Playlist: WFMT Listeners’ First Favorites

We all came to love classical music in different ways. Here are some of the musical first loves of our WFMT listeners, in their own words.

A complete Jorge Bolet recital

Cuban-American pianist Jorge Bolet performed music by Brahms, Schubert, Godowsky, Liszt, Chopin, and Moszkowski at the University of Maryland on August 7, 1979.

Payare & Röschmann

Guest conductor Rafael Payare leads music by William Grant Still and Johannes Brahms before welcoming German soprano Dorothea Röschmann to perform Richard Wagner’s Wesendonck Lieder.

Haitink Conducts Beethoven & Brahms

Bernard Haitink leads Beethoven’s Seventh and Brahms’ Second symphonies, plus Weber’s Overture to Der Freischütz and Webern’s Passacaglia for Orchestra.

Lamsma Plays Bruch

Simone Lamsma joins the LA Phil and guest conductor Otto Tausk to play Bruch’s landmark first violin concerto. We also hear a world premiere LA Phil commission by Helen Grim and a Brahms staple.

Grant Park Music Festival Vocal Fellows

Grant Park Music Festival Vocal Fellows soprano Taylor Mackenzie Adams, mezzo-soprano Miya Higashiyama, tenor Eric Botto, and baritone Anthony Pilcher sing the Liebeslieder Waltzes by Johannes Brahms and music by Margaret Bonds, Leonard Bernstein, and more.

Ma’ayan Kertcher, 18, cello

Ma’ayan Kertcher plays the music of Reena Esmail and Johannes Brahms, joined by Shirley Trissell on piano.

Samuel Lam, 18, piano

Today, a piano recital from Samuel Lam presenting works by Domenico Scarlatti, Ludwig van Beethoven, Johannes Brahms, Béla Bartók, and Tan Dun.

Playlist: Classical Music You Probably Know (But Can’t Name): Vol. 2

Whether it’s cartoons, famous commercials, or cross-genre collaborations, you may be surprised to learn that you recognize this batch of music.

Brahms Academic Festival Overture

Xavier Foley joins the Grant Park Orchestra to perform an indispensable work of double bass repertoire by Nino Rota.

Nathalie Stutzmann

The Atlanta Symphony’s new music director Nathalie Stutzmann conducts music by Brahms and Tchaikovsky.

The Artistry of Pablo Casals, Part II

Highlights (including Brahms and Beethoven) from the career of what may be the preeminent cellist of the 20th century.

LIVE | Louis Auxenfans, 18, clarinet

Introductions welcomes a return guest for a full clarinet recital: Louis Auxenfans of Chicago’s South Loop neighborhood.

The Artistry of Pablo Casals, Part I

Highlights (including Elgar, Brahms, and Dvořák) from the career of what may be the preeminent cellist of the 20th century.

Hannu Lintu & Ray Chen

Hannu Lintu returns to lead Brahms’ Fourth Symphony and Lalo’s Symphonie espagnole for Violin and Orchestra featuring Ray Chen.

Bruno Walter and the NBC Symphony

Works by Johannes Brahms, Vincent d’Indy, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, and Claude Debussy led by one of the 20th century’s definitive conductors.

De Waart & Josefowicz

Edo de Waart opens this program with John Adams’ The Chairman Dances, followed by Stravinsky’s Violin Concerto in D featuring Leila Josefowicz and Dvořák’s Eighth Symphony.

Music Director TBA: Elgin Symphony Unveils Flagship Series for 2023-2024

Concerts featuring Christine Brewer, Brandon Patrick George, and more. But with a music director to be named in the coming months, we will have to wait to see who will conduct them.

Video: Husband-Wife Duo Plays Brahms, Clarke, Tchaikovsky

Collaborators Matthew Cohen and Zhenni Li-Cohen perform a concert of music for viola and piano.

Playlist: Classical Music To Dance To

This ain’t your average classical music dance playlist: dance along to new pieces, old grooves, treasured tangos, and winsome waltzes.

Video: Beethoven and Brahms Masterworks With Gabriel Martins & Victor Asunción

In two expressive, charismatic works of cello repertoire, ascendant artist Gabriel Martins Brahms’ Cello Sonata No. 2.

Video: Expressive, Dynamic Music for Cello & Piano Played by Jean Hatmaker & Michael Finlay

Cellist Jean Hatmaker is a founding member of the Kontras Quartet and the principal cellist of the Elmhurst Symphony Orchestra. She teamed up with pianist Michael Finlay to play music by Brahms and Coleridge-Taylor.

Video: Music of Romantic Masters Played Live By Duo Dotto-Cho

The music of Robert Schumann, Clara Schumann, and Johannes Brahms somehow managed to make a lovely spring afternoon even better.

Playlist: 88 Piano Pieces for Piano Month

September is National Piano Month, so WFMT is sharing a supersized playlist – with one selection corresponding to each key on the keyboard.

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.