The Chopin Piano Competition happens once every five years, and hadn't had a winner in 15 years. But in 2005, a young Polish pianist walked away with every prize the jury had to give. Rafal Blechacz was just 20 when his life changed forever. On today's show, he joins host Fred Child to talk about, and play, music of Chopin and Mozart.
Episode Playlist
Hour 1
Frederic Chopin: Prelude in C-sharp Minor, Op. 45
Pianist Rafal Blechacz
Johann Sebastian Bach: Excerpts from Cantata No. 12 (Weeping, Lamenting, Worrying, Fearing)
The Stuttgart Bach Collegium with conductor Helmuth Rilling
Arts Center, Seoul, South Korea
Johann Sebastian Bach: Fugue No. 9, from the Well-Tempered Clavier, BWV 878
The Emerson String Quartet
Alamo Heights United Methodist Church, San Antonio, Texas
Perfchat with Rafal Blechacz: Perfchat
Frederic Chopin: Mazurkas Op. 17, No. 4, and Op. 50, No. 2
Pianist Rafal Blechacz
NPR Studios, Washington, D.C.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Third movement from Sonata in B-flat, K. 570
Pianist Rafal Blechacz
NPR Studios, Washington, D.C.
Jean Sibelius: Lemminkainen's Return, from Lemminkainen Suite, Op. 22
The Los Angeles Philharmonic with conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen
Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles
Hour 2
Jacques Ibert: First movement from Concerto for Flute and Orchestra
Flutist Emmanuel Pahud with the Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra and conductor David Zinman
Li Huan Zhi: Spring Festive Overture
The Hong Kong Sinfonietta with conductor Edwin Outwater
City Hall, Hong Kong, China
Johann Sebastian Bach: Flute Sonata in B Minor, BWV 1030
Flutist Emmanuel Pahud and harpsichordist Trevor Pinnock
Hugh Hodgson Concert Hall, Athens, Georgia
Johann Sebastian Bach: Concerto for Violin and Oboe, BWV 1060
Violinist Brian Lewis and oboist Alecia Lawyer with the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra and conductor Tanya Ratner
St. John the Divine Episcopal Church, Houston
Stephen Sondheim: Pretty Lady, from Pacific Overtures
The London Symphony Orchestra with conductor Don Sebesky
Philharmonic and conductor Andrew Litton Sondheim: The Ballad of Sweeney Todd
George Hearn and Company with the New York Philharmonic and conductor Andrew Litton
Avery Fisher Hall, New York City
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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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