Performance Today®

That first four notes of Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 are so famous, the music becomes easy to ignore. We stop listening before we even start. This time, listen to the notes AFTER the unforgettable dun-dun-dun-DAH! On this episode of Performance Today, we'll pay attention to the rest of this symphony in its struggle, beauty and ultimately triumphant, golden sunshine moment of an ending.

Legendary soprano Jessye Norman passed away earlier this week. She was a forceful opera singer, and she could also give some of the most touching performances of spirituals we've ever heard. Norman was a guest on PT several times. We'll share highlights from those conversations, and celebrate her life and legacy, on this episode of Performance Today.

Among our listeners, it's the most talked about piece of music: Bolero, by Maurice Ravel. You know it, you love it...unless you don't, of course. We'll hear a new take on the piece and keep the conversation going. Who needs a snare drum and a full orchestra? Bolero, played by the Decoda Cello Quartet, on this episode of Performance Today.

Petrushka is a character who goes back hundreds of years... an aggressive court jester who is most happy when he's hurting someone. On today's show, Gustavo Dudamel leads the LA Philharmonic in a performance of Igor Stravinsky's Petrushka... a fun and scary puppet show where we don't really know who's pulling the strings.

Composer Peteris Vasks lived through the tumultuous history of the Soviet Union and the Baltics. He had to defeat pessimism in order to find and accept the beauty of our world. On today's show, we also say yes to beauty; hear the Lysander Piano Trio play music by Peteris Vasks at a concert in Morrow, Georgia.

Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich loved music and football, or as we call it, soccer. Dmitri Braginsky writes about it in his book: "Shostakovich and Football - Escape to Freedom." On today's show, Fred Child speaks with Braginsky about the sporty side of Dmitri Shostakovich, and we'll hear music from his Shostakovich's ballet about, yes, a soccer game.

On today's show, hear a piece by the great 20th century master of Argentine tango, Astor Piazzolla. The Anderson and Roe Piano Duo play a slow burn of a tango, Piazzolla's Oblivion, from a concert in Winona, Minnesota.

Composer Pierre Jalbert recently wrote a piece as a response to Beethoven's Symphony No. 4. But if listeners don't pick up on that connection, that's alright by Jalbert. He's more focused on other goals. On today's show, hear the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra's world premiere performance of the Passage, by Pierre Jalbert.

Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich loved music and football, or as we call it, soccer. Dmitri Braginsky writes about it in his book: "Shostakovich and Football - Escape to Freedom." On today's show, Fred Child speaks with Braginsky about the sporty side of Dmitri Shostakovich, and we'll hear music from his Shostakovich's ballet about, yes, a soccer game.