Join us on Sunday, August 15th at 1 PM on WRTI 90.1, and Monday, August 16th at 7 PM on WRTI HD-2 to hear Esa Pekka-Salonen conduct The Philadelphia Orchestra in Richard Strauss’s tone poem Also sprach Zarathustra and two works by Béla Bartók – his Viola Concerto , with soloist C.J. Chang, and the pantomime ballet The Miraculous Mandarin .
Passionate about music since he was a child, Esa-Pekka Salonen— music director of the San Francisco Symphony, principal conductor and artistic advisor of London's Philharmonia Orchestra, and prolific, internationally acclaimed composer—finds personal meaning in the music of others, and discovers new insights into his own music when colleagues conduct it.
Tune in on Sunday, August 8th at 1 PM on WRTI 90.1, and on Monday, August 9th at 7 PM on WRTI HD-2, for a rebroadcast of a concert from The Philadelphia Orchestra's 2014-2015 season.
There are very few tuba concertos in the classical repertoire - Ralph Vaughn Williams' 1954 work is among a handful. But in his work, Reflections on the Missippi , composer Michael Daugherty explores the largely untapped lyricism of the instrument.
Philadelphia Orchestra Principal Percussionist Christopher Deviney has long been drawn to the music of guitarist Pat Metheny and his composing partner, pianist Lyle Mays.
A classical percussionist takes on the music of jazz guitarist Pat Metheny. WRTI’s Susan Lewis has the story of a concerto for vibraphone and marimba, arranged by Christopher Deviney, the Philadelphia Orchestra’s principal percussionist.
From an ancient buried past in Pompeii, to an outer-worldly future , The Philadelphia Orchestra in Concert on WRTI transports us to different worlds this Sunday, July 25th at 1 pm on WRTI 90.1 and on Monday, July 26th at 7 pm on WRTI HD-2.
When can music composed for a film stand on its own? WRTI’s Susan Lewis reports on how John Williams’ suite from Close Encounters of the Third Kind translates to the concert stage.
A pairing of two choral works—one of them a world premiere—and Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition , in the famous Ravel orchestration, highlight this week's Philadelphia Orchestra in Concert broadcast, Sunday, July 18th at 1 pm on WRTI 90.1, and Monday, July 19th at 7 pm on WRTI HD-2.
Jennifer Higdon’s concerto, On a Wire, was inspired by images of birds, as well as the innovative versatility of the musicians of Eighth Blackbird, the contemporary soloist ensemble.
In 1925, George Gershwin was known for his popular songs, Broadway music, and his Rhapsody in Blue . As WRTI’s Susan Lewis reports, he then tackled another classical form with his Piano Concerto in F.
Join us on Sunday, July 4th at 1 PM on WRTI 90.1, and Monday, July 5th at 7 PM on WRTI HD-2 to hear a Philadelphia Orchestra concert from 2017. It's works by American composers born and trained in the U.S.A, and a Czech master who wrote some of his most enduring compositions while living in the States.
Philadelphia Orchestra First Associate Concertmaster Juliette Kang is soloist in a performance of Max Bruch’s Scottish Fantasy , as WRTI’s Philadelphia Orchestra in Concert broadcast airs a 2018 concert from the Orchestra’s British Isles Festival.
Bagpipes often play at police and firefighter funerals, but they also play at celebrations. And in Philadelphia, The Philadelphia Police and Fire Pipes & Drums play everything from "Amazing Grace" to the Rocky theme, to music in concert with The Philadelphia Orchestra.
It was in 1832 that the great virtuoso violinist Niccolò Paganini—also an extraordinary violist—became the proud new owner of a Stradivarius viola. Wanting to show it off, but frustrated by the lack of concertos featuring the instrument, he commissioned Hector Berlioz to write a work that would help him put his purchase on display.
Early works for solo viola were often written for violinists, who also happened to play viola. Today, that music, such as Berlioz's Harold in Italy , puts violists in the spotlight. Philadelphia Orchestra Principal Violist Choong-Jin (C.J.) Chang spoke with WRTI's Susan Lewis about how he's drawn to the instrument.
Join us on Sunday, June 13th at 1 PM and Monday, June 14th at 7 PM as Yannick Nézet-Séguin, in a concert from 2018, conducts a program featuring a world premiere by Nico Muhly, one of the most popular of all piano concertos—Grieg’s A minor—and the work Rachmaninoff composed with the Philadelphia Sound in mind, the Symphonic Dances. André Watts is soloist.
Join us on Sunday, June 6th at 1 PM on WRTI 90.1 and Monday, June 7th at 7 PM on WRTI HD-2 to hear a 2017 Philadelphia Orchestra concert that was broadcast live from Verizon Hall , highlighted by the return to Philadelphia of Russian pianist Daniil Trifonov. Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts.
On Sunday, May 30th at 1 PM on WRTI 90.1 and Monday, May 31st at 7 PM on WRTI HD-2, Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts an emotionally charged work by composer, jazz trumpeter and educator Hannibal Lokumbe, commissioned by The Philadelphia Orchestra and given its world premiere back in 2015.
What’s a spiritatorio? Composer Hannibal Lokumbe coined the term to describe his recent oratorio, which reflects on science, spirituality, and the human condition. WRTI’s Susan Lewis has more on One Land, One River, One People , for orchestra, chorus and vocal soloists.