Today is the 200th birthday of Abraham Lincoln, a great man who inspired greatness in others. Today we'll take a look at some of the music that Lincoln inspired, from Aaron Copland's stirring "Lincoln Portrait" (featuring our own Fred Child as narrator) to tributes by Paul Hindemith and Robert Russell Bennett. We'll also feature a performance from New York City's Lincoln Center, named for the 16th president of the United States.
Episode Playlist
Hour 1
Aaron Copland: "Fanfare for the Common Man"
The Boston Pops Orchestra with conductor Arthur Fiedler
William Steffe: "The Battle Hymn of the Republic"
The New York Philharmonic with conductor Leonard Bernstein
Morton Gould: "American Salute"
The Dallas Wind Symphony with conductor Jerry Junkin
Meyerson Symphony Center, Dallas
Jay Ungar: "Ashokan Farewell" and "Amazing Grace"
Time for Three
Christel DeHaan Fine Arts Center, Indianapolis
Dana Wilson: Second movement from "Shallow Streams, Deep Rivers"
French hornist Gail Williams, violinist Joseph Genualdi, and pianist Alan Chow
Pick-Staiger Concert Hall, Evanston, Illinois
Johann Sebastian Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 6 in B-flat, BWV 1051
Members of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center
Alice Tully Hall, New York City
Aaron Copland: "Lincoln Portrait"
The United States Marine Band with narrator Fred Child and conductor Colonel Timothy W. Foley
Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, College Park, Maryland
Hour 2
Joseph Haydn: "Dear Sylvia" and "The Rose Bud"
Baritone Jamie MacDougall with the Haydn Trio Eisenstadt
Scott Joplin: "The Easy Winners"
The Italian Saxophone Quartet
Wells Fargo Center for the Arts, Santa Rosa, California
George Whitefield Chadwick: Nocturne
Pianist Frederic Chiu
Newport Music Festival, Newport, Rhode Island
John Knowles Paine: "Solemn March (In Memory of President Abraham Lincoln)"
The United States Marine Band with conductor Colonel Timothy W. Foley
Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, College Park, Maryland
Johannes Brahms: Fourth movement from Quintet in B Minor for Clarinet and Strings, Op. 115
Clarinetist David Shifrin with the Escher String Quartet
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
Samuel Barber: Adagio for Strings
The Cellissimo Quartet and friends
Romanian Athenaeum, Bucharest, Romania
Traditional (Arranged by Bob Chilcott): "Steal Away"
The King's Singers
Paul Hindemith: "When Lilacs Last in Dooryard Bloom'd"
Baritone William Stone with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus and conductor Robert Shaw
Robert Russell Bennett: Second movement from "Abraham Lincoln: A Likeness in Symphony Form"
The Moscow Symphony Orchestra with conductor William Stromberg
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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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