Poster Fred Child
Fred Child
MPR

Performance Today®

with host Fred Child

All Episodes

Bruckner the late bloomer

Bruckner the late bloomer

Anton Bruckner was a late bloomer. He wrote his first major piece at age 40. He built some momentum in his 50s, but musicians, critics, and most audiences at the time didn't fully appreciate his work. Bruckner got his first authentic taste of success with a piece he premiered in 1884 at the age of 60. We'll hear from that work on today's show: Anton Bruckner's Symphony No. 7.

PT Weekend: The Holberg Suite

PT Weekend: The Holberg Suite

In December 1884, Edvard Grieg premiered a suite of five short celebratory pieces written for his hometown of Bergen, Norway. That suite has become one of his best-known and best-loved works. On today's show, we'll hear Grieg's Holberg Suite from a concert in Skaneateles, New York. 

Elsa Barraine

Elsa Barraine

French composer Elsa Barraine lived through the Nazi occupation of Paris, where she organized concerts to support morale and promote resistance. She also supported Jewish musicians whose very lives were in danger. Barraine believed in music as a force for good in this world. On today's show, we'll take you to a concert in Paris to hear Elsa Barraine's Symphony No. 2.

Not your typical overture

Not your typical overture

When Richard Strauss wrote his opera Capriccio in 1942, he didn't do the usual big splashy overture for orchestra. The opera begins with a gentle, reflective piece for only half a dozen string players: two violins, two violas, and two cellos. Tune in today to hear the Sextet for Strings from Richard Strauss’s opera Capriccio.

Grieg's Holberg Suite

Grieg's Holberg Suite

In December 1884, Edvard Grieg premiered a suite of five short celebratory pieces written for his hometown of Bergen, Norway. That suite has become one of his best-known and best-loved works. On today's show, we'll hear Grieg's Holberg Suite from a concert in Skaneateles, New York. 

William Dawson

William Dawson

Two decades after he wrote his Negro Folk Symphony, composer William Dawson traveled to West Africa. Based on what he heard there, he revised his music to convey “...the missing elements that were lost when Africans came into bondage outside their homeland." On today's show, hear Dawson's Negro Folk Symphony played by The Orchestra Now with conductor Leon Botstein.

Juantio Becenti: The Glittering World

Juantio Becenti: The Glittering World

On today's show, we'll hear some fascinating new music by Navajo composer Juantio Becenti. Becenti found a unique parallel between the Navajo creation story and his own musical journey. Join us to hear the ensemble A Far Cry play The Glittering World by Juantio Becenti at a concert in Rockport, Massachusetts.

PT Weekend: Kirill Gerstein

PT Weekend: Kirill Gerstein

Pianist Kirill Gerstein recently released an album called Music in Time of War. The album includes the Etudes Claude Debussy wrote during the First World War and music by composer and musicologist Komitas, who lived through the Armenian Genocide. Fred Child recently spoke with Gerstein about the project and how it reflects on the world. Join us today for a special hour of music and conversation with Kirill Gerstein.

Stewart Goodyear: Callaloo

Stewart Goodyear: Callaloo

When Stewart Goodyear was a child, he spent quite a few summers with his family in Trinidad, where he was immersed in the sounds of calypso. Now, as a pianist and composer, he's combined calypso with classical music. We'll hear that combination on today's show: 'Callaloo' by Stewart Goodyear.

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