On January 30, 2025, host Christa Wessel welcomed Elaina Stuppler, All Classical Radio’s 2024-2025 Young Artist in Residence, to Thursdays @ Three. Elaina and friends performed several of her original pieces in All Classical’s Irving Levin Performance Hall in downtown Portland.
Enjoy the music below, and tune in to Thursdays @ Three every week at 3:00 PM PT at 89.9 FM in Portland, OR or worldwide at allclassical.org.
Featuring: Sarah Tiedemann, flute; Isaac Beu, clarinet; Samuel Rhoton, bassoon; Chris Whyte, percussion; Kenji Bunch, violin; Valdine Mishkin, cello; Steven Walker, bass
Featuring: Isaac Beu, clarinet; Valdine Mishkin, cello; Jeff Payne, piano
Featuring: Isaac Beu, clarinet; Elaina Stuppler, piano
Featuring: Jeff Payne, piano; Kenji Bunch, violin
Featuring: Elaina Stuppler, piano/vocals; Kenji Bunch, violin; Chris Whyte, drums
Featuring: Elaina Stuppler, piano/vocals
ABOUT
16-year-old Elaina Stuppler is an award-winning composer, trombonist, and vocalist, who has performed at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Sydney Opera House, the Grammy Museum, and the Hollywood Bowl with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. All Classical Radio is thrilled to announce that Elaina Stuppler’s position as the station’s Young Artist in Residence has been extended through Summer 2025.
Elaina is Co-Principal Trombonist of the Portland Youth Philharmonic (PYP) and was selected for All-State and All-Northwest Honor Bands for Jazz and Wind Ensemble. Her original compositions have been performed by PYP, Third Angle, Metropolitan Youth Orchestra of New York, Chamber Music Northwest, and Metropolitan Youth Symphony.
All Classical Radio’s International Children’s Arts Network (ICAN) is honored to be named the recipient the Oregon Symphony’s prestigious 2025 Schnitzer Wonder Award. This accolade comes with a $10,000 award and will be presented to ICAN and All Classical Radio during the Oregon Symphony’s Gala and Celebration Concert on April 26, 2025.
Named in honor of Harold and Arlene Schnitzer, the Wonder Award is presented each year to recognize excellence in youth mentorship and education, collaboration with young artists and students, and contributing to a vibrant music and arts community. Past awardees include Fear No Music’s Young Composers Project, Portland State University Chamber Choir, and more.
ICAN (icanradio.org) is a service of All Classical Radio launched in 2019, which provides free 24-hour access to music, arts, and literature programs designed for children, educators, and families. ICAN Radio has become a vital resource for families and educators alike, serving over 30,000 listeners over the past year. The station complements in-school and at-home learning and helps young people explore creativity and art, learn about other cultures, and build confidence.
ICAN uniquely features youth voices in its programming, welcoming children ages 4 and up to host interviews, perform, and produce radio content. Since moving into the heart of Portland this past summer, young reporters and musicians have spent over 100 hours in ICAN’s Moonflower Studio, helping to amplify the stories of our community.
Listen to ICAN’s streaming or on demand programs and learn more at icanradio.org.
This year, ICAN and All Classical Radio are excited to expand on decades of collaboration with the Oregon Symphony.
In February 2025, ICAN produced and released a special broadcast edition of the Oregon Symphony’s Young People’s Concert: The Nature of Music. In April 2025 ICAN aired an encore broadcast of this program. Youth, families, and educators can listen on demand to ICAN’s Young People’s Concert radio special until May 2, 2025, at icanradio.org.
Hosted by Oregon Symphony’s Associate Conductor Deanna Tham and student co-host Amir Avsker, a former All Classical Young Artist in Residence, this broadcast edition is a perfect way to prepare young people for concert attendance. Plus, teachers and families will enjoy the opportunity to learn more about classical music from anywhere in the world.
