American Public Media’s Performance Today® is America’s most popular classical music radio program and a winner of the 2014 Gabriel Award for artistic achievement. The show is broadcast on hundreds of public radio stations across the country, including at 1 p.m. central weekdays on Minnesota Public Radio. More information about our stations can be found at APM Distribution.
Tiffany Poon is a 22 year-old music student at Yale. In the past year, her stream of self-produced video diary entries (vlogs) have made her a classical music star on YouTube and Instagram. But she feels strongly that she is a pianist FIRST, who happens to make videos on the side. Meet Tiffany Poon on this episode of Performance Today.
Carl Maria von Weber wrote an entire movement of his Clarinet Quintet in ONE day...but then his creativity dried up. It took von Weber four years to finish the rest of it. Find out what finally gave him the kick in the pants to finish, on this episode of Performance Today.
In 1908, Igor Stravinsky wrote a piece of music and proudly sent a copy to his mentor, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, but the package was returned unopened, with a shocking note attached. On this episode of Performance Today, hear the Los Angeles Philharmonic play the music that was returned to its sender: Fireworks, by Igor Stravinsky.
Tuesday, February 5 is New Years Day on the Chinese lunar calendar, one of the biggest annual celebrations on the planet. Depending on how you do the translation, we're heading into the Year of the Pig, or the Year of the Boar. Music for Chinese New Year, on this edition of Performance Today.
In 1948, American composer William Grant Still was inspired by some poems about the natural beauty of the American South. On this episode of Performance Today, take a break with us and hear Wood Notes, William Grant Still's work of quiet musical contemplation.
"If you find yourself elated by my music," composer Wang Jie says, "the credit goes to the muses. If you hate it," she continues, "well, it's only 15 minutes long." On this weekend's Performance Today, a composer who calls herself "part cartoon character, part virtuoso." We'll hear the Symphony No. 1 by Wang Jie.
Composer Edvard Grieg found tremendous inspiration in Norwegian history and folklore. His Lyric Pieces for piano are expressions of his country's places, stories, and people. On this episode of Performance Today, Joyce Yang brings those colorful works to life, from a concert in Seattle.
If you're ready to step into a different world, follow us through medieval gates into a storybook world created by composer Anton Bruckner. On this episode Performance Today, Marek Janowski conducts the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra in concert performance of Bruckner's Symphony No. 4.
Composer Matthew Jackfert spent six months in the seaside city of Qingdao, China. Memories of the waves and wind and local culture stuck with him. On this episode of Performance Today, tune in for On the Shores of Qingdao by Matthew Jackfert, from a concert by the West Virginia University Symphony Orchestra.
