Klaus Mäkelä (Photo: Marco Borggreve) Klaus Mäkelä makes his CSO debut in Stravinsky's The Firebird . Opening the program is Hillborg's Eleven Gates, followed by Prokofiev's Violin Concerto No. 2 joined by Daniel Lozakovich. The broadcast concludes with Ravel's Introduction and Allegro for Harp, Flute, Clarinet, and String Quartet, led by Jean Martinon. All works conducted by Klaus Mäkelä Anders Hillborg: Eleven Gates Sergei Prokofiev: Violin Concerto No. 2 in G Minor, Op. 63 D

https://www.wfmt.com/2023/10/08/makela-conducts-the-firebird-2/

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Aaron Copland with Marian Anderson, rehearsing "Lincoln Portrait" (Image: Allen J. Winigrad via loc.gov) Born in Brooklyn, New York in 1900, Aaron Copland devoted his creative life to creating and fostering distinctive American music. Studs Terkel spoke with the eminent twentieth-century composer in the WFMT studios in 1961.

https://www.wfmt.com/2023/10/06/aaron-copland-03-10-1961/

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With a career spanning nearly three decades, the multiple Grammy Award-winning Pacifica Quartet has achieved international recognition as one of the finest chamber ensembles performing today. The quartet is known for its virtuosity, exuberant performance style, and often-daring repertory choices. Music La oración del torero by Joaquín Turina Tues, 10/3 — Chicago Gargoyle Brass and Organ Ensemble The Chicago Gargoyle Brass and Organ Ensemble is comprised of classically trained musicians and performs a variety of repertoire in an equally diverse range of settings.

https://www.wfmt.com/2023/10/06/october-2-october-6-2023/

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Gerard van Honthorst (1592-1656:) "Couple making music behind a balustrade" British vocal ensemble I Fagiolini brings us madrigals for every mood in a program titled 'Melancholy and Nonsense.' I Fagiolini's recital took place November 11, 2022 in the Kreuzkirche in Herne, Germany, as part of Herne Early Music Days, founded in 1976. Madrigals by Monteverdi, Purcell, Banchieri and others echo the Festival's 2022 theme: 'Tragic-Comic.' Thanks to WFMT's association with the European Broadcasting Union, we're able to bring you tonight's program as a stream for thirty days following tonight's broadcast.

https://www.wfmt.com/2023/10/04/melancholy-and-nonsense-madrigals-for-every-mood/

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Black Oak Ensemble (Photo: Ayaka Sano) Black Oak Ensemble, a string trio boasting three of Chicago's most enterprising and dynamic chamber musicians, is collaborating with JCC Chicago and Ravinia to perform on Violins of Hope—a collection of violins, violas, and cellos that belonged to Jewish musicians before and during the Holocaust, painstakingly restored for cultural exhibitions, performances, and community education with a message of hope, resistance, resilience, and unity. Dick

https://www.wfmt.com/2023/10/02/black-oak-ensemble-silenced-voices/

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Lauren Snouffer (Photo: Dario Acosta) Recognized for her unique artistic curiosity in world-class performances spanning four centuries of repertoire, the 'pure-voiced soprano' ( New York Times ) Lauren Snouffer is celebrated as one of the most versatile and respected artists on the international stage. Snouffer is a favorite of both living composers and the leaders of historically informed performances of 17th and 18th century repertoire. This summer, she made her Santa Fe Opera debut as La Musica in Monteverdi's Orfeo (with a new orchestration by Nico Muhly).

https://www.wfmt.com/2023/09/30/the-pure-voice-of-lauren-snouffer/

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Mitsuko Uchida (Photo: Geoffroy Schied) The incomparable creativity of Mozart is on full display in this wondrous program that includes his final piano concerto and final symphony. Peerless Mozart interpreter Mitsuko Uchida—described by  Gramophone  as having stunning 'virtuosity and elan' and tonal shading 'verging on the miraculous'—joins the LA Phil for the Piano Concerto No. 27. Dudamel leads the exuberant 'Jupiter' Symphony, one of the composer's longest symphonies and one of his most enduring and loved.

https://www.wfmt.com/2023/09/28/dudamel-conducts-mozart/

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Jordi Savall & Le Concert des Nations in Concert Jordi Savall and Le Concert des Nations take us on a journey through a variety of sound environments of the eighteenth century. We'll hear works by three composers with three unique musical voices, yet with one thing in common: the desire to innovate. Their originality made the pieces we'll hear tonight a turning point in the history of music. Tonight's program was recorded live in concert February 15, 2023 in Barcelona's Palau de la Música Catalana.

