Chamayou Performs Liszt’s Totentanz

Music Director Esa-Pekka Salonen and the San Francisco Symphony journey through Hector Berlioz’s phantasmic Symphonie fantastique, Franz Liszt’s devilish Totentanz with pianist Bertrand Chamayou, and Modest Mussorgsky’s supernatural Night on Bald Mountain.

Playlist: Classical Music for Reading

Whether you’re poring over a biography, traversing a novel, or perhaps writing something yourself, WFMT’s reading playlist is made to help you relax, focus, and get lost in literature.

Video: Pianist Jiao Sun Plays Liszt, Debussy, Chopin, and More

Jiao Sun, a US-based pianist originally from Harbin, China, visited Chicago for a captivating recital.

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.

Playlist: 8 Popular Songs that Sample Classical Music

Musicians from rap to alternative to K-Pop and beyond look to classical music for inspiration! Here are just a few creative examples.

Hough Plays Mendelssohn

Respected pianist Stephen Hough performs Felix Mendelssohn’s 1st Piano Concerto.

Little Traveling Music, Please

Wanderers, farewells, and sightseeing; people are always on the go. This week, Bill calls up, “A Little Traveling Music, Please” from the pens of Handel, Smetana, Duke Ellington, and more. Reflections from such travels infuse themselves into their works, as we will discover throughout the week. We will hear selections from Beethoven’s Les Adieux, Schubert’s Die Schöne Mullerin, and Haydn’s …

Take a Liszt Deep Dive with Pianist Kyle Orth

Orth samples standout works from the whole of Liszt’s compositional career, including selections from the Romantic virtuoso’s signature Années de pèlerinage (Years of Pilgrimage).

Kyle Orth, piano

Pianist Kyle Orth performs music by Liszt, live from the Seventeenth Church of Christ, Scientist, Chicago.

Northwestern’s Music Series Returns with Chamber Music, Piano, Guitar Luminaries

Including an all-women lineup of respected pianists.

Wang Plays Liszt

Superstar pianist Yuja Wang performs Franz Liszt’s First Piano Concerto under the baton of Michael Tilson Thomas.

Nézet-Séguin, Trifonov, and the Philadelphia Orchestra

Season Premiere: Classical music superstars conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin and pianist Daniil Trifonov take the Carnegie Hall stage for Liszt’s First Piano Concerto.

Jiao Sun, piano

Pianist Jiao Sun plays music by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, Franz Liszt, Claude Debussy, Ludwig van Beethoven, and Frédéric Chopin, live from the Seventeenth Church of Christ, Scientist, Chicago.

Video: Beethoven, Debussy, Liszt Piano Highlights from Daniel Lebhardt

In a dazzling and dynamic performance, pianist Daniel Lebhardt enchanted audiences with Beethoven’s seminal “Appassionata” Piano Sonata No. 23.

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.

Video: Pianist Taek Gi Lee Shares a Dynamic Recital of Beethoven and Liszt

Pianist Taek Gi Lee, who hails from Seoul and studies at the Curtis Institute of Music, shared a sensitive performance of works by Beethoven and Liszt.

Video: Piano Works of Beethoven, Liszt, and Debussy by Christopher Goodpasture

From beneath the glistening Tiffany Dome of the Chicago Cultural Center, pianist Christopher Goodpasture shared works of Beethoven, Liszt, and Debussy to a full audience.

Chicago Latino Music Festival Celebrates Its 14th Year

The festival’s artistic director Elbio Barilari, who also hosts WFMT’s Fiesta, remarked of the festival that “just the idea that a Latin American classical music festival exists in the US and has already been going on for 14 years is very exciting!”

Playlist: Piano Études for Your Back to School Studies

Since there is a type of musical composition named for studying — études, for you non French-speakers — we have the perfect musical accompaniment while you hit the books.

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!

6 of the Most Famous Classical Music Feuds Between Composers

The history of music is full of friendships and feuds. These composers certainly had complicated relationships. What are your favorite composer clashes?

Grant Park Music Festival Announces 2018 Season

The summer festival’s 2018 season of concerts runs for 10 weeks from June 13 to August 18.

Playlist: 31 Freaky and Frightening Classical Works to Haunt Your Halloween

Whether you’re looking for spooky music as you wait for trick-or-treaters, or you need some music to accompany your own “danse macabre,” we have your perfect Halloween soundtrack.

Your Guide to Chopin’s Nocturnes

Learn about some of Chopin’s signature compositions: his most important nocturnes.

The 10 Best Classical Recordings of 2016

Here are 10 albums from 2016 that stood out because of the incredible performances, the repertoire, the historical significance, or all of the above.