Poster Leonard Slatkin
Leonard Slatkin, conductor
Matthew H. Starling
Performance Today®

The curious art of conducting

Leonard Slatkin says conducting gives him a sense of great power and, at the same time, a feeling of helplessness. On Friday's Performance Today, Slatkin talks to us about the curious art of conducting. Plus, we'll hear him lead a performance of Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 4, from a concert in Warsaw, Poland.

Episode Playlist

Hour 1

Robert Burns: Ae Fond Kiss
Nicola Benedetti, violin; BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra; Rory Macdonald, conductor
Homecoming: A Scottish Fantasy
London/Decca 21290

Gordon Goodwin: Four Views (2014)
Jon Manasse, clarinet; Jon Nakamatsu, piano
Chamber Music Society of Palm Beach, Palm Beach, FL

Erich Korngold: Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35
Nicola Benedetti, violin; Grand Teton Music Festival Orchestra; Donald Runnicles, conductor
Grand Teton Music Festival, Walk Festival Hall, Jackson Hole, WY

Earl Scruggs: Foggy Mountain Breakdown
Decoda Cello Quartet
String Theory at the Hunter, The Hunter Museum of American Art, Chattanooga, TN

Hour 2

Lyun Joon Kim / Roxanna Panufnik: Korean Elegy
Han-Na Chang, cello; Philharmonia Orchestra; Leonard Slatkin, conductor
The Swan: Classic Works for Cello and Orchestra
EMI 57052

Pat Metheny: Letter From Home
Los Angeles Guitar Quartet
Spivey Hall, Clayton State University, Morrow, GA

Carlos Rafael Rivera: Cumba-quin
Los Angeles Guitar Quartet
Spivey Hall, Clayton State University, Morrow, GA

Frederic Chopin: Mazurka No. 36 in A minor, Op. 59/1
Simon Trpceski, piano
Ludwig van Beethoven Easter Festival, Philharmonic Concert Hall, Warsaw, Poland

Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 4: Movements 3-4
Camilla Tilling, soprano; National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Katowice; Leonard Slatkin, conductor
Ludwig van Beethoven Easter Festival, Philharmonic Concert Hall, Warsaw, Poland

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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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