The Greek name Leonidas means "brave as a lion." Violinist Leonidas Kavakos lives up to his name in a bold performance of Karol Szymanowski's Violin Concerto No. 2, from a concert at Carnegie Hall in New York. But Kavakos shows his tender side too in the concerto's many folk melodies. We'll hear Leonidas Kavakos' thoughts on what makes this concerto so difficult, and his performance with Yannick Nezet-Seguin and the Philadelphia Orchestra.
Episode Playlist
Hour 1
Frederic Chopin: Berceuse in D-flat, Op 57
Maurizio Pollini, piano
Mike Block: Appalachian Medley
Mike Block, cello
New Directions Cello Festival, Ithaca, New York
The Piano Puzzler: This week's contestant is Heather Christensen from Portales, New Mexico
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 21 in C, K. 467 (Elvira Madigan)
Maurizio Pollini, piano, the Berlin Philharmonic, Christian Thielemann, conductor
Philharmonie, Berlin, Germany
Hour 2
Bela Bartok: Intermezzo from Concerto for Orchestra
The Philadelphia Orchestra, Christoph Eschenbach, conductor
Giya Kancheli: Rag-GIDON-time for Violin, Viola, and Cello
Benjamin Beilman, violin, Jonathan Vinocour, viola, Michael Nicolas, cello
Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival, Bridgehampton, New York
Traditional Georgian: Didavoi Nana
The Rustavi Folk Chorus of Georgia, Anzor Erkomaishvili, director
Organ Hall, Chisinau, Moldova
Karol Szymanowski: Violin Concerto No. 2, Op. 61
Leonidas Kavakos, violin, the Philadelphia Orchestra, Yannick Nezet-Seguin, conductor
Carnegie Hall, New York City
Josef Bohuslav Forster: First movement from Nonetto, Op. 147
The Czech Nonet
Maud Moon Weyerhaeuser Studio, St. Paul
Richard Strauss: Till Eulenspiegel
The Czech Nonet
Morrison Center Recital Hall, Boise, Idaho
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov: The Flight of the Bumblebee
The Czech Nonet
Morrison Center Recital Hall, Boise, Idaho
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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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