Performance Today®

In the 1940s, Composer John Harbison grew up in a musical family in New Jersey. The Harbisons would gather around the piano and sing together. John Harbison had those memories in mind when he wrote a set of pieces called "Songs America Loves to Sing." We'll hear it from a concert in Athens, Georgia, on Wednesday's Performance Today.

On Tuesday's Performance Today, hear a composition by Valerie Coleman named "Portraits of Josephine"... inspired by the life and times of one of the most famous entertainers of the 20th Century: Josephine Baker.

When pianist Liza Stepanova was a girl, she loved going to art museums where she felt creatively inspired. These days, she often plays music with connections to visual art. On Monday's Performance Today, Liza Stepanova plays music by Debussy, inspired by Japanese artwork.

David Bruce wrote Cymbeline in 2013 for mandolin virtuoso Avi Avital, and it's a PT listener favorite. On this weekend's Performance Today, hear Avi Avital and the Dover Quartet play Cymbeline at a concert in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

David Bruce wrote Cymbeline in 2013 for mandolin virtuoso Avi Avital, and it's a PT listener favorite. On Friday's Performance Today, hear Avi Avital and the Dover Quartet play Cymbeline at a concert in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Hey diddle diddle, a section of fiddles; the horn jumped over the moon. The audience cheered to hear such sport, and the flute ran away with the tune. On Thursday's Performance Today, Louis Langree conducts the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra in a performance of the Mother Goose Suite by Maurice Ravel.

The story of Don Juan taps a deep territory in the human psyche: love, betrayal, excess, and death. On Wednesday's Performance Today, we'll hear Richard Strauss's explosive tone poem Don Juan, performed by the National Orchestral Institute Philharmonic.

Claude Debussy offered his friend Erik Satie a little advice - he said "Your music needs structure and shape." On Tuesday's Performance Today, hear Erik Satie's humorous response to his friend's advice.

Pianist Charlie Albright likes to make room for what he calls "the fun stuff." He dabbles in jazz and performs on-the-spot improvisations at most of his concerts. On Monday's Performance Today, hear Charlie Albright have some fun performing Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue," from a concert with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra.