Listen to The Philadelphia Orchestra in Concert on Sunday, July 6 at 1 p.m. on WRTI 90.1 and Monday, July 7 at 7 p.m. on WRTI HD-2 as Marin Alsop makes her first appearance in Philadelphia as principal guest conductor — leading Brahms's Haydn Variations; a world premiere by Gabriela Lena Frank; and Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto, featuring Randall Goosby.

High summer and the Fourth of July weekend have conspired to make this a quieter stretch on the calendar — but there are a few gigs to know about, including a free outdoor concert by a jazz-guitar great.

We’ve reached the midpoint of 2025, and listened our way through well over a hundred albums. In this episode, we’re sharing half a dozen of our favorites.

Join us on Sunday, June 29 at 1 p.m. on WRTI 90.1 and Monday, June 30 at 7 p.m. on WRTI HD-2 as The Philadelphia Orchestra in Concert brings you Beethoven's Symphony No. 3 ("Eroica"), Michael Tilson Thomas' 'Agnegram,' and Ravel's 'Piano Concerto for the Left Hand,' featuring Pierre-Laurent Aimard. Osmo Vänskä is on the podium.

Eugene Ormandy spent more than 40 years at the helm of The Philadelphia Orchestra, and it can be easy to take his legacy for granted. But a major new boxed set renews his claim to artistic excellence.

We may be experiencing a heat wave, but the music this week is keeping it cool. Catch Josh Lawrence at the Black Squirrel, Ari Hoenig at Chris', Matmos at Solar Myth and more.

Juneteenth honors Freedom Day, a 19th century landmark for Black Americans across the country. WRTI has prepared special programming in that spirit, featuring music from John Coltrane, Charles Mingus, Lionel Loueke and more.

Kevin Day has composed well-received works for orchestra and jazz combo, but nothing has stretched his horizons quite like Lalovavi: An Afrofuturist Opera in Three Acts — his debut opera, which will premiere at the Cincinnati Opera in the summer of 2026. During a recent visit to WRTI, Day talked about this epic work, and played some of its themes at the piano.

Join us on Sunday, June 22 at 1 p.m. on WRTI 90.1 and Monday, June 23 at 7 p.m. on WRTI HD-2 as The Philadelphia Orchestra in Concert brings you Hélène Grimaud in Brahms' Piano Concerto No. 1, alongside Louise Farrenc's First Symphony and Julia Wolfe's 'Pretty,' which the composer calls "a raucous celebration." Yannick Nézet-Séguin is on the podium.

Isabel Hagen stopped by WRTI in April while on a stand-up tour to chat with Alex Ariff about her bohemian upbringing, specific moments from her web series Is a Violist, and how she folds her viola playing into her live act as a stand-up, and more.