Poster The “President’s Own” United States Marine Band
The “President’s Own” United States Marine Band performs at Arlington National Cemetery
Spc. Cody W. Torkelson
Performance Today®

Memorial Day

Memorial Day. It's the unofficial beginning of summer, but that's not what this holiday is about. On today's show, we mark the day with music by American composers and recognize the people who have made the ultimate sacrifice while serving in the United States Armed Forces.

Episode Playlist

Hour 1

Frederic Chopin: Etude in E major, Op. 10 No. 3
Jon Kimura Parker, piano
Album: Bravo! Chopin Piano Works
Telarc 82003

Charles Ives, arr. Jonathan Elkus: Decoration Day from Four New England Holidays
The President's Own United States Marine Band | Colonel Timothy W. Foley, conductor
Album: Charles Ives's America
USMB 19

Igor Stravinsky: Suite from The Soldier's Tale: Movement 2: Le Violon du Soldat
Corinne Stillwell, violin, Vanguel Tangarov, clarinet, Ekaterina Tangarova, piano
Victoria Bach Festival, Trinity Episcopal Church, Victoria, TX

Caroline Shaw: By and By: Movement 4 I'll Fly Away
John Taylor Ward, baritone | Suliman Tekalli, violin | Ravenna Lipchik, violin | Olivia Chew, viola | Austin Fisher, cello
Lakes Area Music Festival, Tornstrom Auditorium, Brainerd, MN

John Adams: I Still Play
Jeremy Denk, piano
Aspen Music Festival and School, Harris Concert Hall, Aspen, CO

Antonin Dvorak, arr. William Arms Fisher: Goin' Home for Cello and Piano
Nicholas Canellakis, cello | Jon Kimura Parker, piano
Bridgehampton Chamber Music, Bridgehampton Presbyterian Church, Bridgehampton, NY

Florence Beatrice Price: Symphony No. 4 In D minor: Movement 1
Fort Smith Symphony Orchestra | John Jeter, conductor
Album: Florence Beatrice Price: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 4

Hour 2

Mikis Theodorakis: One day in May
Sharon Isbin, guitar
Album: Dreams of a World
Teldec 25736

John Williams: Hymn To The Fallen
Mormon Tabernacle Choir and the Orchestra at Temple Square | Craig Jessop, conductor
Album: Showtime! Music of Broadway and Hollywood
Mormon Tabernacle Choir 4973811

John Philip Sousa, arr. Keith Brion: The Honored Dead Funeral March
Royal Swedish Navy Band | Keith Brion, conductor
Album: John Philip Sousa: Music for Wind Band
Naxos 8559691

Johannes Brahms: German Requiem: Movement 7 Blessed are the Dead
Monteverdi Choir | Revolutionary and Romantic Orchestra | John Eliot Gardiner, conductor
Album: Brahms: Ein Deutsches Requiem
Philips 432140

Ruth Crawford Seeger: Selections from Nineteen American Folk Songs for Piano
Virginia Eskin, piano
Album: Music of Marion Bauer and Ruth Crawford Seeger
Albany 297

John Duarte: Joan Baez Suite, Op. 144: Movements 2 & 6
Sharon Isbin, guitar
Album: Journey To The New World
Sony 45456

Aaron Copland: Fanfare for the Common Man
London Symphony Orchestra | Aaron Copland, conductor
Album: He Got Game: The Music of Aaron Copland
Sony 60593

Adolphus Hailstork: Fanfare on Amazing Grace (2003)
Virginia Symphony Orchestra | JoAnn Falletta, conductor
Album: Adolphus Hailstork: An American Port of Call
Naxos 8559722

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Latest Performance Today® Episodes

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Peteris Vasks: Vox Amoris

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Valerie Coleman: Tzigane

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PT Weekend: Jessie Montgomery

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Stewart Goodyear: Panorama

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Jessie Montgomery: Peace

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In the Spring of 2020, the pandemic was brand-new, isolating, and scary. American composer Jessie Montgomery wrote a short composition called Peace… and when Clarinetist Anthony McGill first heard it, he was moved to tears. On today's show, Anthony McGill and pianist Conrad Tao play music about coming to terms with sadness: Peace by Jessie Montgomery.

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Elfrida Andrée

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Swedish composer and organist Elfrida Andrée was determined to do it all. She advocated for legal changes so women could work as organists and telegraph operators, and she wanted people to know that women could compose significant works. We'll hear Elfrida Andrée's Symphony No. 2 on this episode of Performance Today.

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Honoring our veterans

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Nov. 11 is Veterans Day, and ‘Performance Today’ is honoring those who've served our country in uniform. We’ll hear music by composers who were in the armed forces, including William Grant Still and Samuel Barber. Listen now!

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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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