Category Archives: For Fun
John Cage’s ‘The City Wears a Slouch Hat’
On Saturday, October 29, 2022, host Andrea Murray presented at a very special episode of Club Mod, featuring the recent live performance of John Cage and Kenneth Patchen‘s 1942 radio play The City Wears a Slouch Hat, performed by some of your favorite All Classical Portland hosts as part of 45th Parallel Universe‘s Radio Happening event. This episode of Club Mod also featured interviews with All Classical Portland Artist …
RII & AMPLIFY on KGW-TV’s Hello, Rose City!
Thank you to KGW-TV host Lacey Evans and the entire Hello, Rose City! team for welcoming All Classical Portland President & CEO Suzanne Nance and Recording Inclusivity Initiative Chair Adam Eccleston on their program to discuss RII and our first-ever album AMPLIFY! The groundbreaking album is now available to purchase in the All Classical Portland Gift Shop, and available to stream and download on your favorite …
Classical Hobbies
In the world of classical music, it’s easy to get lost in the mystique and lore surrounding its musical figures. At All Classical Portland, we strive to connect to the real, living humans behind the music. What better way to get acquainted with these renowned composers than through their hobbies? Perhaps in doing so, we …
Musical Friendships
In A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers, Henry David Thoreau described friendship: “They cherish each other’s hopes. They are kind to each other’s dreams.” So much beautiful music has come to the world through the mutual encouragement of friends. In this post, we will explore some historic friendships in classical music, when great …
The History and Humor of the Kazoo
This month, we celebrate an important milestone for humankind: almost 170 years of kazooing! January 28th is National Kazoo Day, and you know what that means — it’s time for us to dive into the history, humor, “how,” and “why” of one of the world’s funniest musical inventions. Let’s get to it!
Last-Minute Masterpieces of Procrastinating Composers
Are you reading this article in order to avoid whatever you were supposed to be doing? If so, then great news: you’re not alone in your procrastination! In fact, your dilly-dallying habits are shared with several brilliant artists of classical music. Here, we’ll explore three wonderful pieces, the genius composers behind the scenes, and the …
Ghouls, Ghosts, and Edvard Grieg: The Spookiest Classical Pieces
With Halloween right around the corner, this week is the perfect time to explore haunted houses, carve pumpkins, stock up on candy for trick-or-treaters, and of course, tune into All Classical Portland at 89.9 FM! There’s no better way to enjoy autumn than by listening to a playlist of spooky classical music. Below, we’ll share …
How Instruments Are Built
Early musical instruments were designed in the same manner as many other great inventions: by accident. After realizing that ordinary objects could create fascinating melodies, our earliest innovators began testing, shaping, and playing the tangible world around us. Their historic creations have evolved into the unique medleys of science, engineering, and art that exist today. …
A Mighty Chinful: Great Moments in Composer Facial Hair
In celebration of World Beard Day (observed every year on the first Saturday of September), Warren Black, your morning host at All Classical, felt it was time for a retrospective on some great moments in composers’ facial hair. That’s why he teamed up with Emma Riggle, All Classical’s Music Researcher, to assemble this chronological gallery of fine classical beards, bristles, ‘staches, mutton (and/or lamb) chops and more. Here is their hail …
Songbirds of Oregon
From the Gorge to Mt. Hood, the Alvord Desert to Crater Lake, Oregon provides unique geological and ecological sites with incredible diversity in flora and fauna. Even with nature all around us, we can sometimes forget to appreciate it in urban spaces or in our own backyards. For Earth Day, we’d like to show appreciation …
