Impromptu | WFMT

The magnificent French pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard returns to WFMT’s Levin Studio for a live performance on Impromptu. Below watch an excerpt of his performance, or stream the entire performance by clicking “listen.” 

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 far beyond his years. He captured the Silver Medal at the 2015 International Tchaikovsky Competition and was the recipient of the 2016 Avery Fisher Career Grant. WFMT host Lisa Flynn loves George’s debut ...

Two-time Grammy Award winning classical saxophonist Timothy McAllister and the renowned pianist Liz Ames have performed as a duo since 2012. As collaborators they have appeared at festivals and chamber music series worldwide. Mr. McAllister and Ms. Ames will release their debut album in 2018, with a second planned for 2019.

The United States Coast Guard Band Saxophone Quartet is in Chicago for the 2017 Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic. This Impromptu includes music for the holidays.

For more than forty years, Music of the Baroque has celebrated the repertoire of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Their performances and recordings have earned devoted fans in Chicago and around the world. This Impromptu features MOB’s acclaimed brass ensemble in works Giovanni Gabrieli crafted for St. Mark’s in Venice, lively dances by Michael Praetorius, and more.

Widely regarded as one of the world’s leading guitar ensembles, the Eden Stell Guitar Duo ’s chameleon-like ability to communicate in a multitude of styles gives them a uniquely creative, musical voice.

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. We welcome him back to the Levin Studio for this solo performance of his original compositions.

Inspired by the rhythms and melodies of flamenco, jazz, classical, rock and the Balkan region, the Fareed Haque & Goran Ivanovic Guitar Duo celebrates the unrivaled guitar artistry of two of the finest players of their respective generations. These virtuosic and musically multi-lingual guitarists have recorded two CDs together, Macedonian Blues and 7 Boats. They don’t often enjoy the opportunity ...

We will have to bring in extra music stands, and maybe stretch the walls of the Levin Studio, because The Knights are returning to WFMT to perform on Impromptu.

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 ...