It was an unusually hot day in Paris: May 29th, 1913. But the heat of the late-day sun was nothing compared to the inferno generated by that day's performance at the city's big ballet company. It was an event that would change music forever: the premiere of Igor Stravinsky's ballet, the Rite of Spring. To mark the 100th anniversary of that famous and infamous premiere, music writer Alex Ross tells the story of that musical riot. And we'll go to Dallas to hear Jaap van Zweden lead a concert performance by the Dallas Symphony, on Wednesday's Performance Today.
Episode Playlist
Hour 1
Richard Strauss: "Potpourri" from Die schweigsame Frau
Bamberg Symphony Orchestra; Karl Anton Rickenbacher, conductor
Ralph Vaughan Williams: Fantasia on Greensleeves
Academy of St. Martin in the Fields; Sir Neville Marriner, conductor
Jeremy Soule: Call of the Raven from Guild Wars 2
John Barry: Dances with Wolves
London Symphony Orchestra; John Williams, conductor
Charles Ives: Old Home Days Suite
The President's Own United States Marine Band; Colonel Timothy Foley, director
Garry Schyman: Elizabeth from BioShock Infinite
Garry Schyman: Lighter than Air from BioShock Infinite
Stephen Foster: Beautiful Dreamer
Thomas Hampson, baritone; Jay Ungar, violin; Molly Mason, guitar David Alpher, piano
Joel Corelitz: Palace Minuet from The Unfinished Swan
Richard Strauss: Divertimento. Op. 86 - III. Le Tic-Toc-Choc, VI. Les Tours de passe-passe, VII. Les ombres errantes, VIII. Les Brimborions
Orpheus Chamber Orchestra
Joel Corelitz: The Unfinished Swan Theme
Hour 2
Enrique Granados: Four Pieces from Goyescas: Los majos enamorados (Goyescas: The Majos in Love), Op. 11 - 4. El pelele (The Straw Man)
Garrick Ohlsson, piano
Irving S. Gilmore International Keyboard Festival; Chenery Auditorium, Kalamazoo, MI
Edward Elgar: Sospiri, for String Orchestra, Op. 70
Australian Chamber Orchestra; Richard Tognetti, violin and leader
DeBartolo Performing Arts Center, Leighton Concert Hall, University of Notre Dame, South Bend, IN
Claude Debussy: Preludes, Book II, No. 7: La terrasse des audiences du clair de lune (the Terrace of Moonlit Audiences)
Andrew Staupe, piano
Maud Moon Weyerhaeuser Studio, St Paul, MN
Igor Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring
Dallas Symphony Orchestra. Jaap van Zweden, conductor
Meyerson Symphony Center, Dallas, TX
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About Performance Today®
To find a station near you on our Stations Listings page, click here.
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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