91.1FM WTJU Charlottesville, U.Va.

Variation on a Theme By…

In music, variation may be the highest form of flattery. Listen to how great composers reflect upon and reshape the music of fellow musicians. 

Music of the German Romantics

Musical romanticism in Germany dates back to the 1800s and emphasizes imagination, emotion, and relaxation of musical forms.  We'll explore the musical gems of the German romantics from Beethoven to Brahms.

A Week of Chamber Music: Solo Instruments

Our week-long series of chamber music will progress from solo works to sextets. Each day of the Marathon adds an instrument. We start with the solo piano music of Claude Debussy, the master of impressionistic tone painting.

Violin Sonatas of Ludwig van Beethoven

Ludwig van Beethoven composed 10 sonatas for violin and piano, most of them in his early and middle periods. The emphasis will be on performances by violinists of renown.

The Saxophone in the Concert Hall

The saxophone remains a relatively recent solo addition to the concert hall.  Yet the repertoire for this instrument is varied and of high quality, including both transcriptions of music for other instruments and music originally composed for the saxophone.  Sample this rich concert fare on this special marathon show.

Flemish Travelers: Early Music from the Low Countries

Many Belgian and Dutch composers in the 15th and 16th centuries traveled frequently to Italy and other parts of continental Europe.  Hear vocal and instrumental music of Dufay, Josquin, Lassus, Ockeghem, and lesser-known contemporaries such as Agricola, Binchois, and Crecquillon.

American Choral Tradition

New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington DC, Boston - famous American cities with historic churches and choirs singing music by great American composers.

The Radio Star Offers Classical Music for the Starry Night

For you night owls, Ralph Graves programs music throughout each night during the Classical Marathon. A special time for special music and an especially good time to make a late-night contribution to WTJU.

La Belle Musique: French Music in the Morning

Wake to hear a selection of French music in many genres from many time periods: from the music of the court of Louis XIV to that of French impressionist composers into the 20th century.

Italian Music from the Baroque and Classical Periods

Explore the rich musical culture of Italy between 1600 and 1800, when wealth and technology combined to create the perfect environment for great composers to thrive and the finest musical instruments to be produced.

A Week of Chamber Music: Duets

Welcome to the second day of the WTJU Classical Marathon. How do you know? Of course - duets.

Musical Farewells to Love and Life

Often composed literally with feverish intensity, the final works of the great composers may serve as windows to the soul. Explore musical farewells as life expires.

Marc Andre Hamelin: The Pianophile’s Pianist

Canadian pianist Marc Andre Hamelin has displayed fearless virtuosity across a vast range of recordings. From Liszt and Haydn to Godowsky and Medtner, meet the pianist described by The New Yorker as “among the wonders of the musical world.”

Opera Arias: Entrances and Exits

Composers often employ their best music either to introduce the principal characters of the opera or to bid them adieu.  We will welcome you with Figaro in a special marathon edition of A Time for Singing and say goodbye as Wotan bids farewell to Brünnhilde.

Glorious French Choral Music

From the music of Guillaume de Machaut in the 14th century to the works of 20th century composers Maurice Durufle and Francis Poulenc, sample the music from the grand tradition of French choral music.

The Radio Star Offers Classical Music for the Starry Night

For you night owls, Ralph Graves programs music throughout each night during the Classical Marathon. A special time for special music and an especially good time to make a late-night contribution to WTJU.

Quick Hits

Many believe classical works are too long - but that's not true! We'll feature a variety from music from all eras that all run less than ten minutes each -- some even under a minute! Classical music short and sweet, giving you plenty of time to hear an entire work before calling in with your pledge.

Double Feature: The Contessa Features Music for Dance and Violinist Fiona Hughes Plays the Music of Bach

The Contessa traces the sparkling story of American dance through wonderful modern and ballet scores used by Agnes de Mille, Paul Taylor, George Balanchine, and others. Fiona Hughes, violinist and co-founder of the ensemble Three Notch’d Road, then joins The Contessa for lively conversation and the music of Johann Sebastian Bach.

