Performance Today®

Inspired by Bach

Johann Sebastian Bach's music is almost like another element, another building block in the chemistry of the world. Lots of artists have thrown a pinch or two of Bach into the fire and come up with some interesting new alloy. Count Christopher Theofanidis among them. We'll hear his new work, "Muse," along with Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 3, the piece that inspired it.

Episode Playlist

Hour 1

Robert Schumann (Arranged by Gustav Mahler): Third movement from Symphony No. 3 in E-flat, Op. 97 (Rhenish)
The Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Riccardo Chailly, conductor

Ysaye Barnwell: No Mirrors in My Nana's House
Sweet Honey in the Rock
Ordway Center, St. Paul

Aaron Copland: Simple Gifts, from American Songs
The Virginia Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, JoAnn Falletta, conductor
Ferguson Center for the Arts, Newport News, Virginia

Giovanni Battista Sammartini: Symphony in D, JC 14
Milano Classica, Marcello Scandelli, director and cello
First Baptist Church, Savannah, Georgia

Max Bruch: Romance in F for Viola and Orchestra, Op. 85
Janine Jansen, viola, the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Riccardo Chailly, conductor

Max Bruch: Violin Concerto No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 26
Janine Jansen, violin, the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Riccardo Chailly, conductor

Hour 2

Pablo de Sarasate: Romanza Andaluza
Gil Shaham, violin, the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra

Johann Balthasar Konig and Michael Praetorius: This Night a Wondrous Revelation and Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming
The St. Olaf Orchestra and Choirs, John Ferguson, conductor
St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minnesota

Traditional (Arranged by F. Melius Christiansen): Beautiful Savior
The St. Olaf Choirs, Anton Armstrong, director
St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minnesota

Traditional (Arranged by John Rutter): Past Three A Clock
The St. Olaf Orchestra and Choirs, Sigrid Johnson, conductor
St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minnesota

Johann Sebastian Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G, BWV 1048
Musicians from the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center
Alice Tully Hall, New York City

Christopher Theofanidis: Muse
The Orpheus Chamber Orchestra
Carnegie Hall, New York City

Ludwig van Beethoven: Rondino in E-flat, WoO 25
The Orpheus Chamber Orchestra
Carnegie 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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