On this week’s episode of Sounds Classical, Kristina and LaRob sit down with composer Michael R. Oldham at the piano to discuss his music, inspirations, and thoughts about creating music that evokes emotions using many stylistic elements. They’ll also share music by Claude Debussy, Sufjan Stevens and even Janelle Monáe!

Though his life was short, Frédéric Chopin’s prolific output lives on, inspiring listeners and artists like few others.

Soloist Kirill Gerstein and an ensemble of all-star festival musicians in a rare and spectacular performance of György Ligeti’s Piano Concerto. Plus, the Miami String Quartet perform Dvořák’s American String Quartet.

“I grew up in a house with art and artists,” Pollini said in an interview. “Old works and modern works coexisted together as part of life.”

“These period pianos, they all have the ability to play as soft as possible and I think still there’s something there, there is still a core inside.”

Pianist Wynona Wang performs music by Zhang Zhao, Wanghua Chu, Sergei Rachmaninoff, and Ludwig van Beethoven.

A conversation with the distinctive American pianist.

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).

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

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

German pianist and conductor Lars Vogt has died. The musician was diagnosed with cancer in February 2021 after tumors were found on his throat and liver, and succumbed to his illness on September 5, 2022.

Pianist Elliot Wuu, who is in his early 20s, visited Chicago to perform works by Ludwig van Beethoven and Robert Schumann that were both written when the composers were in their 20s.

Lupu was renowned for his thoughtful interpretations of “19th-century German and Austrian piano works, especially those of Schubert, Schumann, and Brahms,” notes WFMT’s Candice Agree.

How about some musical bonbons for a cold winter day? With several inches of snow outside, violinist Geneva Lewis and pianist Sahun Sam Hong teamed up for a bright performance of French music confections.

The last piano on which Frederic Chopin played and composed is being renovated by a U.S. expert who is giving it back its original mid-19th century characteristics.

Pianist Bruce Xiaoyu Liu of Canada joins a pantheon of winners including Martha Argerich, Krystian Zimerman, and Seong-Jin Cho.

Ahead of her appearance at Ravinia this week, we sat down to talk with Lara Downes about her efforts to broaden the classical canon, her first introduction to Black composers like Florence Price and Margaret Bonds, and why she loves to work with Rachel Barton Pine.

Corea, who won a staggering 23 Grammy Awards, pushed the boundaries of the genre and worked alongside Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock.

As Halloween approaches, let’s look at a few horror films in which pianists, or at least the hands they are attached to, are the stars.

Pianist Jorge Federico Osorio sits down with WFMT General Manager George Preston to discuss WFMT, what it is like to be an artist right now, and Jorge’s new recording, The French Album.

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

The renowned American pianist Leon Fleisher died on Sunday in Baltimore. He was 92. In a career spanning eight decades, he left an incredible legacy as a performer, teacher, and conductor.

In troubled times, music is a source of hope and healing. In a virtual interview and concert with WFMT’s George Preston, pianist Lara Downes performs selections from her new album, Some of These Days.

WFMT is thrilled to bring you this upbeat, swinging concert livestream from pianist and composer Aaron Diehl featuring propulsive Harlem stride hits by James P. Johnson, Thomas “Fats” Waller, and Willie “the Lion” Smith, plus selections by Scott Joplin, Gershwin, and Massenet.

Pianist and composer Aaron Diehl shares virtuosic music by “Fats” Waller, Willie “the Lion” Smith, plus selections by Gershwin, Grieg, and Scott Joplin in a free upcoming livestream co-presented by WFMT.