Poster Plato's Symposium by Anselm Friedrich Feuerbach
Plato's Symposium by Anselm Friedrich Feuerbach
Painting by Anselm Friedrich Feuerbach, public domain, wikimedia commons
Performance Today®

On the topic of love

In Plato's Symposium, seven men get together for a party and, when the topic of love comes up, each man weighs in with his own soliloquy. Those speeches inspired a piece of orchestral music by Leonard Bernstein. On Friday's Performance Today, hear Bernstein's Serenade after Plato's Symposium, from a concert in Nashville.

Episode Playlist

Hour 1

Bedrich Smetana: The Bartered Bride: Act One, Scene One: Dance of the Villagers
London Symphony Orchestra; Geoffrey Simon, conductor
Smetana The Bartered Bride, etc
Chandos 8412

Bedrich Smetana: From My Homeland (Z domoviny) Duo for Violin and Piano
Martin Chalifour, violin; Gavin Martin, piano
Strings Music Festival, Strings Pavilion, Steamboat Springs, CO

Franz Doppler: L'Oiseau des bois (The bird of the forest), Op. 21
Elizabeth Mann, flute; Michael Thornton, horn; David Alexander, horn; Madison Warren, horn; Jason Friedman, horn
Colorado College Summer Music Festival, Packard Hall, Colorado Springs, CO

Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 9: Movement 4 Adagio. Sehr langsam
Grand Teton Music Festival Orchestra; Donald Runnicles, conductor
Grand Teton Music Festival, Walk Festival Hall, Jackson Hole, WY

Hour 2

Leonard Bernstein: Divertimento for Orchestra Movement 8 In Memoriam: March, 'The BSO Forever'
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra; Marin Alsop, conductor
Leonard Bernstein: Marin Alsop: The Complete Naxos Recordings
Naxos 8508018

Alexandre Tansman: Suite for Oboe, Clarinet and Bassoon
Nicholas Stovall, oboe; Amitai Vardi, clarinet; Kristin Wolfe Jensen, bassoon
Round Top Festival Institute, Festival Concert Hall, Round Top, TX

Leonard Bernstein: Serenade after Plato's Symposium for Solo Violin, Harp, Percussion and Strings
Anne Akiko Meyers, violin; Nashville Symphony; Giancarlo Guerrero, conductor
Nashville Symphony, Schermerhorn Symphony Center, Nashville, TN

Traditional (arr. Pentatonix, Ben Bram): Coventry Carol
Pentatonix
A Pentatonix Christmas Deluxe
RCA 88985-47691-2

Anthony Holborne: Muy Linda
Canadian Brass
USNYPR, The Green Space, New York, NY

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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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