https://www.wfmt.com/2023/09/27/jordi-savall-the-elements-and-the-furies/

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In her only Chicago-area performance this season, Simone Dinnerstein headlines Oak Park's Schubert+ Festival next month with a recital program that features Schubert's Sonata in B-flat Major and includes works by Couperin, Glass, and Robert Schumann. The distinctive American soloist, chamber musician, recording artist, and entrepreneur is committed to giving concerts in non-traditional venues and to audiences who don't often hear classical music. She joins WFMT for Music and Conversation hosted by Henry Fogel.

https://www.wfmt.com/2023/09/27/music-and-conversation-with-simone-dinnerstein/

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Jaime Martín (Photo: Paul-Marc Mitchell) The Planets : Holst's colourful character portraits of our Solar System's seven planets (excluding Earth) is by turns powerfully visceral and captivatingly luminous, opening with the war-like ‘Mars' and concluding with ‘Neptune', whose alluring sounds float off into the ether. The BBC National Orchestra of Wales and Jaime Martín present the suite alongside Welsh composer Grace Williams's Violin Concerto. Suppressed by Williams for many years, it is an intensely lyrical work whose bittersweet opening gives way to an ecstatic slow movement – based on a Welsh hymn tune – and a joyful finale.

https://www.wfmt.com/2023/09/26/holsts-the-planets/

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Learn more about advertising and sponsorship on WFMT. Meet the Host Kerry is a regular host of live concert broadcasts including Live from WFMT, concerts from the Ravinia Festival, and WFMT's premiere visiting artist series, Impromptu. Kerry hosts many WFMT Radio Network broadcasts from such locations as the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival and the Salzburg Festival. A native Chicagoan, Kerry grew up with WFMT. His love of music and radio played an important part in his life at Northwestern University and the University of Wisconsin, where he eventually became program director of Wisconsin Public Radio.

https://www.wfmt.com/2023/09/25/lara-downes-with-nicole-cabell

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Learn more about advertising and sponsorship on WFMT. Meet the Host Alec Baldwin is the Radio Host of the New York Philharmonic. Since 1980 Mr. Baldwin has appeared in numerous productions on stage, in films, and on television. He has received a Tony nomination (A Streetcar Named Desire, 1992), an Oscar nomination (The Cooler, 2004), and has won two Emmy Awards, three Golden Globes, and seven consecutive Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series for his role on NBC's 30 Rock.

https://www.wfmt.com/2023/09/22/julia-wolfes-unearth

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Gustavo Dudamel (Photo: Danny Clinch for LA Phil) The thrilling way Beethoven treats different dance rhythms in his Seventh Symphony made it a hit from the start, and Dudamel is the perfect interpreter to bring out its vibrant and whirling character. Gustavo also leads Gabriella Smith 's brand-new Lost Coast , a cello concerto played by Gabriel Cabezas. For Thursday and Saturday night audiences, Lost Coast is paired with Ellen Reid 's West Coast Sky Eternal , another world premiere.

https://www.wfmt.com/2023/09/21/dudamel-leads-beethoven-and-smith/

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American violist Matthew Lipman has been praised by the New York Times for his 'rich tone and elegant phrasing,' and by the Chicago Tribune for a 'splendid technique and musical sensitivity.' Lipman has come to be relied on as one of the leading players of his generation, frequently appearing as both a soloist and chamber music performer. Music Märchenbilder , Op. 113 by Robert Schumann Tues, 9/19 — Northwestern University Cello Ensemble Established in 2014, the Northwestern University Cello Ensemble performs and records works by classical and contemporary composers.

https://www.wfmt.com/2023/09/22/september-18-september-22-2023/

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Jewish wedding ring, early 14th century Tonight's program, titled 'Sacred Bridges,' celebrates the rich connections between Orient and Occident, creating a musical exploration of the complex intertwinings – the sacred bridges – between Judaism, Islam, and Christianity, as seen through settings of the timeless Psalms of David. Bringing this music to life is the multicultural ensemble Sarband. Though based in Germany, Sarband's musicians hail from a number of different nations, united in their commitment to 'bridging the Occident and Orient' through early music.

