Marin Alsop, Jude Kelly Reflect on Leadership in Panel Led by WFMT-WTTW CEO Sandra Cordova Micek

Marin Alsop reflects that “courage is important in leadership, but accountability is, too.”

Key WFMT Producer, Host, Programmer Lois Baum Has Died, 87

Lois Baum’s long and illustrious time with WFMT began in 1964.

Chicago Pride Concerts & Events for 2023

From concerts to screenings to festivals to parades, there’s always something happening in and around Chicago for LGBTQ+ Pride Month.

Carlos Kalmar and the Grant Park Music Festival

With principal conductor and artistic director Carlos Kalmar, we look forward to the Grant Park Music Festival’s 2023 season and also relive a July 2022 concert featuring Rachel Barton Pine playing Billy Childs as well as music by Ludwig van Beethoven and Victor Agudelo.

Video Premiere: Exciting Brass Ensemble The Westerlies Plays ‘This is Water’

How a speech by David Foster Wallace inspired a new triptych for brass quartet.

Classical Music Aerial Adventure: Winter in Chicago

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

Watch Star Trumpeter Mary Elizabeth Bowden Play Beach & Debussy

Beautiful renditions of works inspired by poetry.

In Their Own Words: Inspiring Quotes From Classical Artists and Friends Who Died in 2022

As we reflect on the year gone by, WFMT salutes the contributions of members of the arts community who died this past year.

Sounds Classical: New Show Prizes Fresh Takes on Classical Music

“It’s just something you don’t often hear in classical settings. The music ends and we’re laughing. The music ends and we’re singing.”

The Rich Warren Connection

“Rarely do I pick up a CD from an artist who doesn’t pay homage to Rich Warren,” says Wanda Fischer, award-winning host of The Hudson River Sampler.

John Brennan, 18-year WTTW-WFMT Trustee, Has Died, Age 60

Brennan was an active and engaged leader, serving on nearly every committee of the WTTW-WFMT board.

WFMT’s Classical Conversations: ‘Becoming Frederick Douglass’ & ‘Harriet Tubman Visions of Freedom’

Grammy-winning conductor, pianist, and composer Charles Floyd and award-winning baritone Robert Sims reflect on the importance that Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass placed on spirituals as a beacon for freedom.

Video: James Conlon & Johnny Gandelsman Reflect on Music of the Holocaust

WFMT interviews conductor James Conlon, a tireless advocate for composers silenced by the Nazi regime, and musician Johnny Gandelsman, who produced the soundtrack to ‘The US and the Holocaust.’

A Classical Music Aerial Adventure: Summer in Chicago

Get a new view of summertime in Chicago… complete with some great classical music!

How To Choose the Best Speakers to Listen to WFMT (and All Your Favorite Music!)

Finding the best speakers for classical music can be a serious proposition. Don’t spend your money without answering these questions!

Pianist Stewart Goodyear on the Magic of Music

“Every time I play a piece of music, I train my mind to look at a score fresh.”

Now Announcing: WFMT’s 2022 Grant Park Music Festival Live Broadcasts

Without the Grant Park Music Festival, summer in Chicago simply wouldn’t be … summer in Chicago.

Video: WFMT’s Bach to School Virtual Assembly with the Ryan Opera Center

On May 10, 2022, WFMT General Manager George Preston welcomed Ryan Opera Center performers Lunga Eric Hallam, tenor, and Chris Reynolds, pianist; along with ROC director Dan Novak, for an hour of conversation and music.

WFMT Classical Conversations: Dr. C. Charles Clency

WFMT presenter LaRob K. Rafael interviews Dr. C. Charles Clency, music educator, author, and the last accompanist of Mahalia Jackson.

Bach’s Top 10 Works

Bach wrote a lot of music! Here’s where to start…

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?

Watch WFMT’s Bach to School Virtual Assembly with Chicago Musical Pathways Initiative

On March 22, WFMT presenter and Introductions producer and host Robbie Ellis moderated a discussion with CMPI project director James Hall and violinist Esme Arias-Kim.

15-Year-Old Pianist Noah Kim’s Saint-Saëns Wins Him the 2022 CSO Young Artists Competition

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

Watch WFMT Classical Conversations: Benjamin Franklin and Music

In connection with Ken Burns’ newest documentary, WFMT interviews Ellen Cohn, editor-in-chief of The Papers of Benjamin Franklin and actor and historian Mitchell Kramer, who has been portraying Franklin for more than a decade.

Video: Beethoven and Brahms Masterworks With Gabriel Martins & Victor Asunción

In two expressive, charismatic works of cello repertoire, ascendant artist Gabriel Martins Brahms’ Cello Sonata No. 2.