Performance Today®

Beethoven had a productive life as a composer, but he only ever finished one opera. Beethoven couldn't decide on the best music to introduce that opera — in fact, he wrote four different overtures. On today's show, hear one of Beethoven's attempted overtures performed by ROCO, with Michael Stern conducting.

The young Jean Sibelius had one dream in life: to be a professional violinist. After he auditioned and failed to win a place in the Vienna Philharmonic, he was heartbroken. But he turned his love for the violin into creative energy. On today's show, hear Finnish violinist Elina Vahala and the Buffalo Philharmonic in a stunning performance of the Violin Concerto by Jean Sibelius.

In 1874, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov traveled to the northern coast of the Black Sea. The trip left a lasting impression on the composer; he was intoxicated by the Arabic and Turkish music he heard on the streets and in coffee houses. On this episode of Performance Today, we hear these exotic impressions in a concert performance of Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade.

Sundown this evening marks the beginning of Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year in Judaism. Join us for a special selection of music featuring music by Ernest Bloch, Max Bruch, and more. Also, Bruce Adolphe has this week's Piano Puzzler.

There's a musical puzzle at the heart of the Enigma Variations by Edward Elgar. Cryptographers have been working on cracking the code for a century. On this episode of Performance Today, we'll share some of the many possible solutions... and enjoy a great performance of the Elgar's Enigma Variations, from the Aspen Music Festival.

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.

When composer Victoria Kelly was a kid in New Zealand, she watched an animated show featuring an adorable kiwi bird. At the end of each episode, the kiwi ended the show by turning out the lights. Kelly used this memory to compose a piece of music that ultimately helped her to say "goodnight" to her ailing mother. On today's show, hear pianist Juho Pohjonen perform Goodnight Kiwi, by Victoria Kelly.

This weekend marks the 20th anniversary of September 11, 2001. Join us today for musical works of reflection, grief, and simple beauty.

Princess Anna Amalia of Prussia had a tyrannical father who punished her for playing music. Her life didn't get any easier when her father died, but music remained her secret source of comfort. On today's show, hear the Flute Sonata in F Major by Princess Anna Amalia of Prussia.