Previous Schnitzer Wonder Award Winners
ICAN joins past recipients of the Schnitzer Wonder Award, including:
2024: Young Composers Project of Fear No Music
2023: Outside the Frame
2022: Portland Youth Philharmonic
2021: Portland State University Chamber Choir
2020: David Douglas School District Music Education Fund
2019: Mariachi Una Voz
2018: Metropolitan Youth Symphony
2017: Dance West
2016: Pacific Youth Choir
2015: BRAVO Youth Orchestras
ABOUT
The International Children’s Arts Network (ICAN) is a dedicated radio station for children to listen, learn, and celebrate the joy of being a child. ICAN provides access to the arts for all and nurtures a love for music and literature through educational, multicultural arts and STEAM programming. Powered by All Classical Radio, ICAN is available regionally on HD-2 radio, mobile app, smart speakers, and at icanradio.org 24/7, with select features available on demand.
These tales of love were originally featured on LOVE STORY, a special Valentine’s Day program on All Classical Radio hosted by Coty Raven Morris and Edmund Stone.
Past composers can sometimes feel distant, trapped in the pages of old history books. Yet, they felt immense passion and love not only for composing but also for certain special people. From the nearly 40-year romance between Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears to the mysterious “Immortal Beloved” of Beethoven, let’s explore some of the great love stories from classical music.
Robert Schumann & Clara Wieck
Robert and Clara first met 13 years before their marriage. When Clara was just 8 years old—and already a virtuoso on the piano herself—the teenaged Robert began taking piano lessons with Clara’s father. Over the next several years, the two musicians grew to know each other well. In time, friendship turned into love. Robert and Clara’s courtship was long and not without challenges. Clara’s father vehemently opposed the match, and only after suing him were they finally able to make things official.
As a wedding gift, Robert compiled 26 songs into a collection called “Myrtles,” named after the herb associated with the Ancient Greek goddess, Aphrodite. Myrtle was also traditionally included in German bridal bouquets.
Ludwig van Beethoven & his “Immortal Beloved”
During the summer of 1812, Ludwig van Beethoven penned a letter that would unleash decades, if not centuries, of debate. The letter’s recipient was notably referred to as “Immortal Beloved,” though no actual name was ever used. The document was never sent and only discovered after the composer’s death. We may never know who Beethoven intended to bestow such sweet words, but the mystery around this romantic gesture is tantalizing…
Gustav Mahler & Alma Schindler
Did you know that Gustav Mahler was not only a composer of massive symphonic works but also a hopeless romantic? The courtship of Mahler and the promising young composer and socialite, Alma Schindler, was quick and passionate. The two met at a dinner party, and Mahler was immediately infatuated with “the most beautiful woman in Vienna.” Within weeks of meeting, the couple was married in an intimate private ceremony.
Around the same time of the couple’s marriage, Mahler was working on his fifth symphony. The fourth movement, called “Adagietto,” may be one of the most romantic pieces of orchestral music ever written. No text accompanies this piece, yet it still contains an exquisite level of poetic expression. Gustav even sent Alma the score to this movement as a love letter, for what communicates affection more completely than music, especially for a composer?
Benjamin Britten & Peter Pears
Image source: Britten Pears Arts
The relationship between Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears is one for the ages. The two met through a mutual friend and remained together for nearly 40 years, until Britten’s death. While they could never publicly acknowledge their romantic relationship – they managed to build a rich and fulfilling life together. Letter writing was a regular form of communication. Britten and Pears left behind hundreds of handwritten documents as part of their romantic legacy. As a professional singer, Pears also became something of a muse for Britten and inspired many of the composer’s best-known works.
Leoš Janáček & Kamila Stösslová
Image source: The Arts Fuse
Leoš Janáček was 63 years old when we first met a 25-year-old woman named Kamila Stösslová. Janáček quickly became enamored with Kamila, obsessively writing to her on a regular basis and incorporating visions of her into his music. She was reportedly flattered by the composer’s affection. The problem, however, was that both Janáček and Stösslová were already married… to other people!
Kamila remained loyal to her husband, while remaining in touch with Leoš. He, on the other hand, would use his yearning for his unattainable love interest to fuel his writing. Over the next decade, Stösslová inspired some of his most famous pieces of music.
Oregon Symphony’s 2025 Schnitzer Wonder Award recipient is All Classical Radio’s International Children’s Arts Network. The award, which comes with a $10,000 cash prize, will be formally presented at the Oregon Symphony’s Gala and Celebration Concert on Saturday, April 26, 2025.
