Poster Pianist Lucas Debargue
Pianist Lucas Debargue
Felix Broede / Sony-Music-Entertainment
Performance Today®

Lucas Debargue

Pianist Lucas Debargue quit piano lessons in 2005 when he was 15 years old. As recently as 2015, he worked as a cashier at a supermarket. Then, he made an out-of-nowhere splash at the 2015 Tchaikovsky competition in Russia and has had a lively career ever since. Tune in today to hear Lukas Debargue play one of his own compositions at a concert in Stockholm, Sweden.

Episode Playlist

Hour 1

Francis Poulenc: 15 Improvisations: No. 11 in G minor & No. 15 in C minor
Lucille Chung, piano
Album: Poulenc: Works for Piano Solo and Duo
Signum 455

Agustin Barrios, arr. Jason Vieaux: Waltz in G major, Op. 8, No. 3
Jason Vieaux, guitar
Lillian & Robert Utsey Chamber Music Series, Brooks Center for the Performing Arts, Clemson University, Clemson, SC

Franz Liszt: Concert Paraphrase on Verdi's Rigoletto, S. 434
Lucille Chung, piano
Spivey Hall, Clayton State University, Morrow, GA

Peter Tchaikovsky: Serenade for Strings in C Major
East Coast Chamber Orchestra
Chamber Music Northwest, Kaul Auditorium, Reed College, Portland, OR

Hour 2

Sergei Rachmaninoff: 2 Pieces for piano 6 hands: Romance
Alexandre Tharaud, Alexander Melnikov, Aleksandar Madzar, piano
Album: Tharaud Plays Rachmaninoff
Erato

Lucas Debargue: Toccata
Lucas Debargue, piano
EBU, From a concert with Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Berwaldhallen, Stockholm, Sweden

Sergei Rachmaninoff: Trio elegiaque No. 1 in G minor
Rachel Ostler, violin | Daniel Laufer, cello | Choo Choo Hu, piano
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Pre-Concert Chamber Music, Symphony Hall, Atlanta, GA

Joachim Raff: Sinfonietta Op. 188
ROCO
Lucian & Nancy Morrison Theater at Brockman Hall, Rice University, Houston, TX

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Latest Performance Today® Episodes

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Latest Performance Today® Episodes

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Cellist Jean-Guihen Queyras

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Simone Dinnerstein on committing work to memory

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2025 Classical Woman of the Year: Jessie Montgomery

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We are both proud and honored to announce that Jessie Montgomery is our 2025 PT Classical Woman of the Year. Montgomery is a celebrated composer, violinist, and educator known for compositions that blend classical, folk, jazz, and contemporary influences. Among her numerous accomplishments, she founded the Young Composers Initiative, where she mentors high school composers, assisting them in preparing their music for performance by members of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. Tune in today to learn more about Jessie Montgomery and why her work is so influential.

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PT Weekend: Webern's recovered work

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Festival Mozaic

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Anton Webern's recovered work

Anton Webern's recovered work

In 1945, Austrian composer Anton Webern and his family fled Vienna. Most of Webern’s valuables, mementos, and manuscripts were placed in a lock box, which they buried in the backyard. Sixteen years later, the box was recovered with the manuscripts inside. On today's show, we'll hear one of those 'found' pieces: Im Sommerwind (In the Summer Breeze) by Anton Webern.

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Blindfold Music

Blindfold Music

Composer Miguel del Aguila imagined a meeting between two characters: one is Justice, the blindfolded woman holding scales and a sword, and the other is Law, the man holding a book and gavel. We'll hear Imani Winds play the world premiere of Miguel del Aguila's 'Blindfold Music' on today's show.

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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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