WRTI Spotlight

Patriotic Music and Works by American Composers

Friday, July 1 to Monday, July 4

A Swingin' and Singin' Jazz Weekend

Saturday, July 2 to Tuesday, July 5

Join us during classical music hours for selections dating back from the birth of our nation to the present. And from Saturday night of the holiday weekend through the following Tuesday morning, you'll hear your favorite big bands and classic vocalists during regular jazz hours.

Patriotic Music and Works by American Composers

Here's a taste of A Grand Celebration - the Philadelphia Orchestra performing with Peter Richard Conte on the Wanamaker Organ. There's a story behind this historic recording. Kile Smith fills us in, and helps us hear what it's like to experience the glorious sounds of the Wanamaker Organ.

Listen to the music and read the article

It's sometimes forgotten that most of the greatest composers in classical music were also superb improvisers. Bach amazed audiences with his improvisational keyboard skills, Beethoven was always game for an improvisational showdown with other musicians and, by all accounts, Liszt drove women crazy with his flights of romantic fancy during performances. No wonder, then, that the history of jazz is peppered with "jazzed up" versions of classical compositions. Here are five of them.--from NPR

The Boston Early Music Festival ended on June 19th. The New York Times called it "...an early-music fan's idea of paradise for a week." Listen to one of the Festival highlights: The Orchestra at Play - Festive Concertos, Suites, and Sinfonias by Bach, Handel, Corelli, and Vivaldi--from NPR

Listen Here and read an article about the Festival

A song cycle inspired by Civil War-era tunes is adapted for a soldier's return from Afghanistan by stage director Peter Sellars, and features soprano Dawn Upshaw.--from NPR

Listen to NPR Story and Read Article

This recent broadcast features young musicians with connections to our region - they're up to remarkable things beyond playing classical music. You'll meet a 14-year-old pianist who has appeared in a major feature film, a teenage flutist who's recorded with one of the world's greatest jazz musicians, and a From the Top alum who's started a new urban orchestra training program in Philadelphia. You'll also meet an outstanding 11-year-old guitarist, and hear the world-famous American Boy Choir from Princeton. Missed it live? No problem! Listen now...

Sunday, June 12

3 to 5 pm

The best seat is right where you happen to be this Sunday as the Kimmel Center brings you two concerts recorded during the recent PIFA festival. Organist Thierry Escaich recreates the organ sounds of Paris 1910 to 1920. Pianist Jeffrey Siegel is back for another fabulous performance of Keyboard Conversations - this concert profiles Paris in 1911 with works by Ravel and Debussy.

More Information:

June 7th marked the birth date of Hungarian-born conductor and pianist George Szell. It's not a round-numbered anniversary - the 114th - but there is a birthday present of sorts. A brand new biography, Michael Charry's George Szell: A Life of Music, was published by University of Illinois Press last week. Szell is best remembered as the man who, over 24 years, meticulously molded the Cleveland Orchestra into one of the finest ensembles in the world.--from NPR

We're going to pick up the thread from last month's Discoveries and follow it a bit further. Felix Mendelssohn convinced two friends of his, Ignaz Moscheles and Ferdinand David, to work with him in Leipzig. Moscheles and David both taught Friedrich Gernsheim. We'll hear his music, and that of one of his students, who has one of the more recognized names of any composer.