The Philadelphia Orchestra In Concert on WRTI 90.1: Pianist Louis Lortie, Yannick, and Mahler

By • May 29, 2020
Elias Photography

Join us on Sunday, May 31st at 1 PM on WRTI 90.1, and on Monday, June 1st at 7 PM on WRTI HD-2 for an unforgettable rebroadcast of the Fabulous Philadelphians!

The Philadelphia Orchestra on WRTI: Lisa Batiashvili Plays Tchaikovsky's Beloved Violin Concerto

By • May 29, 2020
Sammy Hart/DG

One of the finest violinists of her generation, Lisa Batiashvili has teamed up with Yannick Nézet-Séguin for some memorable performances.  You can hear the rebroadcast of one of them on Thursday, May 28th at 7 PM on WRTI HD-2 and Friday, May 29th at 1 PM on WRTI 90.1, when she plays Tchaikovsky’s beloved Violin Concerto with The Philadelphia Orchestra.

Jazz Album of the Week: Bassist Nicholas Krolak’s Voice = Power Is Spirited and Spiritual

By • May 26, 2020

May 26, 2020. Assembled here for Voice = Power—the follow-up to bassist Nicholas Krolak’s 2018 debut Chicory Root—are the component parts of the traditional Art Blakey-style hard bop quintet. Combine that with the fact that Krolak’s most notable side work has been with local heavyweights like Larry McKenna, John Swana, and Tony Miceli, and it’d be reasonable to assume the 10 tracks and 50 minutes of Voice = Power would be a mostly straight-forward affair.

This Is The Music Yannick Nézet-Séguin Would Play for Visitors from Mars

By • May 26, 2020
Chris Lee/Philadelphia Orchestra

Yannick Nézet-Séguin loves Mahler's Symphony No.5 for many reasons. One is that it's a work that epitomizes everything that orchestral music can be. 

Why Is Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto So Irresistible?

By • May 26, 2020
Wikimedia Commons

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky—who wrote such lush, sweeping melodies for strings—composed one violin concerto. But in it, he put a world of emotions. WRTI's Susan Lewis has more.

WRTI's NPR Live Sessions Video of the Week: Saxophonist Bobby Zankel Performs "Relativity"

By • May 26, 2020

Saxophonist Bobby Zankel has spent decades demonstrating inspiration and influence from a lifetime commitment to the free jazz movement of the 1960s.

Our Daily Breather: Steve Reich Composes During The Coronavirus Crisis

By • May 26, 2020

Our Daily Breather is a series where we ask writers and artists to recommend one thing that's helping them get through the days of isolation during the coronavirus pandemic. NPR Music's Tom Huizenga recently spoke with Pulitzer-winning composer Steve Reich, who has been keeping busy with the solitary act of writing a new piece from his winter getaway in Los Angeles.

Who: Steve Reich
Where: Los Angeles, Calif.
Recommendation: Keep on working

Pandemic Strikes Jazz Community

By • May 23, 2020

Lee Konitz, Bucky Pizzarelli, Ellis Marsalis, Wallace Roney and Henry Grimes are just a few of the jazz greats who have died in recent months from complications due to the coronavirus. Hear WBGO and Jazz Night in America's Christian McBride talk to about the toll the pandemic has taken on the jazz community, and read WBGO's Nate Chinen on the pain of grieving lost musicians during Jazz Appreciation Month in April.

The Story Behind the Famous Bugle Call, "Taps"

By Meridee Duddleston • May 23, 2020
The Washington Post/Getty Images

The powerful sound of a bugler playing “Taps” is a call to remember those who gave their lives in the service of the United States.

Rachel Portman Steps Away From The Screen With 'Ask The River'

By • May 21, 2020

Rachel Portman has been scoring films since the 1980s, and in 1997 became the first woman ever to win an Oscar for best original score for her work on Douglas McGrath's Emma. Since then, Portman has scored dozens more films and TV shows, but is now stepping away from the screen with ask the river, her first album of music not written for a movie, TV show or stage production.

"There were hardly any female film composers," Portman says of winning an Oscar at that time.

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