Performance Today®

As a kid, Orion Weiss played the piano simply because he loved playing. Practice wasn't a chore -- there wasn't a 30-minute timer ticking away in disagreement with a metronome. He simply liked to practice, to play the piano. That continued into his teenage years, then through his studies at the Juilliard School in New York City. Even then, he says, he was only playing piano because he loved it. The idea of becoming a professional musician hadn't really crossed his mind. You'll hear Orion Weiss play music by Brahms on Monday's Performance Today.

The notes that a musician plays may have been written down by the composer, but an infinite number of decisions are involved in creating the music that reaches your ears. Listen in as Joshua Bell and pianist Jeremy Denk discuss the omnipresence of improvisation in their lives as performers, on Saturday's Performance Today.

The notes that a musician plays may have been written down by the composer, but an infinite number of decisions are involved in creating the music that reaches your ears. Listen in as Joshua Bell and pianist Jeremy Denk discuss the omnipresence of improvisation in their lives as performers, on Friday's Performance Today.

Melody Parker loves to dance. When she wrote the music for her album "Archipelago," she didn't start with a catchy tune, or harmonies, or rhythm. She started with movement.

The right music can make a film great, even iconic. Where would Frozen be without a singing snowman? How would the orbital desperation of Gravity feel without the music of Arvo Part? Can you imagine Star Wars without John Williams' pulse-raising compositions? On Thursday's Performance Today, we'll hear this music and more, as we explore unforgettable movie music.

When Swan Lake premiered in Moscow in 1877, it received terrible reviews. One critic said Tchaikovsky's music had "a poverty of ideas." The prima ballerina hated the music. But in the long run, the genius of Tchaikovsky's music won over everybody excepting the deepest of cynics. Today, Swan Lake is among the most popular ballets on the planet. Alan Gilbert conducts the New York Philharmonic in a suite of dances from Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake in a concert from Lincoln Center in New York City.

The String Sextet by Antonin Dvorak meshes the tradition of chamber music with the energy of Bohemian folk tunes. It's a combination of elegance and toe-tapping bounce. Hear this contrast of styles performed by members of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, on tour in Athens, Georgia, on Tuesday's Performance Today.

In 1933, Alan Hovhaness was a young composer fascinated by astronomy. While reading Dante's Divine Comedy he stumbled across the line: "O human race, born to fly upward..." That line sparked 50 years of musical ideas inspired by the idea of space travel. Listen for Star Dawn by Hovhaness on Monday's Performance Today.

Join the audience for a thrilling performance of Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1, featuring pianist Joyce Yang, alongside the Nashville Symphony. Also hear performances by the Hector del Curto Quintet , the Amphion Quartet, and more, on Saturday's Performance Today.