Arts Desk

Throughout the week

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

This Is The Heavenly Work by J.S. Bach That Contains So Much of What He Learned Over His Entire Life

By • Jun 23, 2020
Wikipedia Commons

Bach's Mass in B minor is a testament to a lifetime of work by the "King of Baroque"—but the masterpiece is not a typical Mass in scope or compositional history.

Classical Album of the Week: Pianist Beatrice Rana Blazes in Ravel and Stravinsky

By • Jun 22, 2020

June 22, 2020. Just 27 years old, Italian pianist Beatrice Rana has released three major-label albums of diverse repertoire, from powerhouse concerti to the Goldberg Variations of J.S. Bach. Our Classical Album of the Week represents Rana’s third album, released in 2019 from Warner. It shows the blistering technique and refined sense of color that won her the Silver Medal in the 2013 Van Cliburn Competition.

How Music Responds on WRTI: A Conversation with Stanford Thompson

By • Jun 18, 2020

Professional trumpet player, educator, advocate, and arts leader Stanford Thompson is founder and executive director of Play On, Philly, which teaches hundreds of children in underserved communities to play classical music in orchestral settings.

How Music Responds on WRTI: A Conversation with Conductor Jeri Lynne Johnson

By • Jun 17, 2020
Courtesy of Jeri Lynne Johnson

In 2008, African-American conductor Jeri Lynne Johnson founded Black Pearl Chamber Orchestra, an ensemble of classically trained musicians from diverse cultures and ethnicities as a model for the 21st century. She shared with WRTI's Susan Lewis her thoughts about the possibilities for change in classical music culture.


Why Is Beethoven's Only Violin Concerto Revolutionary? Ask Gil Shaham

By • Jun 16, 2020
Wikipedia Commons

Violinist Gil Shaham became enthralled by Beethoven's Violin Concerto as a child. Years later, he's still moved by its power. 

How Music Responds on WRTI: A Conversation with Composer Valerie Coleman

By • Jun 15, 2020

Valerie Coleman has written works for The Philadelphia Orchestra, The Library of Congress, and a host of other organizations and ensembles, including the Grammy-nominated Imani Winds, of which she is the founder and former flutist. She talked with WRTI's Susan Lewis about writing music in today's difficult times. 

Classical Album of the Week: The Art of Russian Transcriptions

By • Jun 10, 2020

June 8, 2020. Since J.S. Bach’s time to the present, musicians have been irresistibly drawn to transcribing and arranging works that others have written. In our Classical Album of the Week, pianist Vyacheslav Gryaznov transcribes works by his fellow Russian composers with deep understanding, and an unabashedly Romantic style.

The Bittersweet Love Story Behind Peter Lieberson's Neruda Songs

By • Jun 9, 2020
Ben Dashwood

A moving song cycle about love has an equally powerful backstory. Captivated by a collection of Pablo Neruda's love poems, composer Peter Lieberson set five of them to be sung by his wife. In 2005, Lorraine Hunt Leiberson premiered, performed and recorded them, but died the next year. As WRTI's Susan Lewis reports, the song cycle, Neruda Songs, lives on. 

This Is How Concertmaster David Kim Prepares To Play As Soloist With The Philadelphia Orchestra

By • Jun 3, 2020
Ryan Donnell

Philadelphia Orchestra concertmaster David Kim, who has played Bruch’s First Violin Concerto as soloist many times, has his own routine to prepare for a performance with The Philadelphia Orchestra.

Classical Album of the Week: Complices, Music for Cello and Piano

By • May 31, 2020

June 1, 2020. Complices is the title of our Classical Album of the Week, and for the non-Francophiles among us, that translates to "accomplices" or "partners." So, you may be wondering—who are these accomplices? Everybody I asked about this assumed what I did—that it must refer to the two featured artists themselves, cellist Jean Guihen Queyras and his collaborator, pianist Alexandre Tharaud.

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