Poster Sergei Rachmaninoff
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Wikipedia
Performance Today®

The Seven Plagues of Egypt

When Sergei Rachmaninoff's First Symphony premiered in 1897, the critics were ruthless. One of the kinder, gentler reviews compared the work to the seven plagues of Egypt. Rachmaninoff fell into an emotional abyss, and didn't compose anything for several years. Nowadays, the symphony is an audience favorite. We'll hear a blistering performance of Rachmaninoff's First Symphony, from London's BBC Proms. Gennadi Rozhdestvensky conducts the BBC Symphony Orchestra.

Episode Playlist

Hour 1

Sergei Rachmaninoff: Hungarian Dance
Violinist Kyung Wha Chung and pianist Itamar Golan

Claude Debussy: Petite Piece
Clarinetist Anthony McGill and pianist Derek Han
Music@Menlo Festival, Palo Alto, California

Johannes Brahms: Intermezzo in A Minor from Six Pieces, Op. 118
Pianist Lang Lang
Tanglewood Festival, Lenox, Massachusetts

Joseph Suk: Serenade for Cello and Piano in A Major, Op. 3, No. 2
Cellist Steven Isserlis and pianist Ana Maria Vera
Maud Moon Weyerhaeuser Studio, St. Paul

Sergei Rachmaninoff: Symphony No. 1 in D Minor, Op. 13
The BBC Symphony Orchestra with conductor Gennadi Rozhdestvensky
Royal Albert Hall, London, England

Hour 2

Antonin Dvorak: Scherzo from Piano Quintet in A, Op. 81
The Orion String Quartet with pianist Peter Serkin

Frederic Chopin: Scherzo No. 4 in E, Op. 54
Pianist Yundi Li
Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, Baden-Baden, Germany

Johann Sebastian Bach: Four Fugues from "The Well-Tempered Clavier"
The Orion String Quartet
Music@Menlo, Palo Alto, California

Leonard Bernstein: Symphonic Dances from "West Side Story"
The Curtis Symphony Orchestra with conductor Christoph Eschenbach
Verizon Hall, Philadelphia

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Latest Performance Today® Episodes

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Victor Ni

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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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