Impromptu | WFMT: Recent Episodes
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Our live afternoon series of “impromptu” music and conversation features some of today’s most sought-after musicians from around the world. Previous guests on Impromptu have included cellist Yo-Yo Ma, mezzo-soprano Joyce Di Donato, and author Salman Rushdie. Other guests have included Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, tenor Joseph Calleja, violinist Joshua Bell, and the vocal ensemble Chanticleer. Broadcast live from the Levin Performance Studio at WFMT, the program also features local performers who are vital to Chicago’s vibrant musical culture.
On a blustery January 27th, back in 2004, clarinetist Anthony McGill and some of his virtuosic friends braved the snow storm to come to WFMT’s Levin studio. On this 257th anniversary of the birth of Mozart, we bring you their performance of the Mozart Clarinet Quintet.
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Since 2005, M5 Mexican Brass has earned international recognition as Mexico’s leading brass quintet by performing virtuosic chamber music in all styles. These charming cultural ambassadors visited WFMT in 2017.
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Pianist Benjamin Hochman first performed live on Impromptu in 2009. This encore broadcast features his gorgeous renditions of works by Bach, Kurtág, and Brahms.
Benjamin Hochman joins cellist Zlatomir Fung in recital at the University of Chicago ‘s Mandel Hall on January 20, 2023.
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Gramophone Magazine called the Calidore String Quartet “a miracle of unified thought.” This vibrant, young ensemble won the 2016 Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship, the first North Americans to be so honored. The ensemble continues to earn high praise, including a place on the prestigious roster of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center Two.
Catch this extraordinary ensemble in performance tonight at Northwestern University’s Winter Chamber Music Festival.
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The soul of the Spanish guitar runs in the blood of Pablo Sáinz Villegas. This charismatic, intimate performance took place in WFMT’s Levin Studio in 2016.
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Chanticleer is known around the world for the seamless blend of its twelve male voices ranging from countertenor to bass. In December 2012, Carl Grapentine welcomed this “orchestra of voices” for an Impromptu filled with music of the season.
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Today, in honor of the 252nd anniversary of Beethoven’s birth, Impromptu presents two pieces by the iconic German composer. Enjoy historic WFMT performances by The Orion String Quartet and The Goldstein-Peled-Fiterstein Trio.
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The United States Coast Guard Band Saxophone Quartet visited WFMT when they were in Chicago for the 2017 Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic. This Impromptu includes music for the holiday season.
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During this festive Impromptu from 2015, members of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center performed a pair of the great Brandenburg Concertos by Bach: No. 5 in D major, BWV 1050, and No. 6 in B-flat major, BWV 1051.
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In this charming Impromptu from 2005, Rodolfo Hernandez and members of the Chicago-based string ensemble Cuerdas Classicas play music by Bach, Juventino Rosas, and Johann Strauss.
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In 2012, Montenegran guitarist Miloš Karadaglić made his Chicago debut on Impromptu at WFMT.
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Cellist Brant Taylor and pianist Kuang Hao Huang play music by Ravel and Granados in this Impromptu encore from 2004.
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Corky Siegel’s Chamber Blues blends the boundaries between classical chamber music, American blues, and Indian percussion. The ebullient harmonica virtuoso and composer made his Earthly debut in Chicago, on October 24 1943. We wish him a very happy birthday.
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Acclaimed violist Richard O’Neill and cellist Edward Arron joined the Grammy Award-winning Parker Quartet for a live performance in 2019.
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The Grammy-nominated ensemble played works by ensemble member Valerie Coleman, as well as Igor Stravinsky and Manuel de Falla.
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Kondonassis on her collaboration with Vieaux: the blend “changes constantly depending on the register, the articulation, and the dynamics.”
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Friends and collaborators cellist Zuill Bailey and pianist Awadagin Pratt performed selections by Brahms.
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Praised by the Washington Post for combining “staggering technical prowess, a sense of command and depth of expression,” pianist George Li possesses brilliant virtuosity and effortless grace.
