Terrance McKnight

A few nights ago I saw a commercial for a video game called "Tom Clancy's Conviction."  The ad depicted a father, automatic rifle in tow, walking through an abandoned town Wild, Wild West-style. Here’s the juicy part: the theme music in the ad was the spiritual “Run on for a Long Time.”

Recently I went to a birthday party where there was a piano. When asked to play, I had one piece in my fingers, the Op. 118 Intermezzo by Brahms--the Intermezzo isn't party music. That incident reminded me of a piano teacher saying "always have a piece in your fingers." In this case I needed two.

On my coffee table (more like empty glasses/laptop table) are small stacks of CDs that include Garrick Ohlsson‘s recording of Chopin's Nocturnes and Glenn Gould’s “The Young Maverick” set.

Multi-faceted musician Bobby McFerrin is well known for his style of vocalizing that addresses many musical genres. Perhaps less known is Bobby's father, baritone Robert McFerrin who made history when he sang with New York City Opera in 1949. He also made history when he won the Metropolitan Opera Auditions of the Air in 1953, which led to a historic appearance at the Metropolitan Opera in 1955.

Some artists, for one reason or another,

Frederic Chopin always claimed that March 1st was his birthday, despite church records saying he was born on February 22. Chopin would have been 200 this year, and it seems churlish to argue with a 200-year-old, so in honor of his special day we look back on what made him great, and why we still love his music.

Over the weekend, I checked out a chamber music concert.

If you’ve been going to classical music concerts for more than twenty years, you’ll probably agree that the racial make-up of the orchestra and the audience has remained largely non-black.

This week during Symphony Hall we’ll be listening to Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos.

See what WQXR hosts have to say about romance and romantic music. Then tell us about the classical music that has added romance to your life. We'll play some of your selections on Valentine's Day.

Over the past few weeks we’ve been featuring music from artists nominated for Grammy Awards this year. The Grammy Awards are Sunday, Jan 31st. 

This time of year is a time of both recharging, refueling and purging.

This week we're celebrating Beethoven's birthday.

The holiday season is in full swing, and many of the upcoming holidays are steeped in tradition - religious and cultural.

A few days ago while cleaning my apartment and listening to the radio, a piece of music came on that immediately caught my full attention.