Performance Today®

In 1914, things were going well for Danish composer Carl Nielsen. He was able to limit other commitments and focus his attention on writing music. At that time, events in Europe were taking a dark turn, and he poured his energy into a new piece of music. It's a fervent symphony that expresses Nielsen's belief that, despite horrific darkness, life and light can prevail. On Tuesday's Performance Today, hear a concert performance of Symphony No. 4, "The Inextinguishable", by Carl Nielsen.

It's a highly anticipated competition that happens once every four years. Two and a half weeks of musical drama and competition, and on Saturday... the medals were awarded in Fort Worth, Texas. On Monday's Performance Today, we'll meet the Gold Medal winner and hear a gold medal winning performance from the 2017 Cliburn Piano Competition.

Most of us have a few unfinished tasks in our lives: half-filled photo albums, returning that voicemail you received last month, and of course, addressing that room in the basement. On Saturday's show, hear the Berlin Philharmonic perform Franz Schubert's most famous loose end, his Symphony No. 8, known as the "Unfinished Symphony".

Composer David Bruce says that, for him, the sound of mandolin is "golden", so he wrote a piece for mandolin and string quartet inspired by the sun. On Friday's Performance Today, Avi Avital and the Dover Quartet play the sunny piece "Cymbeline" by David Bruce.

During a solemn ceremony, as Prince Charles was making John Eliot Gardiner a knight, the prince bent down and whispered in the conductor's ear: "thanks for the cows!" On Thursday's Performance Today, the story behind that comment, and we'll hear Sir John Eliot Gardiner lead the London Symphony in concert.

On the latest episode of Music is Music, host Ria Misra leaves our studios and visits composer and pianist Vijay Iyer in his studio - which, conveniently, is also his home. Join us to listen in on their conversation about the secret lives of instruments, the everyday art of improvisation, and also just to hear some really beautiful music.

Most of us have a few unfinished tasks in our lives: half-filled photo albums, returning that voicemail you received last month, and of course, addressing that room in the basement. On Wednesday's show, hear the Berlin Philharmonic perform Franz Schubert's most famous loose end, his Symphony No. 8, known as the "Unfinished Symphony".

In 1928, Maurice Ravel spent some time hanging out with George Gershwin in Harlem jazz clubs. The sounds Ravel heard in Harlem made their way into some of his subsequent compositions. On Tuesday's Performance Today, pianist Inon Barnatan joins the New York Philharmonic to play Ravel's jazz-influenced Piano Concerto in G Major.

Mozart Guarnieri's father was an opera buff who named his kids after composers... his brothers were named Rossine and Verde. On Monday's Performance today, take a seat at Lincoln Center for a performance of "Three Dances for Orchestra" by Brazilian composer Mozart Camargo Guarnieri.