Poster Jake Shimabukuro
Jake Shimabukuro
Courtesy of the artist
Performance Today®

An ukulele challenge

The Hawai'i Symphony Orchestra asked Byron Yasui to write a concerto for ukulele. He wasn't quite sure that he could balance the quiet ukulele with the power of an orchestra, but he accepted the challenge. On this weekend's Performance Today, we'll hear the world premiere of Yasui's concerto in Honolulu.

Episode Playlist

Hour 1

Sergei Prokofiev: Cello Sonata in C Major, Op. 119: 2. Moderato
Truls Mork, cello; Lars Vogt, piano
Shostakovich, Stravinsky, Prokofiev
Virgin 45274

Samuel Barber: Adagio from String Quartet, Op. 11
Italian Saxophone Quartet
Beaches Fine Arts Jacksonville, St. Paul's by-the-Sea Episcopal Church, Jacksonville, FL

Ferruccio Busoni: Concerto for Piano, Orchestra and Male Choir, Op. 39: 4. All'Italiana (Tarantella); 5. Cantico (with Chorus)
Garrick Ohlsson, piano; Warsaw Phiharmonic Orchestra; Warsaw Phiharmonic Male Choir; Wojciech Rajski, conductor
Frederic Chopin International Piano Competition, Concert Hall, Philharmonic, Warsaw, Poland

Ludwig van Beethoven: Cello Sonata No. 4 in C minor, Op. 102, No. 1
Truls Mork, cello; Jan Lisiecki, piano
Verbier Festival, Verbier Church, Verbier, Switzerland

Hour 2

Darius Milhaud: String Quartet No. 12: 1. modere, anime, modere
Parisii Quartet
Darius Milhaud: Quatuors a Cordes Nos. 12, 4, 9, 3
Naive 4930

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Divertimento in F Major, K. 138
Calidore String Quartet
The Henry Morrison Flagler Museum, The Henry Morrison Flagler Museum, Palm Beach, FL

Darius Milhaud: La cheminee du Roi Rene
City of Tomorrow Wind Quintet
Preston Bradley Hall, Chicago Cultural Center, Chicago, IL

Byron Yasui: Concerto for Ukulele and Orchestra, "Campanella", Movements 1, 3
Jake Shimabukuro, ukulele; Hawaii Symphony Orchestra; JoAnn Falletta, conductor
Neal Blaisdell Concert Hall, Honolulu, HI

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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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