Performance Today®

A central part of music director JoAnn Falletta's legacy at the Buffalo Philharmonic has been the exploration and performance of lesser known musical gems. On this episode of Performance Today, hear them play one of those gems: The Fantastic Scherzo by Josef Suk.

When was the last time you listened to music without distractions or expectations? What about the last time you listened to your mind and body? Here's your chance to do both! Inspired by the Live Music Meditations at Princeton, we teamed up with Princeton University Concerts to make a mini-meditation you can do wherever you are. Take 15 minutes out of your day to try this guided meditation and experience a deeper form of listening.

Composer and conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen says that he loves to take risks, even to teeter on the brink of losing control. On this episode of Performance Today, hear the Los Angeles Philharmonic world premiere concert performance of Pollux, by thrill-seeker Esa-Pekka Salonen.

We received over 120 nominations for our inaugural award celebrating the impact of women on classical music and music lovers. Read about the winner, the six finalists, and all of the nominees.

If pianist Francesco Piemontesi could take a time machine back to any point in history, he'd choose to go back to the 19th century to hang out with Franz Liszt. For now, Piemontesi settles for playing Liszt's music. On this episode of Performance Today, hear Piemontesi in concert, playing a selection from "Years of Pilgrimage," Franz Liszt's set of three suites for solo piano.

There's a photo from 1961 of Fidel Castro is sitting in a restaurant with his guards and four musicians who might be just a little tense. That photo inspired a new piece of music. On this episode of Performance Today, join us for a ROCO performance of "Dance Unlikely" by Ricardo Lorenz.

Tessa Lark is an acclaimed classical violinist, but she's also highly adept at other musical traditions. On this episode of Performance Today, hear Tessa Lark perform her "Appalachian Fantasy," new music with classical and folk roots.

Antonin Dvorak wrote his marvelous Bagatelles as a gift for a dear friend. He never meant them for public performance. Lucky for us, they escaped to the wider world. On this episode of Performance Today, we'll hear Dvorak's Bagatelles from a concert presented by the Seattle Chamber Music Society.

Can you imagine your birthday being declared a national holiday? On December 8th, 1915, Jean Sibelius turned 50 and premiered his fifth symphony. The citizens of Finland took the day off to celebrate. On this edition of Performance Today, we'll hear conductor Osmo Vanska and the Minnesota Orchestra play Sibelius's Symphony No. 5, a work that the Finnish government commissioned Sibelius to write in honor of his own birthday.