Edward Elgar composed almost nothing during the First World War. He said: "I cannot do any real work with this awful shadow hanging over us." But, after four years of mechanized death on a scale the world had never seen, he began writing his Cello Concerto. On Thursday's Performance Today, we'll hear that piece from a concert in Los Angeles.
Every week composer Bruce Adolphe joins us for a musical game; our Piano Puzzler. Bruce re-writes a familiar tune in the style of a great composer, and we get one of our listeners on the phone who tries to guess the hidden tune and the composer whose style Bruce is imitating. Play along with the Piano Puzzler, on Wednesday's Performance Today.
He's still in his 20s, but conductor Joshua Weilerstein is already making a tremendous impression on orchestras and audiences around the world. On Tuesday's Performance Today, we'll hear Weilerstein conduct the Danish National Orchestra in Copenhagen.
When Johannes Brahms sent the manuscript of his Symphony No. 2 to his publisher, he included a note that said: "I have never written anything so sad." As it turned out, Brahms was joking. On Monday's Performance Today, we'll hear selections of his upbeat second symphony from a concert in Los Angeles.
His fans call him Lemony Snicket. His parents call him Daniel, and they raised him on a diet of classical music. On this weekend's Performance Today, Lemony Snicket joins Fred in the studio with some of his favorite pieces of music.
Daniel Handler can choose the perfect music for ANY situation... just ask.
His fans call him Lemony Snicket. His parents call him Daniel, and they raised him on a diet of classical music. On this Friday's Performance Today, Lemony Snicket joins Fred in the studio with some of his favorite pieces of music.
This spring, the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels featured a dozen pianists in the final round; Lukas Vondracek was the winner. On Thursday's Performance Today, we'll hear his dazzling final round performance of Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3.
Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 begins with the most famous four notes in music, and then continues on an epic thirty minute journey from darkness to light. On Wednesday's Performance Today, we'll hear Andres Orozco-Estrada lead the Houston Symphony in concert in Beethoven's Fifth.
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