Classical Conversations

The vocal ensemble Hudson Shad is in town to perform the work they know best: Kurt Weill & Bertolt Brecht's Seven Deadly Sins, with Storm Large and the Toledo Symphony (they've performed it more than any other group in history, in fact!). Hudson Shad (Tim Evans, Mark Bleeke, Wilbur Pauley, Peter Becker, Eric Edlund) joins us in the studio to sing some of their favorite songs and share in conversat...

Star violinist Rachel Barton Pine introduces us to her latest album, which pairs the equally romantic violin concertos of Max Bruch and Sir Edward Elgar.

Christina Farrell, founder of Opera Ignite, is in town to bring her Opera is a Story program to pre-schoolers throughout the area under the auspices of Toledo Opera. She joins us for a conversation about the rewards and challenges of bringing opera to the youngest generation, and music education in general.

Pianist Liza Stepanova discusses her latest release, Tones & Colors - which pairs evocative pieces of music with rich examples of visual art.

Norwegian composer Ola Gjeilo joins us to preview his lovely holiday album Winter Songs, from Decca Classics.

We welcome two cast members of Toledo Opera's upcoming production of Giuseppe Verdi's Rigoletto, soprano Magali Simard Galdès and baritone Anooshah Golesorkhi, along with conductor James Meena and stage director Jordan Braun. Included: performances in our studio from Ms. Simard Galdès and tenor Raffaele Abete, with pianist Kevin Bylsma. Hosted by Brad Cresswell.

Conductor, pianist, clarinetist, composer, and Music Director of the Louisville Orchestra Teddy Abrams tells us all about his album All In from the Louisville Orchestra, which features his music as well as his clarinet stylings (and a few other treats to boot!).

Grammy-nominated cellist, conductor, and pedagogue Amit Peled joins us to talk about his first recording with the Peabody Peled Cello Gang, composed of students from his studio at the Peabody Institute in Baltimore, Maryland.

Brad Pierson, director of the University of Toledo Concert Chorale, joins us for a preview of their season, including an in-studio performance from members of the ensemble.

Opera conductor, coach and University of Michigan faculty member Kathy Kelly joins us for a tribute to the late Russian baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky, and to preview the upcoming SongSLAM event at Kerrytown Concert House in Ann Arbor, where she is Artistic Director.

In advance of her Toledo Symphony debut this weekend, star violinist Rachel Barton Pine tells us about her magnificent Guarnieri violin, the "ex-Bazzini, ex-Soldat" which was personally selected by Johannes Brahms for one of his protégés. Rachel also discusses American music in general, tying in to our Toledo SymphonyLab podcast episode "Dvořák's New World."

Violinist Anne Akiko Meyers previews her 35th album, entitled Fantasia – the centerpiece of which is a work she commissioned from the revered Finnish composer Einojuhani Rautavaara, which turned out to be his final masterpiece completed before his death last year at age 87.

Pianist (and From The Top host) Christopher O'Riley joins forces with cellist Matt Haimovitz for their latest collaboration: TROIKA – a portrait of artistic rebellion in the face of political suppression. The two sat down with WGTE's Brad Cresswell to talk about the album, which pairs works by Rachmaninoff, Prokofiev and Shostakovich with modern protest songs by Viktor Tsoi, Pussy Riot, and the Be...

In advance of her appearance with the Toledo Symphony Nov. 4, star of stage and screen Audra McDonald joins WGTE's Brad Cresswell to talk about her career path, what makes a voice great, and – wait for it – her favorite Halloween candy. (photo credit: ©Autumn de Wilde)

We offer a tribute to longtime WGTE FM 91 radio personality and Music Director Bill Engelke, who passed away in September. Joining FM 91's Brad Cresswell are Bill's guardian and former wife Mary Natvig and his WGTE colleague Roger Greive, who offer their recollections and stories. Note: musical selections are truncated due to copyright. Photo: Plaque outside the newly dedicated William W. Engelke...

GRAMMY Award-winning guitar star Sharon Isbin joins us to talk about her new album, a collaboration with GRAMMY Award-winning opera star Isabel Leonard called Alma Española, which is the first of its kind in 40 years: an all-Spanish recording for voice and guitar.

In 1736, composer Salvatore Lanzetti created a bit of a scandal when he brought the heretofore lowly and unsophisticated cello to the Concert Spirituel, France's most exclusive concert series. Other composers quickly jumped on the cello bandwagon, writing virtuoso showpieces for the instrument. The rise of the cello as a solo instrument, however, threatened to overtake the traditional bass viol, l...

The Toledo Symphony's Merwin Siu and the Toledo Museum of Art's Scott Boberg (both pictured) join us to talk about the fascinating music of American composer Lou Harrison, who is the focus of a marathon event at the TMA this weekend. Please note: due to copyright, audio samples have been truncated in this episode.

Hollywood composer and Ann Arbor native Stephen Edwards has more than 60 film scores to his credit, but his most personal project to date is a Requiem mass, dedicated to his late mother Rosalie Edwards. Stephen joins us to talk about "Requiem for my Mother," which is not only on CD, but is available as a documentary film which has aired on PBS stations nationwide.

Composer Jack Gallagher celebrates his 70th birthday this summer, and we celebrate some of his recent recordings in this conversation recorded a few days before his birthday on June 27, 2017.

Pianist Jose Federico Osorio joins us to sample his latest album Final Thoughts, which documents the last piano works of Franz Schubert and Johannes Brahms.

Violinist Rachel Barton Pine has a new album out which explores both the virtuosity and the lyricism of the legendary violinist/composer, Nicolò Paganini. In Bel Canto Paganini, Rachel takes on the daunting 24 caprices for solo violin, plus some rarely heard Paganini gems. Rachel even offers a composition of her own in tribute: a set of variations on the New Zealand national anthem. The Billboard...

It was announced today that after a two-year search, the Toledo Symphony has found a new Music Director: Alain Trudel. Alain (don't call him "Maestro"!) will be Music Director Designate until June 2018, after which he will serve out a three-year contract. The celebrated conductor and trombonist sits down with WGTE's Brad Cresswell for a conversation about all things Toledo Symphony: what he loves...

Two members of The Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, Fr. Zachary Akers and Fr. Garrick Huang, join us to preview their new album "Requiem," available from Demontfort Music & Sony Classical.

Timothy Cloeter, artistic director and conductor of Toledo's own Masterworks Chorale joins Brad Cresswell for a conversation about their upcoming Collage Concert, "What a Wonderful World," happening this weekend at the Valentine Theatre.