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In 2015, violinist Mathias Tacke and pianist Marta Aznavoorian honored the Estonian composer Arvo Pärt on his 80th birthday with this live performance on WFMT.
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Back in 2017, we had to bring in extra music stands because the magnificent orchestra, The Knights, returned to WFMT.
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Marta Aznavoorian, David Cunliffe, and Desirée Ruhstrat named the Lincoln Trio after the ensemble’s place of origin: the heartland of the United States and the Land of Lincoln.
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Two-time Grammy Award winning classical saxophonist Timothy McAllister and the renowned pianist Liz Ames have performed as a duo since 2012.
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The dazzling quartet once reflected: “Yes, playing string quartets is our job, and yes it is hard work, but we mostly do it for pleasure, like we always did.”
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Each summer, talented young musicians make music together under the auspices of the Steans Music Institute, Ravinia’s summer conservatory.
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Back in 2016, Austrian pianist Till Fellner performed live on Impromptu.
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In 2008, pianist Elena Bashkirova and musicians from the Jerusalem International Chamber Music Festival were on tour in advance of the festival’s 11th season.
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In this Impromptu encore from August 2019, violinist Anne Akiko Meyers performs with pianist Marta Aznavoorian.
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The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center proves good things come in pairs. In this Impromptu encore from 2012, four pianists associated with CMS – Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, Anne-Marie McDermott, André-Michel Schub, and Wu Han – took turns performing works for piano duo.
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Famed Italian guitarist Oscar Ghiglia was Kerry Frumkin’s guest in this Impromptu encore from 2005.
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On July 2, 2003, members of the Singing Sergeants, the official chorus of the United States Air Force, delighted WFMT’s listeners with a live performance.
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This Impromptu encore from 2016 features three virtuosic friends and longtime collaborators: pianist Wu Han, cellist David Finckel, and violinist Philip Setzer.
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Paul Richards, Bert Lams, and Hideyo Moriya have been known collectively as the California Guitar Trio since 1991. The three friends and collaborators performed on Impromptu in 2019.
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Founded in 1990, Midsummer’s Music has been bringing chamber music to Door County, Wisconsin, audiences for more than three decades. In 2016, musicians from the festival performed live on Impromptu.
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Pianist Benjamin Hochman first performed live on Impromptu in 2009. This encore broadcast features his gorgeous renditions of works by Bach, Kurtág, and Brahms.
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Enjoy violinist Vadim Gluzman and pianist Angela Yoffe’s performance in this Impromptu Encore from May 27, 2011. The duo’s 2022 North Shore Chamber Music Festival takes place on June 8, 10, and 11.
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For more than 30 years, the Hugo Wolf Quartett has demonstrated crystalline virtuosity across many styles. When the Vienna-based ensemble gave a rare Chicago performance in 2009, George Preston welcomed them to WFMT’s Levin Studio for this Impromptu.
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On October 15, 2015, the extraordinary American tenor, Lawrence Brownlee, and the superb collaborative pianist, Craig Terry, shared repertoire by Rossini – a Brownlee specialty – as well as a spiritual, “Come By Here,” as well as Britten’s lovely “Down By the Sally Gardens.”
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Born in Paris, home of Impressionism and Django Reinhardt, guitarist Stephane Wrembel is one of the most original guitar voices in contemporary music. In this Impromptu from February 2020, he performed his composition “Bistro Fada,” a Django-influenced swinging waltz, evoking the spirit of the night in the City of Lights.
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The friends and collaborators performed Brahms works for cello and piano.
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Pianists Greg Anderson and Elizabeth Roe aim to make classical music a relevant and powerful force around the world. Their joyful virtuosity shines through chart-topping albums, Emmy-nominated music videos, and an extensive international touring schedule.
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In Spring 2011, Kerry Frumkin welcomed members of the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, a group heralded as “the best period orchestra in the world.” This musical hour on Impromptu includes music by Telemann and Handel.
