Performance Today®

Composer Sheridan Seyfried wrote a double concerto for two violin-playing brothers, Timothy and Nikki Chooi. Seyfried wanted to express their special bond AND their individual personalities. On today's episode, hear an expression of what it means to be family: Sheridan Seyfried's Concerto for Two Violins and Orchestra.

Late in his life, Gustav Mahler was Music Director of the New York Philharmonic. That special relationship between Mahler and New York resonates to our time. On today's show, hear the New York Philharmonic, in concert, with an intimate and epic performance of Mahler's Symphony No. 7.

Florence Price's Piano Concerto has only been performed a handful of times. Pianist Michelle Cann wants to change that, and she commissioned a new version for piano quintet. It's intimate and powerful, and we can't wait to share it with you. On today's show, hear this new arrangement of the Piano Concerto by Florence Price.

French composer Louise Farrenc had a formidable career in Paris in the 1800s, as a pianist, composer, and teacher. On today's show, we'll explore the life and work of Louise Farrenc. Fred Child speaks with pianist Joanne Polk about her love for Farrenc's music. Also, Bruce Adolphe has this week's piano puzzler.

American composer Paul Wiancko wrote a piece named LIFT, his own personal "ode to joy...a journey of the soul." On this episode of Performance Today, hear the Aizuri Quartet give an inspired performance of LIFT by Paul Wiancko.

French composer Louise Farrenc had a formidable career in Paris in the 1800s, as a pianist, composer, and teacher. On today's show, we'll explore the life and work of Louise Farrenc. Fred Child speaks with pianist Joanne Polk about her love for Farrenc's music. Also on today's show, Pablo Sainz Villegas plays a guitar concerto with the Oregon Symphony.

Louise Farrenc was not only a remarkable pianist and imaginative composer. She also bulldozed through the limited ideas of women's artistic value and professional potential in the 19th Century. Pianist Joanne Polk brings light to Farrenc's legacy.

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.