Performance Today®

In 2017, as debates about immigration escalated, composer Valerie Coleman added her voice by writing a piece for wind quartet. She wrote an anthem of support, declaring a person's right live the American Dream. On today's episode, we'll hear "A Right to Be" by Valerie Coleman. Elena See guest-hosts today's show.

When Claude Debussy wrote music for the ballet "Jeux," he was picturing a game of tennis between two women and one young man. In tennis, "love" means nothing; in Debussy's music, love is everything. On today's episode, we'll hear romance and seduction on the courts, from a concert by the New York Philharmonic.

The Shalin Liu Performance Center in Rockport, Massachusetts is an intimate venue with about 330 seats. The stage sits right above the water of the Atlantic Ocean. Every concert is enhanced by the ambience of the world backstage. On today's episode, hear two separate performances from this inspiring venue. With guest-host Garrett McQueen.

Czech composer Bedrich Smetana and his wife had four beautiful daughters. They were a happy family until, over the course of two years, three daughters and Smetana's wife all died from illness. On today's episode, hear dramatic music inspired by personal heartbreak: Bedrich Smetana's Piano Trio, Op. 15.

Kelly Hall-Tompkins trained as a classical violinist. For two decades, her career focused on classical music. Then she spent a year on Broadway as the fiddler in Fiddler on the Roof. The experience re-energized her, and changed her life. Kelly Hall-Tompkins joins us, on the this episode of Performance Today.

In 1933, Alan Hovhaness read Dante's Divine Comedy, including the line: "O human race, born to fly upward..." Those words sparked a lifetime of musical ideas, inspired by the idea of space travel. On today's show, hear "Star Dawn" by Alan Hovhaness, performed by the United States Marine Band.

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. Jade Simmons guest-hosts.

Mozart wrote a concerto for piano and small orchestra, but what if you only have a REALLY small orchestra...like, five people? On today's show, hear pianist Pedja Muzijevic and friends, in concert, playing a miniature version of Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 12.

Gustav Mahler was keenly aware of his own mortality when he wrote his ninth symphony. It's music about life and death, about human frailty, and about the wonder and awe of eternity. On today's show, hear Mahler's Symphony No. 9, from a concert at the Grand Teton Music Festival.