In 1895, Richard Strauss composed a musical fairy-tale... a 15-minute orchestral romp that celebrates a crass, anti-establishment prankster. On Wednesday's Performance Today, take a seat at Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles and hear the LA Philharmonic perform "Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks" by Richard Strauss.
Composer Laurence Sherr has dedicated his career to sharing the musical history of the Holocaust. in 2014, Sherr wrote a piece that borrowed melodies from several Jewish resistance songs. On Tuesday's Performance Today, hear 'Myr zaynen do!' (We are here!) by Laurence Sherr.
Leonard Slatkin says conducting gives him a sense of great power and at the same time, a feeling of helplessness. On Monday's Performance Today, Slatkin joins us to talk about the curious art of conducting. Plus, we'll hear him lead this performance of Mahler's Symphony No. 4. in a concert from Warsaw, Poland.
Pianist Garrick Ohlsson joined us for music and conversation at a special PT event in Jackson Hole, Wyoming last month. Ohlsson is thoughtful and poetic when it comes to talking about music... and as a pianist, he's a virtuoso and a master on the lyrical side of the keyboard. On Saturday's Performance Today, Garrick Ohlsson plays four pieces by Alexander Scriabin, in concert at the Grand Teton Music Festival.
Pianist Garrick Ohlsson joined us for music and conversation at a special PT event in Jackson Hole, Wyoming last month. Ohlsson is thoughtful and poetic when it comes to talking about music, and as a pianist, he's a virtuoso and a master on the lyrical side of the keyboard. On Friday's Performance Today, Garrick Ohlsson plays four pieces by Alexander Scriabin, in concert at the Grand Teton Music Festival.
Emmanuel Pahud is one of the greatest flute players on the planet. He is Principal Flute of the Berlin Philharmonic, and he also has an extensive solo career. On Thursday's Performance Today, take a seat at the Lugano Festival in Switzerland, and hear Emmanuel Pahud in concert with the Swiss Italian Orchestra.
The concert was an experiment - a new composition was played, and the audience was supposed to guess who wrote it. When the music ended, Maurice Ravel's friend leaned over said: "What idiot could have written such a piece?" Well, that "idiot" would be Ravel, and the music is eternal. Ravel's 'Valses nobles et sentimentales', on Wednesday's Performance Today.
Samuil Feinberg was a Russian pianist and composer. He had a fine career as a pianist inside the USSR, but he was almost never allowed to leave the country... so Feinberg's work isn't as well known to the rest of the world. Pianist Marc-Andre Hamelin would like to change that. On Tuesday's Performance Today, tune in to hear Hamelin play Samuil Feinberg's Piano Sonata No. 1, from the Aspen Music Festival.
The Grand Teton Music Festival, in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, is an annual celebration of music in a stunning mountain location. On Monday's Performance Today, we'll hear music and conversation from a special PT event at the 2017 festival, beginning with the Piano Trio No. 1, by Felix Mendelssohn.
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