The vast majority of what we hear on classical radio is music written by people who devoted their professional lives to music. The exceptions tend to be colorful characters -- people who made their living doing other things, but who love music. Amateurs in the true sense of the word. On today's show music by amateur composers. We'll hear a sweet lullaby for cello written by an expert on military fortifications, a string quartet composed by an insurance executive, exciting orchestral music by a low-level clerk in the French bureaucracy, and a symphony by a chemist.
Episode Playlist
Hour 1
Frederick the Great: Flute Concerto in C Major - III. Allegro assai
Manfred Friedrich, flute; CPE Bach Chamber Orchestra; Hartmut Haenchen, conductor
Capriccio 10064
Alexander Borodin: Symphony No. 2 in B minor
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra; Karel Mark Chichon, conductor
Concertgebouw, Amsterdam
Charles Ives: String Quartet No. 1, "From the Salvation Army" - IV. Allegro marziale
Miro Quartet
Calvary Community Church, Saint Cloud, Minnesota
Emmanuel Chabrier: Espana
U.S. Marine Band; Colonel Michael J. Colburn, conductor
Center for the Arts Concert Hall, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia
Cesar Cui: Berceuse
Steven Isserlis, cello; Chamber Orchestra of Europe. John Eliot Gardiner, conductor
Album: Steven Isserlis, John Eliot Gardiner, Virgin: 91134
Hour 2
Jean-Baptise Lully: Chaconne in G Major
Musica Antiqua Koln; Reinhard Goebel, conductor
Album: Chaconne, Archiv 453418
George Gershwin: Cuban Overture
Berlin Philharmonic. Ingo Metzmacher, conductor
Philharmonie, Berlin
PT Young Artist-in-Residence: Xiang Yu, violin
Felix Mendelssohn: Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage, Op. 27, MWV P5
Berlin Philharmonic. Christian Thielemann, conductor
Philharmonie, Berlin
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About Performance Today®
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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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