Music

When Soviet pianist Sviatoslav Richter came to America, his government took no chances on losing him. In 1960, when he arrived in New York for the first time, Richter was accompanied by a bodyguard named Anatoly, a young veteran of the NKVD, the Soviet security service. Anatoly was pleasant enough,...

Heat Check

August 5, 2019 - 5:18am

Stream: Spotify , Apple Music . As the most-consumed genres, the tendrils of rap and R&B have found their way into all popular music today. The current landscape of music is a garden of trap, soul, jazz, funk and global amalgamations. With such a beautiful, organic takeover, more artists than...

The Dog Days Of Summer

August 4, 2019 - 5:00pm

We're in the Dog Days of Summer, but enjoy a cool breeze of folk music with songs from Keb’ Mo’, Darlingside, Rising Appalachia, the Honey Dewdrops, and Buffy St. Marie, along with Mary Gauthier’s 2019 Shindig performance and a ticket giveaway for a performance by the Celt-grass group, We Banjo 3.

Episode 201: Invisible Suitcases

August 3, 2019 - 11:00am

Writer Damon Young tells us how existing while black is an extreme sport. Also, podcast host Nora McInerny finds happiness in the wake of profound loss. And journalist Geoff Edgers on how Run-DMC and Aerosmith’s “Walk This Way’ collaboration changed American music.

The Molding of Mexican Mariachi

August 3, 2019 - 10:00am

The sound of mariachi is several things - a Mexican street band, a musician in such a band or, the traditional form of Spanish music - a musical expression that dates back to at least 18th century Western Mexico...

Soundbed: Tk 6 Mariachi El Bronx (Featuring Mariachi Reyna De Los Angeles), Mariachi El Bronx feat. Mariachi Reyna De Los Angeles, 4:53

Tenuous Encounters

August 2, 2019 - 11:30am

The two composers would be major forces in late nineteenth-century music and great friends, but not before some preliminary missteps. In 1857 Camille Saint-Saëns began seeing small notices announcing Paris performances by an unknown Russian named Anton Rubinstein. Rubinstein was unknown in Paris for a very good reason–he avoided press...

'Romance' and 'Inspiration' From Siblings Sheku And Isata Kanneh-Mason

August 2, 2019 - 10:25am

Siblings Isata and Sheku Kanneh-Mason have each released a new recording: Isata's features the piano music of Clara Schumann and her brother Sheku's includes various cello pieces, from Shostakovich to Bob Marley.

The Stories Behind Wisconsin's Bandstands

August 2, 2019 - 6:30am

A band shell in Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin.

Summertime in Wisconsin is flush with concerts and festivals in city parks. And one common backdrop to these gatherings is the bandshell, a bandstand shaped like a seashell. We talk with a retiree who has made a hobby of visiting and learning about bandshells across Wisconsin over the past decade.

Lumberjack World Championships Commence, Bandshells Across Wisconsin

August 2, 2019 - 6:00am

Competitors from around the globe descend on Hayward this weekend for the 60th World Lumberjack Championships. From logrolling to axe throwing, we learn what visitors can expect. Plus, a conversation with a retiree who has made it her hobby to learn about bandshells, bandstands in the shape of a shell, across the state.

'We're A Winner' Married Black Pride To An Irresistible Beat

August 2, 2019 - 4:13am

This story is part of American Anthem, a yearlong series on songs that rouse, unite, celebrate and call to action. Find more at NPR.org/Anthem . From its first few bars, filled with funky drums, a percolating guitar line and the glorious noise of people laughing and enjoying themselves, " We're...

Entangling Alliances

August 1, 2019 - 11:30am

Richard Strauss admired the music of Richard Wagner, and so he felt honored in 1893 when he received an invitation from Wagner’s widow Cosima to conduct during the consummate Wagnerian event, the Bayreuth Festival. But the honor would come with strings attached. Part of Cosima’s motive for the invitation came...

Heyde Center for the Arts Water Exhibit on “Spectrum West” August 1, 2019

August 1, 2019 - 10:00am

A new art exhibit at the Heyde Center for the Arts in Chippewa Falls will be featured on “Spectrum West." The show also highlights a Red Cedar Symphony Orchestra performance in Rice Lake, a downtown Eau Claire street concert and the upcoming season for the Phipps Center for the Arts in Hudson.

Tell Me When It’s Over

July 31, 2019 - 11:30am

Many audience members at classical music concerts are not sure when to applaud. Even in the most sophisticated and controlled circumstances, premature applause can create an awkward break in a performance. One person who knew first-hand was President John F. Kennedy. According to Kennedy social secretary Letitia Baldrige, on more...

How To Make Music Class Culturally Relevant

July 30, 2019 - 3:00pm

Music class is a part of most schools, but some students and teachers find it a bit stale. Our guest says we can update music education to making it more relevant and engaging for students. He joins us to talk about what that looks like and where he's seen it...

Laura Gibson Shares An Intimate Version Of 'The Fire'

July 30, 2019 - 2:35pm

Nothing beats a live performance, and while we can’t provide you with a concert in your living room, we can come close with the musicians who perform in Wisconsin Public Radio’s studio. This month’s 'Simply Folk' download is a great example of that. Laura Gibson was in WPR's Buck Studio...

The Crossroads

July 30, 2019 - 11:30am

On July 30, 1830, Robert Schumann wrote from Heidelberg to his mother in Zwickau about the crossroads he had reached: My entire life has been a twenty-year struggle between poetry and prose or, if you prefer, between music and law. In things practical my ideals were just as high as...

In Love with Life

July 29, 2019 - 11:30am

Peter Tchaikovsky never met his patron Nadezhda von Meck, but in the summer of 1880 he stayed at her estate in Ukraine, and he wrote her a letter expressing his pleasure at two aspects of life there: At sunset I had tea and then wandered alone by the steep bank...

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Heat Check

The Dog Days Of Summer

Episode 201: Invisible Suitcases

The Molding of Mexican Mariachi

Tenuous Encounters

'Romance' and 'Inspiration' From Siblings Sheku And Isata Kanneh-Mason

The Stories Behind Wisconsin's Bandstands

Lumberjack World Championships Commence, Bandshells Across Wisconsin

'We're A Winner' Married Black Pride To An Irresistible Beat

Entangling Alliances

Heyde Center for the Arts Water Exhibit on “Spectrum West” August 1, 2019

Tell Me When It’s Over

How To Make Music Class Culturally Relevant

Laura Gibson Shares An Intimate Version Of 'The Fire'

The Crossroads

In Love with Life

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