Poster Fred Child
Fred Child
MPR

Performance Today®

with host Fred Child

All Episodes

Tenors!

Tenors!

When Jack Swanson was in high school, he heard Luciano Pavarotti sing and he was blown away. Then and there, Swanson decided that he too would be a singer. And a singer he is! On Wednesday's Performance Today, tenor Jack Swanson will join Fred in the studio as our new Young Artist in Residence.

Young Artist in Residence: Jack Swanson

Young Artist in Residence: Jack Swanson

Listen to in-studio interviews with host Fred Child and exclusive musical performances by tenor Jack Swanson and pianist Roderick Phipps-Kettlewell.

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Music by Herr Dittersdorf

Music by Herr Dittersdorf

On Tuesday's Performance Today, we'll hear from a composer who has one of the all-time greatest names to say on the radio: Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf. We'll hear the Jupiter Quartet play Herr Dittersdorf's String Quartet No. 5 in concert in New York City. Plus, we'll hear Orli Shaham play the last solo piano music written by Brahms.

Daniel Hope and Dvorak

Daniel Hope and Dvorak

Composer Antonin Dvorak said it took very little effort to write his Piano Quartet No. 2. "It came easily," he said, "the melodies just surged upon me." On Monday's Performance Today, we'll hear violinist Daniel Hope and friends play those surging melodies in concert at the Savannah Music Festival.

Jessica Deutsch's Anyplace

Jessica Deutsch's Anyplace

Jessica Deutsch has studied violin in Cuba, Turkey, and France. She is also a student of Celtic, Mariachi, and Gypsy music. So what happens when she brings all of that together? We'll find out on this weekend's Performance Today, when we hear Jessica Deutsch and Ozere perform a new piece called "Anyplace."

Jessica Deutsch and Ozere

Jessica Deutsch and Ozere

Jessica Deutsch has studied violin in Cuba, Turkey, and France. She is also a student of Celtic, Mariachi, and Gypsy music. So what happens when she brings all of that together? We'll find out on Friday's Performance Today, when we hear Jessica Deutsch and Ozere perform a new piece called "Anyplace."

JoAnn Falletta

JoAnn Falletta

According to conductor JoAnn Falletta, the energy an audience provides can completely change a performance; it's certainly a key difference between a rehearsal and a performance. On Thursday's Performance Today, we'll hear JoAnn Falletta and the Buffalo Philharmonic play Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 4 with a boost from the audience in Buffalo, NY.

Our weekly musical game

Our weekly musical game

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.

A cheeky sonata

A cheeky sonata

Pianist Marc-Andre Hamelin has a special affinity for composer Joseph Haydn. In part because, as Hamelin puts it, Haydn "...wasn't afraid to drop his pants once in a while." On Tuesday's Performance Today, we'll hear Canadian pianist Marc-Andre Hamelin play a cheeky Sonata by Haydn.