WKCR is pleased to announce the return of the annual Bach Festival 2024. For eight days, starting at midnight on December 24th, both 89.9 FM and wkcr.org will exclusively broadcast the works of composer and organist Johann Sebastian Bach.
J.S. Bach was born on March 31, 1685 in Eisenach, Germany, where he began music education at a young age under the guidance of his father, Johann Ambrosius Bach. Bach’s father provided him with music theory fundamentals and violin lessons. The Bach family as a whole, even after the death of Bach’s parents, fostered the composer’s exposure to various schools of music. One such influence was his older brother’s church organ playing. Bach studied Latin and received a religious education, which inspired much of the sacred works he composed.
The Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis (BWV), or Bach Works Catalog, adds up to 1,128 compositions. Bach’s counterpoint is often identified as one of his groundbreaking contributions to classical music, where at least two separate, rhythmically individual melodies are simultaneously played, but still rely on each other harmonically. WKCR is thrilled to continue our tradition of Bachfest, showcasing the breadth of the BWV.
Bachfest will commence with the Magnificat D Major version. Throughout the festival, live and remote shows from WKCR’s programmers will be broadcasted, preempting the regular weekly schedule. A comprehensive schedule of the festival is forthcoming. Follow WKCR on Instagram (@wkcr) and Twitter (@WKCRFM) for further updates. Online listening is available 24/7 at wkcr.org via our web stream.
See a full programming schedule for Bachfest below:
| December 24th Tuesday (from midnight) | December 25th Wednesday | December 26th Thursday | December 27th Friday | December 28th Saturday | December 29th Sunday | December 30th Monday | December 31st Tuesday (until midnight) | |
| 1am-5am | Magnificat D Major Casey Lamb | Potpourri Ted Schmiedeler | Harpsichord works Ben Rothman | French and English Suites Macy Hanzlik-Berand | Potpourri Ben Erdmann | Potpourri Tanvi Krishnamurthy | Potpourri Teddy Wyche | Solo Piano Ted Schmiedeler |
| 5am-9am | Potpourri Stefan Zeniuk | Potpourri Ale Diaz-Pizarro | Potpourri Alma Avgar-Shohamy | Potpourri Ale Diaz-Pizarro | Potpourri Vivien Sweet | Potpourri Stefan Zeniuk | Bach on Harp Maria Shaughnessy | Potpourri Georgia Dillane |
| 9am-12pm | Potpourri Archival | From Charlie's Parents' Bach library Charlie King | Keyboard works Alex Arredondo | Wind works Cora Selzer | Contemporary Bach Interpolations Casey Lamb | Jazz Bach Rachel Smith | Potpourri Helena Theis | Bach's Dance Influences Stefan Zeniuk |
| 12pm-3pm | The Well Tempered Clavier Book 1 (Harpsichord) Stephan Dalal | Magnificat E Flat Anika Strite | Cantatas Melisa Nehrozoglu | Masses Melisa Nehrozoglu | Masses Melisa Nehrozoglu | Potpourri Jamie Palladino | The Well Tempered Clavier Book 1 (Piano) Georgia Dillane | New Year's Day Cantatas, Motets Ale Diaz-Pizarro |
| 3pm-6pm | The Well Tempered Clavier Book 2 (Harpsichord) Stella Fusaro | Christmas Oratorio, Christmas Cantatas David Feig | Violin Sonatas and Partitas/ Hilary Hahn plays Bach Anika Strite | Violin Concertos Casey Lamb | Organ works Jamie Palladino | Piano works Julian Vleeschhouwer | The Well Tempered Clavier Book 2 (Piano) Satchel Peterson | Cello Suites & Interviews with Steven Isserlis and Ralph Kirshbaum Louise Dubin |
| 6pm-9pm | Oratorios and Chorale Cantatas Courtney-Eileen Fulcher | Jazz Bach Phil Schaap | Variations on Goldberg Variations Peregrine Beckman | Art of the Fugue Charlie King | Musical Offering Georgia Dillane | Goldberg Variations Emily Fenster | Synth Bach/Modern Interpolations of Bach Kyle Murray | Potpourri Solene Millsap |
| 9pm-1am | Brandenburg or Violin Concertos Hadassah Weinmartin | Jazz Bach Phil Schaap | Jazz Bach Peregrine Beckman | Potpourri Stella Fusaro | Lute Suites Dylan DelGiudice | Potpourri Archival | St. John Passion Anika Strite | St. Matthew Passion Charlie King |
