One of the highlights in our recent, four-day Festival of Carols, was this new recording by Norwegian-born composer, Ola Gjeilo (YAY-lo). Mr. Gjeilo’s inspiration is varied, going back to his youth: classical, jazz, film music, and also non-musical... More
1/4/2018 by John Pitman
Avi Avital is an Israeli mandolinist, and Deutsche Grammophon artist, who is most accustomed to playing classical works such as those of Vivaldi (in 2015, I interviewed Mr. Avital about his Vivaldi in Venice CD, which can still... More
12/8/2017 by John Pitman
American violinist Anne Akiko Meyers has long loved the works of Finnish composer, Einojuhani Rautavaara. For years, Meyers dreamed of commissioning a work from him for her instrument. In 2014, she reached out to the composer, who responded... More
11/16/2017 by John Pitman
While working on my blog post series that discusses events and organizations who are dedicated to bettering our community through classical music, I am inspired yet again by a project All Classical Portland has taken on. This weekend... More
11/7/2017 by All Classical Radio
Violinist Tomás Cotik (toh-MAHSS ko-TEEK), Assistant Professor of Violin at Portland State University, was born in Argentina. But that doesn’t mean that he grew up loving the tango. It took living in another country – Germany, to be... More
11/1/2017 by John Pitman
Cellist Matt Haimovitz has never been content to just “be quiet and play the music”. That statement, often fired at musicians when they express their opinions, has been heard with greater frequency in recent years. One could argue... More
10/19/2017 by John Pitman
This is a special recording on a number of fronts. In the first place, it’s the premiere by these two artists, both of them winners of multiple Grammy awards, recording together after collaborating for several years in concert. ... More
8/31/2017 by John Pitman
To some, classical music may seem like something of the past, yet many artists have sampled classical music, bringing the music to the present. Yet, the issue remains of where one song ends and another begins. It is... More
8/30/2017 by Annika Lindburg
In August 2017, Oregon experienced its first total solar eclipse since 1979, and with it was a first for the station! All Classical Portland commissioned a piece of music to accompany this magnificent moment of totality: The Body... More
8/21/2017 by Arianna Avena
With the once in a lifetime event coming up on Monday, here is some background information on the composers featured in All Classical’s Eclipse soundtrack. Richard Strauss’ tone poem Also Sprach Zarathustra is one of the most popular... More
8/16/2017 by Annika Lindburg
