Performance Today®

There's a long tradition of music inspired by visual art, and that continues right up to this day. On today's show, hear the world premiere performance the Violin Concerto by French composer Pascal Zavaro — music that Zavaro says was written "under the influence" of images by Jean-Michel Basquiat.

Paul Burgett was a leader in classical music. He was known for his warm spirit and as a visionary behind the Gateways Music Festival, an event celebrating classical musicians of African descent. On today's show, join us as we remember the late great Paul Burgett, as well as a concert highlight from the Gateways Music Festival.

Composer Zhou Tian was inspired by a Chinese proverb, that it takes "a thousand years of good prayers to bring about a good relationship." He wrote music that unfolds into a clear and harmonious song — and it's less than ten centuries long. On this episode of Performance Today, hear A Thousand Years of Good Prayers by Zhou Tian, from a recent concert in Melbourne, Australia.

Due to current circumstances, Performance Today has adapted the concert content from its Young Artist in Residence Program to provide virtual learning experiences in their new series "Performance Today in the Classroom." Today's PT in the Classroom Music Lesson features PT Young Artist in Residence Cristina Cutts Dougherty.

Composer Osvaldo Golijov says that when you learn of the loss of a loved one, there's a brief moment before the grief hits — that instant that will always serve as a marker between when you didn't know...and when you did. On today's episode, hear music of loss and longing: Mariel by Osvaldo Golijov.

Paul Burgett was a leader in classical music. He was known for his warm spirit and as a visionary behind the Gateways Music Festival, an event celebrating classical musicians of African descent. On today's show, join us as we remember the late great Paul Burgett, as well as a concert highlight from the Gateways Music Festival.

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor wrote his Nonet in London in 1893, when he was only 18 years old. On today's show, hear this remarkable work — a piece that deserves to be played and heard so much more. Also, hear Grieg's Holberg Suite performed at a recent concert in Taiwan.

Last year marked Beethoven's 250th birthday, and celebrations have included a lot of new music inspired by his work. On today's show, hear one of those new inspirations: Stride, by Anna Clyne, from a recent concert in Australia.

It's one of most emotionally moving and relevant pieces of the 21st century. On today's show, hear Seven Last Words of the Unarmed by Joel Thompson, performed by the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra, the Morehouse College Glee Club, and the Florida A&M University Concert Choir.