Clearly Classical

As violinist Elena Urioste tells it, when she was just two years old, she knew she wanted to be a violinist, after seeing Itzhak Perlman perform on a broadcast of Sesame Street. Now as a star artist in her own right, she travels the world sharing her musical gift with thousands, including here in Central California. 

Guest conductor and clarinetist Carl Topilow joins us in-studio to talk about Saturday's "Home for the Holidays" concert with the Fresno Philharmonic. Local theater icon Dan Pessano also joins the conversation as he will perform a reading of 'Twas the Night Before Christmas" with the orchestra. 

For over three decades, the group Chanticleer has brought worldwide audiences a unique blend of music ranging from medieval to pop to original choral works. The San Francisco ensemble has become recognized as one of the premier male choral ensembles in the world, and visits Fresno for a concert at the Paul Shaghoian Concert Hall on Tuesday September 18, 2012, presented by the Fresno Community Chorus.

Throughout history, beer has been the drink of the populace. Traditionally, wine was reserved for the upper classes, due at least in part to the limited area in which grapes would grow, the subtlety of the flavors, the sheer price of production. Barley, on the other hand, grows much more plentifully than grapes do, in a much broader climate. It can be made much more inexpensively and in much greater volume, so beer supplied a vast peasantry with something safe, sustaining — and delicious — to drink.

To own all the piano sonatas Beethoven wrote, you used to have to buy at least 10 CDs and spend $50, $75, $100 — or more.

What if I told you that you could get them for less than $10? That's about $1 per hour of music.

That's right — the "Moonlight," "Appassionata," "Waldstein" and all your other favorites, for just $9.99!

File this under Strange Bedfellows. The crazy-huge success of E L James' Fifty Shades erotic trilogy — which as of late May stood at more than 10 million sales in all formats and 60 physical printings, according to publisher Vintage Books — has made quite the impact in ... classical music, of all things.