Impromptu | WFMT

The American Pianists Awards are held every four years to discover the best aspiring young American classical pianists.  2017 competition winner Drew Petersen is also a prizewinner in the Leeds International Piano Competition. He has performed solo and concerto recitals in both Europe and the United States, and he makes his WFMT debut with this Impromptu.

Lisa Flynn welcomes the Argus Quartet, the new Graduate Resident String Quartet at the Juilliard School. The ensemble members — violinists Jason Issokson and violinist Clara Kim, violist Dana Kelley, and cellist Joann Whang — will be spending the summer honing their craft at Ravinia’s Steans Institute. www.ArgusQuartet.com

Inspired by the French Fête de la Musique, and held annually on the day of the Summer Solstice, Make Music Chicago is a day-long, citywide, music festival. This year, MMC partners with “Lift Every Voice: Musicians Rising For Racial Justice.” The KAIA String Quartet¸ WFMT’s ensemble-in-residence, will be participating in the festivities. Impromptu broadcasts this performance live.

On her new recording, Bel Canto Paganini 24 Caprices and other Works for Solo Violin, Rachel Barton Pine samples the most challenging techniques possible on the violin. And during her performance on Impromptu, she demonstrates the showmanship it takes to perform these virtuosic creations.

It’s a busy time for musical couple violinist Vadim Gluzman and pianist Angela Yoffe. The 7th edition of their intimate North Shore Chamber Music Festival takes place June 7, 9 and 10 in Northbrook, Illinois. Then on June 14, Vadim helps the Grant Park Music Festival launch their summer season. He performs the Tchaikovsky Concerto with the Grant Park Orchestra under the direction of Carlos Kalmar ...

Israeli pianist Inon Barnatan is known for his compelling and insightful musicianship and elegant virtuosity, and as “a true poet of the keyboard, refined, searching [and] unfailingly communicative” (London’s Evening Standard). After this broadcast, Inon performs George Gershwin’s lively Piano Concerto with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Jesus Lopez-Cobos.

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 brings his unusual guitar and his unique playing to Impromptu for the first time.

The Grammy-winning Los Angeles Guitar Quartet is world-renowned for their stunning precision, rich palette of tone-colors, and joyous music-making.  On Friday, April 21 at 7:30 p.m. they’ll perform at the Northeastern Illinois University Jewel Box Concert Series.  Before that, WFMT welcomes the ensemble to Impromptu.

The ten women of tenThing, the lively and distinctive Norwegian brass sensation, spent a day in Chicago as they made their way from concerts in California to performances in Virginia.  In addition to sampling our city’s famous deep-dish pizza, they visited WFMT’s studios to perform on Impromptu. Watch them perform an all-brass arrangement of Mozart’s […]

Baritone Ben Lowe and pianist Madeline Slettedahl, laureates of the prestigious Music Academy of the West’s Marilyn Horne Song Competition, make their Chicago recital debut with this performance on Impromptu.