Performance Today®

Pianist Beatrice Rana finds both precision and ambiguity in the works of Maurice Ravel. She says "It's like a Swiss clock, with every detail in the music... but at the same time it's like water: there's so much depth." On today's show, Beatrice Rana gives an intimate performance of music from Miroirs by Maurice Ravel.

The string quartets by Caroline Shaw are ethereal, deeply personal, and utterly captivating. On today's show, Attacca Quartet cellist Andrew Yee and composer Caroline Shaw join us to talk about their unique collaboration, and we'll hear music from their organic, open, and reflective album "Orange." Plus, Bruce Adolphe has this week's Piano Puzzler.

Composer Sean Salamon was in New York City in 2011 when the state of New York recognized same-sex marriage. He turned his reflections and experiences into music. On today's show, we take you to a concert in Round Top, Texas, to hear music inspired by a celebration of equality: June Dances by Sean Salamon.

What happens in the practice room, stays in the practice room, right? Well, not in the digital age, and even less so during a pandemic. Pianist Charlie Albright has been offering a peek into his practice sessions. On today's show, hear more about Albright's method; then hear the results of his hard work as he plays Chopin's variations on a theme by Mozart.

Danny Elfman may be most famous for writing the theme for The Simpsons. So how did he go from there to writing music for a symphony orchestra? Hear the story, as well as Elfman's concerto Eleven Eleven, on this episode of Performance Today.

The string quartets by Caroline Shaw are ethereal, deeply personal, and utterly captivating. On today's show, Attacca Quartet cellist Andrew Yee and composer Caroline Shaw join us to talk about their unique collaboration, and we'll hear music from their organic, open, and reflective album "Orange."

When Maurice Ravel wrote La Valse, he was imagining a swirling Viennese waltz, which slowly unravels into near chaos. The tension that makes it impossible to dance to, is what make La Valse incredible to listen to. On today's episode, hear pianist David Fung unwind Ravel's La Valse, from a concert in Athens, Georgia.

There used to be a bustling entertainment neighborhood in Detroit called Paradise Valley, with a lively music scene. It was plowed under, and lost to new construction. An today's show, hear the Akropolis Reed Quintet play a musical homage to Paradise Valley, and we reflect on the nature of change.

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.