A 639-year 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.

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.

Japanese musician Ryuichi Sakamoto dies at 71

Sakamoto was a pioneer in electronics music of the late 1970s.

Nicholas Lloyd Webber, son of famed composer, dies at 43

The Grammy-nominated composer, record producer and eldest son of Andrew Lloyd Webber, died Saturday in England after a protracted battle with gastric cancer and pneumonia.

Sounds Classical: New Show Prizes Fresh Takes on Classical Music

“It’s just something you don’t often hear in classical settings. The music ends and we’re laughing. The music ends and we’re singing.”

Ned Rorem, prize-winning composer and writer, dies at 99

Time once called Rorem “the world’s best composer of art songs,” and he was notable for his hundreds of compositions for the solo human voice.

How Classically Trained Navajo Pianist & Composer Connor Chee Weaves His Sound

“The more I studied music, the more I saw the similarities between weaving and what I do.”

Japanese avant-garde pioneer composer Ichiyanagi dies at 89

Ichiyanagi studied at The Juilliard School in New York and emerged a pioneer, using compositional techniques that incorporated traditional Japanese elements and electronic music.

Renowned jazz pianist Ramsey Lewis has died, age 87

The Chicago born and based Lewis was revered in jazz circles for hits like “The In Crowd” and “Hang on Sloopy.” He earned three Grammys and seven gold records.

From 2015: Ramsey Lewis On His Long Overdue CSO Debut

WFMT spoke to the Chicago-born Lewis in 2015, when, at the age of 80, his music received its first CSO performance.

The Sounds of Chicago in a Festival of Art Song and Vocal Chamber Music

“We’re celebrating the spirit of the city and taking a moment for some musical civic pride!”