Performance Today®

The final movement of Mahler's Symphony No. 6 is epic. Thirty minutes of emotional energy that bursts with dramatic tension, culminating in three powerful hammer blows. On today's show, we'll hear the Boston Symphony perform it in concert, Andris Nelsons conducting.

In May 2010, Tennessee was hit with terrible floods. The home of the Nashville Symphony suffered nearly $40 million in damages. Despite losses, the Nashville Symphony became a symbol of recovery, and the concert hall was brought back to life. On today's show, hear the Nashville Symphony perform music by Sibelius, from a concert at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center in Nashville.

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." More about the multi-talented Fanny Mendelssohn this edition of Performance Today.

In May 2010, Tennessee was hit with terrible floods. The home of the Nashville Symphony suffered nearly $40 million in damages. Imagine finding two concert grand pianos floating upside down. Despite losses, the Nashville Symphony became a symbol of recovery, and the concert hall was brought back to life in less than 8 months. On today's show, hear the Nashville Symphony perform music by Sibelius, from a concert at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center in Nashville, Tennessee.

For Christmas Day, we're playing some of the best holiday music... you might even find yourself joining the chorus. Tune in for Christmas and holiday music from concerts around the world. Happy Holidays from all of us at Performance Today!

It's a symphony made from Christmas carols, weaving together songs of the season with a few unexpected sounds and styles. How many carols can you hear in the piece? On this edition of Performance Today, count the carols in Victor Hely-Hutchinson's "A Carol Symphony."

In "A Christmas Carol," Ebenezer Scrooge not only hates Christmas, he hates generosity itself... at least until a three uninvited house-guests demonstrate what greed might cost him. On today's show, join us in a musical retelling of "A Christmas Carol," by Charles Dickens.

On today's show, meet our new PT Young Artist in Residence, pianist Aleksandra Kasman. Aleksandra joins Fred Child for music and conversation at Performance Today's studio in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Conductor Simon Rattle has known The Nutcracker since he was a kid, and with each passing year he becomes more fascinated with the music. On today's PT, Simon Rattle conducts the Berlin Philharmonic in The Nutcracker "B-sides;" the sometimes overlooked, but still heart-tugging and toe-tapping dances from the rest of Tchaikovsky's beloved ballet.