Performance Today®

Imagine we’re strolling in a sunny meadow in the Swiss Alps. Birds call from overhead, boat horns echo from nearby lakes, and a gentle cow joins our walk with her bell chiming along the way. On today's show, hear a piece that Franz Doppler wrote with the intent of capturing that idyllic scene.

Composer Robert W. Butts was working on a new piece when he took a break to attend a concert of Irish music. When the musicians started playing jigs, he decided that that sound—celebratory Celtic dance music—was just what he needed in his final movement. On today's show, hear the Baroque Orchestra of New Jersey perform Robert W. Butts' new Viola Concerto. It's classical music with a Celtic kick.

There's a photo of a young boy in an abandoned train station in Albania. The boy turns an old water bottle into a toy, and he's lost in his world of play, despite the refugee crisis around him. On today's show, hear music inspired by that photo, "A Boy and a Makeshift Toy," by Armenian-American composer Mary Kouyoumdjian.

French composer Louise Farrenc grew up in Paris in the early 1800s. She had a great career as a pianist and composer, and she was hired as a professor...but at half the pay as men doing the same work. Louise Farrenc fought for equal pay, and she GOT it. Join us to learn more about Louise Farrenc and hear her Piano Quintet No. 1. Plus, Bruce Adolphe has this week’s Piano Puzzler!

The Alexander String Quartet is known in part for their recordings of Beethoven quartets. Cellist Sandy Wilson says Beethoven's music can seep into anyone's subconscious and stir up feelings of empathy. On today's show, hear them play Beethoven's String Quartet No. 1 in F Major, Op. 18, at a concert in New York City.

At age 17, Venezuelan double-bass player Edicson Ruiz became the youngest member of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. On today's show, Ruiz steps to the center stage to play the Double-Bass Concerto by composer and fellow Venezuelan Efrain Oscher.

French composer Louise Farrenc grew up in Paris in the early 1800s. She had a great career as a pianist and composer, and she was hired as a professor...but at half the pay as men doing the same work. Louise Farrenc fought for equal pay, and she GOT it. Join us to learn more about Louise Farrenc and hear her Piano Quintet No. 1.

It's a piece that isn't played very often these days, but it's a lot of fun and has a fascinating backstory. Hear it on today’s show: the Suite for two violins, cello and piano left hand, by Erich Korngold, from a concert at Lincoln Center in New York City.

English composer Ethel Smyth spent much of her life pushing back against voices that said: "women can't." She was an accomplished composer and an activist in the fight for women's rights. Join us today to hear Ethel Smyth’s ‘Overture to The Wreckers’ from a concert presented by ROCO in Houston, Texas.