Chen Yi was a classical musician in China at the worst possible time, during the Cultural Revolution, when all Western art was banned. Chinese authorities searched her home, and took away all her family's classical recordings. Chen Yi herself was sent off to a labor camp. She held onto her music in her heart and her memory until the political climate changed. Chen Yi is now a successful composer living in the West. We'll hear one of her works, from a concert in St. Paul.
Episode Playlist
Hour 1
Johannes Brahms: Intermezzo No. 1 in B Minor, Op. 119
Joyce Yang, piano
Frederic Chopin Society, St. Paul
Sergei Prokofiev: Sinfonietta, Op. 5 (Op. 48)
The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Hans Graf, conductor
Ordway Center, St. Paul
Niccolo Paganini: Excerpts from 24 Caprices, Op. 1
Rachel Barton Pine, violin
Rockefeller University, New York City
Johannes Brahms: Hungarian Dance No. 6
The New Century Chamber Orchestra, Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, violin and director
Herbst Theatre, San Francisco
Hour 2
George Frideric Handel: Passacaille, from Radamisto
The Academy for Ancient Music, Berlin
Mozart Camargo Guarnieri: Three Dances for Orchestra
The Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas, Alondra de la Parra, conductor
Alice Tully Hall, New York City
Giovanni Gabrieli: Sonata Pian'e Forte
New England Conservatory Student Ensemble, Charles Peltz, conductor
Jordan Hall, Boston
Antonio Vivaldi: Concerto in D for Two Oboes, Two Violins, and Bassoon, RV 564a
The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Rachel Podger, director and violin
International Chamber Orchestra Festival, Minneapolis
Chen Yi: Shuo (Initiate) for String Orchestra
The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Paul Goodwin, conductor
Saint Paul's United Church of Christ, St. Paul
George Frideric Handel: Passacaglia in G Minor, from Keyboard Suite No. 7 in G minor, HWV 432
Yang Wei, pipa, Daxun Zhang, bass
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
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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.
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