Performance Today®

In 2017, Composer Hannah Kendall wrote a piece inspired by a poem about women who worked in match factories in the 1800s. The piece, aptly titled The Spark Catchers, is full of kinetic energy and driving rhythms. On today's show, we'll hear The Spark Catchers played by the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra at a recent concert in Sweden.

Fei Xie is the Principal Bassoon for the Minnesota Orchestra. Before that, he was the principal bassoonist of the Baltimore Symphony. When he won that role with the Baltimore Symphony in 2012, Xie became the first Chinese-born bassoonist to hold a principal position in a major American orchestra. We'll hear Fei Xie play a Mozart bassoon concerto with the Minnesota Orchestra on today's show.

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.

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.

Jessica Meyer is a violist, composer, and educator. She says she only began to identify as a composer after she started playing her viola through a loop pedal, a tool that enables a solo musician to create layer upon layer of sound and texture. On today's show, hear Jessica Meyer play her piece Source of Joy, from a concert in Charleston, South Carolina.

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.

A recent composition by Jessie Montgomery is the emotional center of a new album by clarinetist Anthony McGill and pianist Gloria Chien. Join us to hear McGill and Chien perform Peace by Jessie Montgomery from the album Here With You.

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.

For more than 20 years now, students from top music schools have joined us as PT Young Artists in Residence, and today we'll introduce you to the next Young Artist in this year's series. Join us for music and conversation with a truly inspiring artist and music advocate, flutist Tyler Martin.