
Zev Kane
Classical Program Director, Classical HostZev’s love for classical music was first instilled by his grandmothers, Mimsie, his first piano teacher, and Fruma, who regularly treated him to concerts by his hometown St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. Although he doesn’t remember the exact moment his intrigue blossomed into a full-blown obsession, by the time he was in ninth grade, Zev was spending his weekends at the local library, rifling through its expansive classical CD collection, checking out as many as his scrawny arms could carry, and spending far more time than he’d care to admit listening, reading liner notes, and poring over digital scores.
After graduating from Dartmouth College, where he majored in Music with concentrations in theory, musicology, and composition, Zev was hired as a member of the music programming staff at WQXR, New York City’s classical station. Despite having no prior radio experience, it only took a few weeks on the job for Zev to realize that, just like the music he’d come to love in his early adolescence, broadcasting was his thing. As WQXR’s Music Director, Zev hosted the station’s monthly new release program, interviewed leading classical talent (including composer Steve Reich, pianists Stewart Goodyear and Simone Dinnerstein, and violinist Leonidas Kavakos), and wrote dozens of monthly album reviews for its website.
Zev is thrilled to be WRTI’s classical program director, where he hopes to steward and grow the station’s tremendous legacy on the airwaves of Greater Philadelphia. In his free time, he enjoys solving the New York Times Crossword Puzzle, early morning runs, hunting for Philly’s best bagels (all suggestions welcome!), and hosting his own weekly music discovery podcast, 7/4.
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The Dutch vocal ensemble Cappella Pratensis and Swiss early-music specialists Sollazzo Ensemble are among our many highlights in the week ahead.
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In this Fall Preview edition of Fanfare, WRTI's Classical Program Director, Zev Kane, shares the classical events he's looking forward to most in the coming season.
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From Beethoven to Handel to Purcell, an array of composers have created coronation music. As King Charles III formally assumes the throne on Saturday, WRTI has a guide to some of the finest and fittest musical themes.
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Sergei Rachmaninoff was the preeminent piano virtuoso of the early 20th century. For his 150th birth anniversary, which also falls during Steinway Week, WRTI invited five Philadelphia-based pianists to perform his works and discuss his legacy.
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For classical violinists, three things in life are certain: death, taxes, and Bach’s Chaconne in D minor. Min-Young Kim recently came to WRTI with a bold version of the piece featuring four singers, members of Variant 6.
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Dozens of vibrant recordings of works by women composers released since the last International Women’s Day are a barometer of progress. Here are 10 of our favorites.
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The soundtrack to this year's buzz-worthy classical film is far from a triumph, but don't blame Oscar-winning composer Hildur Guðnadóttir.
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Two new recordings — the Dover Quartet's 'Beethoven Complete String Quartets Volume 3: The Late Quartets' and Haochen Zhang's 'Beethoven: The Five Piano Concertos' with Nathalie Stutzmann and The Philadelphia Orchestra — demonstrate the risks and rewards for interpreters of the great composer's oeuvre.