Poster Martin Luther King, Jr
The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. delivers his 'I Have a Dream' speech.
Rowland Scherman/National Archives
Performance Today®

Honoring the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

The impact of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. is more important than ever. Join us for a special edition of Performance Today honoring King through music. We'll hear the music he loved and the pieces composed by musicians who loved him as we celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Episode Playlist

Hour 1

Thomas Dorsey: Precious Lord, Take My Hand
The Fall-Jones Ensemble | Mahalia Jackson, vocal
Album: Bless This House
Columbia Records 889

Valerie Coleman: Shotgun Houses
Anthony McGill, clarinet | Pacifica Quartet
Album: American Stories
Cedille

Steven Banks: Come As You Are
Steven Banks, saxophone | Pedja Muzijevic, piano
Spoleto Festival USA Chamber Music Series, Dock Street Theatre, Charleston, SC

Margaret Bonds: Three Dream Portraits - II. Dream Variation
Bonnie Pomfret, soprano | Laura Gordy, piano
Album: De Toda la Eternidad
ACA

Alma Androzzo, arr. Stacey Gibbs: If I can help somebody
The King's Singers
Spivey Hall, Clayton State University, Morrow, GA

Hour 2

deVon Russell Gray: Only This Laughter; Only Your Tears
Lara Downes, piano
Album: Love at Last
Pentatone

Scott Joplin: Treemonisha: Overture
Paragon Ragtime Orchestra | Rick Benjamin, conductor
Album: Scott Joplin: Treemonisha
New World 80720

Michael Abels: Delights and Dances
Chicago Sinfonietta | Harlem Quartet | Mei-Ann Chen, conductor
Album: Delights and Dances
Cedille 90000 141

Duke Ellington, arr. David Schiff: Ducal Suite: Heaven
David Shifrin, clarinet | Dover Quartet | Harlem Quartet
Album: Clarinet Quintets for Our Time
Delos 3576

Derrick Skye: American Mirror Part II
Suliman Tekalli and Ravenna Lipchik, violins | Samantha Rodriguez, viola | Joseph Johnson, cello | Consensus Ensemble, vocal drone
Lakes Area Music Festival, Tornstrom Auditorium  Brainerd, MN

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Latest Performance Today® Episodes

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Latest Performance Today® Episodes

2025 Classical Woman of the Year: Jessie Montgomery

2025 Classical Woman of the Year: Jessie Montgomery

‘Performance Today’ has selected performer and composer Jessie Montgomery as the 2025 Classical Woman of the Year. This annual award recognizes women who have made significant contributions to the classical music art form and have inspired our listeners. Find out more!

A cozy Christmas Eve

A cozy Christmas Eve

Take a moment to reflect on the challenges and triumphs of the year, and celebrate the joys and blessings of the holiday season. Join us for peaceful and cozy music on Christmas Eve.

1:59:00
Three Generations of Burt Family Carols

Three Generations of Burt Family Carols

In the 1920s, Bates Burt started composing an annual Christmas carol for the family Christmas card. The tradition continued down the family line. 50-plus carols later, his great-granddaughter Abbie Burt Betinis created a medley out of some of the best. Tune in to hear ‘Three Generations of Burt Family Carols’ on today’s episode.

1:59:00
Yevgeny and Bella Sudbin

Yevgeny and Bella Sudbin

On today's show, we're featuring a special family collaboration. Pianist Yevgeny Sudbin and his daughter, Bella, perform together, playing Sudbin's arrangement of a popular holiday favorite for piano four hands.

1:59:00
PT Weekend: The tranquility of Winter

PT Weekend: The tranquility of Winter

As the season brings us the longest nights of the year, join us for music inspired by the stillness and splendor of winter. Find peace in the season's enveloping tranquility on today's show.

1:59:00
The stillness and splendor of winter

The stillness and splendor of winter

As the season brings us the longest nights of the year, join us for music inspired by the stillness and splendor of winter. Find peace in the season's enveloping tranquility on today's show.

1:59:00
Mompou's "music of evaporation"

Mompou's "music of evaporation"

Pianist Stephen Hough describes the music of Federico Mompou as "the music of evaporation." Hough says, "The notes are too simple and the soul too complex for conventional analysis." On today's show, we'll hear Stephen Hough perform Mompou’s Cants Mágìcs (Magical Songs) at a concert in Morrow, Georgia.

1:59:00
The Miró Quartet

The Miró Quartet

The Miró Quartet has been performing together for 30 years, but they hadn't released a holiday album... until now. Today, we'll hear some highlights from their new recording, 'Hearth,' which features some holiday classics arranged by Clarice Assad, Reena Esmail, Anna Clyne, and Sam Lipman.

1:59:00
Rebecca Clarke: Dumka

Rebecca Clarke: Dumka

In Ukrainian, the word "dumka" means "thought" or “notion." In music, a dumka is a somewhat dreamlike dance that often revisits a bittersweet reflection on life's sadness. Today, we’ll hear English composer Rebecca Clarke’s ‘Dumka,’ from a concert presented by the Fabian Concert Series in Macon, Georgia.

1:59:00
Germaine Tailleferre

Germaine Tailleferre

Germaine Tailleferre was determined to be a musician, and her father tried to stop her. She rebelled so completely that she even changed her name and went on to a 70-year career as a composer. We'll hear the String Quartet by French composer Germaine Tailleferre on today's show.

1:59:00
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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.

Hosted by Valerie Kahler, 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.

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