Pianist Saleem Ashkar says he never heard classical music growing up in Israel. Then, when he was six years old, Saleem's father traded a car for a piano... and Saleem found his calling. On Saturday's Performance Today, Saleem Ashkar plays Mendelssohn's Piano Concerto No. 1 with the Luxembourg Philharmonic.
Episode Playlist
Hour 1
Felix Mendelssohn: String Quartet No. 2 in A major, Op. 13: Intermezzo
Juilliard String Quartet
50 Years, Vol. 6 - Scherzo Through Time
Sony 62712
Joseph Canteloube: Rustiques for oboe, clarinet, and bassoon
Olmos Ensemble: Paul Lueders, oboe; Ilya Shterenberg, clarinet; Sharon Kuster, bassoon
Olmos Ensemble, First Unitarian Universalist Church, San Antonio, TX
Felix Mendelssohn: Piano Concerto No. 1 in G minor, Op. 25
Saleem Ashkar, piano; Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra; Nikolaj Znaider, conductor
Philharmonie, Luxembourg
Carlos Guastavino (arr. Mimi Stillman & Roberto Lara): El Sampedrino
Mimi Stillman, flute; Gideon Whitehead, guitar
Dolce Suono Ensemble, Gould Rehearsal Hall, Lenfest Hall, Curtis Institute of Music, Philadelphia, PA
Alberto Ginastera: Danzas Argentinas Op. 2, No. 3 'Dance of the Arrogant Cowboy' (encore)
Joyce Yang, piano
from a concert with the Minnesota Orchestra, Orchestra Hall, Minneapolis, MN
Hour 2
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Piano Sonata in C: Allegro
Mitsuko Uchida, piano
Mozart Piano Sonatas
Philips 422 725-2
Eden Ahbez: Nature Boy
Ebene Quartet
Spivey Hall, Clayton State University, Morrow, GA
Gabriel Pierne: Introduction and Variations on a Popular Rondo
Donald Sinta Saxophone Quartet
Corpus Christi Chamber Music Society, Wolfe Recital Hall - Del Mar College, Corpus Christi, TX
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Sinfonia concertante in E-Flat Major for Violin, Viola, and Orchestra, K.364
New York Philharmonic; Sheryl Staples, violin; Cynthia Phelps, viola; Jaap van Zweden, conductor
David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center for Performing Arts, New York City, NY
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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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