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.

Classical Music Aerial Adventure: Winter in Chicago

With spellbinding aerial footage of Chicago, you’ll hear acclaimed artists playing wonderful, wintry classical music.

Playlist: Classical Coffeeshop

A rich blend of music for calm, conversation, and of course, caffeine.

Playlist: Relaxing Classical Music for Calm and Wonder

For so many of us, WFMT is a reliable source of relaxation. But what if we could bring you more relaxation?

Finding Hope in Handel

Little known fact: Handel ranked ‘Theodora’ — not ‘Messiah’ — as his best oratorio. You’ll see why in a rapturous performance by Lorraine Hunt Lieberson.

Star-Studded ‘Trout’ Quintet Will Lift Your Spirits

It’s hard to overstate just how impressive this performance’s lineup is.

Take In the Gleaming Tones of Multi-Instrumentalist & Composer Ólafur Arnalds

This prismatic NPR Tiny Desk Concert will challenge your view of what making music means in the digital age.

Video: Chicago Area Young Artists Bridge Continents with Cello Collaboration

Two young Chicago-area cellists have risen to the challenge of social distancing, bringing together 24 young artists from around the world for one moving performance.

Long Distance Music Saves the (Wedding) Day!

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

E-Thereal: Eric Whitacre’s Virtual Choir Performs ‘Lux Aurumque’

While isolating ourselves in our homes, many of us have been keeping our social connections through technology. Though the deep need for this technology may feel new, the popular choral composer Eric Whitacre pioneered the concept of a “virtual choir” over a decade ago.

WFMT Hosts and Staff Share Their Favorite Poems

April is National Poetry Month, so there’s no better time to share, revisit, or discover wonderful poetry. Here are our picks.

Soothe Your Soul with the Chicago Harp Quartet [Video]

There’s nothing quite like harp music. Now more than ever, the Chicago Harp Quartet’s lush, dulcet tones offer an opportunity to slow down, close your eyes, and take a deep breath.

Billy Collins Recites his Conversational, Observational, Quirky Poems

“Radio is such a perfect medium for the transmission of poetry, primarily because there just is the voice.” — Billy Collins Billy Collins is a wonderfully prolific, contemporary poet whose brief, poignant, and idiosyncratic word gems earned him the prestigious title of Poet Laureate of the United States from 2001 to 2003. A distinguished educator, he was also named the …

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

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

The Well-Tempered Election Analyst: How Arnon Mishkin prepares (with a little help from Bach)

Arnon Mishkin has been called a data ninja, analyzing exit polls and explaining shifting voting blocs. How then does he prepare for the grueling hours ahead on the day and night of a Presidential Election? He plays the cello.

Video | Try a Virtual Sound Therapy Session to Block Out the Noise in Your Life

Discover how Tibetan singing bowls, drums, and gongs can add harmony to your life in three virtual, video sound therapy sessions you can enjoy anywhere.

Listening to This Bach Fantasia Arranged for Marimbas Is Like Giving Your Brain a Massage

J.S. Bach is one of the most celebrated figures in the history of music. American composer John Knowles Paine declared that Bach’s music “cannot grow antiquated,” and many modern musicians have arranged his compositions for instruments that had not yet been invented during Bach’s lifetime. Wendy Carlos changed music when she arranged Bach’s works for Moog synthesizers and helped popularize …

Watching This “Bubble Smith” Blow Big Bubbles to Bach on a Beach Is Your Moment of Zen for the Week

Composer Robert Schumann loved Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier so much that he said it should be every musician’s “daily bread.” But perhaps you’ve never thought it could make the perfect bubble-blowing soundtrack, too. The Well-Tempered Clavier is composed of two volumes of keyboard music. Each contains 24 pairs of preludes and fugues, one for each of the major and minor keys. …