Performance Today®

Duke Ellington was already a jazz legend when he introduced a new symphonic suite at Carnegie Hall in 1943. On today's episode, hear the Black, Brown, and Beige Suite, by Duke Ellington, from a recent concert in Turin, Italy.

Join us for more music from violinist Randall Goosby, one of our recent PT Young Artists in Residence. On today’s show, Randall Goosby and pianist Zhu Wang play a sonata by Richard Strauss at an idyllic venue, a converted dairy barn in New York’s Western Catskills.

At the age of 26, American composer George Walker wrote Lyric for Strings in memory of his dear grandmother. George Walker lived a long and productive life as a composer, but that composition is his most frequently played piece. On today’s show, hear Lyric for Strings by George Walker, from a performance by the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and conductor JoAnn Falletta.

Justin Holland was born in 1819 as a free black American. He devoted his life to civil rights, did dangerous work on the Underground Railroad, and was a talented guitarist and composer. Hear and learn more about the music of Justin Holland on this episode of Performance Today.

Violinist Randall Goosby had a breakthrough year in 2021. He played a concert with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl, he was one of our featured PT Young Artists in Residence last spring, and Goosby's major-label debut album came out last summer. On today's show, Randall Goosby and pianist Zhu Wang play music by William Grant Still at a concert in Delhi, New York.

At the age of 26, American composer George Walker wrote Lyric for Strings in memory of his dear grandmother. George Walker lived a long and productive life as a composer, but that composition is his most frequently played piece. On today’s show, hear Lyric for Strings by George Walker, from a performance by the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and conductor JoAnn Falletta.

On today's show, hear a piece that conductor Jessica Horsley describes as "...the sort of music that just makes everything alright in the world. It heals all wounds", the Symphony No. 2 by Ruth Gipps.

There's romantic love, of course, but love means so much more than that...familial love, the loyalty of friends, the care for our communities, and even the love we can cultivate for ourselves. Join us today as we celebrate the many faces of love on this Valentine's Day.

Maria Newman was born into a family of famous, formidable composers. She was so intimidated when she was growing up she gave up composition altogether. In the end, though, she had music inside her that just had to come out. On today's show, learn about how Maria Newman stepped into her own as a composer, and hear her Sonata for Solo Guitar 'Storgé' performed by guitarist Nicholas Goluses.