Getting through winter in Chicago is tough enough, but when it’s immediately followed by a global pandemic and social distancing, it’s a real double-whammy. We’re reminded of the Prisoners’ Chorus from Beethoven’s ‘Fidelio.’
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.
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.
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.
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!
“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 …
Looking for a productive, diverting way to spend your downtime? Why not hone your musical skills and learn from some of the greatest musicians in the world?
It feels like hope and beauty are increasingly hard to find these days. Lucky for you, we’ve done the searching so you don’t have to, compiling inspiring classical, jazz, and dance performances, films, and videos that you can stream for free!
From DiDonato’s New York City living room, the pair performed excerpts of Massenet’s ‘Werther’ for nearly 90 minutes that were streamed live on DiDonato’s Facebook and Instagram pages.
“Contrary to popular myth,” Dr. Eugenia Cheng explains, “math is not just about numbers, but about patterns, structures, and logic, and patterns and structures also pervade classical music.”
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.
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!
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.
Pianist-architect Mayta Liu Lerttamrab has taken a unique path in his musical endeavors. Studying and beginning his career as an architect, Lerttamrab decided to pursue music in his mid-20s.
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.
Keegan Morris and Michael San Gabino | January 16, 2020
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!
On January 15, violinist Stephen Kim and pianist Ilya Friedberg shared the Chicago Cultural Center stage for a concert of passionate, dynamic music by two Romantic composers: Ernest Chausson and Johannes Brahms.
Ahead of the esteemed duo’s performance at UChicago Presents, Tal & Groethuysen, who first joined forces in 1985, visited WFMT for an Impromptu of piano four-hands music by Mozart, Schubert, Louis Théodore Gouvy.
Writing for The New York Times following her death in 2006, Anthony Tommasini explained that Anna Moffo “was beloved for her rosy voice, dramatic vulnerability and exceptional beauty.”
What better way to inaugurate a program celebrating music for kids and families than by inviting a very musical family to perform — violinist Rachel Barton Pine and her 8-year-old daughter Sylvia Pine?
In a recent Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert, pianist Inga Kashakashvili shared this snowy, evocative excerpt from The Christmas Tree by Vladimir Rebikov.
