Poster Painting of Paul Hindemith
Paul Hindemith
Painting by Rudolf W. Heinisch (ca. 1950)
Performance Today®

Hindemith's inventive twists

In 1940, Paul Hindemith wrote a piece music based on themes written more than a century earlier by Carl Maria von Weber. He kept Weber's basic ideas intact, but gave then some inventive 20th century twists. Hear that piece on today's show: the "Symphonic Metamorphosis on Themes of Carl Maria von Weber", by Paul Hindemith, from a concert at this year's BBC Proms.

Episode Playlist

Hour 1

Alexander Scriabin: Two Etudes: C-sharp minor, F-sharp minor
Garrick Ohlsson, piano
Album: Alexander Scriabin - The Complete Etudes
Bridge 9287

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Overture to The Abduction from the Seraglio, K. 384
Orquesta del Lyceum de La Habana | Jose Mendez Padron, conductor
Konzerthaus, Berlin, Germany

Edgar Oliviero: Sarahnade Mambo
Sarah Willis, horn | Orquesta del Lyceum de La Habana | Jose Mendez Padron, conductor
Konzerthaus, Berlin, Germany

Stewart Goodyear: Piano Quartet
Jun Iwasaki, violin | Cynthia Phelps, viola | Mark Kosower, cello | Stewart Goodyear, piano
Seattle Chamber Music Society, The Center for Chamber Music, Seattle, WA

Johannes Brahms: Rhapsodies, Op. 79
Garrick Ohlsson, piano
92nd Street Y, Kaufmann Concert Hall, New York, NY

Hour 2

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Piano Sonata No.16 in C K545: I. Allegro
Christian Zacharias, piano
Album: 50 Best Piano
EMI Records

Paul Hindemith: Symphonic Metamorphosis of Themes by Carl Maria von Weber
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra | Domingo Hindoyan, conductor
BBC Proms, Royal Albert Hall, London, UK

Aaron Copland: Our Town
Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra | Leonard Slatkin, conductor
Album: Copland: Music for Films
RCA 61699

Joseph Haydn: Piano Sonata in G minor, Hob. XVI:44
Christian  Zacharias, piano
Spivey Hall, Clayton State University, Morrow, GA

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Latest Performance Today® Episodes

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Latest Performance Today® Episodes

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Victor Ni

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We're pleased to introduce you to clarinetist Victor Ni, our next 2025 PT Young Artists in Residence. On today's program, Victor joins Fred Child for music and conversation in our Saint Paul studio.

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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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