American Public Media’s Performance Today® is America’s most popular classical music radio program and a winner of the 2014 Gabriel Award for artistic achievement. The show is broadcast on hundreds of public radio stations across the country, including at 1 p.m. central weekdays on Minnesota Public Radio. More information about our stations can be found at APM Distribution.
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 say "goodnight" to her ailing mother. On today's show, hear pianist Juho Pohjonen perform Goodnight Kiwi by Victoria Kelly.
Join us today for a musical exploration of Kwanzaa, a celebration of African-American heritage, culture, and community.
For Christmas Day, we're playing some of the best holiday music... you might even find yourself joining the chorus. Tune in for Christmas and holiday music from concerts around the world. Happy Holidays from all of us at Performance Today!
On today's show, we celebrate the joys and blessings of the holiday season with music for a cozy Christmas Eve.
In "A Christmas Carol," Ebenezer Scrooge not only hates Christmas, he hates generosity itself... at least until three uninvited house-guests demonstrate what greed might cost him. Join us today for a musical retelling of "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens.
We share highlights from winter concerts and new holiday releases every year on PT. Join us today for a wide range of seasonal music, and hear the trio Revien play gorgeous versions of the Coventry Carol and Vince Guaraldi's Christmas Time is Here.
One measure of the lasting influence of a piece of music is how many other musicians have given it their own twist. Join us for a full hour of some of the fun, creative music that The Nutcracker, by Peter Tchaikovsky, has inspired in other composers, arrangers, and musicians.
In this episode of Performance Today, we'll explore and connect two forms of expression...poetry and music, for the winter season.
In 1952, Composer Margaret Bonds wrote and premiered a piece based on a spiritual. The music was finally published in 2020. On today's show, pianist Lara Downes plays "The Bells,” from the Spiritual Suite by Margaret Bonds.
