Performance Today®

Violinist Leila Josefowicz has forged a tremendous career specializing in 20th and 21st-century music. At times, Josefowicz has faced reluctance or resistance from what she sees as the somewhat stodgy traditions in some parts of the classical music world. Still, she believes that the greatest music happens when one overcomes fear and pushes the traditional boundaries.  On today's show, Leila Josefowicz plays Stravinsky's Violin Concerto in D Major, backed by conductor Donald Runnicles and the Grand Teton Festival Orchestra.

In 1890, French composer Ernest Chausson wrote a wild piece that's difficult to put in one tidy box. It's part violin concerto, part piano concerto, and part sextet. It’s a great piece that isn’t played often enough. Tune in today to listen to a live performance of the Chamber Concerto by Ernest Chausson from the annual Verbier Festival in Verbier, Switzerland.

At age three, Stewart Goodyear found boxes of his father's LPs. He devoured all of Beethoven's symphonies, one after another. And then, he listened to all the sonatas in one sitting, and with that, a lifelong love of Beethoven emerged. Pianist Stewart Goodyear plays Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3 on today’s show.

A few years ago, composer Rick Sowash set a poem to music, creating a song. And then he turned that song into a musical conversation between flute and cello. On today's show, hear the Sylvan Trio perform the result: Seasonal Breezes by Rick Sowash.

Jiji is a guitarist from Seoul, South Korea. When she was nine, she performed for a well-known guitarist...who was harshly critical of her playing. So, she hatched an 18-year "revenge" plan - to become a professional guitarist. Jiji plays Asturias by Isaac Albeniz on today's show, from a recent concert at the Honest Brook Music Festival in Delhi, New York.

Marc-Andre Hamelin is one of the most celebrated and respected pianists of our time. His performances are known for their brilliance, technical mastery, and deep musicality. On today's show, we'll hear Hamelin play one of the world’s most challenging piano compositions: Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 29, the Hammerklavier.

A few years ago, composer Rick Sowash set a poem to music, creating a song. And then he turned that song into a musical conversation between flute and cello. On today's show, hear the Sylvan Trio perform the result: Seasonal Breezes by Rick Sowash.

Pianists and violinists can make a living as professional classical music freelancers, but an oboist? That's a real rarity. James Austin Smith is a pioneering oboist in so many ways. On today's show, we'll hear James Austin Smith in concert at the Spoleto Festival USA in Charleston, South Carolina.

Yurui "Rain" Hou loves how chamber music is like conversation and how the composer gets to construct the conversation note by note. Hou is 19 years old and a student at Columbia University in New York City, but don't discount her music because of her age. On today's show, we'll hear a piece Rain Hou composed for the Emerging Composers Intensive in Carmel Valley, California.