Category Archives: For Fun
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… More
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… More
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… More
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…. More
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… More
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… More
Couples of Classical Music
Robert Schumann (1810-1856) and Clara Schumann (1819-1896) Clara Schumann was a well-respected pianist and composer, Robert Schumann a composer, pianist, and music critic. Clara’s father, Frederick Wieck, was also a pianist and was in fact Robert’s teacher, but he opposed the match. At the time, the opposition would have been enough to prevent their marriage,… More
The Stories of Twelve Carols: 2020 Edition
As we look forward to this year’s Festival of Carols on All Classical Portland, it’s time to again share the stories of twelve famous carols! Our Program Director, John Pitman, has chosen a lovely selection of twelve carols for us to explore this year, and as All Classical’s Music Researcher, it’s been my mission to… More
The Magic of Radio: Behind the Scenes with Chief Engineer Mike Alston
National Radio Day crackles to life on August 20th every year in the United States for us to celebrate the miracle of sound waves travelling to our ears from far and wide. The history of National Radio Day is about as fuzzy as an untuned radio though, with rumors of its beginnings lying somewhere in… More
