Pianist Connor Chee is a member of the Navajo nation. He wanted to preserve traditional songs his grandfather sang, but they wouldn't fit neatly into standard musical notation...so Chee wrote his own music, based on those old songs. Hear Connor Chee's "Navajo Vocables" on this edition of Performance Today.
Every week on our Piano Puzzler, composer Bruce Adolphe re-writes a familiar tune in the style of a great composer. One of our listeners calls in, tries to guess the tune and the composer whose style Bruce is mimicking. Tune in and play along with our weekly musical game: the Piano Puzzler.
Composer Osvaldo Golijov wrote a piece, a lullaby and variations, for a 2002 film called "The Man Who Cried." The film never really found an audience, but that piece by Golijov has become a favorite 21st century work for chamber ensembles. On today's show, hear Golijov's "Lullaby and Doina", from the Mizmorim Festival in Basel, Switzerland.
Natalia Koussevitzky was passionate about the arts and music. When she died, her husband, composer and conductor Serge Koussevitzky, established a foundation in her name...and asked a friend to write music in her honor. On today's show, hear Igor Stravinsky's "Ode" to Natalia Koussevitzky, from a recent concert in Berlin.
Italian composer Nino Rota is best known for the soundtracks he composed for more than 170 films...but, he also wrote operas, ballets, choral music. On today's show, hear a piece that Nino Rota wrote in 1943, before he became really famous for his film scores.
86-year-old pianist Gilbert Kalish has been staying busy during the pandemic, playing online concerts, and reflecting on what he calls a "history of a lifetime." Join us for music by Brahms, with thoughts on the meaning of life, from Gilbert Kalish, on this episode of Performance Today.
Violist Beth McNinch used to like jumping out of planes and scuba diving. Now, she snuggles her dog, plays dominos with her family, and runs a chamber music collective called Musici Ireland. On today's show , hear the group Musici Ireland, from a concert in Wexford, Ireland.
Composer Elizabeth Brown never got formal training in composition. Instead, she says that she learned to compose by playing all kinds of music, and she feels like that was the right path for her. On today's show, hear a piece that she was inspired to write after a working residency in Italy: Liguria, by Elizabeth Brown.
When composer Shulamit Ran finished writing a piece, she somewhat flippantly named the piece "Lyre of Orpheus". Later, she was astonished to find that the title was totally appropriate. Hear the story and the music on this episode of Performance Today.
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