Performance Today®

When pianist Michelle Cann was a student, she had severe doubts about herself. She even thought about giving up the piano. Looking back now, she says that no matter who you are, the most important battle is the one within yourself. In this edition of Performance Today, we look into Michelle Cann's philosophy and music-making.

Bruce Adolphe joins us every week with his Piano Puzzlers. This week, an entire class of music students is calling in to play with Bruce on the air. Scott Leaman and his AP Music Theory Class join us on the phone from Tallahassee, Florida, on this edition of Performance Today.

Grammy-winning violinist Hilary Hahn loves Eugene Ysaye's collection of solo violin sonatas. They're wonderfully witty and inventive, but they're not well known outside of violin circles. Recently, Hahn recorded the complete set — it's an absolute treat for violin lovers. On today's show, Hahn joins Fred Child in our New York studio to discuss her recording of Ysaye's Solo Violin Sonata No. 2 (Obsession).

Composer Wayne Shorter was fascinated by the symbolic idea of terra incognita, the undiscovered territory in ourselves... and the courage it takes to explore that territory. On Today's show, hear Imani Winds play Shorter's Terra Incognita at a concert in Athens, Georgia.

A colorful bird sings high in a tree. Suddenly, it takes off and flies in chaotic circles, running into nearby trees. The bird exhausts itself and falls asleep. That's the story of a piece called Alma by Tania Leon—and we'll hear it on today's show!

Anton Bruckner's Symphony No. 8 is a massive piece—more than 80 minutes from beginning to end. Conductor Yannick Nezet-Seguin says the symphony is akin to entering a vast canyon. As you listen to Bruckner, he says, "Accept that space and time are different. It is not about the micro event but the grand line. Just breathe in, breathe out, and feel the connection of that music to the harmony of the universe." Join us to hear conductor Yannick Nezet-Seguin lead the finale to Bruckner's Symphony No. 8 at the Lucerne Festival in Switzerland.

Sometimes, the original is great, but the reboot is even better. Maurice Ravel wrote a stunning piece for solo piano, but in his later version for full orchestra, it went from black and white to technicolor. We'll hear Ravel's Alborada del Gracioso on this episode of Performance Today.

A colorful bird sings high in a tree. Suddenly, it takes off and flies in chaotic circles, running into nearby trees. The bird exhausts itself and falls asleep. That's the story of a piece called Alma by Tania Leon—and we'll hear it on today's show!

When Pablo Ziegler was growing up in Argentina in the 1960s, he hated tango. But, to his surprise, he wound up playing in one of the most innovative tango bands of the 20th century—he's been a creative force, blending tango and classical and jazz ever since. We'll hear Muchacha de Boedo by Pablo Ziegler on today's show.