A full performance of Wagner's opera Tristan and Isolde spans about five hours. Pick out the first and last bits, scoop out everything in the middle, and you've got a nice concert excerpt that's a manageable size. In today's show, Jaap van Zweden does just that, leading the Dallas Symphony in the Prelude and Liebestod from Wagner's opera. Plus, Elgar's loving portraits of family and friends: his Enigma Variations from the BBC Proms in London.
Episode Playlist
Hour 1
Edward Elgar: Second movement from Cello Concerto in E Minor
Paul Watkins, cello, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Jiri Belohlavek, conductor
Charles Ives: The Alcotts, from Piano Sonata No. 2 (Concord Sonata)
Jeremy Denk, piano
Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles
Edward Elgar: Enigma Variations, Op. 36
The BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Vassily Sinaisky, conductor
The BBC Proms, London, England
Edvard Grieg: Last Spring, from Two Elegiac Melodies, Op. 34
The Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields Chamber Ensemble, Andrew Watkinson, violin and leader
Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, Troy, New York
Traditional (Arranged by Frank Harvoy): Bysjan, Bysjan, Lite Ban (Hush, Hush Little Child)
Nordic Voices
Rhein Vokal Festival, Boppard, Germany
Hour 2
Edward MacDowell: Second movement from Piano Concerto No. 2, Op. 23
Andre Watts, piano, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Andrew Litton, conductor
Giovanni Bottesini: Grand Duo Concertante for Violin and Double Bass
Augustin Hadelich, violin, Daxun Zhang, bass, the SummerFest Chamber Orchestra, Cho-Liang Lin, conductor
La Jolla Music Society SummerFest, La Jolla, California
Henry Purcell: Fantasia a 4 No. 11 in G, Z. 742
The Wildcat Viols
Ojai Music Festival, Ojai, California
Henry Purcell (Arranged by Joby Talbot): Chaconne in G Minor
The BBC Symphony Orchestra, Mark Wigglesworth, conductor
The BBC Proms, London, England
Richard Wagner: Prelude and Liebestod, from Tristan and Isolde
The Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Jaap van Zweden, conductor
Meyerson Symphony Center, Dallas
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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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