The Philadelphia Orchestra Performs for the President of Mongolia

His Excellency President Elbegdorj — the leader of the growing democracy situated between China and Russia — spent last Friday, September 23rd in Philadelphia, following the conclusion of his work at the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

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Setting the Stage with Richard Wagner

On Discoveries from the Fleisher Collection, this Saturday at 5 pm on WRTI... Looking over the landscape of American orchestral music covering the 19th and into the 20th centuries as we have been, we see two names—not American—looming large. One is Beethoven, the other, Wagner. They are still huge now; imagine them in the eyes of American musicians then.

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The Wanamaker Organ with Four Hands and Flugelhorn Sunday at 5 PM on WRTI

This week on the Wanamaker Organ Hour, host Peter Richard Conte welcomes back organist and flugelhornist Andrew Ennis as special guest. On the broadcast will be music they’ve performed on the Wanamaker Organ as soloists and together in four-hand arrangements. Plus, Peter accompanies Andrew on flugelhorn, the softer, mellower cousin of the trumpet, on a few works.

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Which Comes First in Creating an Opera? Words or Music?

Opera is emotion magnified; at any given moment the mood pervading the stage is in stark relief. How does this enthralling amalgam of music, story, and feeling, come together? WRTI’s Meridee Duddleston asked this question of operatic proportion to notable librettist Mark Campbell.

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Tunes that Made the '20s Roar!

A new book looks into the tunes that put the "roar" in "The Roaring Twenties." WRTI's Susan Lewis spoke with the author of Tunes of the Twenties and All That Jazz: The Stories Behind the Songs. Radio Script [Music: “Jelly Roll Blues,” Jelly Roll Morton, 1915]New Orleans–style music ushered in the decade. Jelly Roll Morton’s “Jelly Roll Blues” was published in 1915 and recorded in 1926, when the music business was shifting its focus from sales of sheet music to sales of records.Bob Rawlins: Now the real market for a song is not for the parlor, but for the professional singer or musician; now the composers could really get into it and write more complicated melodies. Musician and Rowan University music professor Bob Rawlins is the author of Tunes of the Twenties, a compilation of stories and information on 250 songs, from the '20s as well as years on either side of that decade. It was, says Rawlins, an era of experimentation.Rawlins: They were exploring the creative possibilities before

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Today is iPad Pro Tuesday!

Pledge today only and you could win the newest version of Apple’s incredibly popular iPad! It’s a 9.7 inch, 32 GB Apple Wi-Fi iPad Pro. It's thin, light, fast, and the most powerful of all the iPads available.

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Missy Mazzoli’s Breakthrough in BREAKING THE WAVES

Opera Philadelphia’s latest new opera Breaking the Waves turned into one of the company’s big successes. The Philadelphia Inquirer’s David Patrick Stearns considers how this story of a Scottish woman whose marital devotion takes her to a sordid end could be something to sing about.

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Pianist Helene Grimaud, 100% In The Moment

Unlocking the secrets in music is a joyful enterprise for pianist Helene Grimaud. WRTI’s Susan Lewis has more on Grimaud’s approach to music and life. On Sunday, October 2nd at 1 PM on WRTI, Helene Grimaud performs Brahms' Piano Concerto No. 2 with The Philadelphia Orchestra.

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The Philadelphia Orchestra in Concert on WRTI: Hélène Grimaud Plays Brahms, October 2, 1 PM

This week’s Philadelphia Orchestra in Concert re-broadcast brings us a performance from early March, which saw the return to Philadelphia of pianist Hélène Grimaud, who performs a concerto close to her heart, the Brahms Piano Concerto No. 2

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Kimmel Center Jazz Series Contest! Today Only

Every pledge and entry, today only until 11:59 pm, will be automatically entered into our Kimmel Center Jazz Series Contest! Pledge now and you could win a pair of tickets to the Kimmel Center’s 2016-2017 jazz season - (except for Jazz 100). Throughout the season, the Kimmel Center will celebrate Philadelphia’s legendary jazz heritage with programs including: The Chucho Valdes – Joe Lovano Quintet; Philadelphia’s-own Jazz Orchestra of Philadelphia; singer-songwriter Kat Edmonson; the Joey Alexander Trio, led by the namesake 13-year-old prodigy pianist; and a poignant performance of Kennedy Center Jazz Presents: A Tribute to Abbey Lincoln, featuring Dee Dee Bridgewater, Dianne Reeves, and Terri Lyne Carrington. No substitution of a cash value prize will be permitted. Pledge here. Contest Rules

