Classical Conversations

Browse our audio archive of conversations with local and international classical musicians. WGTE's Brad Cresswell and Mary Claire Murphy speak with some of today's greatest artists about their latest recordings and performances. Watch the Classical Conversations Video Interviews. Classical Conversations® is a registered trademark of Classical Conversations Multi Media, Inc. and is licensed by WGTE.

Music Interviews

Update frequency: every 13 days
Episodes: 269
Years Active: 2016 - 2025

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Gernot Wolfgang: Vienna and the West

Grammy-nominated composer Gernot Wolfgang talks about his new album Vienna and the West – a jazz-influenced collection of chamber music performed by some of the Los Angeles area's finest musicians.

Mon 10 Jun 2019

Craig Swanson: The French Suite Kit

Pianist/composer Craig Swanson joins us to talk about his fascinating project The French Suite Kit, which presents the music of Bach in a unique fashion – "played on the piano with variety enough to …

Sat 25 May 2019

Lara Downes: Holes in the Sky

Pianist Lara Downes joins Haley Taylor for a discussion of her new album, Holes in the Sky - a star-studded collection of female artists which pays tribute to the remarkable women of American music, …

Thu 23 May 2019

NIgel Burgoine: The White Crow

Artistic Director of Ballet Theatre of Toledo Nigel Burgoine joins us to talk about his work with the great Rudolf Nureyev - who is the subject of a new film by Ralph Fiennes called The White Crow. W…

Fri 17 May 2019

Ilan Eshkeri: The White Crow

British film composer Ilan Eshkeri joins us to talk about his third collaboration with actor/director Ralph Feinnes, The White Crow. The film tells the story of famed Soviet ballet dancer Rudolf Nure…

Thu 09 May 2019

Avi and Omer: Avital Meets Avital

Mandolin virtuoso Avi Avital and jazz bassist Omer Avital join Haley Taylor for a conversation about their high-powered collaborative album Avital Meets Avital, which brings together their two musica…

Thu 09 May 2019

Matthew Lipman: Ascent

The young, American violist Matthew Lipman joins us to preview his new album Ascent – which features a wide variety of works for viola, including the world premiere recording of a recently unearthed …

Wed 24 Apr 2019

Dennis Russell Davies at 75

Legendary conductor, pianist, and Toledo native Dennis Russell Davies joins Brad Cresswell for a wide-ranging discussion about growing up in Toledo, how his career took shape, his championing of new …

Tue 16 Apr 2019

Kirill Gerstein: Busoni Piano Concerto

At more than 70 minutes, Ferruccio Busoni's wildly inventive Piano Concerto stands as a holy grail of the repertoire – a tour-de-force of virtuousity and stamina that has rarely been set down on disc…

Fri 12 Apr 2019

Philippe Quint and Marta Aznavoorian: Chaplin's Smile

Violinist Philippe Quint and pianist Marta Aznavoorian team up (with guest Joshua Bell) for a rich compendium of tunes by the legendary filmmaker Charlie Chaplin, in original arrangements by the comp…

Thu 28 Mar 2019

Sarah Cahill: The Future is Female

One of contemporary music's brightest lights, pianist Sarah Cahill is presenting her provocative program "The Future is Female" at the Detroit Institute of Arts and also at Bowling Green State Univer…

Thu 21 Mar 2019

Hee-Young Lim: French Cello Concertos

Cellist Hee-Young Lim was (at age 15) the youngest student ever accepted to Korean National University. Afterward, she attended Boston's New England Conservatory and the Conservatoire National Supéri…

Wed 20 Mar 2019

Reiko Füting: Distant Song

German-born composer Reiko Füting writes highly unique music with a social conscience, that maintains an awareness of the past while looking to the future. Füting's musical voice is on full display i…

Thu 14 Mar 2019

Paula Poundstone Returns

You know her from the NPR News Quiz Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! The one and only Paula Poundstone returns to Toledo on March 15 for an appearance at the Stranahan Theater (details and tickets here). …

Thu 07 Mar 2019

Joyce DiDonato: Songplay

Opera star Joyce DiDonato joins us to talk about and sample her new album Songplay, which delightfully mixes jazz, Latin, and tango rhythms into arrangements of Italian Baroque arias, jazz standards,…

Mon 25 Feb 2019

Rachel Barton Pine: Blues Dialogues

Violinist Rachel Barton Pine surveys her groundbreaking album of blues-influenced classical works for solo violin and violin and piano by 20th and 21st century composers of African descent, Blues Dia…

Fri 15 Feb 2019

Morten Lauridsen: Light Eternal

Morten Lauridsen is the country's most-performed choral composer and with over 200 albums containing his work, one of the most recorded. He joins us to talk about the latest album made up entirely of…

Fri 08 Feb 2019

Neave Trio: Celebrating Piazzolla

The last time we spoke with the Nieve Trio (violinist Anna Williams, cellist Mikhail Veselov and pianist Eri Nakamura), it was French Moments, which provided a showcase for some wonderful trios by Ro…

Fri 18 Jan 2019

Amit Peled: Bach Cello Suites

Since 2012, Israeli-born cellist Amit Peled has famously played the 1733 Matteo Goffriller cello formerly owned by the great cellist Pablo Casals. For the first time, Peled has recorded the solo cell…