Performance Today®

The harp has a reputation for sounding light and beautiful, but in the right hands, a harp can express any emotion. On today's episode, hear the powerful, propulsive side of the harp. Harpist Ann Hobson Pilot and the English Chamber Orchestra perform Alberto Ginastera's Harp Concerto.

In 1722, Johann Sebastian Bach wrote a massive set of 24 preludes and fugues; one for every major and minor key. 20 years later, he did the same thing AGAIN. On today's show, hear pianist Stephen Prutsman play the Prelude and Fugue No. 4 in C-sharp minor from Book Two of the Well-Tempered Clavier, by J.S. Bach.

Fanny Mendelssohn wrote more than 500 pieces of music, and she also was a conductor. One musician recalled, "A gesture of her little finger ran like an electric shock through our souls." On today's show, hear a piece that she wrote when she was 28 years old, Fanny Mendelssohn's colorful and expressive String Quartet in E-flat major.

On today's show, meet our recent PT Young Artist in Residence, violinist Geneva Lewis. Geneva joins Fred Child for music and conversation at Performance Today's studio in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Composer Jessie Montgomery says she's made an attempt to answer the question: "What does an anthem for the 21st century sound like in today's multicultural environment?" On today's show, hear Montgomery's answer, a rhapsody on the Star Spangled Banner.

Louis Moreau Gottschalk was born in New Orleans, to a Jewish father and a Creole mother. He soaked up a wide range of music from many cultures, and wrote his own showpieces for piano. On today's show, join us for virtuosic and patriotic music by American composer Louis Moreau Gottschalk.

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.