A Week of Chamber Music: Trios

Welcome to the third day of the WTJU Classical Marathon. How do you know? Time for trios!

The Music of Jordi Savall

Jordi Savall has produced more than one hundred albums with his late wife Montserrat Figueras and the ensembles Hesperion XX and XXI and Le Concert de Nations. Enjoy selections covering seven centuries and composers from around world.

Music for Flute and Oboe

From duets to nonets, the flute and oboe will be featured together.  We will listen to music spanning several centuries and many countries.

Arctic Symphonies and Quartets

Explore music that depicts the higher latitudes of the world. There will be music of the legends of the lands, life and famous events, and voyages that led explorers to these frigid environs.

Italian Choral Music

Choral music has flourished in Italy since the Renaissance. From sacred music to opera buffa, we will highlight the best of Italian choral music - music many consider the gold standard of vocal writing.

The Radio Star Offers Classical Music for the Starry Night

For you night owls, Ralph Graves programs music throughout each night during the Classical Marathon. A special time for special music and an especially good time to make a late-night contribution to WTJU.

Musical Alumni of New York’s LaGuardia High School

LaGuardia HS in New York City is renowned for its graduates in the arts. Paula O'Buckley (M&A '83) will present a selection of works by outstanding alumni including Gerard Schwarz, Joshua Rifkin, Murray Perahia, and many others.

Bach to Bach and Bach Again

We begin with music of Johann Sebastian Bach, explore the music of his sons, and return to the music of the great master.

A Week of Chamber Music: Quartets

Welcome to the fourth day of the WTJU Classical Marathon. How do you know? Count the instruments you’ll hear today. You’ll count four – quartets! 

Music for Clarinet

Enjoy music by this diverse instrument ranging from Mozart to modern compositions for clarinet and its various sonorous cousins.  Featured artists will include Richard Stoltzman and David Shifrin.

British Brass Bands

The British brass band is a prominent musical institution with about 5,000 bands now extant. Brass bands developed during the industrial revolution to give mill and mine workers enjoyable cultural activity. This program will feature some of the more famous present-day bands.

A Trip on the Orient Express

Select your seat and settle in for a luxurious journey featuring the sounds and images from Paris to Istanbul and beyond, with the music of Saint-Saëns, Rimsky-Korsakov and many others.

Et cum spiritu tu   

Liturgical texts have long provided composers with the inspiration for creating some of the most beautiful music in the Western world.  Tune in to hear settings of the Magnificat, Ave Maria, Mass Ordinary texts, and some fabulous "Amens."

The Radio Star Offers Classical Music for the Starry Night

For you night owls, Ralph Graves programs music throughout each night during the Classical Marathon. A special time for special music and an especially good time to make a late-night contribution to WTJU.

A Quintessential British Breakfast

Vivacious Friday morning fun, with a few touches of quintessentially English music, for a rather special British breakfast treat.

Spanish Music of the Last Thousand Years

Western music owes much to the diversity of the Spanish tradition. Itinerant Sephardic Jews and Muslims of Morocco created passionate and mournful songs. The church and royal courts produced sacred and ceremonial works of soaring grandeur.  Modern Spanish composers continue the high standard of this tradition.

A Week of Chamber Music: Quintet

Welcome to the fifth day of the WTJU Classical Marathon. How do you know? Because you look forward to Friday, the fifth day of the week. Time for quintets!

Scots Wha Hae!

Hear music by Scottish composers and music inspired by Scottish tradition. Music from the sixth to the twenty-first century: hymns and motets, cittern and piano solos, sonatas and rhapsodies.

Harmoniemusik: Music for Winds

Harmoniemusik describes 18th century music composed for two oboes, two bassoons, two horns and two clarinets.  Created by Emperor Joseph II in 1782, this form of music flourished; and Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, and Schubert were among the major composers who wrote original harmoniemusik. 

