Performance Today®

23 year-old Jess Gillam is the youngest radio host to be on BBC Radio 3. She's the first saxophonist to sign with Decca Classics, and when you hear her play, you'll understand what the hype is all about. On today's show, hear saxophonist Jess Gillam give a riveting performance in Hanover, Germany.

Harpist Emmanuel Ceysson says he needs to forget all of the harp cliches when he plays the Harp Concerto by Alberto Ginastera. He and his harp need to sound strong and aggressive in order to project from the orchestra. Hear Ceysson play the Ginastera Harp Concerto with the Prague Philharmonia, from a concert at Dvorak Hall in Prague.

In 2019, there was a ceremony in Iceland to memorialize the Ok glacier that had melted away. A humble copper plaque was installed in its former spot, and composer Marcus Maroney wrote a piece inspired by the inscription on that plaque. On today's show, ROCO performs Marcus Maroney's ‘OK, Goodbye’, from a concert in Houston.

Anthony Barfield wrote a piece with thoughts about the Big Bang, the idea that the universe expanded from a single point, almost 14 billion years ago. On today's show, join us for music that contemplates space, matter, and energy: Red Sky, by Anthony Barfield. Plus, Bruce Adolphe has this week’s piano puzzler!

Duke Ellington was already a jazz legend when he introduced a new symphonic suite at Carnegie Hall in 1943. On today's episode, hear the Black, Brown, and Beige Suite, by Duke Ellington, from a recent concert in Turin, Italy.

Anthony Barfield wrote a piece with thoughts about the Big Bang, the idea that the universe expanded from a single point, almost 14 billion years ago. On today's show, join us for music that contemplates space, matter, and energy: Red Sky, by Anthony Barfield.

La Folia is a melody that originated in the 15th century. Mexican composer Manuel Ponce elaborated on that simple tune and turned it into a 20+ minute tour de force for solo guitar. On today's show hear Polish guitarist Marcin Dylla perform Ponce's variations on La Folia, from a concert in Interlochen, Michigan.

Renaissance music is lacking music written specifically for string quartet. String quartets didn't become a "thing" until over a hundred and fifty years after the Renaissance period. So, violinist Maureen Nelson got creative and arranged music from that era for string quartet. On today's show, hear Maureen Nelson and fellow members of the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra play that arrangement, the Renaissance Suite.

Composer Granville Bantock loved his Scottish heritage, and he loved the seafaring traditions of the British Isles. Near the end of his life, in 1940, he wrote a piece about the lure of the open sea. On today's show, the Buffalo Philharmonic plays A Celtic Symphony, by Granville Bantock.