Jeff Spurgeon

WQXR Host

Jeff Spurgeon appears in the following:

Video: Organist Paul Jacobs Makes a 'Glorious Racket' in Bach

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

In this video, Juilliard organ department chairman Paul Jacobs shows us how Bach is played on the pipe organ.

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Comments [9]

Could Any Musician Hold Our Attention for Days on End?

Thursday, March 21, 2013

Here in New York, WQXR, the sister station of our co-producer WNYC is launching something they're calling Bach 360°. It's a proper Bach-a-thon — a ten-day Bach marathon festival that ...

Comments [15]

Van Cliburn's Triumphant Carnegie Concert

Friday, March 01, 2013

Earlier this week, classical pianist Van Cliburn died at age 78. In a piece written on the day of his death, Soundcheck host John Schaefer described him this way: 

"...one classical pianist was a larger-than-life, rock-star figure on at least two continents. He was a pop-music phenomenon, with a debut album that went triple platinum. Everyone knew who he was."

The pianist, who became a household name by winning the International Tchaikovsky Piano Competition in Moscow at the height of the Cold War in 1958. WNYC's classical sister station, WQXR, recorded Van Cliburn's triumphant post-victory concert at Carnegie Hall that year -- we take a listen with WQXR host Jeff Spurgeon

Comments [1]

Cold War Musical Envoy and Piano Legend Van Cliburn Dies at 78

Thursday, February 28, 2013

It was 1958. In the midst of the Cold War, the inaugural Tchaikovsky International Competition took place in Moscow. Amid a climate of fear and mutual suspicion between Americans and ...

Comments [2]

The Greene Space

WQXR Presents: Nicola Benedetti with Special Guest Howard Shore

Friday, February 22, 2013

7:00 PM

Friday, Feb. 22 | Toast Oscar weekend with an evening of film music performed by one of classical music's rising stars. Watch on-demand.

Would It Matter if Beyoncé Lip-Synched Her Performance?

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Beyoncé sang at the presidential inauguration on Monday, though many people are saying that she actually lip-synched her performance. Commenting on Beyoncé's potential lip-synching ar...

Comments [14]

Five Things to Listen for in Bach's Christmas Oratorio

Friday, December 21, 2012

If Handel's Messiah is the quarterback of holiday music, Bach's Christmas Oratorio is the second-string walk-on. But today, Bach's underplayed work gets a starting spot in the lineup.
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Hurricane Sandy's Classical Soundtrack

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

For the past two days, a battery-powered radio has been the only connection to the outside world for many New Yorkers. And for many of them, music, particularly classical music, offer...

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The Greene Space

Leif Ove Andsnes: The Beethoven Journey

Saturday, September 22, 2012

1:00 PM

Hailed by The New York Times as “a pianist of magisterial elegance, power and insight,” Leif Ove Andsnes has embarked on a major multi-season project to perform and record the complete Beethoven piano concertos for Sony Classical.  

Join us in The Greene Space, in his ...

From the WQXR Serendipity File...

Thursday, July 12, 2012

There we were in Central Park, watching the rehearsal for that evening’s concert broadcast, when in the distance was a children’s choir, writes Jeff Spurgeon. See what happens next.

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Comments [4]

New York Philharmonic Closes Season with Armory Spectacular

Monday, July 02, 2012

The New York Philharmonic offered some big sounds in its season-ending program, and served them up on a really big plate: the Drill Hall at the New York Armory. Jeff Spurgeon reports.

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Comments [1]

At Steinway & Sons, Tradition is the Key

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Every day, the piano manufacturers at Steinway & Sons face an essential question: How to balance craftsmanship with making a profitable instrument. See how it happens in this video tour.

Comments [1]

Pierre-Laurent Aimard on Coughs, Ringtones and Wrappers

Monday, April 23, 2012

On Monday, the French pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard spoke with WQXR’s Jeff Spurgeon about programming and the distractions a performer sometimes endures.

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Comments [10]

The Greene Space

An Evening With The Knights

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

7:00 PM

One of New York’s most innovative and acclaimed new chamber orchestras, The Knights conclude their stay as WQXR’s ensemble-in-residence with a live performance in The Greene Space.

Robert Sherman Remembered

Wednesday, March 07, 2012

For Disney fans, the world may seem a little smaller today. Jeff Spurgeon of WQXR joins us to discuss the legacy of the late Disney songwriter Robert Sherman.

Comments [3]

Remembering Rudolf Firkušny, Pianist of Refinement and Warmth

Saturday, February 11, 2012

"When I hear recordings by pianist Rudolf Firkušny, whose was born on February 11, 1912, the word that comes to mind every time is 'warmth,'" writes Jeff Spurgeon.

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Comments [7]

Remembering Erich Leinsdorf's Impromptu Requiem for JFK

Saturday, February 04, 2012

The radio microphones were present at a Boston Symphony Orchestra concert at an extraordinary moment in American history.
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Comments [20]

A Maverick Organist Cuts Loose on a Christmas Standard

Monday, December 19, 2011

The flamboyant organist Cameron Carpenter offers us another example of his remarkable technical and musical skills in a new recording and video of “Sleigh Ride.”

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Comments [12]

The Greene Space

WQXR presents the Emerson String Quartet

Sunday, October 16, 2011

5:00 PM

The quartet celebrates its 35th anniversary this season and in this concert, they offer a sneak preview of their new all-Mozart disc.

The Greene Space

A Day With The Knights

Sunday, September 18, 2011

12:00 PM

WQXR’s Jeff Spurgeon hosts brunch and performance with ensemble-in-residence The Knights in The Greene Space. Their varied and riveting program includes Schubert’s beloved Octet, Ginastera’s Impressiones de la Puña and works by contemporary composers.