We all hear with our ears, but there's a small minority of people who seem to hear with their eyes too. They see colors when they hear music. It's called synesthesia. Hour one of today's show is all about the phenomenon, featuring interviews with synesthetes and the scientists who have studied them, plus music by synesthetic composers.
Episode Playlist
Hour 1
Alexander Scriabin: "Vers la Flamme" ("Toward the Flame")
Pianist Ruth Laredo
Robert Schumann: Preambule from "Carnaval," Op. 9
Pianist Joyce Yang
Aspen Music Festival, Aspen, Colorado
Felix Mendelssohn: Scherzo from Piano Trio No. 1 in D Minor, Op. 49
Violinist Cho-Liang Lin, cellist Andrew Shulman, and pianist Joyce Yang
Aspen Music Festival, Aspen, Colorado
Leonard Bernstein: Divertimento for Orchestra
National Orchestra Institute Philharmonic with conductor Jorge Mester
University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland
Peter Torke: "Yellow Pages" and "White Pages," from "Telephone Book"
The Australia Ensemble
University of New South Wales, Kensington, Australia
Olivier Messiaen: Prelude ("The Dove")
Pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard
Hour 2
Andrew York: "B&B"
The Los Angeles Guitar Quartet
John Philip Sousa: "George Washington Bicentennial March"
The United States Marine Band with conductor Colonel Timothy W. Foley
University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland
John Stafford Smith: "The Star-Spangled Banner"
Violinists Elena Urioste and Melissa White
Sphinx Competition, Detroit
Aaron Copland: "Appalachian Spring"
The River Oaks Chamber Orchestra with conductor Tanya Ratner
St. John the Divine Episcopal Church, Houston
John Philip Sousa: "The Black Horse Troop"
The Los Angeles Guitar Quartet
Kaul Auditorium, Portland, Oregon
Count Basie: "Jumpin' at the Woodside"
The Los Angeles Guitar Quartet
Kaul Auditorium, Portland, Oregon
Traditional (Arranged by Andrew York): "Shenandoah"
The Los Angeles Guitar Quartet
Kaul Auditorium, Portland, Oregon
Aaron Copland: "Hoe Down," from "Rodeo"
The Los Angeles Guitar Quartet
Kaul Auditorium, Portland, Oregon
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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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