As if waking from a dream

‘Performance Today’ has selected performing-arts advocate Deborah Borda as the 2024 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!

It seems to be human nature that when something is forbidden, it becomes all the more enticing. When Jon Nakamatsu was a boy, no one in his family was allowed to touch the piano. Can you see where this is going? Learn how Jon Nakamatsu became a pianist on today’s show.

Some critics called composer Richard Strauss a musical coward, an egomaniac whose music had no depth or substance. Strauss dished it right back by making fun of critics in his music. Join us for the story and a brilliant performance on this edition of Performance Today.

Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 24 is a bit different from his other concertos. It doesn't try to please us right away; it begins with a feeling of uncertainty and tension. The tension is resolved when the piano comes in two minutes later, and the music becomes very pleasing. Pianist Joyce Yang says the moment feels like waking suddenly from a dream. On today's show, we'll hear Joyce Yang play the concerto with the Aspen Chamber Symphony, led by conductor Jane Glover.

So, what is a Piano Puzzler, you might ask? Well, it's a familiar tune that Bruce Adolphe has re-written in the style of a classical composer. See if you can name the hidden tune and the composer whose style Bruce is imitating. Join us for this week’s Piano Puzzler on this episode of Performance Today.

When Sabine Meyer plays Mozart's Clarinet Concerto, she insists on using the kind of clarinet Mozart had in mind: a basset clarinet, a clarinet that has an extra four low notes. And Mozart uses those extra notes, of course. Sabine Meyer plays Mozart's Clarinet Concerto on today's show.

As a teenager, Julia Perry found her passion in composition. In her 20s, Perry spent five years studying composition and conducting in Paris and Rome. She had a powerful sense of her place in the world; she signed her passport: "Julia Perry, Composer." On today's show, we'll hear the world premiere recording of the Violin Concerto by Julia Perry.

Composer Julio Medaglia was born in Sao Paulo, Brazil, in 1938. He studied conducting in Germany for ten years before returning to Brazil to conduct and compose. For 30 years, he hosted a daily radio show in Sao Paulo that sounded similar to PT, combining concert highlights and contemporary music. On today's show, we'll hear the Imani Winds play Julio Medaglia's 'Belle Epoque en Sud-America,’ including a really fun movement named "Crazy Baby Clarinette!"

When the French army rained artillery on Vienna, Beethoven took cover in a bomb shelter.  These days, the Lviv National Philharmonic Orchestra of Ukraine takes cover in bomb shelters as they hope to survive the Russian invasion of their country. We'll hear the Lviv National Philharmonic play music by Beethoven on today's show.

Maddalena Lombardini had a great career as a violinist and composer in the 18th century. She was the soloist at the 1771 premiere of her own Violin Concerto in London. We'll hear this Violin Concerto by Maddalena Lombardini, from a recent concert at the Kurt Weill Festival in Germany, on the next Performance Today.