The renowned British conductor Donald Runnicles is the conductor for this Sunday’s Philadelphia Orchestra concert broadcast on WRTI. Scottish-born and raised, Runnicles left his native land very early in his career. And as WRTI’s Jim Cotter reports, he has happily “settled” wherever the muse has taken him.

The New York City artist community was hit hard by Hurricane Sandy, which destroyed many works by current painters and sculptors. When the performance artist and composer Laurie Anderson peered into her basement, she saw her personal archive - decades of papers, prop,s and important artistic keepsakes  - floating.

So Anderson decided, as The Philadelphia Inquirer's David Patrick Stearns now reports, to create a piece about it with the Kronos Quartet titled Landfall.

This week, the Philadelphia Orchestra wraps up its subscription season with a special tribute to Wolfgang Sawallisch, who died earlier this year. As WRTI’s Susan Lewis reports, the Orchestra’s beloved former music director forged strong bonds with the musicians he led.

This week, The Philadelphia Orchestra wraps up its subscription season with a special tribute to former music director and conductor laureate, Wolfgang Sawallisch, who died earlier this year.  As WRTI’s Susan Lewis reports, he’s remembered as a master on the podium.

The cold snap is behind us and we’re feeling the warmth of spring on Now Is the Time, Sunday, May 19th at 10 pm. Ingrid Arauco’s Florescence buzzes and hums for the flute and harpsichord of Mélomanie, and Derek Bermel brings Thracian Sketches in all its Bulgarian-inspired rhythms to viola and percussion.

George Tsontakis takes us to the Mediterranean with orchestral Gymnopedies that are more Greek than French, but France infuses the sound of Avner Dorman’s Moments Musicaux for piano.

Things heat up with the computerized kicks of Thrum by John Gibson, and finally, with the two electric guitars that rock David Lang’s Warmth.

The Philadelphia Orchestra wraps up its subscription season this week with a special tribute to Wolfgang Sawallisch, who died on February 22, 2013.  As WRTI’s Susan Lewis reports, the Orchestra's former music director and conductor laureate shared his musical gifts with audiences at home and abroad, leading the orchestra on eight international tours.

Join us on Sunday at 5 pm for our monthly Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia broadcast. Music Director Dirk Brossé conducts, with soloists Elissa Lee Koljonen, violin, and Roberto Diaz, viola.

Program:

MOZART: Sinfonia Concertante in E-flat major, K.364
Elissa Lee Koljonen, violin
Roberto Diaz, viola
Dirk Brossé, conductor
 
ANTHEIL: Serenade for String Orchestra
Dirk Brossé, conductor

Tango is the dance of love, of passion, and of a world that transports you to another plane. So say the tango lovers and novices who have re-discovered this emotional and passionate dance expression.

Join Jill for a conversation with Meredith Klein, director of the the Philadelphia Argentine Dance School, and organizer of the Third Annual Philadelphia International Tango Festival, which takes place from May 24th through May 27th. Twenty-two workshops with world-renowned dancers/teachers, five milongas (social dances) and outstanding performers will teach, perform, and work with those who live and breathe tango and those who have had no prior exposure or experience to it.

Tango, unlike other dances, has a mystique surrounding it that is deeply felt and absorbed by the participant, and is also a new world for the novice to discover. Internationally renowned couples, directly from Buenos Aires, Argentina, Javier Antar & Kara Wenham and Guillermo Cerneaz and Marina Kenny will teach workshops for intermediate and advanced dancers and perform at nightly social dances. Tangueros from around the United States are planning to travel to Philadelphia to study with these celebrated masters.

Most events will take place in the upstairs ballroom of the beautiful RUBA Club in Northern Liberties (414 Green Street, Philadelphia), which is reminiscent of some of the elegant and sometimes edgy tango spaces in Buenos Aires. A therapeutic yoga class is available daily taught by Argentine yogi and tango aficionada Monica Moya. More information here.