Poster Poetry Books
Poetry Books
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Performance Today®

Musical Poetry

Stravinsky once said that "writing about music is like dancing about architecture." Today we'll turn that around and have music about writing. Today's second hour features some musical works that are based on poetry, and others that are musical poems themselves. Plus, one of the orchestras on the show was just named the best in the world. Tune in to find out who the winner was.

Episode Playlist

Hour 1

Joseph Haydn: Finale from Symphony No. 49 in C, Hob. I:48 ("Maria Theresia")
The Orpheus Chamber Orchestra

Ralph Vaughan Williams: Prelude from Phantasy Quintet for Two Violins, Two Violas, and Cello
The Orion String Quartet and violist Paul Neubauer
Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, New York City

Johannes Brahms: Intermezzo in E-flat, Op. 117, No. 1
Pianist Radu Lupu
Berwaldhallen, Stockholm, Sweden

Reinhold Gliere: Impromptu, Op. 35, No. 9
Bassoonist Daniel Matsukawa and pianist Christoph Eschenbach
Curtis Institute of Music, Philadelphia

Johann Sebastian Bach: Sonata for Violin and Piano in A, BWV 1015
Violinist Joseph Lin and pianist Orion Weiss
Seattle Chamber Music Festival, Seattle

Joseph Haydn: Symphony No. 59 ("Fire")
The Orpheus Chamber Orchestra
Carnegie Hall, New York City

Hour 2

Camille Saint-Saens: Prelude from "The Deluge"
Violinist Augustin Dumay with the Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra and conductor Manuel Rosenthal

Reynaldo Hahn: "Paulus Potter" from "Four Portraits of Painters after Poems by Marcel Proust"
Pianist Jeffrey Swann
International Keyboard Institute and Festival, New York City

Edvard Grieg: "Poeme Erotique"
Cellist David Finckel and pianist Wu Han
Union College, Schenectady, New York

Antonin Dvorak: "The Golden Spinning Wheel"
The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra with conductor Daniel Harding
Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, the Netherlands

Alexander Scriabin: Poemes Op. 69, No. 1 and No. 2
Pianist Garrick Ohlsson
Maud Moon Weyerhaeuser Studio, St. Paul, Minnesota

Alexander Borodin: "In the Steppes of Central Asia"
The Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra with conductor Emmanuel Krivine
Rainier III Auditorium, Monaco

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American Public Media’s Performance Today® is America’s most popular classical music radio program and a winner of the 2014 Gabriel Award for artistic achievement. The show is broadcast on hundreds of public radio stations across the country, including at 1 p.m. central weekdays on Minnesota Public Radio. More information about our stations can be found at APM Distribution.

Performance Today® features live concert recordings that can’t be heard anywhere else, highlights from new album releases, and in-studio performances and interviews. Performance Today® is based at the APM studios in St. Paul, Minnesota, but is frequently on the road, with special programs broadcast from festivals and public radio stations around the country. Also, each Wednesday, composer Bruce Adolphe joins host Fred Child for a classical musical game and listener favorite: the Piano Puzzler.

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