Poster Lara Downes
Lara Downes continues to uplift Black composers.
Courtesy of artist
Performance Today®

Lara Downes plays Florence Price

Pianist Lara Downes is passionate about sharing the music of Black composers and strives to make previously overlooked music accessible for other musicians to play. On today's show, Lara Downes plays Florence Price's 'Piano Concerto in One Movement' with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.

Episode Playlist

Hour 1

Leonard Bernstein: Clarinet Sonata movement 1: Grazioso
Zuill Bailey, cello | Lara Downes, piano
Album: Some Other Time
Steinway and Sons 30025

Astor Piazzolla: Kicho
Adrian Jost, bandoneon | John Novacek, piano | Abigel Kralik, violin | Susan Cahill, double bass
Festival Mozaic, Harold J. Miossi Cultural and Performing Arts Center, San Luis Obispo, CA

Felix Mendelssohn: Trio for Violin, Cello and Piano in D minor
James Ehnes, violin | Robert DeMaine, cello | Orion Weiss, piano
Seattle Chamber Music Society, Nordstrom Recital Hall at Benaroya Hall, Seattle, WA

Florence Price: Piano Concerto in One Movement: Part 2 and 3 (excerpts)
Lara Downes, piano | Detroit Symphony Orchestra | William Eddins, conductor
Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Hall, Detroit, MI

Hour 2

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Symphony No. 41 "Jupiter Symphony" Movement 3: Menuetto: Allegretto
Orchestra of St. Luke's | Donald Runnicles, conductor
Album: Mozart: Symphonies Nos. 39 & 41
Saint Luke's 3001

Stephen Hough: Sonata No. 4 (Vida Breve)
Stephen Hough, piano
Tippet Rise Art Center, Olivier Music Barn, Fishtail, MT

Hanna Benn: Where Springs Not Fail
East Coast Chamber Orchestra
Chamber Music Northwest, Kaul Auditorium, Reed College, Portland, OR

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Quintet in E-flat major, K. 452
Michael Brown, piano | Stephen Taylor, oboe | Sebastian Manz, clarinet | Peter Kolkay, bassoon | Radovan Vlatkovic, horn
The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Spivey Hall, Clayton State University, Morrow, GA

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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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