Dancing Around the Piano: Beethoven, Bernstein, Debussy, and Frank

This concert brings a rousing set of works from Bernstein, Debussy, and Gabriela Lena Frank all focused on the theme of dance.

Intersections: Kodály, Clyne, Skoryk, and Tchaikovsky

Kodály’s Dances of Galánta begins the concert, contrasted with Anna Clyne’s DANCE for Cello and Orchestra, featuring cellist Inbal Segev as soloist.

Fresh Inspirations: Cuong, Berlioz, Walton, and Ravel

Viet Cuong premieres his work Stargazer featuring Sarah Cahill at the piano.

Music by Ellen Taaffe Zwilich

Spotlighting the contemporary American composer Ellen Taaffe Zwilich.

Game Changers

Turning point works by Johannes Brahms, Claude Debussy, and Brett Dean — whose piece Twelve Angry Men features a dozen cellos.

Alan Gilbert and Frank Huang Perform Ein Heldenleben

Plus visiting the West Coast by way of Salonen’s L.A. Variations.

Musical Events for Black History Month

Honor Black artistry with an entire month of exciting musical events — operas, chamber concerts, jazz orchestras, broadcasts, and more!

LA Opera scraps planned world premiere of Mason Bates’ ‘Kavalier and Clay’ adaptation over finances

“It was a very ambitious and therefore expensive project, and unfortunately in the current conditions, it wasn’t something that we can manage,” LA Opera CEO Christopher Koelsch said.

In Germany, a 639-year organ performance of a John Cage composition is about to have its next note change

On Feb. 5, 2024, another note is going to begin playing… this one will be relatively short; it will hang around for only the next two years.

In Their Own Words: Remembering Those Who Died in 2023

Recognizing the Chicagoans, musicians, artists, and friends of WFMT who died this past year.

New Choral Music for the Season

Discover new music including Reena Esmail’s A Winter Breviary and Roderick Williams’s O Adonai.

Playlist: The Best Classical Christmas Albums of 2023

Stunning renditions of contemporary works, stirring early music performances, and more.

Gilbert Conducts Beethoven, Lindberg, and Dvořák

Alan Gilbert is joined by two former Artists-in-Residence in works by Beethoven, Dvořák, and former Composer-in-Residence Magnus Lindberg.

Listening Party with Jessie Montgomery

Kristina and LaRob sit down for an informal listening party with composer, violinist, and CSO Mead Composer in Residence, Jessie Montgomery. She shares her musical inspirations, music she wishes she composed herself, and gives some insight into the life of a composer in the 21st century!

Every Tree Speaks: Habbi, Brahms, & Schumann

In an ode to the wonder of our natural world, this program ponders fate, resolve, and reverence.

George Benjamin’s Picture a Day Like This

A universal tale with moving colors, where the flow of music follows the flow of life; an initiatory fable on human nature and self-discovery.

Dudamel Leads Beethoven and Smith

Experience the exhilaration of Beethoven’s dance Symphony, his Seventh, and a new cello concerto by Gabriella Smith.

Music and Conversation with Osvaldo Golijov

A conversation with the Grammy award-winning Argentine composer.

Elim Chan & Leila Josefowicz

Josefowicz takes on Thomas Adès’ “Concentric Paths” Violin Concerto. The high-powered Elim Chan leads music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and Clarice Assad.

Contemporary American Composers

This week features pieces from a newly released recording from the CSO Resound label. Riccardo Muti conducts the broadcast.

Adams’ Nixon in China

From Paris Opera, hear a star-studded cast that includes Thomas Hampson as Richard Nixon and Renée Fleming as Pat Nixon, with John Matthew Myers as Chairman Mao.

Prominent Finnish Composer Kaija Saariaho Has Died, Aged 70

Saariaho’s compositions melded live performance and electronics, winning recognition and securing commissions from numerous leading organizations.

Morlot Conducts Ravel and Higgins

Ludovic Morlot conducts Ravel’s Mother Goose Suite and the world premiere of a concerto written by and starring Timothy Higgins, the orchestra’s principal trombonist.

50 Years of COT: Anniversary Season Boasts Shostakovich, Heggie, Premieres, and More

Three mainstage operas, three additional special events, and all six titles are Chicago premieres.

Third Coast Percussion

The Grammy-winning, Chicago-based ensemble pays WFMT a visit.

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