Video: Music of the Baroque Shares a Louis XIV-Era Take on the Christmas Antiphon

As part of an Impromptu of secular and devotional holiday music from around the world, conductor Patrick Dupré Quigley led Music of the Baroque and organist Stephen Alltop in a performance of this lesser-known French Baroque Christmas song, ‘Hodie Christus natus est’ by Louis-Nicolas Clérambault.

Video: Chanticleer Sings Christmas Classics in Stunning Fourth Presbyterian Church

Chanticleer shares festival carols spanning over three centuries at the gorgeous Gothic-inspired Fourth Presbyterian Church on the Magnificent Mile!

Video: Deck the Halls with Merry, Merry Chicago!

Chicago Symphony Chorus members and pianist Sharon Peterson visited WFMT to spread some cheer and share this short and sweet rendition of a Christmas classic.

Shed Your Stage Fright With These 3 Warm-up Tips From Violinist Ray Chen

While building a successful career as a musician, (and amassing a mighty social media following), rising violinist Ray Chen has had to stay sharp. And while visiting Chicago for a series of performances with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Chen showed WFMT audiences that being stage-ready is as easy as 1,2,3!

Mister Rogers Remembered by His Former Music Director [Video]

For many of us, just hearing the lyrics “It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood,” is enough to transport us back to our childhoods.

Discover the versatility of Jan Peerce in 3 powerful recordings

In a career of more than sixty years, Jan Peerce reigned as a Met favorite, sang popular music, and performed Jewish cantorial repertoire.

Video: Ahead of Chicago Premiere, An Excerpt From Rachmaninoff’s ‘Aleko’

Two operatic opus ones will have their Chicago premieres this weekend, and they both command a chorus of well over 100. Chicago Opera Theater opens its 2019-20 season with a double bill: Joby Talbot’s Everest and Rachmaninoff’s Aleko.

This Animated Video Explains Why Mozart Was One of the Best Procrastinators

“Mozart led a hectic life — he was basically an overcommitted freelancer,” says Josh Davidoff, program coordinator at 92nd Street Y in New York.

Be a fly on the wall for a Third Coast Baroque rehearsal

Behind every great performance or recording is untold hours of practice. Don’t get us wrong, we love the final product, but it’s also illuminating to go behind the scenes and witness musicians preparing.

Video: Pianist Kamil Tokarski Plays Scarlatti, Chopin, Albéniz

On November 13, 2019, Polish pianist Dr. Kamil Tokarski took the Preston Bradley Hall stage to perform a program of works by Scarlatti, Chopin, and Albéniz.

Video: Pianist Hilda Huang Plays Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven at the Chicago Cultural Center

Fresh off a performance as the collaborative pianist to clarinetist Sam Boutris during last week’s Dame Myra Hess Concert, Hilda Huang performed a scintillating program of works by Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven

Video | Cellist Kian Soltani Explains Why Classical Musicians Should Stay Curious

“I would not consider myself a composer at all,” says Kian Soltani, shortly after playing a piece of music that he composed called Persian Fire Dance. “I’m really a cellist first and foremost, but I try to be creative also.”

Video: Merz Trio performs Brahms’ Piano Trio No. 1

From under the Tiffany Dome of the Chicago Cultural Center, the Merz Trio, which features violinist Brigid Coleridge, cellist Julia Yang, and pianist Lee Dionne, performs Brahms’ Piano Trio No. 1 in B Major. This performance was part of the trio’s Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert on October 16, 2019.

Video: Pianist Lucas Krupinski Plays Schubert, Chopin, Ravel

Award-winning pianist Lucas Krupinski is no stranger to the music of Chopin. So it was no surprise when the young Polish pianist gave a sensitive, dynamic performance of a sensitive, dynamic performance of the esteemed Romantic composer’s Ballade No. 4.

Video: Pianist Hélène Tysman Plays Debussy, Bach, Chopin, Ravel

On an overcast, early fall day, pianist Hélène Tysman shared a sensitive, illuminating performance of piano works by Bach, Debussy, Chopin, and Ravel for this Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert broadcast. Watch the full program here!

Video: ‘Get Out’ Composer Michael Abels Brings His Horror Score Into the Concert Hall

“Writing music, I believe, is a spiritual practice,” says composer Michael Abels. “Any three notes you can find are either terrible or brilliant depending on the context.” Abels makes his Sinfonietta conducting debut leading the orchestra in a live-to-picture performance of his own score for Jordan Peele’s Oscar-winning film Get Out.

Can video games bring new, younger audiences into classical music?

Video games don’t always conjure up images of a concert hall. Surveys show that 90% percent of teens play video games on a computer, game console, or phone. The numbers aren’t quite as high when you ask teens if they like classical music — a separate survey shows that classical music is the preferred genre of just about 4% of …

Pianist Alon Goldstein performs two Scarlatti sonatas in WFMT’s Levin Performance Studio [Video]

In an Impromptu broadcast featuring music by Ginastera, Bernstein, Beethoven, and yes, Domenico Scarlatti, pianist Alon Goldstein spoke with host Kerry Frumkin on the prolific mastery of the Baroque composer, who composed more than 550 sonatas during his lifetime.

Music’s power to connect us takes center stage in Tony-winning The Band’s Visit [Video]

The Band’s Visit begins with a mistake. An Egyptian police orchestra is on tour in Israel accidentally books tickets to the tiny, fictional desert town of Bet Hatikva. While “it could be about two sides that don’t get along,” says Chilina Kennedy, who portrays the enigmatic café owner in Bet Hatikva, “the show is not about conflict. It’s about human connection.”

Video: Watch Pianist George X. Fu Perform Works by Debussy and Beethoven

Audience members, listeners, and viewers alike were treated to a sensitive, dynamic Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert when pianist George Xiaoyuan Fu took the stage at the Chicago Cultural Center.

Once Lost, Saint-Saëns Sonata Unearths a World of Artistic Possibilities

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.

Video: Violinist Anne Akiko Meyers Plays Ave Maria

Bach and Gounod’s Ave Maria has always held a special place in violinist Anne Akiko Meyers’ repertoire: she grew up playing the beloved work. “It’s just one of the most beautiful pieces,” Meyers shared during her appearance on WFMT’s Impromptu.

Video: Pianist Kimberly Han, 18, Plays Bach, Haydn, Chopin

Beneath the Tiffany Dome of the Chicago Cultural Center, 18-year-old pianist Kimberly Han performed works by Bach, Haydn, and Chopin.

Meet the Pianist Who Is Setting Some of the Internet’s Most Hilarious Viral Videos to Music

We know that music makes our lives better, but sometimes, it can make funny things even funnier! Take Charles Cornell, for instance, who is turning viral tweets and videos into songs.

Video: The McGill Brothers Return Home for Grant Park Music Festival Debut

The Chicago-born brothers reflect on their first forays into music, their ongoing support of young arts organizations, and their debut performances at their hometown Grant Park Music Festival.

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