Performance Today®

At first, Rafal Blechacz didn't want to play piano. He had dreams of playing the organ... but he came to realize that the piano was the right instrument for him. We won't argue with that! On Tuesday's Performance Today, pianist Rafal Blechacz plays Brahms in concert with the Minnesota Orchestra and conductor Osmo Vanska.

Hans Christian Anderson once said, "where words fail...music speaks." For stroke survivors and people with Alzheimer's, that can literally be true. On Monday's Performance Today, stories of how music has reconnected people after brain injuries, after strokes, and while living with Alzheimer's.

In the early 1900s, Bela Bartok traveled the dusty back-roads of eastern Europe with a heavy Edison recording machine. He recorded thousands of folk songs that, in turn, inspired his own work. On this weekend's Performance Today, the Romanian Dances by Bela Bartok, from a concert by the Sinfonietta of Riverdale, New York.

When a dementia or stroke limits one's ability to speak, singing in a choir can restore voice and build new social connections.

Join host Fred Child for in-studio interviews with violinist Blake Pouliot, as well as exclusive musical performances.

As a teenager, Blake Pouliot did some fairly high-level acting... but he realized that performing as a violinist felt much more natural. On Friday's Performance Today, meet (and hear!) our next Young Artist in Residence, violinist Blake Pouliot.

Rebecca Clarke was an English composer and violist who grew up at a time when there weren't many opportunities for female composers and musicians. Happily, she lived long enough to see her work played and appreciated around the world. On Thursday's Performance Today, hear Rebecca Clarke's 'Morpheus', a piece that she debuted in 1918 under the pen name of... Anthony Trent.

In the early 1900s, Bela Bartok traveled the dusty back-roads of eastern Europe with a heavy Edison recording machine. He recorded thousands of folk songs that, in turn, inspired his own work. On Wednesday's Performance Today, the Romanian Dances by Bela Bartok, from a concert by the Sinfonietta of Riverdale, New York.

It's a showpiece for the tuba by composer John Williams... an actual concerto for tuba and orchestra. Alan Baer solos, in concert, with the New York Philharmonic, on the Tuesday's Performance Today.