Friday, February 28, 2020, 5:00pm
It’s been said that history is written by the victors. In truth, however, history is written by, well, the writers! And as March is Women’s History Month, I thought it would be good to focus on female writers, or more specifically, female songwriters.
Tuesday, February 25, 2020, 12:00pm
Appleton native and University of Wisconsin-Madison alumna Brenda Rae will be singing the role of Poppea in Handel’s opera "Agrippina" on Saturday at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City.
Friday, February 21, 2020, 5:15pm
Folk music in the past and present has preserved the memories of enslaved peoples, shared their stories of longing and taking action for freedom and inspired the current work toward human rights and social justice.
Monday, February 17, 2020, 12:00pm
Norman talks to members of the UW Opera company including their director David Ronis with conductor Oriol Sanz, soprano Julia Urbank, and soprano Cayla Rosche. They will be performing Mozart’s Cosi fan tutte on February 28, March 1 and March 3 in Music Hall on the UW-Madison campus. They discuss...
Wednesday, February 12, 2020, 11:05am
Coming off of a successful 2019 event, Hinterland Music Festival in Saint Charles, Iowa, has announced their 2020 lineup. Of Monsters and Men, Tyler Childers, and Leon Bridges will headline the three-day festival July 31 through Aug. 2. The Icelandic indie folk rock band Of Monsters and Men will...
Thursday, January 30, 2020, 2:00pm
JoAnn Faletta, the Grammy Award-winning American conductor is music director of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra. Their latest release, "Forgotten Treasures," celebrates her 20th anniversary with the orchestra. She recently spoke with WPR about her career, the orchestra and music both new and old...
Thursday, January 30, 2020, 1:15pm
The blues are the rootstock of so much American music. From rock 'n' roll, soul and folk to country, R&B and jazz and beyond, it would be hard to spend a day anywhere in the U.S. and not hear blues or the music that was influenced by the blues.
Friday, January 24, 2020, 10:00am
The Hermitage Piano Trio plays three elegiac works by Sergei Rachmaninoff.
Wednesday, January 22, 2020, 12:00pm
In a time of division in our world along political, religious, economic and philosophical lines, the 100 th anniversary of Pete Seeger's birth is a chance to honor someone who, as he once said, "sang for everybody."
Monday, January 20, 2020, 9:00am
Black composers from three continents and spanning three centuries are featured on the classical playlist to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
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 .
