Poster snow winter
snow fall winter pine tree
g.naharro
Performance Today®

Celebrating the Season

Episode Playlist

Hour 1

Michael Praetorius: "Dances from Terpsichore," from "Christmas Vespers"
Apollo's Fire with conductor Jeannette Sorrell

Stephen Bulla: "Rhapsody on Hannukah"
The United States Marine Band with conductor Lieutenant Michelle Rakers
Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts, Vienna, Virginia

Traditional (Arranged by Mark Summer): "Channukah, O Channukah"
The Turtle Island String Quartet
MPR Studios, St. Paul, Minnesota

William Beckstrand: "Winter Solstice Carol"
The National Lutheran Choir and Bell of the Lakes Handbell Choir with conductor David Cherwien
Basilica of St. Mary, Minneapolis

Antonio Vivaldi: "Winter" from "The Seasons," Op. 8, No. 4
Violinist Cynthia Roberts with Apollo's Fire and harpsichordist and conductor Jeannette Sorrell
St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Cleveland Heights, Ohio

Archangelo Corelli: Concerto Grosso in G Minor, Op. 6, No. 8 ("Christmas Concerto")
Musicians from the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center
New York Society for Ethical Culture, New York City

Rene Clausen: "Nunc Dimittis"
The St. Olaf Orchestra and Choirs with conductor Sigrid Johnson
Skoglund Auditorium, Northfield, Minnesota

Hour 2

Giacomo Puccini: "Un Bel di Vedremo" from "Madama Butterfly"
Cynthia Miller, ondes martenot, with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields and conductor Neville Marriner

Steve Barnett: "For the Miracles"
The Dale Warland Singers with conductor Jerry Rubino
Wooddale Church, Eden Prairie, Minnesota

Max Bruch: Andante con moto from "Eight Pieces for Clarinet, Viola, and Piano," Op. 83
Clarinetist Todd Palmer, violist Hsin-Yun Huang, and pianist Stephen Prutsman
Spoleto Chamber Music Festival, Charleston, South Carolina

Giacomo Puccini: "Chrysanthemums" for String Quartet
Violinists Gary Levinson and Stefan Milenkovich, violist Nokuthula Ngwenyama, and cellist Ani Aznavoorian
Bravo! Vail Valley Festival, Beaver Creek, Colorado

Leroy Anderson: "Sleigh Ride"
The Spivey Hall Children's Choir with conductor Martha Shaw and pianist Judy Mason
Spivey Hall, Morrow, Georgia

Josef Suk: "Meditations on 'Saint Wenceslas'" for String Quartet
Violinists James Ehnes and Martin Beaver, violist Kirsten Johnson, and cellist Clive Greensmith
Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival, Bridgehampton, New York

Peter Tchaikovsky: Selections from "The Snow Maiden," Op. 12
The State Symphony Orchestra of Russia with conductor Mark Gorenstein
Kravis Center for the Performing Arts, West Palm Beach, Florida

Michael Praetorius: "Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming"
Trio Medieval
Fitzgerald Theater, St. Paul, Minnesota

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Latest Performance Today® Episodes

VIEW ALL EPISODES

Latest Performance Today® Episodes

PT Weekend: Meet Victor Ni

PT Weekend: Meet Victor Ni

We're pleased to introduce you to clarinetist Victor Ni, our next 2025 PT Young Artists in Residence. On today's program, Victor joins Fred Child for music and conversation in our Saint Paul studio. Plus, Bruce Adolphe joins us for this week’s Piano Puzzler.

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Augustin Hadelich and the St Louis Symphony

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1:59:00
Julio Medaglia

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Composer Julio Medaglia was born in São Paulo, Brazil, in 1938. He studied conducting in Germany for ten years before returning to Brazil to conduct and compose. For 30 years, he hosted a daily radio show in São Paulo that sounded similar to PT, combining concert highlights and contemporary music. On today's show, we'll hear the Imani Winds play Julio Medaglia's 'Belle Epoque en Sud-America,’ including a really fun movement named "Crazy Baby Clarinette!"

1:59:00
Young Artist in Residence: Victor Ni

Young Artist in Residence: Victor Ni

Clarinetist Victor Ni is the next of our 2025 cohort of PT Young Artists in Residence. Victor recently joined Fred Child in our St. Paul studio. You can hear Victor’s music and the entire interview here.

42:34
Victor Ni

Victor Ni

We're pleased to introduce you to clarinetist Victor Ni, our next 2025 PT Young Artists in Residence. On today's program, Victor joins Fred Child for music and conversation in our Saint Paul studio.

1:59:00
Bringing fractals to life

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Composer Jessie Montgomery found inspiration in nature's infinitely repeating patterns: fractals. Her fascination with these natural wonders led her to write a captivating new piece that brings fractals to life through sound. On today's show, we'll hear "Rounds" by Jessie Montgomery, a musical exploration of nature's boundless beauty.

1:59:00
The Poiesis Quartet

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The Poiesis Quartet was founded in the fall of 2022 at Oberlin Conservatory. Its name comes from an ancient Greek word meaning “to make"—specifically, to create something that has never been made before. One of the quartet's violinists is our former Young Artist in Residence, Sarah Ma. On today's program, we'll take you to a concert in San Antonio to hear what Ma and their quartet have been up to lately.

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PT Weekend: A Finnish connection

PT Weekend: A Finnish connection

Finnish violinist and conductor Pekka Kuusisto shares a connection with the music and character of his fellow countryman, Jean Sibelius. On today’s program, Kuusisto and the German Symphony Orchestra perform two seldom-heard gems by Sibelius at a concert in Berlin.

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Marin Alsop's debut with the Berlin Philharmonic

Marin Alsop's debut with the Berlin Philharmonic

When Marin Alsop was a kid, her parents taught her she could achieve anything she set her heart to; no one was going to stop her. She's now the Music Director of the National Orchestral Institute and Festival and guest conducts orchestras worldwide. On today's program, we'll hear Marin Alsop make her conducting debut with the Berlin Philharmonic at a concert in Germany.

1:59:00
Missy Mazzoli's Sinfonia for Orbiting Spheres

Missy Mazzoli's Sinfonia for Orbiting Spheres

The hurdy-gurdy has strings like a violin, a keyboard, and a hand crank that produces a wheezing drone. Composer Missy Mazzoli was fascinated by this sound and wanted to make a whole orchestra sound like a big hurdy-gurdy.  Tune in for the Sinfonia for Orbiting Spheres by Missy Mazzoli on today’s episode.

1:59:00
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About Performance Today®

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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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