Poster Fred Child
Fred Child
MPR

Performance Today®

with host Fred Child

All Episodes

Prospero's Incantations

Prospero's Incantations

Viennese Composer Egon Wellesz wrote a piece in 1934 inspired by Prospero, the magical character in Shakespeare's The Tempest. On today's show, learn more about Egon Wellesz and hear selections from Prospero's Incantations, from a concert at Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, NY.

Giovanni Valentini's 'Enharmonic' sonata

Giovanni Valentini's 'Enharmonic' sonata

A-sharp and B-flat are different spellings of the same note; they're called enharmonics. But Baroque composer Giovanni Valentini viewed those notes as completely different pitches, with different functions in music. On today's show, hear an explanation of Valentini's concept, in words and music, from a concert in Charleston, South Carolina.

Martin Luther King Jr.

Martin Luther King Jr.

In the spring of 1968, conductor Paul Freeman ran into Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at the Atlanta airport. Their brief conversation was one he never forgot. On this episode of Performance Today, hear about that life-changing encounter in our musical celebration of King's life and legacy.

PT Weekend: Anthony McGill & Gloria Chien

PT Weekend: Anthony McGill & Gloria Chien

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.

Meira Warshauer: Living Breathing Earth

Meira Warshauer: Living Breathing Earth

Our planet is teeming with life, and the rainforests are the lungs of the earth. Composer Meira Warshauer was moved by that image and the threats our natural world faced when she wrote her first symphony. It's a musical prayer for healing, for our home. On today's show, hear Warshauer's Symphony No. 1, "Living Breathing Earth,” from a performance by the Western Piedmont Symphony in Hickory, NC.

Peace

Peace

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.

Christian Tetzlaff

Christian Tetzlaff

German violinist Christian Tetzlaff is in the middle of a busy season, playing concerts all over Europe and the U.S. We'll hear from a performance he gave this past September in Prague, playing a piece that was composed in Prague back in 1902: the Fantasy for Violin and Orchestra by Josef Suk.

Dr. Richard White

Dr. Richard White

When Richard White was a young boy, he was homeless, living on the streets of Baltimore. At the age of four, he was adopted and discovered the joy of making music in middle school. He became the first African-American to earn a Doctorate of Music in tuba performance and is Principal Tuba in two American orchestras. Hear the inspiring story and music of Dr. Richard White on today’s show.

Sarah Willis plays Mozart

Sarah Willis plays Mozart

Horn player Sarah Willis says she has always loved playing Mozart's Horn Concerto No. 3 but that it is challenging to play well. So, Willis took a decidedly lyrical approach to practice the concerto. Hear Sarah Willis and the Lyceum Orchestra of Havana perform it at a concert in Germany on today's show.

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