Poster Nino Rota, composer
Nino Rota, composer
Public Domain via Houston Public Media
Performance Today®

You know Nino Rota

Nino Rota is one of those composers whose music you know... even if you don't know you know it. He composed music for 150 film soundtracks, including The Godfather (1 & 2) and numerous films by Federico Fellini, but he was also a prolific composer of concert works. On Wednesday's Performance Today, hear the 'Sonata for Flute and Harp' by Nino Rota, from a concert in Madrid.

Episode Playlist

Hour 1

Nino Rota: Clarinet Trio: Movement 3
Ensemble Nino Rota: Paolo Beltramini, clarinet; Cecilia Radic, cello; Massimo Palumbo, piano
Rota: Chamber Music
Chandos 9832

Nino Rota: Sonata for Flute and Harp
Monica Raga, flute; Maria Jesus Avila, harp
Teatro Monumental, Madrid, Spain

Piano Puzzler: This week's contestant is Deb Anderson from Robbinsdale, MN

Peter Tchaikovsky: Suite from the Sleeping Beauty Op. 66
Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra; JoAnn Falletta, conductor
Kleinhans Music Hall, Buffalo, NY

Hour 2

Georges Bizet: L'Arlesienne Suite No.1: Movement 4
Toronto Symphony Orchestra; Andrew Davis, conductor
Respighi: La Boutique Fantasque; Bizet: Jeux D'enfants
Sony 45649

Johann Sebastian Bach: Sonata in E minor: Movement 4
Avi Avital, mandolin
University of Georgia, Ramsey Concert Hall, University of Georgia Performing Arts Center, Athens, GA

Georges Bizet (arr. William Kanengiser): Suite from 'Carmen'
VIDA Guitar Quartet
Spivey Hall, Clayton State University, Morrow, GA

Maurice Ravel: Piano Concerto for the Left Hand in D major, M. 82
Kirill Gerstein, piano; Houston Symphony; Andres Orozco-Estrada, conductor
Houston Symphony, Jones Hall, Houston, TX

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Latest Performance Today® Episodes

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Latest Performance Today® Episodes

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Lost and found

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When Samuel Coleridge-Taylor premiered his Piano Quintet in 1893, he thought that would be the end and that it wouldn't be played again. And for more than a century, he was right. However, the handwritten manuscript was found in 2001. This quintet is now published and played around the world.  Join us today to hear Coleridge-Taylor’s Piano Quintet played by an all-star ensemble at the ChamberFest Cleveland music festival.

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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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