Performance Today®

Composer Jimmy Lopez was working on a piece when his father unexpectedly died. Suddenly, the music had deeper meaning for Lopez; he said it came to represent his father's transcendental journey. On today's show, hear Guardian of the Horizon by Jimmy Lopez, from a concert presented by the St Paul Chamber Orchestra.

Double bassist Aaron Olguin is classically trained, but he also loves rock and roll. Olguin says that when a double bass concerto by Andres Martin premiered in 2012, it shook the double bass world. On today's show, hear Aaron Olguin play a classical concerto with undercurrents of rock: the Double Bass Concerto No. 1 by Andres Martin.

When you look at a painting more than once, you often find new elements you didn't see before. The same thing goes with music, especially when a familiar favorite gets a new arrangement. On today's show, hear an intimate setting of Modest Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition. Plus, Bruce Adolphe has this week's Piano Puzzler!

What do we mean when we say "American classical music?" Composer Derrick Spiva sought to answer that question in the form of a string quartet. On today's show, hear music that draws on the musical traditions that reflect our multicultural American society: American Mirror by Derrick Spiva Jr.

In 1874, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov traveled to the northern coast of the Black Sea. He was intoxicated by the Arabic and Turkish music he heard on the streets and in coffee houses. On today's show, hear these exotic impressions in a concert performance of Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade.

When you look at a painting more than once, you often find new elements you didn't see before. The same thing goes with music, especially when a familiar favorite gets a new arrangement. On today's show, hear an intimate setting of Modest Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition.

Last year, in our Young Artist Series, we introduced you to Jordan Bak, an incredibly talented young violist with a bright personality... and he continues to bloom. On this episode of Performance Today, hear violist Jordan Bak's performance in the final round at the Sphinx Competition.

In 2005, the Chickasaw Nation in Oklahoma founded the first American Indian summer arts academy, with classes in dance, literature, theater, art, and music composition. On today's show, the Spokane String Quartet plays music by two Chickasaw composers, Dylan Bennett and Miko Begaye.

On today's show, Rhiannon Giddens and the Kronos Quartet play a traditional lullaby, an interesting combination of classical and American folk music. Also, Bruce Adolphe has this week's Piano Puzzler.