https://www.wfmt.com/2023/09/20/sacred-bridges-music-of-the-abrahamic-faiths

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Osvaldo Golijav (Photo: Eric Cheng) A conversation with renowned composer Osvaldo Golijov. Best known for his ground-breaking St. Mark Passion of 2000, the Argentine composer discusses that seminal work and a number of his other compositions, including Falling Out of Time: A Tone Poem of Voices , which was performed last fall at the Harris Theater. Golijov also reveals a period of difficulties with the compositional process following his early successes, and his most recent music, including soundtracks for the movies of Francis Ford Coppola.

https://www.wfmt.com/2023/09/20/music-and-conversation-with-osvaldo-golijov/

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Danish String Quartet (L-R): Asbjørn Nørgaard, Fredrik Schøyen Sjölin, Rune Tonsgaard Sørensen, Frederik Øland (Photo: Caroline Bittencourt) In its second appearance at Ravinia Festival, the Danish Quartet opened with Haydn's Quartet in G minor, Op. 20, No. 3, followed by arrangements of fugues from J.S. Bach's The Art of Fugue, and Dmitri Shostakovich's String Quartet No. 7. The second half of the program featured the ensemble's signature arrangements of folk music—an audience favorite.

https://www.wfmt.com/2023/09/18/danish-string-quartet-3/

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Ailyn Pérez (Photo: Chris Singer) At the close of a hectic season that featured performances of signature roles in London, Berlin, and Paris and the addition of three new roles to her repertoire in New York, Naples, and Santa Fe, soprano Ailyn Pérez remembered to include her native Chicago audience with this 'run-out' recital with her friend, pianist Kevin Murphy. This homecoming solo concert (recorded in between performances of Dvořák's Rusalka at Santa Fe Opera) marked a return to Ravinia's Martin Theatre, the site of early career triumphs in Mozartian roles under the baton of James Conlon.

https://www.wfmt.com/2023/09/16/ailyn-perez-in-recital/

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Ken-David Masur (Photo: Adam DeTour) A preview of the upcoming season with music director Ken-David Masur and the orchestra's new artistic partner, bass-baritone Dashon Burton.

https://www.wfmt.com/2023/09/13/the-milwaukee-symphony-orchestra-2023-24-season/

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Joseph Kim and Samuel Kim Today we feature two brothers, both solo and as a duo. Samuel and Joseph Kim recently moved from Libertyville to Chesapeake, Virginia, and are back in town for a fraternal recital. They bring music from the 18th, 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries, including from two Chicago composers. Joseph Kim is 15 years old and a rising high school sophomore. He started his journey as a guitarist when he was four years old. Joseph has been taking lessons from Brad Conroy at the Music Institute of Chicago for the past four and a half years.

https://www.wfmt.com/2023/09/09/joseph-kim-15-guitar-and-samuel-kim-17-piano/

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Freddie De Tommaso (Photo: Dana van Leeuwen) Freddie De Tommaso is a British-Italian tenor who came to international attention in 2021 (at the age of 28!) when he stepped in at the last minute to sing the role of Mario Cavaradossi in Puccini's Tosca at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Since then, he has been taking the opera world by storm in the Italian lirico-spinto repertoire that is the domain of tenors typically ten years his senior. De Tommaso made his American debut this year singing Cavaradossi at Santa Fe Opera.

https://www.wfmt.com/2023/09/09/the-barnstorming-career-of-freddie-de-tommaso/

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The-Lutenist-Hendrick-Martensz.-Sorgh-1661-Source-rijksmuseum.nl-SK-A-495) 'Without music, everybody'd be downhearted.' So said a plumber Studs Terkel once interviewed. Tonight's  Best of Studs Terkel  dates from 1980 and is one of those times Studs brought out his favorite vinyl LPs for an hour of recorded music.

https://www.wfmt.com/2023/09/08/studs-terkel-presents-an-hour-of-music-09-04-1980/

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Joshua Bell (Photo: Shervin Lainez) The acclaimed violinist comes to WFMT to discuss his role as director of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields and to share his new album—the 'Butterfly Lovers' Concerto.