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Frederik Øland, Rune Tonsgaard Sørensen, Asbjørn Nørgaard, and Fredrik Schøyen Sjölin – known collectively as the Danish String Quartet – have described their ensemble with these words: “Yes, playing string quartets is our job, and yes it is hard work, but we mostly do it for pleasure, like we always did.” Sometimes, of course, they revel in quintets, too, as ...
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Mūza Rubackytė began her stunning career when she made her debut at the age of 7. Kerry Frumkin has long been a champion of this great Lithuanian pianist, and you can hear why in this 2011 Impromptu broadcast.
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The great American harpist Ann Hobson Pilot collaborated with violinist Tai Murray in this performance from 2012.
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It was in April 2019 that the beloved Argentine folkloric guitarist and composer Juan Falú shared his music on Impromptu on WFMT.
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Lisa Flynn welcomed pianist Marc-André Hamelin to WFMT for this 2014 Impromptu. At the time, he was on tour with the Takács Quartet, and violinist Edward Dusinberre and violist Geraldine Walther visited the studio with him.
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When some people go on vacation they bring home souvenirs to share with friends. When Kerry Frumkin and his family travelled to Barcelona in 2010, they met a terrific guitar duo and invited them to perform on Impromptu during their 2012 U.S. tour.
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Join us for a special Valentine’s Day Impromptufeaturing Joseph Calleja. The Maltese tenor included songs by Mario Lanza and Edith Piaf when he sang live on WFMT in 2017.
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Since its formation in 1997, the Grammy nominated Imani Winds has established itself as one of America’s premier wind quintets. When Kerry Frumkin welcomed the group in 2013, they played works by ensemble member Valerie Coleman, as well as Igor Stravinsky and Manuel de Falla.
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The story goes that Reginald R. Robinson first heard the sweet strains of ragtime music through the loudspeaker of a neighborhood ice cream truck. Years later, the self-taught pianist and composer received a 2004 “genius” fellowship from the MacArthur Foundation. Reginald Robinson performed some of his original compositions on Impromptu in 2017.
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This Impromptu encore features a beautiful collaboration between two relentless musical explorers: pianist Anthony Molinaro and harmonica virtuoso Howard Levy. George Preston welcomed the duo to WFMT’s Levin Performance Studio in 2012, and they performed music by the Beatles.
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SYBARITE5’s eclectic repertoire and dynamic performance style has earned this string quintet great acclaim. The group’s members, violinists Sami Merdinian and Sarah Whitney, violist Angela Pickett, cellist Laura Metcalf, and bassist Louis Levitt, made their WFMT debut on January 13, 2013.
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Ten years ago, Stephen Burns and Fulcrum Point New Music Project performed live on Impromptu with a very special guest, Native American flute virtuoso and composer R. Carlos Nakai.
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Paul Galbraith’s guitar has eight strings and he makes the most out of the extra high and low notes. The instrument rests, supported by an end-pin, on a wooden resonance box. Paul brought his unusual guitar and his unique playing to Impromptu in 2017.
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In this 2019 Impromptu, guest conductor Patrick Dupré Quigley, founder and artistic director of the vocal ensemble Seraphic Fire, led a Music of the Baroque chorus in music for the holiday season.
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Originally broadcast in May 2019, this Impromptu Encore features violinist Sergey Khachatryan, cellist Alisa Weilerstein, and pianist Inon Barnatan in an outstanding performance of Beethoven’s “Ghost” Piano Trio in D Major, Op. 70, No. 1.
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Back in August 2017, we had to bring in extra music stands and even considered stretching the walls of the Levin Studio. That’s because the magnificent orchestra, The Knights, returned to WFMT to perform live on Impromptu.
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Chanticleer is known around the world for the seamless blend of its twelve male singers ranging from countertenor to bass. In December 2012, Carl Grapentine welcomed this “orchestra of voices” for an Impromptu filled with music of the season.
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