Arts Desk

Throughout the week

Listen to WRTI's Arts Desk features for a daily look into music in the Philadelphia region.

Why Is Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto So Irresistible?

By • 41 minutes ago
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.

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.

This Is What The Basset Horn Symbolized To Mozart In His Masonic Funeral Music and Requiem

By • May 18, 2020
Scott Rodgerson/Unsplash

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart died in 1791 at age 35, before he finished his Requiem mass. But it wasn't the only funeral music he composed. WRTI's Susan Lewis has more on an earlier work that provides context for his musical journey. 

Classical Album of the Week: Pianist Lara Downes Plays Music To Lift Us Up In Troubled Times

By • May 17, 2020

May 18, 2020. As Memorial Day approaches, we think of the service and sacrifice of so many to protect our country and keep us safe. Our classical album of the week, Some of These Days, is a recent release by pianist Lara Downes featuring American music about perseverence, hope, and caring for one another.

Aaron Copland's House and Other Architectural Landmarks Inspired This Music

By • May 16, 2020
Jeremy Tressler

Houses and other buildings we inhabit are the subjects of eight works in pianist Nadia Shpachenko’s album, The Poetry of Places, winner of the 2020 Grammy Award for Best Classical Compendium.

This Is What You Should Know About Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1

By Meridee Duddleston • May 15, 2020
Getty Images/Skodonell


Meet Pianist Haochen Zhang, Who Loves Rachmaninoff and Philadelphia

By • May 12, 2020

Born in Shanghai in 1990, pianist Haochen Zhang won the Van Cliburn Competition in 2009, which launched his career. He went on to win an Avery Fisher Career Grant in 2017, and today he's an international star, receiving kudos from media outlets around the globe. “Such a combination of enchanting, sensitive lyricism and hypnotizing forcefulness is a phenomenon encountered very rarely," says The Jerusalem Post. Two of his favorite things: Rachmaninoff and Philadelphia.

C.P.E. Bach: Mercurial Diversions For Uncertain Times

By • May 11, 2020

In these days of uncertainty, music can provide a safe haven, an escape, or even a boost of energy. I've found all of that and more in a new recording of the music of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, the second oldest of Johann Sebastian's musical sons, and a composer who continually fascinates me.

Classical Album of the Week: Composer Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Beyond Film Scores

By • May 11, 2020

May 11, 2020. If you listen to WRTI's weekday feature Flix@5, you're likely familiar with the music of Erich Wolfgang Korngold (1897-1957), whose scores for films include Captain Blood, The Sea Hawk, The Sea Wolf, Kings Row, and Of Human Bondage. Korngold was one of the most important film composers in the history of Hollywood; his music for The Adventures of Robin Hood won him an Academy Award in 1939.

Pianist Lara Downes' Special Gift From Her Mom

By • May 6, 2020

Mother's Day is a time to honor our mothers and the roles they've played in shaping who we are. Pianist Lara Downes' music shines a light on social justice, in the tradition of her own mother. 

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