https://www.wfmt.com/2023/09/06/music-and-conversation-with-joshua-bell/

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Learn more about advertising and sponsorship on WFMT. Meet the Host Kerry is a regular host of live concert broadcasts including Live from WFMT, concerts from the Ravinia Festival, and WFMT's premiere visiting artist series, Impromptu. Kerry hosts many WFMT Radio Network broadcasts from such locations as the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival and the Salzburg Festival. A native Chicagoan, Kerry grew up with WFMT. His love of music and radio played an important part in his life at Northwestern University and the University of Wisconsin, where he eventually became program director of Wisconsin Public Radio.

https://www.wfmt.com/2023/09/04/apollos-fire-the-road-to-dublin

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On this week's episode of Sounds Classical , Kristina and LaRob are joined by Chicago Tribune film critic Michael Phillips for a trip to the movies! They discuss what makes a great film score, some of the most iconic and important film score composers! Grab your popcorn and enjoy this movie music montage episode!

https://www.wfmt.com/2023/09/01/at-the-movies-with-michael-phillips/

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Zubin Mehta (Photo: Chris Lee, courtesy of the New York Philharmonic Leon Levy Digital Archives ) Next time on The New York Philharmonic This Week , we hear selections from the Orchestra's storied discography. Holst's The Planets , conducted by then-Music Director Zubin Mehta, will be followed by another treasure from the archives: a reading from Edwin Hubble's essay The Explorations of Space by Dr. Hubble himself, which originally aired in a 1945 New York Philharmonic broadcast. We'll continue with Respighi's Roman Festivals and Pines of Rome , both conducted by Giuseppe Sinopoli.

https://www.wfmt.com/2023/09/01/planets-pines-and-fountains/

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Elim Chan (Photo: Rahi Rezvani) '[Leila Josefowicz] is the inevitable go-to violinist when the orchestra is in need of a daring, probing, thinking, dancing, spectacularly virtuosic soloist' ( Los Angeles Times ) .  A hero to so many living composers for her fearless playing, she takes on Thomas Adès' 'Concentric Paths' Violin Concerto. The high-powered Elim Chan leads one of Tchaikovsky's most passionate and popular symphonies and opens the program with a world premiere by the talented Clarice Assad.

https://www.wfmt.com/2023/08/31/elim-chan-leila-josefowicz/

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Johann Sebastian Bach: Orchestra Suite No. 2 in B minor, BWV 1067 VII. Badinerie Mary Elizabeth Bowden, trumpet; Kassia Ensemble Rêverie Summit DCD-743 Reena Esmail: Pedernal Mary Elizabeth Bowden, trumpet Reena Esmail: Tuttarana Seraph Brass Sarah Kirkland Snider: Caritas Emily D'Angelo, mezzo-soprano; Matangi Quartet enargeia DG 4860536 Sarah Kirkland Snider: Chrysalis Mary Elizabeth Bowden, trumpet; Kassia Ensemble Rêverie Summit DCD-743 Vivian Fung: Violin Concerto Kristin Lee, violin; Metropolis Ensemble Dreamscapes Naxos 8.

https://www.wfmt.com/2023/08/30/music-and-conversation-with-mary-elizabeth-bowden-2/

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Elim Chan (Photo: Rahi Rezvani) ‘The Enigma I will not explain – its 'dark saying' must be left unguessed …' So wrote Edward Elgar of his career-making ‘Enigma' Variations. What's not in question, however, is the tender playfulness of orchestral variations inspired by the composer's friends and family, including the noble, much-loved ‘Nimrod'. Pianist Jan Lisiecki joins Elim Chan and the BBC Symphony Orchestra for Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 3 – a Romantic tussle between conflict and lyricism.

https://www.wfmt.com/2023/08/29/elgars-enigma-variations

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Pianist Shannon McGinnis and tenor Nicholas Phan (Photo: Elliot Mandel) Nicholas Phan and Eric Ferring, Collaborative Arts Institute of Chicago's artistic and executive directors, preview the 2023 Collaborative Works Festival: Song of Myself . Now in its twelfth season, the Collaborative Works Festival is Chicago's premier showcase of art song and vocal chamber music. Taking inspiration from Walt Whitman's opening inscription to his seminal work Leaves of Grass , the 2023 Festival theme will center around the question: what does it mean to sing of 'One's-self' in today's America? In probing this question, CAIC's season will examine the art of song as an expression of identity, using the medium to explore the complexity, multiplicity, and intersectionality of identity in America today.

https://www.wfmt.com/2023/08/26/the-2023-collaborative-works-festival/

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