A service of All Classical Radio launched in 2019, ICAN is a 24-hour arts and music radio station designed for children, families, and classrooms. It is one of the few youth networks in the country, available on regional HD radio, streaming worldwide at icanradio.org, and offering select programs and podcasts on demand. ICAN prominently features the work and voices of student reporters and contributors, ages 4-16.
Inside the Portland HQ, you’ll find a giant CD wall, kid-friendly furniture and more than 30 miles of cabling.
After a whirlwind year of construction, All Classical Radio, KQAC(FM), has at last settled into its new home in Portland, OR.
All Classical’s new headquarters — also dubbed the media arts center — is located on the third floor of the historic KOIN Tower in downtown Portland. It includes five production studios, modernized audio/video technology and a performance hall to foster community.
At All Classical Radio, we’re proud to continually expand our playlist with diverse musical offerings. In celebration of Black History Month, we’re highlighting six Black composers you need to know, whose music we love to play on air all year round. In this post, you’ll also find recommended recordings for the music of each composer if you’re hoping to expand your collection at home!
Robert Nathaniel Dett (1882-1943)
Robert Nathaniel Dett was born in Drummondville, Ontario, a community founded by freedom-seekers who escaped to Canada via the Underground Railroad. Dett received a substantial musical education, first from Oberlin Conservatory where he was the first person of African descent to graduate with a double major in piano and composition, followed by a master’s degree from Eastman School of Music many years later. A significant part of Dett’s legacy lies in his work as a choral conductor at the Hampton Institute (now Hampton University), where he led the program to a new level of artistic achievement and excellence. As a composer, he published around 100 works, many of which were arrangements of folksongs and spirituals written for the Hampton choir.
Recommended recording: The piano suite, In the Bottoms, performed by pianist Luke Welch on the album, Northern Magnolias: Robert Nathaniel Dett Piano Works.
Dorothy Rudd Moore (1940-2022)
Photo by Bert Andrews; courtesy of the American Composers Alliance
American composer Dorothy Rudd Moore knew from a young age that she wanted to compose, a dream that was lovingly supported by her family. Following this dream with persistence, Moore became one of her generation’s leading female composers of color. As a composer, she wrote works for chamber ensemble, piano, and orchestra, in addition to art songs and an opera. Moore also played an essential role in uplifting Black artists by co-founding the Society of Black Composers in 1968 alongside her husband, cellist Kermit Moore. Her work as an educator at several New York-based institutions inspired a new generation of up-and-coming musicians.
Recommended recording:3 Pieces for Violin & Piano performed by Dawn Wohn (violin) and Emely Phelps (piano) on the album, Unbounded: Music by American Women.
Shirley J. Thompson (b. 1958)
Photo courtesy of the English National Ballet
East London native Shirley J. Thompson is a pioneering composer whose music has been claimed as “the present and future of British classical music.” Despite a string of successes early on in her career, Thompson was shut out of the classical music world for many years, during which time she worked in television and composed on the side. However, by the early 2000s, Thompson began establishing herself once more as a compositional force and welcomed a long list of prestigious commissions, including a symphony for the Queen’s Golden Jubilee in 2002. In 2019, Thompson received an OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) for her contributions to music. Her works for orchestra, stage, chamber ensemble, TV, and film are performed all over the world.
Recommended recording: “Marshes, Hamlets and Roaming Cows,” the first movement of Thompson’s innovative symphony, New Nation Rising, performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra on the album, New Nation Rising: A 21st Century Symphony.
Stewart Goodyear (b. 1978)
Photo by Anita Zvonar; courtesy of the composer’s website
Stewart Goodyear is a Canadian pianist and composer whose prestige on the keyboard instrument has long garnered attention, including his infamous “sonathons” where he performs all 32 of Beethoven’s piano sonatas in one day. Goodyear’s work writing music, on the other hand, is a more recent development in his career trajectory. However, in doing so, Goodyear joins a long lineage of concert pianist-composers in classical music, such as W. A. Mozart, Clara Schumann, and Sergei Rachmaninov. Goodyear channels his virtuosic piano playing into many of his own works and regularly programs them in concerts alongside well-known classical music standards, proving the genre’s timeless influence and merit.
Recommended recording: The Kapok for Cello and Piano performed by Inbal Segev (cello) and Stewart Goodyear (piano) on the album, 20 for 2020 Volume IV.
