Classical Conversations

WGTE's Mary Claire Murphy and Logan Cooney sit down with Rick Steves as he visits Toledo, Ohio on his "A Symphonic Journey" tour.

Dr. Chaerin Kim returns to FM 91 to talk about the European premiere of her signature work as a composer, Rendezvous, which she conducts in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31DEEYbgvdw. Dr. Kim shares her passion for music and answers questions about her musical philosophy and background. https://www.chaerinkim.com/blog/

The emerging Fourth Wall Ensemble, founded in 2023, has made a splash in its first year with a double album release, including Awake, with music by Samuel Siskind; and Ad Manus, with vocal selections by Caroline Shaw, Dietrich Buxtehude, Jeff Beal, Eric Whitacre, Morten Lauridsen, and Reena Esmail. Christopher Allen, the ensemble’s artistic and creative director, speaks with Mary Claire Murphy and...

Percussion guru Rob Desmond and Development guru (and percussionist) Dave Gierke talk with WGTE's Mary Claire Murphy and Brad Cresswell about the Steel Pan Band at Toledo School for the Arts, and the November 5th concert by "Paganini of the Steel Pan" Liam Teague.

Violinist Ray Chen collaborated with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and conductor Cristian Macelaru to release Player 1, an album replete with nostalgia for fans of video game, television, and film music. His conversation with Mary Claire Murphy is an invitation to reminisce and delight in cinematic orchestral arrangements as Ray performs on the ‘Dolphin’ Stradivarius.

In this conversation with WGTE's Mary Claire Murphy, Stathis Karapanos speaks on the often-misunderstood musical language of Paul Hindemith and introduces his album of complete Hindemith flute works.

Lima Symphony Orchestra Music Director Andrew Crust joins us for a chat about the LSO's new season and their October 19th season opener. Explore the Lima Symphony Season: https://www.limasymphony.com/2024-2025-season

Soprano Karen Slack and pianist Michelle Cann have collaborated with ONEcomposer to present the album Beyond the Years, featuring 19 unpublished art songs by Florence Price. Learn more in this Classical Conversation with Mary Claire Murphy.

Organist Gail Archer discusses her research on equity in the workplace for women organists and introduces us to the variety of programs scheduled for her fall 2024 performance season.

Conductor Gil Rose founded the Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP) over 100 albums ago; he joins us for a conversation about the orchestra and their two recent albums, John Alden Carpenter: Complete Ballets, and Paul Dooley: Masks & Machines. Please note: The first part of our chat was lost due to technical concerns; Gill starts off by telling us about BMOP (also, the music excerpts have been t...

Trumpet virtuoso Mary Elizabeth Bowden furthers her mission to build the contemporary trumpet repertoire with an album of story-telling concertos, and she gives voices to some of those stories in this conversation with Mary Claire Murphy.

With the polarizing political season in full swing, it's important to remember that despite our differences, we're still neighbors and should treat each other as such. Enter Neighbor2Neighbor, a 2024 election year peace initiative, which has taken off in our community. In this radio roundtable, we're joined by four guests: Rev. Gayle Catinella (Rector of St. Michael's in the Hills Episcopal Church...

Composer Robert Kyr provides an immersive experience of nature through several environmentally themed oratorios and choral dramas, including A Time for Life and Earth Vigil. He speaks with Mary Claire Murphy on his concepts and collaboration with the acclaimed ensemble Conspirare and their artistic director, Craig Hella Johnson. As a supplement to the conversation, see below for nature photography...

Octavist Glenn Miller speaks to Mary Claire Murphy on Sergei Rachmaninoff’s All-Night Vigil, as arranged for men’s choir and recorded in Jerusalem by the PaTRAM Institute Male Choir.

Composer Scott Wollschleger talks about his new album from New Focus Recordings called Between Breath. The album contains four works for different duo and solo combinations that are presented here as a multi-movement complete work. Wollschleger's music balances exuberance and intimacy with characteristic sensitivity to timbre and structural proportions.

Celebrate the centennial of the “Rhapsody in Blue” with the album Norman Krieger Plays Gershwin. Norman joins Mary Claire Murphy on Classical Conversations for more details on the Rhapsody, Gershwin’s preludes, and his Piano Concerto in F.

In this Classical Conversation with Mary Claire Murphy, pianist/composer Chad Lawson speaks on his meditative approach to music composition and invites us into his album of piano solo music, “Where We Are.”

Violinist Elizabeth Chang speaks to Mary Claire Murphy about her unique album Sonatas and Myths, featuring seminal works by early 20th century composers Bela Bartok, Karol Szymanowski, and Ernst von Dohnanyi.

In her poetic Six Pieces for Solo Violin, composer Sophia Jani unfolds a series of targeted techniques to celebrate the solo violin and its place as a sweetheart of music history and modern times. In collaboration with violinist Teresa Allgaier, she foreshadows the set with an introductory prelude and then proceeds with great intentionality through a variety of musical characters; she shares the d...

Through their album, Project Earth: The Blue Chapter, the Iris Trio takes a multi-disciplinary approach to celebrate the environment and the beauty of biodiversity. Anna Petrova, pianist of the Iris Trio, speaks with Mary Claire Murphy on the nuances within the poetry and accompanying compositions, crafted by Don McKay and Florian Hoefner, respectively.

We're joined by two members of the cast and two of the creatives behind Toledo Opera's production of Ragtime. Soprano Raquel Suarez Groen (Mother) and baritone Derrick Davis (Coalhouse Walker, Jr.) sing their big showpieces in the WGTE studios (with pianist Kevin Bylsma). Also, we hear from director James Norman, and the conductor of Ragtime, J. Ernest Green.

Grammy Award-winning organist Paul Jacobs is helping the King of Instruments retake its rightful place in classical music. The acclaimed musician joins Mary Claire Murphy and Brad Cresswell for a conversation about his return appearance at the Peristyle with the Toledo Symphony.

Dr. Chaerin Kim joins us to talk about her substantial career as a multi-instrumentalist, composer, conductor and professor, and gives advice for young musicians hoping to find success in the many competitions she has judged. We also hear her piano version of "Rendezvous" - a piece by Dr. Kim which has 100 versions (including many different languages).

In her sophomore album, "I Long and Seek After," violist and composer Jessica Meyer contemplates the question, "Am I doing all that I am supposed to be doing?" Themes of love, heartbreak, and self-discovery pervade the texts, which she set as intimate art songs. And on this, her 50th birthday year, she shares with Mary Claire Murphy her reflections on how to embrace the passage of time to age with...

Ballet Theater of Toledo's Artistic Director Nigel Burgoine and composer David Jex talk about their collaboration "The Great Pancake Escape" - which features BTT dancers, magician Andrew Martin and narrator Tony Geftos reading from the book by Toledo-area author Paul Many. https://ballettheatreoftoledo.org/performances/