Performance Today®

Joaquin Rodrigo's "Concerto de Aranjuez" may be the most popular guitar concerto of all time. Even if you don't think you know it, there's a good chance you've at least heard some of it. On today's show, hear guitarist Chaconne Klaverenga play Rodrigo's concerto with the Boulder Chamber Orchestra.

During a fictitious plague called The Red Death, a prince invited friends to a party, locked safely inside his castle. But a mysterious visitor showed up and the party took a turn decidedly for the worse. On today's show, hear Andre Caplet's "Conte fantastique," inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's "Masque of the Red Death."

In 1916, critics complained that 26-year-old Sergei Prokofiev's music was too modern, too hard on the ears, and lacking a sense of history. So that summer Prokofiev left for vacation with a plan. On today's show, we'll hear Prokofiev's classically-inspired rebuttal, his Symphony No. 1, from a concert performance by the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra, with Markand Thakar conducting.

June is Black Music Month, and we're celebrating the contributions of Black musicians past and present. On today's show, learn more about Lady Jess, a freelance violinist living in New York City. We'll hear selections from one of Lady Jess's recent projects - a recording of The Prison, by Ethel Smyth.

June is Black Music Month, and we're celebrating the contributions of Black musicians past and present. On today's show, hear how Adrian Dunn blends spirituals with new compositions to explore the Black experience today.

In the 1960s, composer William Bolcom heard music by Scott Joplin. Bolcom became a huge fan of ragtime, and he wound up writing quite a few rags of his own. On today's show, we'll hear Bolcom's Three Rags for String Quartet, from a concert in Interlochen, Michigan.

June is Black Music Month, and we're celebrating the contributions of Black musicians past and present. On today's show, hear how Adrian Dunn blends spirituals with new compositions to explore the Black experience today.

Pianist Joyce Yang feels that George Gershwin's "Concerto in F" is full of optimism, freedom and magic... and we all could probably use a little more of that in our lives right now. On today's show, hear Joyce Yang and the Aspen Festival Orchestra perform Gershwin's iconic piano concerto. Plus, Bruce Adolphe and this week's Piano Puzzler.

Concert curator Geoff Nuttall loves cellos. Can't get enough of them. But he says that getting four cellists onstage at the same time is like trying to get four unicorns together. On today's show, a rare sighting: four all-star cellists at the Spoleto Festival USA perform "When the Night" by Paul Wiancko.