Wednesday, January 15, 2020, 11:05am
On the song, "Times Won’t Change," Cory Chisel laments how the world we live in doesn’t seem to get better for the people who really need it.
Tuesday, January 14, 2020, 1:55pm
WPR’s Lori Skelton hosts this national series of broadcast concerts by the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. The 13-part series will air Sundays starting Jan. 5, 2020, at 2 p.m. on the NPR News and Classical Music Network, and on the Classical HD Network. Since its founding in 1959, the Milwaukee...
Friday, January 3, 2020, 10:00am
Violinist Rachel Barton has released a recording of one of the best known violin concertos and another that should be, by Antonin Dvořák and Aram Khachaturian, respectively.
Friday, December 27, 2019, 9:00am
Nominated for a 2019 GRAMMY for Best Classical Instrumental Solo, "The Berlin Recital" features pianist Yuja Wang performing music by Rachmaninoff, Ligeti, Scriabin and Prokofiev.
Wednesday, December 18, 2019, 10:30am
Christmas music, it seems, is everywhere this these days, from all-Christmas music radio stations to the background tunes played in the local grocery store. But there are a lot of celebrations taking place this time of year, and the music – especially folk music – embraces a wide range of...
Friday, December 13, 2019, 12:00pm
Norman welcomes guitarists Miles McConnell and Gabor Szarvas to The Midday. Together they're known as Red and Black. They perform several pieces by Granados, Bach and Lennon & McCartney and others.
Thursday, December 12, 2019, 10:20am
Part of the inspiration for the 2019 album "Songs of Our Native Daughters" came from a tour of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC that Rhiannon Giddens took with her daughter. She came across a "deadly serious" satirical quote, as she put it, by the abolitionist William Cowper that read: "I admit I am sickened at the purchase of slaves … but I must be mum, for how could we do without sugar or rum?"
Tuesday, December 10, 2019, 12:00pm
Isthmus Brass conductor John Stevens and tuba player Mike Forbes talk about the free concert they'll be giving on Thursday, December 12 at First United Methodist Church in Madison. Norman plays several selections from their album "We need a little Christmas."
Wednesday, December 4, 2019, 1:05pm
Joy Williams’ 2019 album, "Front Porch," is a rich but stripped-down acoustic journey through personal struggles and relationships.
Tuesday, 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 Boheme," plus a new production of Gershwin’s "Porgy and Bess." All broadcasts start at noon on WPR, except where otherwise noted (one starts earlier).You can learn more about the operas, productions and casts on the Metropolitan Opera website .
Monday, December 2, 2019, 8:00am
WPR's Music Librarian, Dennie Ryan, marks 50 years with the organization.
Thursday, November 28, 2019, 8:00am
The special Thanksgiving Edition of Morning Classics includes lots of American music plus highlights from this year's Wisconsin School Music Association Honors Concerts.
Wednesday, November 27, 2019, 12:00pm
Norman talks to cellist Dinesh Traynor who was the Grand Prize winner of the 2019 Betty Frost Jenkins Young Artist Concerto Competition and will performed with the Central Wisconsin Symphony Orchestra on December 7 and 8. He's a senior in High School in Stevens Point. He performs several selections...
Wednesday, November 27, 2019, 6:30am
In December 1945, Earl Scruggs joined Bill Monroe and his Bluegrass Boys, bringing the Scruggs-style three-finger banjo playing to the band. Many people point to that moment as the birth of what we now call bluegrass music.
Tuesday, November 26, 2019, 12:00pm
Now that winter has settled in and made itself at home, WPR's music hosts offer this varied selection of music to add some light and warmth to your days. In the words of an old ballad:
Monday, November 25, 2019, 12:00pm
The Midday comes to you live from Mills Concert Hall on the UW-Madison campus where flutist Holly Venkitaswaran and piano accompanist Vincent Fuh are featured. Venkitaswaran attended Hamilton High School in Lisbon, Wisconsin and is currently a freshman at Vanderbilt University. She was a finalist...
Friday, November 22, 2019, 10:00am
In his latest recording, German violinist Christian Tetzlaff revisits two of the most popular concertos for his instrument: the Beethoven and the Sibelius.
Wednesday, November 20, 2019, 5:50am
Folk music and country music have danced together over the last century, sometimes closer, sometimes farther apart, and no one knows that better than country music historian Bill Malone.
Friday, November 8, 2019, 10:00am
Trumpeter Paul Merkelo has recorded four popular concertos with the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra, playing three different trumpets.
Wednesday, November 6, 2019, 1:15pm
For Wade Fernandez, music is a way of honoring the past while also ensuring the future. A roots musician and member of the Menominee Nation, Fernandez’s song, "Sawaenemiyah (Blessed)" is the "Simply Folk" download of the month for November.
