Poster Composer George Walker
Composer George Walker
University of Rochester
Performance Today®

George Walker

Composer George Walker celebrated his 96th birthday this week. He's busy as ever, hard at work on a new symphony. On this weekend's Performance Today, George Walker tells us about his life, his music, the secret to his vitality... and his tomatoes.

Episode Playlist

Hour 1

Irene Britton Smith: Sonata Movement 2 Andante
Gregory Walker, violin; Helen Walker-Hill, piano
Kaleidoscope: Music by African-American Women
Leonarda 339

Brad Richter and Viktor Uzur: Bitter the Laughter, Sweet the Tears
Richter Uzur Duo: Brad Richter, guitar; Viktor Uzur, cello
UC Davis, Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts, Davis, CA

Piano Puzzler: This week's contestants are Peter and Mary-Bess Staffel from Bethany, WV

George Walker: Lyric for Strings
Sphinx Virtuosi; Damon Gupton, conductor
Live in Concert
White Pine Music 227

George Walker: Violin Sonata No. 1
Gregory Walker, violin; Irina Lupines, piano
George Walker's 95th year Celebration, Hatch Recital Hall, Eastman School of Music, Rochester, NY

Hour 2

Ludwig van Beethoven: 5 Variations on "Rule Britannia" in D, WoO 79
Melvyn Tan, fortepiano
The Beethoven Broadwood Fortepiano
EMI 54526

Dessa (arr. Andy Thompson): Skeleton Key
Dessa; VocalEssence Chorus and Ensemble Singers; Tesfa Wondemagegnehu, conductor
Orchestra Hall, Minneapolis, MN

Alan Hovhaness: Duet for Violin and Cello, Op. 409
Angela Fuller Heyde, violin; Jennifer Humphreys, cello
Grand Teton Music Festival, Walk Festival Hall, Jackson Hole, WY

Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony No. 1 in C Major, Op. 21
Sinfonia da Camera; Ian Hobson, conductor
Foellinger Great Hall, Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, Urbana, IL

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Latest Performance Today® Episodes

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Latest Performance Today® Episodes

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The Poiesis Quartet

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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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