- One of the best things about summer? Musicians stopping by the CPR Performance Studio on their way to one of Colorado’s many other summer music festivals. We were lucky enough to have the boundary-defying Time for Three stop by – check out original works and covers from CPR Performance Studio.
- Join us for an Aspen livestream from the Benedict Music Tent on CPR Classical this Sunday! Celebrate the conclusion of Aspen’s 2023 season and CPR Classical’s Summerfest with Haydn’s “The Creation.” A performance of Handel’s “Messiah” in Westminster Abbey in the 1790s inspired Haydn to write something just as impactful.
- Watch the triumphant tale of Idomeneo, the King of Crete, live from the Aspen Music Festival opera stage on Thursday, August 17. Neptune saves Idomeneo from the ocean after Idomeneo’s success in the Trojan War, setting into motion a tale of love, loyalty and family. This epic, bold opera premiered just a few days before Mozart’s 25th birthday.
- Two big names in classical music, conductor Nicholas McGegan and pianist Awadagin Pratt, are meeting for the first time in Aspen this summer. Pratt is making a return to Aspen after more than 20 years. McGegan, on the other hand, has been part of the festival for more than 20 years.
- Every year on the Fourth of July, Americans pull out the fireworks, hotdogs and historic music in an effort to honor the birth of our nation. The date has its classical music favorites, such as Copland, Gershwin and Bernstein — all of which you will hear on CPR Classical.
- It’s the sights and sounds of Colorado’s summer music festivals through one minute snapshots with CPR Classical’s Summerfest Postcards. There are nearly 20 festivals across the state, from a small chamber music series in Denver, to a mountain festival so large it drives the summer economy of its host town.
- Colorado is one of the top destinations for summer classical festivals in the world. Renowned musicians and audiences flock to the Centennial State for performances in gorgeous spaces. And CPR Classical brings the excitement to you every day on the radio June 15 - August 20.
- SoYoung Lee is the executive and music director of Rocky Ridge Music, a center for music education at the foot of Longs Peak. She also serves as a trustee on the board of the Boulder County Arts Alliance and as a member of the Estes Arts Presents Task Force.
- Violinist Claude Sim was appointed associate concertmaster of the Colorado Symphony at the age of 21. Beyond his early success as an orchestra member, he won the grand prize at the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition and has served as an educator at colleges throughout Colorado.
- Yi Zhao is assistant concertmaster of the Colorado Symphony, but you may have heard her in Salida or Colorado Springs or Broomfield. She performs as a soloist and chamber musician throughout Colorado. She’s played Carnegie Hall and performed as part of summer festivals like Tanglewood and the Sun Festival in Singapore.
- Essential Classics Weekend is back! It’s a long-standing tradition for CPR Classical. On both Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends, it’s wall-to-wall essentials starting Thursday at 3 p.m. and running through Monday. The requests are in! Listen during the long weekend, starting Thursday afternoon through Memorial Day.
- Violist Richard Yongjae O’Neill has been part of the University of Colorado Boulder’s long-standing ensemble-in-residence, the Takacs Quartet, since 2020. Just a year after he joined, O’Neill brought home a Grammy for Best Classical Instrumental Solo Performance. O’Neill’s fame extends far beyond the borders of Colorado.
- Music and nature share an inseparable bond. Composers like Beethoven and Dvorak have long celebrated their love of nature in music. In recent years, contemporary composers have combined their love of nature with their concern for the environment into compelling new pieces.
- Sarah Starbuck is an educator at Thornton Middle School. At her school, she witnesses first hand what the decline in funding for education does for programs like music. “[It] adversely affects kids who come from lower socioeconomic backgrounds,” she says.
- Join CPR Classical Friday, February 24 at 5 p.m. MT for a live concert from the Metropolitan Opera and the Lincoln Center: “For Ukraine: A Concert of Remembrance and Hope.”
- Hear the magic of Opera Colorado and Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana in a one-night-only event on CPR Classical! Jean Inaba hosts a live recording from fall 2022 to celebrate 40 years of Opera Colorado bringing musical treasure to the Centennial state.
