Performance Today®

There's a truck stop near the California-Nevada Border called "Hallelujah Junction." Composer John Adams would drive by and wonder "What kind of music would fit a title like Hallelujah Junction?" On today's show, hear Adams's answer to his own question in an arrangement and performance by the Anderson and Roe Piano Duo. Plus, Bruce Adolphe has this week's Piano Puzzler.

Guitarist Brad Richter and cellist Viktor Uzur played together as the Richter Uzur Duo for 13 years. When Brad Richter got a terrible case of Lyme Disease, they navigated that challenge together. On this edition of Performance Today, hear their musical response to illness and recovery: Bitter the Laughter, Sweet the Tears.

The Minnesota Orchestra played a concert in the middle of March, with no audience in the house, but live on stage and live on the radio. On today's show, we have the story, then hear pianist Kirill Gerstein play Rachmaninoff's Concerto No. 2 with the Minnesota Orchestra and conductor Juanjo Mena, all for an empty hall.

During the Influenza Pandemic of 1918, a third of the world's population was infected and tens of millions of people died. On today's show, we'll explore music connected to that 1918 pandemic, including works by composers who survived, and others who did not. Plus a fascinating 2019 work by David Lang that we can all relate to today.

It's one page of music shared among musicians, but Terry Riley's work "In C" contains infinite possibilities... including the ensembles that can play it. On today's show, hear Riley's work performed by the Apollo Chamber Players, along with the gorgeous sound of an instrument called the chitravina.

The Aspen Music Festival and School welcomes hundreds of the most talented young musicians from around the world. Half a dozen of them are chosen as winners of the Aspen Concerto Competitions. The young Samuel Glicklich won the piano concerto competition in 2019. On today's show, we'll hear his prize: Samuel Glicklich plays Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 23 on the Aspen mainstage with the Aspen Philharmonic Orchestra.

The William Tell overture is iconic, but there are many more great musical moments from Rossini's opera. On today's show, hear a medley of some of those William Tell B-sides, from a concert in Colorado Springs. Plus, Bruce Adolphe with this weeks Piano Puzzler.

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.

During the Influenza Pandemic of 1918, a third of the world's population was infected and tens of millions of people died. On today's show, we'll explore music connected to that 1918 pandemic, including works by composers who survived, and others who did not. Plus a fascinating 2019 work by David Lang that we can all relate to today.