Music

Holiday Music: Where Are The New Standards?

December 10, 2019 - 11:00am

Our pop music expert is back to talk about why it’s so hard to find modern standards for old holiday favorites. We also talk about the start of holiday albums, fun songs from unusual sources and hear your recommendations.

Folk Music For A Winter Wonderland

December 9, 2019 - 3:00pm

We're joined by the host of WPR's Simply Folk program to talk about and listen to some folk music that evokes an idealized Wisconsin winter.

The Music Behind Derailed

December 6, 2019 - 1:00pm

WPR's Karl Christenson talks about his process in composing and recording the original music for "Derailed."

This Other World

December 6, 2019 - 11:30am

Twenty-one-year old Frédéric Chopin was discovering a galaxy of famous musicians of the day when he wrote to a friend back in Poland in December 1831: Paris is whatever you want it to be. You can entertain yourself, be bored, laugh, cry, do whatever you want and nobody notices you...

Instruments Worth $28K Stolen From UW-Madison Lockers

December 6, 2019 - 10:25am

Six instruments worth $28,000, including a $10,000 violin, have been stolen from lockers inside a University of Wisconsin-Madison campus building.

Freddie Gibbs And Madlib: Tiny Desk Concert

December 6, 2019 - 4:00am

This Freddie Gibbs and Madlib Tiny Desk performance was a year in the making, largely because Madlib insisted on playing with El Michels Affair, a vintage funk and soul band based out of New York. But it was worth the wait. When pianist Marco Benevento opened with a delicate, almost...

Fun Things To See And Do in Wisconsin Over The Holidays

December 5, 2019 - 3:00pm

The Rotary Lights Display at Riverview Park in La Crosse, Wis.

There's no place like Wisconsin for the holidays. We take a look at some of the fun, tasty, musical and colorful events taking place around the state in December. We also want to hear about your can't-miss holiday-related happenings and activities going on in your community.

The Pianist

December 5, 2019 - 11:30am

In December 1815 composer Giacomo Meyerbeer was in London visiting celebrated composers and performers. When it came to pianists, he was most impressed by a fellow German who had settled in London, Johann Baptiste Cramer. In his journal Meyerbeer wrote: Cramer is in his forties, a big, sturdy man with...

Spectrum West, December 5, 2019

December 5, 2019 - 10:00am

Jazz, Orchestra, Theater and Book Givaway- A Christmas jazz concert taking place at the Pablo Center on the Confluence is previewed on “Spectrum West.” This week also features interviews with the director of the Chippewa Valley Symphony Orchestra, the director of a UW-Eau Claire theater production and an organizer of a book giveaway at the L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library.

Raphael Saadiq: Tiny Desk Concert

December 5, 2019 - 4:00am

This Tiny Desk concert was part of Tiny Desk Fest, a four-night series of extended concerts performed in front of a live audience and streamed live on YouTube, Twitter and Facebook. The first time Raphael Saadiq played Tiny Desk , "it was really a tiny desk." "And honestly we were...

Joy Williams Creates Music Fit For The Front Porch

December 4, 2019 - 1:05pm

Joy Williams’ 2019 album, "Front Porch," is a rich but stripped-down acoustic journey through personal struggles and relationships.

Out of the Body

December 4, 2019 - 11:30am

Some people are said to have the ability to see themselves as if from a distance. Richard Wagner was one of them. He delivered an address at a ceremony marking the relocation of the remains of composer Carl Maria von Weber from London to Dresden in December 1844. In his...

The Metropolitan Opera Begins Its 89th Season

December 3, 2019 - 3:20pm

The new season of Saturday Metropolitan Opera radio broadcasts begins Dec. 7 on Wisconsin Public Radio, and continues through May 9. Launched in 1931, the Met’s matinee broadcasts are the longest-running continuous classical radio series in American broadcast history. This season includes favorites like Verdi’s "La Traviata" and Puccini’s "La...

Uh-oh!

December 3, 2019 - 11:30am

In his 1952 memoir My Life, Russian émigré composer Alexander Gretchaninoff tells how simple carelessness nearly resulted in disaster. In 1925 the composer and his wife were living in Paris. He went to Rome to conduct two concerts, the second of which was to include his Third Symphony and excerpts...

Sheryl Crow: Tiny Desk Concert

December 3, 2019 - 4:00am

This Tiny Desk concert was part of Tiny Desk Fest, a four-night series of extended concerts performed in front of a live audience and streamed live on YouTube, Twitter and Facebook. "I heard a big thing on NPR about the shrinking of the attention span and how now, with pop...

Who Is August Greene? (Rebroadcast)

December 2, 2019 - 10:06am

Ahead of Joshua stepping down, we’re rebroadcasting a few of his favorite shows. This is one! They knew they had something special when they won an Emmy. “Letter To The Free” by rapper Common, pianist Robert Glasper and producer/drummer Karriem Riggins was featured on the soundtrack of the documentary “13th”...

Megan Thee Stallion: Tiny Desk Concert

December 2, 2019 - 4:01am

This Tiny Desk concert was part of Tiny Desk Fest, a four-night series of extended concerts performed in front of a live audience and streamed live on YouTube, Twitter and Facebook. "I'm gonna get real comfortable with y'all, so I'm need y'all to get real comfortable with me," Megan Thee...

The Start of a Sweet Concert Season

December 1, 2019 - 1:00pm

Start unwrapping musical gifts with concerts in your area.

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Holiday Music: Where Are The New Standards?

Folk Music For A Winter Wonderland

The Music Behind Derailed

This Other World

Instruments Worth $28K Stolen From UW-Madison Lockers

Freddie Gibbs And Madlib: Tiny Desk Concert

Fun Things To See And Do in Wisconsin Over The Holidays

The Pianist

Spectrum West, December 5, 2019

Raphael Saadiq: Tiny Desk Concert

Joy Williams Creates Music Fit For The Front Porch

Out of the Body

The Metropolitan Opera Begins Its 89th Season

Uh-oh!

Sheryl Crow: Tiny Desk Concert

Who Is August Greene? (Rebroadcast)

Megan Thee Stallion: Tiny Desk Concert

The Start of a Sweet Concert Season

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