Elgar's Musical Snapshots

Pianist Kirill Gerstein recently released an album called Music in Time of War. The album includes the Etudes Claude Debussy wrote during the First World War and music by composer and musicologist Komitas, who lived through the Armenian Genocide. Fred Child recently spoke with Gerstein about the project and how it reflects on the world. Join us today for a special hour of music and conversation with Kirill Gerstein.

So, what is a Piano Puzzler? Well, it's a familiar tune that Bruce Adolphe has re-written in the style of a classical composer. See if you can name the hidden tune and the composer whose style Bruce is imitating. Join us for this week’s Piano Puzzler. Plus, as part of our celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, we'll hear music by Argentine composers Lalo Schifrin and Maximo Diego Pujol.

In 2016, pianist and composer Gabriela Montero wrote a concerto reflecting how people perceive Latin America. She says it's not an overtly political piece, but it does express the light and dark sides of the subject. Today, we'll hear Gabriela Montero play her “Latin Concerto” with the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra in Stockholm.

Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 24 differs from many of his other concertos. It doesn't try to please us right away; it begins with a feeling of uncertainty and tension. The tension is resolved when the piano comes in two minutes later, and the music becomes very pleasing. Pianist Joyce Yang says the moment feels like waking suddenly from a dream. On today's show, we'll hear Joyce Yang play the concerto with the Aspen Chamber Symphony, led by conductor Jane Glover.

So, what is a Piano Puzzler? Well, it's a familiar tune that Bruce Adolphe has re-written in the style of a classical composer. See if you can name the hidden tune and the composer whose style Bruce is imitating. Join us for this week’s Piano Puzzler. Plus, as part of our celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, we'll hear music by Argentine composers Lalo Schifrin and Maximo Diego Pujol.

When Sabine Meyer plays Mozart's Clarinet Concerto, she insists on using the kind of clarinet Mozart had in mind: a basset clarinet, a clarinet that has an extra four low notes. And Mozart uses those extra notes, of course. Sabine Meyer plays Mozart's Clarinet Concerto on today's show.

In 1980, a young aspiring conductor watched a videotape of the New York Philharmonic, and he wore the tape out as he dreamed of his future. Kwame Ryan is now in his first season as Music Director of the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra. On today’s show, we’ll hear them play Brahms’s Symphony No. 1 at a concert in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Meet violinist Daniel Dastoor, our next 2024 PT Young Artists in Residence. On today's show, Daniel joins Fred Child for music and conversation at our Saint Paul studio.

Composer Zhou Tian recently wrote a new concerto for his longtime friend and collaborator, flutist Mimi Stillman. On today's episode, Stillman joins Fred Child to give a detailed look behind the scenes of the collaborative process and share her favorite moments of this unique work. We'll experience the beauty of the new Concerto for Flute by Zhou Tian, in a world premiere recording by flutist Mimi Stillman and the United States Marine Chamber Orchestra. 

Maddalena Lombardini had a great career as a violinist and composer in the 18th century. She was the soloist at the 1771 premiere of her own Violin Concerto in London. On today’s show, we'll hear Lombardini’s Violin Concerto from a recent concert at the Kurt Weill Festival in Germany.