Poster Fred Child
Fred Child
MPR

Performance Today®

with host Fred Child

All Episodes

Lost and found

Lost and found

Scholar Paul Harris found a note about a lost wind quintet by composer Malcolm Arnold, and was saddened at the thought of not being able to hear it. But then, the lost manuscript was found! The story and the music... Malcolm Arnold's Wind Quintet on Wednesday's Performance Today.

Thanksgiving with Lynne Rossetto Kasper

Thanksgiving with Lynne Rossetto Kasper

This Thanksgiving, Splendid Table host Lynne Rossetto Kasper joins Fred in the studio to discuss kitchen misadventures, misspent youth, evocative musical memories and more in a special hour of PT.

The ANCIA Saxophone Quartet

The ANCIA Saxophone Quartet

The ANCIA Saxophone Quartet is dedicated to the creation and performance of new works for saxophone quartet. On Tuesday's Performance Today, tune in to hear ANCIA perform from "Quatuor de Saxophone" by French composer Ida Gotkovsky.

A world premiere from Classical Tahoe

A world premiere from Classical Tahoe

On Monday's Performance Today, we'll take you to the north shore of Lake Tahoe, with music from the 2017 Classical Tahoe Festival. Tune in to hear the world premiere performance of Emporium, composed and performed by Aldo Lopez-Gavilan.

Music for flute and bassoon

Music for flute and bassoon

Hear music written for an unusual duo of instruments... flute and bassoon. On this weekend's Performance Today, Tara Helen O'Connor and Peter Kolkay perform Bachianas Brasileiras No. 6 by Heitor Villa-Lobos, from a concert in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Bruckner's Symphony No. 8

Bruckner's Symphony No. 8

Johannes Brahms said he just didn't understand symphonies by Anton Bruckner... to which Bruckner replied, "I have the exact same problem with yours." On Friday's Performance Today, we'll hear the New York Philharmonic play music by the often misunderstood Bruckner - the gorgeous slow movement from his Symphony No. 8.

Growing flowers in the dark

Growing flowers in the dark

1844 was a rough year for Schumann; he was entrenched in anxiety, fatigue, and depression. Functioning and getting through a day was a challenge - let alone trying to write music. And yet, from within his struggles, he was able to write some a symphony full of light, life, and hope. On Thursday's Performance Today, hear Schumann's Symphony No. 2 from a concert at the Aspen Chamber Music Festival and School.

The Egyptian Concerto by Saint-Saens

The Egyptian Concerto by Saint-Saens

On Wednesday's Performance Today, hear the Piano Concerto No. 5 by French composer Camille Saint-Saens... and find out why it has become known as the Egyptian Concerto.

A conductor's devotion

A conductor's devotion

Conductor Herbert Blomstedt is a Seventh Day Adventist, so he can't work from sunset Friday to sunset Saturday... when so many concerts are performed. Yet Blomstedt says conducting concerts is not a problem; rehearsals ARE work, but a concert is an expression of his devotion. On Tuesday's Performance Today, Herbert Blomstedt conducts the LA Phil in a concert performance of Anton Bruckner's Symphony No. 9.