopin

Beneath the Tiffany Dome of the Chicago Cultural Center, 18-year-old pianist Kimberly Han performed works by Bach, Haydn, and Chopin.

Playlist: Fretless and Linear — How Classical Violin Shaped Andrew Bird’s Sound

Using his violin and virtuosic whistle, Andrew Bird genre-jumps from indie rock to jazz, and from folk to classical. Born in Lake Forest, Bird began learning classical violin from the Suzuki Method at the age of four and recalls, “My mom would have WFMT on all the time… My dad listened to Merle Haggard.”

Cellist Yo-Yo Ma Performs Bach’s Cello Suites in Free Concert for Chicago

Yo-Yo Ma shared that Bach’s cellos suites have served as “a sanctuary for [him in] good times and less good times.”

Video | Matthew Lipman Performs Viola Music Live from Levin Performance Studio

It’s not every day that we get treated to a performance of viola repertoire, and in this Facebook Live from the Faye and Daniel Levin Performance Studio, violist Matthew Lipman performed three works composed for the instrument by Bach, Rebecca Clarke, and Robert Schumann. Matthew, who hails from Chicago’s south suburbs, admits that “the viola has the reputation amongst the …

On his birthday, Google invites you to compose like Johann Sebastian Bach!

Today’s Google Doodle pays homage to Johann Sebastian Bach, who was born on March 21, 1685. To celebrate the illustrious Baroque composer, Google gives you the opportunity to do your best Bach impression. The interactive doodle invites you to build the soprano line of your own composition, and then the program creates complementary harmonies to emulate Bach’s music. Google says …

Happy Birthday, Bach!

All day on Thursday, WFMT will be celebrating Johann Sebastian Bach, who was born on March 21, 1685. Tune in throughout the day to hear works composed by Bach, including these highlights that you won’t want to miss: In the 9:00 am hour, hear Bach’s Orchestral Suite in G minor, BWV 1070 In the 11:00 am hour, tune in to …

Igor Levit not content to be heard only through piano

Winner of last year’s Gilmore Artist Award, given quadrennially to a pianist along with a $300,000 prize, Levit is among the most probing young artists in classical music. His website describes him as “Citizen. European. Pianist.”

Pianist Jacques Loussier Dies at Age 84

The French pianist was known for his jazz interpretations of classical music, most famously, the works of Bach in his Play Bach record series.

Music of the Baroque Announces 2019-20 Season

The upcoming season, the company’s 49th, “will be a season of high drama, storytelling, virtuosity, and spiritual depth,” comments executive director Declan McGovern.

Classical Music Grammy Award Winners: 2019

On February 10, some of the biggest names in the music industry convened at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards at Staples Center in Los Angeles. R&B and soul singer Alicia Keys hosted the ceremony, as winners were announced in 30 fields and 84 categories. Here are the nominees and winners for the classical music categories.

Cellist Yo-Yo Ma to Present Free Concert in Millennium Park, Shares New Music Video Celebrating Cultural and Artistic Harmony

“Culture — the way we express ourselves and understand each other — can bind us together as one world.”

Grant Park Music Festival Announces 2019 Season

The eighty-fifth annual season opens June 12 and will run through August 17, with most performances taking place at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park.