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Fred Child
MPR

Performance Today®

with host Fred Child

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Danish String Quartet cultivates cozy

Danish String Quartet cultivates cozy

Getting cozy. Appreciating the simple pleasures of life and the people around you. That's all part of the Danish concept called hygge. On this episode of Performance Today, the Danish Quartet shares some musical hygge and tells you how to hygge in your own home.

Guitarist Jason Vieaux

Guitarist Jason Vieaux

When guitarist Jason Vieaux was preparing for his debut with the Nashville Symphony, he told Nashville Public Radio "This is the most time I've ever spent on any piece of music, ever...That's how hard it is." On this episode of Performance Today, hear Jason Vieaux and the Nashville Symphony play the Concerto for Guitar by Jonathan Leshnoff.

Ranki: Don Quixote y Dulcinea

Ranki: Don Quixote y Dulcinea

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.

Jeremy Turner: The Inland Seas

Jeremy Turner: The Inland Seas

Erie. Superior. Michigan. Huron. Ontario. Each of the Great Lakes has a distinct personality. Jeremy Turner was inspired by family vacations at the Great Lakes when he wrote a piece for mandolin and violin. On this episode of Performance Today, Chris Thile and James Ehnes play 'The Inland Seas' by Jeremy Turner.

Esa-Pekka Salonen: Pollux

Esa-Pekka Salonen: Pollux

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, the L.A. Philharmonic plays the world premiere of Pollux, by thrill-seeker Esa-Pekka Salonen.

The Inland Seas

The Inland Seas

Erie. Superior. Michigan. Huron. Ontario. Each of the Great Lakes has a distinct personality. Jeremy Turner was inspired by family vacations at the Great Lakes when he wrote a piece for mandolin and violin. On this episode of Performance Today, Chris Thile and James Ehnes play 'The Inland Seas' by Jeremy Turner.

Schubert's demanding "Wanderer" Fantasy

Schubert's demanding "Wanderer" Fantasy

Franz Schubert wrote a fantasy so demanding and difficult that he himself was unable to play it. Never fear... we'll hear from a pianist who can! On this episode of Performance Today, Juho Pohjonen gives a virtuoso performance of the Wanderer Fantasy in concert at the Music@Menlo Festival.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

Join us for a musical New Year's celebration! We'll usher in 2019 with a celebratory Trumpet Concerto by Johann Neruda, and sample a bit of musical champagne, courtesy of Johann Strauss Jr. Music for the New Year, on this edition of Performance Today.

Molly Yeh: A musician's cookbook

Molly Yeh: A musician's cookbook

Molly Yeh grew up surrounded by music... she went to the Juilliard School to pursue a musical career, but then found her calling as a food writer and cookbook author. On Wednesday's Performance Today, we meet Molly Yeh at her farm on the high prairie, and she tells us what she'd make if Mozart came over for dinner.