With a cursed, magic ring, a broken sword, and battles between good and evil, Wagner's operatic Ring cycle has plenty in common with J.R.R. Tolkien's epic, "The Lord of the Rings." There's a new Tolkien book just out which retells the Norse legends surrounding Wagner's Ring. Conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Los Angeles Philharmonic recently performed a set of highlights from Wagner's "Gotterdammerung," featured in hour one of today's show.
Episode Playlist
Hour 1
Howard Shore: "Lord of the Rings Suite"
Flutist James Galway with the London Symphony Orchestra and conductor Klauspeter Seibel
Manuel de Falla: "Ritual Fire Dance," from "El Amor Brujo"
Pianist Aldo Ciccolini
KlaraFestival, Brussels, Belgium
Frederic Chopin: Mazurka No. 2 in A-flat Minor, Op. 59
Pianist Aldo Ciccolini
KlaraFestival, Brussels, Belgium
Richard Wagner: Orchestral Excerpts from "Gotterdammerung"
The Los Angeles Philharmonic with soprano Lisa Gasteen and conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen
Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles
Hour 2
Sergei Prokofiev: Folk Dance from "Romeo and Juliet"
The Cincinnati Symphony with conductor Paavo Jarvi
Johannes Hieronymus Kapsberger: Fantasie
Lutenist Hopkinson Smith
Cooperstown Chamber Music Festival, Cooperstown, New York
Claude Debussy: "The Girl with the Flaxen Hair"
Pianist Simon Trpceski
Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles
Joseph Haydn: First two movements from String Quartet in F, Op. 77, No. 2
The Daedalus String Quartet
Maud Moon Weyerhaeuser Studio, St. Paul, Minnesota
Steve Heitzeg: "Song Without Borders"
The Daedalus String Quartet
Maud Moon Weyerhaeuser Studio, St. Paul, Minnesota
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Flute Concerto No. 2 in D
Flutist Sharon Bezaly with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and conductor Paavo Jarvi
Cincinnati Music Hall, Cincinnati, Ohio
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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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