Born in Shreveport, Louisiana, cellist John Henry Crawford has already made strides in the field of classical music, in one case as First Prize winner of the 2019 International Carlos Prieto Competition; and more recently with this debut release, Dialogo. Crawford chose the title after the unaccompanied cello work by Hungarian composer, György Ligeti. In it, the cello portrays both voices, of the composer and the woman he’d fallen for, hence the “dialogue” depicted in the music.

Mr. Crawford also shares the fascinating history of the cello he plays, which has been in his family for over a century. His grandfather, Dr. Robert Popper, saw “the writing on the wall” as Nazism was on the rise in Austria, made a decision that saved both his life and kept the instrument safe. Crawford shares the full story, as well as insight into the cello sonatas of Brahms and Shostakovich, in his conversation with John Pitman. Love seems to flow through each of the pieces that this American cellist plays and makes the voice of the cello a true treasure, rescued from almost certain

Jaren Hillard, Artistic Operations Manager of Chamber Music Northwest, joins Suzanne Nance to talk about their upcoming Reflect & Rejoice Summer Festival! With both live and at-home performance, this festival will feature a thrilling and moving repertoire.

John Pitman Review: Balkan guitarist Miloš debuts new guitar concertos by All Classical Radio

John's latest conversation with American pianist Simone Dinnerstein on her second recording made at home during the pandemic: An American Mosaic. The title is for the multi-movement piece written for her by Richard Danielpour who, finding himself isolated during lockdown, found solace in Ms. Dinnerstein's recordings. Each movement is a portrait of groups of people who responded to the pandemic, both in helpful and obstructive ways. An American Mosaic was commissioned by the Oregon Bach Festival and debuted (online, understandably), by Dinnerstein, and is now available on disc. John's recorded chat with Simone sheds more light on this timely, moving and very personal

Chris Ayzoukian Executive Director of The Patricia Reser Center for the Arts, The Reser, and Lani Faith of the Beaverton Arts Foundation discuss the their 100k in 100 days campaign, and look ahead to The Reser opening to the public, hopefully in early 2022.

Program Director John Pitman talks with violinist Karla Donehew Perez, of Catalyst Quartet, about the exciting new project they launched in January called “Uncovered”, focusing on underrepresented composers in classical music. Volume 1 sheds light on three beautiful works by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875-1912), a British composer who was greatly admired by contemporary audiences, as well as composers such as Edward Elgar. Ms. Donehew Perez shares the story of bringing this music to life – through the challenges of neglected manuscript scores, to educating audiences about composers such as Coleridge-Taylor – and give an indication of an important new series that will go a long way toward restoring these composers to radio playlists and concert programs.

Portland Columbia Symphony’s Executive Director Rebekah Phillips and Music Director & Conductor Steven Byess

Columbia Gorge Orchestra Association’s Artistic Director, Mark Steighner will talk to Suzanne about their upcoming online auction event, The Show Must Go On! and discuss impacts of the pandemic on the Gorge area artists.

Program director John Pitman discusses the second release by the Calidore String Quartet, which contemplates the intersection of music and language. Violinist Estelle Choi, one of the four founding members of Calidore, share how “the desire to explore the innate human drive for communication”, became the focus of their new recording. Choi describes the inspiration for Three Essays by Caroline Shaw, Robert Schumann’s String Quartet No. 3, and String Quartet No. 9 by Dmitri Shostakovich.

Scott Showalter of Oregon Symphony and Lorin Dunlop, Program Director of Murdock Trust, discuss The M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust’s recent grant (of $1 million) to help the Oregon Symphony invest in new, state-of-the-art acoustics and the ability to livestream concerts at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall.