Performance Today®

Right before the rains in the Sonoran Desert, trees turn their branches upward. Cacti reach for the heavens. Lightning and thunder are a prelude to the deluge. When the clouds release their rain, the desert sighs in relief. On this episode of Performance Today, joyful music called Sonoran Storm brings all of those images and sounds to life

When Edgar Meyer was growing up, there was sort of a family tradition... his father and two uncles played the double bass. Now, Edgar Meyer is THE great double bass virtuoso of our time. On this episode of Performance Today, hear him play a Bottesini double bass concerto with the Nashville Symphony.

The accordion can do a lot more than polka. It can croon a sweet serenade, add a bit of whimsy. On this episode of Performance Today, we'll hear accordionist Julien Labro express the more personal side of the accordion in a performance with guitarist Jason Vieaux in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Composer Clarice Assad was born and raised in Brazil, but has spent the last few decades in the United States. When she's asked where home is, she says "The Americas." On this episode of Performance Today, hear Assad's "Without Borders," performed by the Chicago Sinfonietta.

Hannah Lash knew from a very young age that she wanted to be a composer, but she hadn't yet learned how to read or write music. So, Hannah developed her own system for writing music using triangles, squiggles, and X's; a mishmash of symbols that only meant music to her. On this episode of Performance Today, hear pianist Jeremy Denk and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra premiere "In Pursuit of Flying," by American composer Hannah Lash.

On this episode of Performance Today, we'll introduce you to our new PT Young Artist in Residence, harpist Mallory McHenry. Mallory joins Fred Child for music and conversation at the Maud Moon Weyerhaeuser studio in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Harpist Mallory McHenry is Performance Today's current Young Artist in Residence. Mallory recently joined Fred Child for conversation and music at our studio in Saint Paul. You can hear it all here!

The great pianist Clara Schumann truly loved music by her husband, Robert Schumann. In 1853, she took one of Robert's songs and composed a set of seven variations. On this episode of Performance Today, hear the surprise birthday gift that Clara Schumann wrote for her husband's 43rd birthday.

Hannah Lash knew from a very young age that she wanted to be a composer, but she hadn't yet learned how to read or write music. So, Hannah developed her own system for writing music using triangles, squiggles, and X's; a mishmash of symbols that only meant music to her. On this episode of Performance Today, hear pianist Jeremy Denk and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra premiere "In Pursuit of Flying," by American composer Hannah Lash.