Derrick Skye (b. 1982)
Photo courtesy of the composer’s website
Los Angeles-based composer Derrick Skye has made a name for himself integrating musical practices and connections across cultures from around the world into his work. A student of West African drumming and dance, Persian classical music, Hindustani classical music, Balkan music theory, and more, Skye layers outwardly disparate traditions into groundbreaking works for the concert hall. He uses rhythm, and the embodiment of rhythm through movement, as a unifying feature for much of his music, often collaborating with choreographers and even synchronized swimmers. Skye’s compositional oeuvre includes works for orchestra, chamber ensemble, choir, and film.
Recommended recording: The orchestra work, Prisms, Cycles, Leaps, performed by Bridge to Everywhere on the album, Prisms, Cycles, Leaps.
Jon Batiste (b. 1986)
Photo courtesy of Boston Symphony Orchestra
Jon Batiste is a musical artist of many trades – singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, composer, bandleader, and TV personality. Batiste rose to prominence as the musical director for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert from 2015-2022, though he has been releasing recordings of his works since 2005 (several of which have won Grammy Awards). Batiste grew up in Louisiana, the son of a jazz musician and professional singer, and was consequently exposed to a wide variety of musical influences throughout his upbringing. Since emerging on the professional scene, Batiste has redefined what it means to be a modern-day musician and is consistently breaking down barriers. In 2020, he won an Academy Award for Best Original Score for the Disney/Pixar film, Soul. The film also earned Batiste a Golden Globe, a BAFTA, an NAACP Image Award, and a Critic’s Choice Award.
Recommended recording: Chopinesque performed by Jon Batiste on the album, Hollywood Africans.
Keep Learning
If you enjoyed this post, check out a few more from the Arts Blog celebrating the lives of Black musical artists:
Radio World’s 2025 eBook provides readers with a look inside more than a dozen recently built radio studios. Published annually, it has become one of our most popular recurring features. Engineers, managers and suppliers comment on the design choices and the technical decisions involved. Featured broadcasters include Audacy, SiriusXM, Cumulus, Chicago Public Media, All Classical Radio, and more.
American pianist Simone Dinnerstein’s latest album, The Eye is the First Circle, features iconic American composer Charles Ives’ Concord Sonata. The album is a live recording of Dinnerstein’s multimedia production at the Alexander Kasser Theater in Montclair State University, New Jersey.
The Eye is the First Circle was inspired in part by a quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson’s essay Circles: “The life of man is a self-evolving circle, which, from a ring imperceptibly small, rushes on all sides outwards to new and larger circles, and that without end.”
All Classical Radio host John Pitman speaks with Simone about this monumental and challenging yet profound and personal piece – and journey, by the artist in this case – learning, performing and recording a piano sonata inspired by American literature, the landscape and experience.
Hear their conversation below:
Simone Dinnerstein’s The Eye is the First Circle is available to stream and purchase on her website simonedinnerstein.com.
The composers we love have written some of the most iconic pieces in classical music. Works like Beethoven’s Für Elise and Symphony No. 5, Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro, Tchaikovsky’s TheNutcracker, and many more are synonymous with the genre of classical music and recognized by classical music appreciators of all levels. While these composers wrote some of the most quintessential works in the genre, many listeners may not be aware of their “hidden gems.”
Today, All Classical Radio is exploring lesser-known works by legendary composers. We are highlighting pieces that are not particularly popular in the concert hall, were written earlier on in the composer’s career, or were written outside of the composer’s typical instrumentation or genre. If you enjoy these composers, we think you will enjoy some of their more overlooked music as well.
Ludwig van Beethoven – 6 Bagatelles, Op. 126
Beethoven is often regarded as the greatest composer to have ever lived. Most famous for his nine symphonies, including the Eroica Symphony or the Pastoral Symphony, as well as his concerti and piano sonatas, it is inevitable that some of his compositional output has gone unnoticed to some extent. While it can be difficult to categorize any of Beethoven’s works as a “hidden gem,” his Bagatelles, Op. 126 were composed as a complete set of six light and short works for piano and were some of his last works for piano. Upon getting this work published, Beethoven stated that these bagatelles were “the best pieces of this kind I have written.”
