In the 1880's, when Spanish composer Enrique Granados was a young man, he saw paintings by Francisco Goya... and fell in love. Granados was inspired to write a suite for piano based on Goya's works, and it has become his most famous work. On Friday's Performance Today, hear music from "Goyescas" by Enrique Granados, performed by pianist Benjamin Grosvenor.
Pianist Dizhou Zhao is winner of numerous competition prizes, and is also a winner of Astral Artist's 2012 National Auditions. On Thursday's Performance Today, hear Dizhou Zhao play "Sonatina" by Liqing Yang... it's a beautiful work by one of the great Chinese composers of the 20th century.
You can find Emily Howell's music all over the internet, but a search for Emily Howell the person comes up empty. She plays no concerts, attends no events, has no email address, and not a single photo comes up under a google search. The reason? It's surprisingly simple. Join Music is Music host Ria Misra as she talks with composer David Cope about who Emily Howell is--and what Emily Howell means for the future of music.
Nino Rota is one of those composers whose music you know... even if you don't know you know it. He composed music for 150 film soundtracks, including The Godfather (1 & 2) and numerous films by Federico Fellini, but he was also a prolific composer of concert works. On Wednesday's Performance Today, hear the 'Sonata for Flute and Harp' by Nino Rota, from a concert in Madrid.
In 2004, the executor of an estate in Switzerland found a dusty old book of hand-written music... music that he recognized... it was the score that Sergei Rachmaninoff used to conduct the premiere of his second symphony in 1908. Find out more about the manuscript's dormancy and rediscovery on Tuesday's Performance Today... and hear Rachmaninoff's Symphony No. 2 performed by the Houston Symphony.
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 Monday's Performance Today, take a seat at the Lugano Festival in Switzerland, and hear Emmanuel Pahad in concert with the Swiss Italian Orchestra.
Danish composer Rued Langgaard was a prolific composer and a fantastic organist, but he couldn't land a full-time job until he was 47. And on the rare occasion his works were performed during his lifetime, the criticism was harsh. On Saturday's Performance Today, how a bad attitude might be to blame for a composer's obscurity.
Composer and organist Rued Langgaard felt at odds with his Danish contemporaries... and he didn't keep it a secret. He was a prolific composer, but his work wasn't truly recognized until after his death. Hear more about Rued Langgaard's life and music on Friday's Performance Today.
What makes for the perfect encore? If the audience is already on its feet, do you want fast music? Or do you want to quiet the house down a bit with something introspective? On Thursday's Performance Today, violinist Hilary Hahn talks about her quest to find the perfect encore. Guest hosted by Nick Canellakis.