The Third Annual Classical Tango Celebration

Back by popular demand, Ann Porotti's tribute to Argentina's "romance of the barrio."  There will be plenty of Astor Piazzolla including early vocal works from the songbook of iconic balladeer Carlos Gardel. Contemporary interpreters such as Richard Galliano, Gary Burton, Kronos Quartet, Lalo Schifrin, and YoYo Ma will serve as guides. Tango Madness – it all started with a piano/violin/bandoneon trio in a working-class dancehall.

Romance and Comedic Songs from the Operetta Tradition

Operetta is not the diminutive of grand opera but an art form all its own that relies on comedy and romance for its charm. This special marathon show will feature arias and scenes from some of the most popular operettas by Franz von Suppe, Jacques Offenbach, Victor Herbert, Gilbert & Sullivan, and Emmerich Kalman.

The Radio Star Offers Classical Music for the Starry Night

For you night owls, Ralph Graves programs music throughout each night during the Classical Marathon. A special time for special music and an especially good time to make a late-night contribution to WTJU.

Early Birds: a Musical Wake-Up Call

Join us as we explore composers whose music chirps and tweets. From the 16th century to present, the avian Muse inspired the creation of works of whimsy and beauty.

An English Anthem and More

The team of Rex and Tessa return for their annual romp across the English landscape. Much of the Western choral tradition comes from the British Isles, so join your hosts Rex and Tessa for choral gems by the brightest and best: Handel, Wesley, Parry, Stanford, Walton, and others.

A Week of Chamber Music: Sextets

Welcome to the sixth day of the WTJU Classical Marathon. How do you know? You may not be at work but tuning in to 91.1 FM at home or in your car. You’ll be hearing sextets.

Cello Suites from Baroque to Modern

Join David for a tour of the unaccompanied cello suite.  Every cellist knows the incomparable suites by Bach, but this show will put the suites in context with Bach's Italian influences, as well as their 20th century echoes in the music of Britten and others.

Waltzes from Imperial Vienna

A tea-dance with the magic of Old Vienna as Steve traces the evolution of the waltz and popular Viennese music in the 19th Century.

Johann Sebastian Bach: Seminal Recordings

Iconic recordings of the iconic composer include performances by Gould, Casals, Koopman, Landowska, and Shumsky.

The Late Brahms: Romantic Classicist

Johannes Brahms "retired" from composing in 1890, and then went on to write some of his most deeply felt compositions.  The chamber masterwork Clarinet Quintet, Opus 115 may be the most famous from this period. But there are others including the Intermezzi for piano. Spend your late Saturday evening with the autumnal music of Johannes Brahms.

The Radio Star Offers Classical Music for the Starry Night

For you night owls, Ralph Graves programs music throughout each night during the Classical Marathon. A special time for special music and an especially good time to make a late-night contribution to WTJU.

Advent and Christmas Music Old and New

From anonymous works of the Middle Ages to the present day, we’ll celebrate the season with this rich body of classical music.

In the Hall of the Sun King: Music from the Court at Versailles

Revel in the music composed for the French kings in the 17th and 18th centuries, including works by Lully, Couperin, Boesset, and Rameau.

Sunday Opera at Noon: Tristan and Isolde

Richard Wagner's immortal tale of love and death – one of the most revolutionary and influential musical compositions of all time.  We will present a luminous performance featuring Placido Domingo and Nina Stemme as the ill-fated lovers.

The King’s Mighty Organ Music

Kingly compositions from Sweelinck to Cage, honoring composers whom we celebrate for significant anniversaries in 2012.

The Messiah of Georg Frederic Handel

It’s a grand old tradition to end each Classical Marathon with a complete (and completely different) performance of Handel’s Messiah. Join us and sing along as the marathon comes to an end.