Classics For Kids

Opera singer Denyce Graves talks with Naomi Lewin about what it’s like to be an international opera star.

Giacomo Puccini’s opera La Bohème is about struggling artists in Paris. Its title means “the bohemian lifestyle.” But Bohemia isn't in France; it's in the Czech Republic. Other composers such […]

Zoltan Kodály developed a method for teaching music. It is still used by teachers around the world today. Jill Trinka, who teaches the Kodály Method, talks with Naomi Lewin.

Antonin Dvorak and his fellow Czech composers were among the first music nationalists. Here’s a look at many others, including composers from America.

All across Europe in the 19th century, there was a wave of nationalism as people fought for political independence. Composers started wanting musical independence, too. When they started putting folk […]

After studying at the Royal Conservatory of Music in London, Benjamin Britten got a job writing film music. Then he went on to compose choral music, chamber music, songs, and […]

The Hungarian Dances by Johannes Brahms were never really intended for dancing. But that doesn’t mean that people in Hungary don't dance! Richard Graber, the director of a Hungarian dance […]

When he was a young pianist, Johannes Brahms accompanied a Hungarian violinist, and fell in love with Hungarian music. His own Hungarian-flavored dances were written to entertain his friends at […]

Brahms, Bach, and Beethoven are known as the “Three B’s” of classical music. Brahms always knew that he wanted to be a composer — by the time he was six, […]

Georges Bizet’s parents were both musicians, so he grew up surrounded by music. Today, Bizet is best remembered for his theatrical music — operas and incidental music for plays.

Ana Smith sits down with the Schoolhouse Symphony, a six-member ensemble that is celebrating 50 years of performing in pre-schools, elementary schools, and middle schools in and around Cincinnati since 1976.

In the final of three episodes about Rhapsody in Blue, Dr. Tammy Kernodle and Ana Smith discuss George Gershwin, the Cold War, and the various definitions of American Music.

In this second episode about George Gershwin, Ana Smith and Dr. Tammy Kernodle explore the musical themes of Rhapsody in Blue through the lens of American history.

In this first episode about George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, Ana Smith and Dr. Tammy Kernodle discuss the history of Jazz and American Music.

Drs. Kori Hill and Kristy Swift join Ana Smith to discuss the difference between Opera and Musical Theatre, and why Musical Theatre is so much more popular today.

Jack Bunch Listen as we are joined by cellist Joanna Frank and harpsichordist Maksym Mahlay as they discuss Baroque music and why it’s so important to not just classical music […]

Jack Bunch Listen as we are joined by guest Tim Goldrainer, lead singer for the rock band “The Menus,” as we discuss music around the holidays and what it means […]

Jack Bunch   Listen as we are joined by Dr. A. Kori Hill, musicologist and professor at the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music, as she talks to us about […]

Trinity Le, CFK Intern Today we are joined by guest Marissa Kerbel, a fantastic pianist and teacher, and graduate of the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music! Here she talks about the […]

Trinity Le, CFK Intern Molly Stanford, DMA student and soon-to-be graduate at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, joins us today to talk about Clara Schumann. She was a piano child […]

St. Paul's Girls' School in London has a sign that says: "Gustav Holst wrote The Planets and taught here." Holst composed his St. Paul's Suite for the student orchestra at St. Paul's Girls' School. Many other composers wrote music for students to perform.

Astronomy is the science that studies the sun, moon, planets, and other objects in the sky. Astrology is not a science – it tries to show how objects in the […]

Born into a family of composers, Gustav Holst wanted to follow in their footsteps. His career included playing in orchestras and serving as head of music at St. Paul's Girls' School for almost thirty years while also composing. He liked music by earlier English composers, folk music and poetry, especially poetry from ancient India. The success of The Planets thrust him into the spotlight and enabled him to focus more of his time on what he loved, composing.

From a very early age, Scott Joplin supported himself as a performing pianist. Eventually, he earned a living selling his compositions, too. Thanks to Joplin’s Maple Leaf Rag, the most […]

It’s December, and winter has officially begun. This is a program of music with wintery themes.

In celebration of the Christmas season, some classical compositions that have Christmas carols in them.

Ralph Vaughan Williams arrived on the scene just as a definite English classical music sound was being established. His three main teachers at the Royal Academy of Music were Arthur […]

Originally, a musical fantasy was a piece that instrumentalists made up as they went along. Eventually, fantasies evolved into pieces that composers built out of various melodies they liked — […]

Ralph Vaughan Williams was one of the most important 20th century English composers. He spent years traveling the country collecting English folk songs, writing them down, and publishing them. Many […]

Charles Ives loved to put hymns into his music. Several other composers borrowed hymn tunes; here are several examples from 20th Century American compositions.

The Country Band March has 12 recognizable popular and folk tunes in it. But Ives was not the only composer to put borrowed tunes in his music. Many classical composers […]

Charles Ives wrote the Country Band March about amateur musicians — people who make music for the love of it. In the Country Band March Ives combines a tune that […]

The music that Charles Ives wrote was greatly influenced by his father, George. From the time he was a kid, Ives heard his father experiment with sound. George Ives always […]

Appropriately spooky classical music for Halloween.

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov spent years as a professor at the St. Petersburg Conservatory. Many of his students became famous composers themselves: Anatol Liadov, Alexander Glazunov, and Igor Stravinsky. A lot of […]