You are the public radio champions!

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Your friends at WXXI are tremendously grateful for the outpouring of support for public radio this week during our annual February membership campaign.  In a few short days, 1,326 listeners pledged more than $155,000, exceeding our goal by $5,000.  You are amazing!  Thank you!

Fans of the Sochi Olympics will enjoy this week’s morning playlists.  We’ll hear lots of figure skating music plus performances by artists appearing live in Rochester this week, including organist Eduardo Bellotti, pianist Leon Fleisher, and violinist Itzhak Perlman.

Thank you for your company and support, always.

Monday, February 17

Wake to the sounds of Ice Castles, Mozart’s Jupiter Symphony, and a flash of hope for spring. Chamber choir Voices sings Philip Silvey’s “Bloom,” recorded live in Hatch Recital Hall.   Explore "Variations on a Nursery Tune" on the Composers Datebook, and on the Writer’s Almanac, hear a poem by Jack Gilbert, author of the most stolen book from American libraries.

Tuesday, February 18    

Leave your head and heart on the dance floor; there’s music by and about telephones on the Composers Datebook.  On the Writer’s Almanac, Garrison recalls the bizarre circumstances that led to the publication of the book Pilgrim’s Progress. We’ll hear from violinist Itzhak Perlman, the Eastman Trombone Choir, and the New Black Repertory Ensemble playing an exciting work by the first African-American symphonist.  Leon Fleisher shines as a soloist in Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 2.

Wednesday, February 19 

WXXI’s Sharp Ears series offers you the chance to learn more about the great performers you hear on the station and what makes them so special.  This morning, Eastman professor Kathleen Bride introduces us to a dazzling Parisian harpist who’s caught her attention.  The author of The Feminine Mystique appears on the Writer’s Almanac.  On the playlist: lute duets, pieces by Sibelius and Alvarez that shimmer with beauty, and Nathaniel Dett’s Romantic Suite for piano.

Thursday, February 20   

Hear music that’s underscoring skating Olympic hopefuls in Sochi, including works by Grieg, Tchaikovsky, Gershwin, and Michel Legrand. On the Composers Datebook, discover Harbison's "Olympic Dances."  Leon Fleisher plays Brahms with the Emerson String Quartet.

Friday, February 21  

Wake with Beethoven’s “Rage over a lost penny,” a foxtrot, a tango, and a splendid coronation scene. Meet celebrity organist Edoardo Bellotti who’s playing Bach, Buxtehude, and Haydn on the Craighead-Saunders Baroque Organ and the Hook & Hastings American Romantic Organ (Friday night at 8 pm at Christ Church, 141 East Avenue.) We’ll hear more from pianist Leon Fleisher.  Milhaud and Frisell write for silent screen comedians on the Composers Datebook.