W. A. Mozart – Divertimento for 3 Basset Horns No. 5 in B-flat Major
Mozart composed over 600 works in his 35 years of life. Given his immense popularity, it can be difficult to see any of his works go unnoticed; however, one notable hidden gem for Mozart is his Divertimento for 3 Basset Horns No. 5. A basset horn is an instrument within the clarinet family. While most clarinet players are familiar with Mozart’s quintet and concerto, not many know of his five divertimenti for basset horn (a divertimento is an 18th-century genre of music that is usually light-hearted and written for small ensembles). This work sets itself apart from the already unique instrumentation by beginning with a slow Adagio movement and ending with a Polonaise, a Polish dance.
Johannes Brahms – Geistliches Lied
Considered one of the “Three B’s” of classical music, along with Bach and Beethoven, Brahms was a leading figure in the Romantic period. A few exemplary pieces include his First and Third Symphonies, Piano Concerto No. 1, Hungarian Dances, Wiegenlied (also known as “Lullaby”), and many chamber music works that capture the composer’s tender and warm sound. Perhaps a lesser-known work that encapsulates the gentle and romantic Brahmsian voice is his choral work, Geistliches Lied. This piece was originally part of a series of contrapuntal exercises (counterpoint in music is the relationship between two or more simultaneous musical lines) that were traded back and forth between Brahms and violinist Joseph Joachim. Regardless of its origins, the work’s mournful character is full of complexity.
Ralph Vaughan Williams – Piano Quintet in c minor
British composer Ralph Vaughan Williams was a key figure in influencing the style of 20th-century British classical music. An avid collector of English folk songs, Vaughan Williams used these traditional melodies to craft his unique folk sound, which can be heard in works like Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis, The Lark Ascending, and English Folk Song Suite. However, many of his earlier works, such as the Piano Quintet in c minor, were hidden from the public once he had developed his “mature” style. While this quintet contains hints of who the composer was soon to become, it was shelved for over 80 years after its premiere. You will find that this hidden gem with violin, viola, cello, double bass, and piano has the romantic elements of Brahms and Dvorák.
Pyotr Tchaikovsky – String Quartet No. 3 in e-flat minor
Many listeners are familiar with Tchaikovsky’s ballets, such as The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, and Swan Lake, or perhaps his symphonic works such as Symphony No. 5 and the 1812 Overture (the one with the cannons). While his large-scale works are frequently performed all over the world, Tchaikovsky’s handful of chamber or small ensemble compositions don’t receive the same level of attention. Only eight pieces in his catalog of 169 works are chamber music, and only three of those chamber pieces are string quartets, with his first string quartet being the most popular. To shed light on the composer’s small and often overshadowed chamber music output, we’re highlighting String Quartet No. 3. This work may not be as lively or grand as some of Tchaikovsky’s symphonic works, but it is just as expressive, dramatic, and powerful. Dedicated to violinist and teacher, Ferdinand Laub, a friend of Tchaikovsky, the opening movement is full of melancholic expression, and the third movement, Andante funebre e doloroso, is an emotional funeral march filled with grief as it commemorates Laub’s death.
Giacomo Puccini – Crisantemi
Known as one of the greatest Italian composers, Giacomo Puccini’s operas are among the most recorded and performed works in the genre. Arias such as “O mio babbino caro” (“Oh my dear Papa”) from Gianni Schicchi and “Nessun dorma” (“Let no one sleep”) from Turandot are recognizable even in popular culture, from movies, TV, commercials, and more. Puccini himself recognized his operatic talent when he said, “Almighty God touched me with his little finger and said: ‘Write for the theatre – mind, only for the theater!’ And I have obeyed the supreme command.” While his operas are immensely popular, many may not know Puccini’s instrumental and chamber music. Let’s listen to his prelude for string quartet, Crisantemi. Produced in a single night, Crisantemi is an elegy written for Puccini’s friend, Prince Amadeo, Duke of Aosta. Although this piece stands on its own, Puccini ended up using themes from this string quartet in his opera, Manon Lescaut.
Do you recognize any of these hidden gems we explored today? Perhaps you have a favorite lesser-known work that we didn’t mention? Get in touch to let us know your favorite composer’s hidden gem!
