Performance Today®

The audience was not sure how to react when an earthquake, magnitude 5.1, struck during a concert by the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Conductor Charles Dutoit made sure the music never stopped.

Violinist Joseph Joachim believed that there were only four great violin concertos written by German composers -- and one of them was written just for him, by his friend Johannes Brahms. On Tuesday's Performance Today, we'll hear violinist James Ehnes play that Brahms Concerto in concert with the Grand Teton Music Festival Orchestra.

Luigi Boccherini was Italian, but he loved Spanish music. On Monday's Performance Today, we'll hear full-on flamenco from a performance of Boccherini's Fandango Quintet.

One night, composer Eric Whitacre called his friend, poet Tony Silvestri. That very night, Silvestri stayed up with his three year old son; that experience inspired him to write a poem - a lullaby. On this weekend's Performance Today, we'll hear the musical result of Silvestri's sleepless night: Whitacre's modern classic, "Sleep."

Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 5 means different things to different people. Some hear a tender expression of love; others hear a lamentation after a terrible loss. On Friday's Performance Today, we'll talk about music and meaning, and we'll hear part of Mahler's evocative symphony from a concert in Basel, Switzerland.

Hector Del Curto's great-grandfather and grandfather both played tango in Buenos Aires. Now, he carries on that tradition, as one of today's great masters of tango. On Thursday's Performance Today, we'll hear Del Curto play the bandoneon in concert at the Aspen Music Festival.

One night, composer Eric Whitacre called his friend, poet Tony Silvestri. That very night, Silvestri stayed up with his three year old son; that experience inspired him to write a poem - a lullaby. On Wednesday's Performance Today, we'll hear the musical result of Silvestri's sleepless night: Whitacre's modern classic, "Sleep."

Gustav Mahler got over a bad breakup, in part, by writing his Symphony No. 1. He confided to a friend: "The music begins where the love affair ends." On Tuesday's Performance Today, we'll hear Mahler's First from a concert by the Cincinnati Symphony.

Ukulele virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro started playing ukulele when he was four years old. Over the past 20 or so years, he has redefined the limits of ukulele technique, style, and sound. On Monday, Shimabukuro joins us in the studio to talk about all things ukulele, and to play two of his solo pieces.