All Classical Radio

Host Raúl Gómez-Rojas revisits the Recording Inclusivity Initiative (RII), on the heels of its recent Local that Works contest win, presented by Current.org. Learn more about RII at ecordinginclusivity.allclassical.org.

Pianist Simone Dinnerstein chose the title "Undersong," an archaic term meaning "refrain", which can be found both in the individual pieces (Schumann's Arabesque, and Kreisleriana; Couperin's Les Barricade Mysterieuses), and throughout the entire album. "All of the music on this album consists of musical forms that have a refrain. Glass, Schumann, Couperin and Satie constantly revisit the same mat...

In his newest recording for Deutsche Grammophon (released September, 2021), Icelandic pianist Víkingur Ólafsson explores Mozart’s music in the context of composers who came before him and who helped Mozart shape his distinctive and immediately recognizable style. Ólafsson speaks with program director John Pitman about how he made connections between Mozart and C.P.E. Bach, as well as important com...

"Muse" is the name of the debut recording by cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason, and his sister, pianist Isata Kanneh-Mason. The siblings have recorded together before, in the 2020 release, "Carnival of the Animals", and have performed live many times. "Muse" includes two major 20th century cello sonatas, by Samuel Barber (1932); and Sergei Rachmaninov (1901), as well as shorter pieces by both composers....

John Pitman, All Classical Portland’s Director of Music and Programming, interviews pianist Seong-Jin Cho about the sixth and latest album. Returning to the music of Frédéric Chopin with Chopin: Piano Concerto No. 2, Cho’s CD was recorded in April of 2021, in Hamburg and London. Seong-Jin shares with John the process, and the special challenges, of recording in a studio with an orchestra during th...

To mark a milestone birthday and celebrate a new chapter in his relationship with the label, French pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet was given “carte blanche” by the Decca classical label to choose personal music that he has never recorded before—a selection that reflects on the people and pieces that have impacted his life as an artist while expanding his already diverse repertoire in new directions....

John’s guest is Jerod Impichchaachaaha' (Im-pih-CHAH-chah-ha) Tate, whose 2009 composition, Lowak Shoppala’ (LO-wak SHO-pah-la), an epic retelling of Chickasaw stories, received its world premiere recording this year. Jerod shares his own stories of growing up in a household of Western classical music, and strong ties to his indigenous roots as well.

John interviews Randall Goosby, whose debut on the Decca label, "Roots," was released this summer (and is being played on All Classical Portland regularly). The disc is an exploration of music written by Black composers and of composers inspired by Black American culture. Randall tells John Pitman about the importance and responsibility of bringing underrepresented composers into the repertoire, f...

John Pitman, director of Music and Programming at All Classical Portland interviews Portland composer Kenji Bunch about an important world premiere happening a few states away, at the Moab Music Festival in Utah, on September 4. Inspired by the autobiographical accounts of the incarceration of United States citizens – Japanese-Americans, in World War II – “Lost Freedom: A Memory” is a chamber musi...

The Austin, Texas-based choir, Conspirare, give voice to poets and writers from across the spectrum of nationality and gender in their latest recording, The Singing Guitar. Founder and director, Craig Hella Johnson, commissioned new works from composers such as Reena Esmail, Nico Muhly, and Kile Smith that highlight the words of the Sufi poet Hafiz, pioneer and indigenous women in the 1880s; and o...

ICAN Host, Producer, and Program Manager Sarah Zwinklis chats with Suzanne about the International Children’s Arts Network – All Classical Portland’s second station for children, their families, caregivers, and educators. She reflects on the growth of ICAN, which just celebrated its second birthday.

Founded in 2017 at Portland State University, Queer Opera is dedicated to providing a safe stage for LGBTQIA singers and allies to tell queer stories through the traditional genre of opera. Using unconventional casting methods, roles are matched with individuals based on how they identify, rather than the gender of the role or their voice type.

Oregon ArtsWatch Executive Director Laura Grimes and Senior Editor Bob Hicks talk about exciting projects headed our way this summer, as well as the state of the arts here in Portland and beyond.

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...

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, bo...

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 compos...

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...

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.

Host John Pitman talks to Marin Alsop about her passion for mentorship in her work with the Taki Concordia Fellowship. The Taki Fellowship is currently a two-year award that primarily includes intensive coaching and mentoring with Marin Alsop and other music industry professionals.

Host and Producer Raúl Gómez-Rojas dives into the Recording Inclusivity Initiative. The Recording Inclusivity Initiative (RII) was created by All Classical Portland, a public radio station based in the Pacific Northwest, in collaboration with N M Bodecker Foundation and Naxos Records. RII seeks to address the gap of classical music composers and musicians from underrepresented communities that mak...