Performance Today®

Four years ago, the Minnesota Orchestra was on the brink of extinction. Now, the orchestra and conductor Osmo Vanska are back... and they're more powerful and evocative than ever. We'll take you to a concert in Minneapolis on Monday's Performance Today.

On this weekend's Performance Today, we have music inspired by other planes of existence. Plus, Bruce Adolphe joins us for our weekly musical game - the Piano Puzzler.

On Friday's Performance Today, pianist Mitsuko Uchida plays a quietly dramatic piano concerto by Mozart in concert with the Cleveland Orchestra.

Pianist Martha Argerich and violinist Gidon Kremer are both classical music superstars They've been playing together for decades, and they still enjoy playing together - partially because they continue to surprise each other. On Thursday's Performance Today, we'll hear Argerich and Kremer surprising each other in concert in Berlin.

The Bach Collegium Japan (BCJ) have become widely known and sought-after for playing Baroque music with period instruments. On Wednesday's Performance Today, hear members of the BCJ perform a flute sonata by J. S. Bach, featuring Kiyomi Suga on baroque wood flute.

Rudolf Buchbinder grew up in a house with a piano, despite the fact that no one in his family played music. But that piano became a source of inspiration for Buchbinder, who now has a tremendous career as a pianist. On Tuesday's Performance Today, we'll hear him play music by Beethoven.

Synesthesia is a neurological condition where sensory perceptions overlap. For pianist Joyce Yang, different sounds trigger the experience of different colors. On Monday's Performance Today, hear how Joyce Yang experiences sound and music, then hear her play Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 with the Nashville Symphony.

Modest Mussorgsky died at a young age, leaving debt and several unfinished compositions. His friend, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, decided to help by getting Mussorgsky's works published and settling his debts... a nice thing to do, except it wasn't necessarily what Mussorgsky would have wanted. On Saturday's Performance Today, the story and an example: Night on Bald Mountain, by Modest Mussorgsky... finishing touches by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. Nick Canellakis guest hosts.

Modest Mussorgsky died at a young age, leaving debt and several unfinished compositions. His friend, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, decided to help by getting Mussorgsky's works published and settling his debts... a nice thing to do, except it wasn't necessarily what Mussorgsky would have wanted. On Friday's Performance Today, the story and an example: Night on Bald Mountain, by Modest Mussorgsky... finishing touches by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. Nick Canellakis guest hosts.