Performance Today®

Covid travel restrictions kept Gao Hong from visiting her family in China, so she reminisced about her childhood to comfort herself and channeled that nostalgia into a new piece for Pipa and Bassoon. Join us today to hear Gao Hong play her new concerto, "Reminiscences of My Hometown," from a recent concert in St. Paul, Minnesota.

In the early 1800s, Lord Byron wrote an epic poem imagining a melancholy young man traveling in the Alps: Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage. French composer Hector Berlioz was deeply inspired by that poem and wrote Harold in Italy. We'll explore the place where poetry meets music on this episode of Performance Today.

Every week, composer Bruce Adolphe joins us for a musical game, our Piano Puzzler. Bruce re-writes a familiar tune in the style of a great composer. We get one of our listeners on the phone who tries to guess the hidden tune and the composer whose style Bruce is imitating. Play along with the PT Piano Puzzler on this episode of Performance Today.

After studying the many ways people play music by Bach, violinist Hilary Hahn has concluded: "You can play it however you want, as long as you can make it convincing...that's up to the audience to decide." On today’s show, hear Hilary Hahn play a Bach violin concerto with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra.

Concert halls across the country and around the world are once again filled with music and audiences! On today's show, we'll hear a recent performance of Leonard Bernstein's Divertimento from a concert in Belgium.

Iva Bittova is a Czech violinist, singer, and composer. Her work these days is mostly focused on playing violin and singing, but she is still strongly influenced by her background in acting and dance. On today's episode, learn more about Iva Bittova and hear a performance of her composition "Divna Slecinka."

During the height of the pandemic, American composer Missy Mazzoli read about the history of medieval healing rituals, which was the inspiration behind a new piece of music. Join us today to hear Procession, a violin concerto by Missy Mazzoli.

In the 1940s, Composer John Harbison grew up in a musical family in New Jersey. The Harbisons would gather around the piano and sing together. John Harbison had those memories in mind when he wrote a set of pieces called "Songs America Loves to Sing." On today's show, we'll hear it from a concert in Athens, Georgia.

Iva Bittova is a Czech violinist, singer, and composer. Her work these days is mostly focused on playing violin and singing, but she is still strongly influenced by her background in acting and dance. On today's episode, learn more about Iva Bittova and hear a performance of her composition "Divna Slecinka."