During the First World War, Maurice Ravel composed a work and dedicated each movement to a fallen friend or colleague. At first, Ravel was criticized because the music has a bright, reflective quality; his response was "The dead are sad enough, in their eternal silence." On this episode of Performance Today, we'll hear Ravel's Le Tombeau de Couperin, from a concert Nashville.
An important discipline in the classical tradition is to be "true" to the notes written by the composer. That said, it's simply stunning when classical musicians can improvise. On this episode of Performance Today, pianist Gabriela Montero improvises an encore, from a concert in Houston. With guest-host Elena See.
The art form that we call "classical music" may have European roots, but it now embraces cultures around the world. On this episode of Performance Today, hear the Spokane String Quartet play music by two young composers from Oklahoma's Chickasaw Arts Academy.
Composer Laurence Sherr has dedicated his career to sharing the musical history of the Holocaust. in 2014, Sherr wrote a piece that borrowed melodies from several Jewish resistance songs. On this episode of Performance Today, hear "Myr zaynen do!" (We are here!) by Laurence Sherr.
Pianist Emanuel Ax has won seven Grammy Awards, an Avery Fisher Prize, and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He has soloed with the New York Philharmonic more than a hundred times. On this episode of Performance Today, Emanuel Ax and the NY Phil gives a thrilling performance of J. S. Bach's Piano Concerto in D Minor.
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 this episode of Performance Today, hear dramatic music inspired by personal heartbreak: Bedrich Smetana's Piano Trio, Op. 15.
When he was five years old, Avi Avital's mother asked him which instrument he would like to play. His family had an upstairs neighbor who practiced the mandolin; Avi didn't hesitate--that's what he wanted to play. Now he's on top of the classical mandolin world. On this weekend's episode of Performance Today, we'll hear Avi Avital in concert at the University of Georgia.
Her name was Dulcinea, and she is the inspiration in one of the great stories of all time: Don Quixote by Cervantes. Dulcinea doesn't even appear in the novel, but just the idea of her fuels everything that Don Quixote does. On this episode of Performance Today, tune in for "Don Quixote y Dulcinea" by Hungarian composer Gyorgy Ranki.
When composer Joan Tower was a young girl, her father was a mining engineer. The family moved from New York to Bolivia for his work. On this episode of Performance Today, find out how young Joan spent her time while her father was in the mines, then we'll hear her piece called Copperwave.
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