Playlist: Celebrating Uncommon Instruments

From Ocarinas to Wagner Tubas, these instruments may not be the first to mind when you think of classical music, but maybe, they should be!

Quiz: Can You Name These Unusual Instruments?

Test your knowledge of early music by seeing if you can name these predecessors of our modern instruments.

Quiz: Roasts and Boasts — Match the Composer To The Quote

The relationships between classical composers can be … complicated. Some are built on high praise and admiration, others peppered with searing roasts, snide comments, and artful critiques. Can you guess the composer these quotes are describing?

Playlist: Classical Music Inspired by Flowers and Nature

Many composers have also answered the call of springtime’s riotous colors during this, the blooming season.

Now Introducing: The Pets of WFMT

As we’ve turned couches and kitchen tables into our new offices, our furry, feathered, scaly, plant-y and all other non-human friends have been pleased to become our new office assistants. Meet some of WFMT’s new work-from-home teammates.

Long Distance Music Saves the (Wedding) Day!

How some creative thinking helped give a wedding live stream the music it needed.

From the Opera House to Your House: Ryan Opera Center Artists Bring Music Home

Keeping busy and enjoying great music are some of the best ways to get through COVID-19 quarantining. Ryan Opera Center artists have been doing both in a series of homemade performance videos.

Edgar Allan Poe, Leonard Slatkin, Vincent Price Team Up for an Orchestral Take on ‘The Raven’

As an outsized figure in literature and poetry, Poe has inspired composers like Debussy, Rachmaninoff, Philip Glass, and composer-conductor Leonard Slatkin, who set Poe’s “The Raven” to music in 1971.

Video: Some Infectiously Fun and Incredibly Fast Music on a Wurlitzer Organ

The organ is a polarizing instrument, but one organist is doing his best to appeal to a wide audience with these infectiously fun, utterly virtuosic, rather tongue-in-cheek, and thoroughly entertaining performances.

With Opera Houses Closed, Soprano Sings for Her Alpacas

An audience is an audience, no matter who (or what species) is in it. Case in point: Erin G. McCarthy recently gave a quick recital in her barn to an audience of three alpacas.

Happy World Piano Day!

Today is World Piano Day! That’s because it is the 88th day of the year, a neat tie-in with the number of keys on a standard keyboard (on non-Leap Years, the holiday customarily takes place on March 29.) In celebration of the versatile, ubiquitous instrument, we’re sharing some of the finest piano performances and articles on the internet!

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

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

Verdi’s Got Game: Rigoletto’s Got All the Right Moves

Could this ‘Rigoletto’-inspired video game be help bring kids into opera?

Playlist: 14 Marching Band Videos You Have to See to Believe

Marching bands are art in motion. But you have to see the intricate formations – moving images, clever phrases, and more – to truly believe their artistic capabilities.

Robbie Ellis’ Comedy Tunes Prove that Classical Music Can Be Funny [Videos]

Think you know a lot about classical music? Robbie Ellis, WFMT host, composer, music director, and comedy songmaker extraordinaire shares four untold musical revelations that will have your head spinning!

An Unusual Undertaking: Pianist Preps for 12+ Hour Performance

This weekend, while many are preparing to tune in to the Big Game, one artist will be embarking on a uniquely athletic and strenuous concert more than 12 hours in length. Carl J. LaMark, a pianist and composer who hails from the Chicago area, will be performing Erik Satie’s full Vexations beginning the morning on Sunday, February 2 (and lasting …

Drinking, Dueling, and a Dragon? Huzzah!

It’s Baroque opera, minus the sobriety. The serious operas of Handel and Gluck get the parody treatment in this excerpt from the 1737 opera The Dragon of Wantley performed by Haymarket Opera Company!

Playlist: Classical Recorder Pieces You Should Know

The recorder may call to mind tortured performances of “Hot Cross Buns” or “Jingle Bells” from your elementary school days, but these pieces make use of the instrument’s virtuosic potential.

Quiz: What Movement of ‘The Nutcracker Suite’ Are You?

Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker isn’t just a popular holiday ballet. The composer grouped eight pieces in his Nutcracker Suite, which is often performed in concert. But, which movement of the “Nutcracker Suite” are you? Are you the “Spanish Dance?” “The Waltz of the Flowers?” Take the quiz and find out!

This Animated Video Explains Why Mozart Was One of the Best Procrastinators

“Mozart led a hectic life — he was basically an overcommitted freelancer,” says Josh Davidoff, program coordinator at 92nd Street Y in New York.

Still in Search of a Halloween Costume? Here are 10 Easy, Classical Music-Themed DIY Ideas

Halloween is almost here, which means that it might time to start thinking about a costume. If you’ve been putting off that task, here are some easy, clever classical music-themed costume ideas to get you in the spooky spirit!

Get in the Halloween Spirit With These 7 Charming Classical Jack-O’-Lanterns!

Need some classical inspiration for your pumpkin carving this Halloween? Look no further, WFMT has found some of the most creative and spooky carvings across the internet!

Playlist: 10 Jazzed Up Versions of Chopin Classics

Frédéric Chopin is one of the most beloved composers of all time. Here are 10 jazz versions of Chopin that will have you listening to old favorites with new ears.

Playlist: 5 Salieri Operas You Should Know

Regardless of his relationship to Mozart, Salieri was a successful composer in his own right, and we should not forget his music – particularly his operas!

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

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.