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Listen To This: That Unforgettable Aria From LA BOHEME

Which recording of the famous aria "Quando m'en vo" also known as "Musetta's Waltz" is your favorite? Musetta sings the aria in the second act of Puccini's La Boheme. Please let us know in the comments section below! And listen to the famous 1956 recording of La Boheme conducted by Sir Thomas Beecham on Saturday, September 24th at 1 pm on WRTI. http://youtu.be/EQEwU7ukx1Y http://youtu.be/CEK6qGa8z9Y http://youtu.be/zMmRetJMfOk

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Get the WRTI App!

Big news! You can now enjoy WRTI in a whole new way with the first-ever WRTI App! Download it today to listen to WRTI in the background while browsing the web or catching up on your emails. Your favorite radio station will always be with you—on your mobile phone or tablet—even when you're traveling!

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Terence Blanchard Giveaway

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Opera on WRTI: Puccini's LA BOHEME, Monumental 1956 Recording, September 24, 1 PM

Grab your tissues and join us to hear one of Giacomo Puccini’s most beloved operas!

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The Philadelphians on WRTI: Tilson Thomas Conducts Ives, Tchaikovsky, Brahms, Sept. 25 at 1 PM

Michael Tilson Thomas is on the podium for this Sunday’s Philadelphia Orchestra in Concert re-broadcast from 1 to 3 pm on WRTI.

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The Genius of Coltrane: Player and Composer

Born in North Carolina in 1926, saxophone player and composer John Coltrane spent over a decade in Philadelphia and then moved to New York. WRTI's Susan Lewis considers the impact of Coltrane, who expanded the boundaries of jazz with a wide range of styles.

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Coltrane: The Philadelphia Years

While jazz giant John Coltrane was born and raised in North Carolina, and died in New York, he spent 15 years in Philadelphia. WRTI’s Susan Lewis looks at the role the city played in the career of this master sax player and composer, who would have turned 90 this month.

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John Coltrane, Johnny Hartman, and a Song for the Ages

Two Englishmen, Guy Wood and Robert Mellin, slipped it into the Great American Songbook just before it closed, just as rock rolled over sophistication. It begins from below, a slowly twisting Roman candle of a tune, and explodes in the top range of the singer, as the eyes of onlookers reflect the glory of what songs once were.

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Coltrane at 90: WRTI Proudly Partners in this Citywide Celebration

John Coltrane expanded how we hear music. He took the light and airy Broadway show tune “My Favorite Things” and turned it (with soprano saxophone) into a dark, driving, melodic, polyrhythmic tour de force. Many traditional jazz listeners were unable to follow the path his musical trajectory left toward the end of his life, as his sonic palette kept expanding. But 50 years later we can hear more, and we stand amazed at the depth and sophistication of Coltrane’s music. Coltrane, whose career began in Philadelphia, had a tremendous impact on generations of musicians, but even more significantly, his music influenced culture. “Alabama” and “A Love Supreme” delivered potent social messages about race and spirituality. Writers looked to him, directors used his music in countless films, and artists painted and sculpted to his music. Businesses study his improvisations in team-building and creativity exercises. John William Coltrane would have been 90 years old on September 23rd. WRTI, the

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The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia on WRTI: Solzhenitsyn and Schubert, Sept. 18 at 5 PM

It’s into the vault this Sunday for a January 30th, 2006 concert recorded in the Perelman Theater at the Kimmel Center, and conducted by then Music Director and current Conductor Laureate Ignat Solzhenitsyn. Join us on Sunday, September 18th from 5 to 6 pm to hear the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia perform Franz Schubert’s Symphony No. 9, known as "The Great C Major Symphony," to distinguish it from Schubert's Symphony No. 6 in the same key.

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