We all came to love classical music in different ways. Here are some of the musical first loves of our WFMT listeners, in their own words.

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

In a performance from June 29, 2023, Valentina Peleggi conducts music by Valerie Coleman, Camille Saint-Saëns, and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Stewart Goodyear appears.

Music by Debussy, Bartók, Haydn, and Saint-Saëns.

Need some music for a day at the beach? These classical plays are the perfect soundtrack as you’re catching rays.

Gustavo Gimeno, the music director designate of Teatro Real leads the LA Phil and guest pianist Javier Perianes in music by Francisco Coll García, Camille Saint-Saëns, and Dmitri Shostakovich.

Whether you are looking to rev up for the race or drown out the din, this playlist of cacophonous classical music is for you.

Kicking off the 2023 Grant Park Music Festival season with music by Schumann, Muczynski, and Saint-Saëns.

Highlights (including Elgar, Brahms, and Dvořák) from the career of what may be the preeminent cellist of the 20th century.

Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider returns to the CSO in Poulenc’s Concerto in G Minor for Organ, Strings, and
Timpani and Saint-Saëns’s Symphony No. 3, featuring Cameron Carpenter.

The first movement of Camille Saint-Saëns’ Piano Concerto No. 2 — with its “unique suspenseful opening” — secured the young artist the prize.

From performing in haunted buildings to leading orchestras across the country, Norman Huynh is an ascending young conductor excited to bring classical music to new audiences.

Chicago Musical Pathways Initiative aims to diversify American orchestras by preparing promising young artists from underrepresented communities for careers in music.

There have been many musical dynasties throughout history – think of the Bach and Strauss families. Today, we have a new dynasty in the making with the Kanneh-Masons: seven brothers and sisters, all of whom play either violin, piano, or cello.

Among the canceled 2021 productions are Donizetti’s The Elixir of Love, Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro; and Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress, as well as a concert tribute to music director Sir Andrew Davis, who concludes his 20-year tenure at the end of this season.

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

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.

On Wednesday, February 12, Lyric Opera of Chicago general director Anthony Freud and music director Sir Andrew Davis announced the company’s 66th season. A North American premiere, a Midwest premiere, and a special opening night concert with Renée Fleming are among the highlights. The 2020-2021 season will also be Sir Andrew’s last as music director.

It’s not every day an artist can re-discover a piece of music by a master from the Romantic era. Yet this was the enviable privilege of cellist Juliette Herlin, who in 2017 gave one of the first performances since 1919 of a lost cello sonata by Camille Saint-Saëns.

Summer is upon us! Whatever your plans, we have the perfect musical accompaniment: summery classical music selected by WFMT hosts and staff!

The eighty-fifth annual season opens June 12 and will run through August 17, with most performances taking place at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park.

Few birds have inspired more composers than the cuckoo. Lisa Flynn selects some of her favorite works inspired by the cuckoo, from intimate chamber works to grand symphonies.

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.

All Grant Park Music Festival concerts are free. WFMT will have several live broadcasts from the festival, including opening night and the Beethoven Ninth concerts. See a full listing of performances.

Can you imagine a world without the music of Handel, Tchaikovsky, or Britten? These great composers of the past are just a few of many important musical figures who did not identify as heterosexual.