Poster Fred Child
Fred Child
MPR

Performance Today®

with host Fred Child

All Episodes

Biss on Schumann

Biss on Schumann

Because of Robert Schumann's ability to create intensely beautiful, emotional music, Jonathan Biss believes that is the most poetic of all composers. On Friday's Performance Today, we'll hear Biss play an example of Schumann's musical poetry; his heart-piercing Forest Scenes.

Janine Jansen

Janine Jansen

On Thursday's Performance Today, Janine Jansen teams up with the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra for a performance of Max Bruch's Violin Concerto No. 1.

Our weekly musical game

Our weekly musical game

Every week on our Piano Puzzler, composer Bruce Adolphe re-writes a familiar tune in the style of a great composer. Then, one of our listeners calls in and tries to guess two things: the tune, and the composer whose style Bruce is mimicking. Play along with our weekly musical game, on Wednesday's Performance Today.

The story of Don Juan

The story of Don Juan

The story of Don Juan taps a deep territory in the human psyche: love, betrayal, excess, and death. On Tuesday's Performance Today, we'll hear Richard Strauss's explosive tone poem based on the story of Don Juan.

The 2016 Sphinx Competition

The 2016 Sphinx Competition

The Sphinx Competition is an annual event for young African American and Latino string players. On Monday's Performance Today, we'll speak to the winner and hear performance highlights from this past weekend's competition in Detroit.

Diversity in Classical Music

Diversity in Classical Music

On Performance Today, we're launching a conversation about the value of diversity in classical music. Does it matter? And if so, what can and should we do about it? Our list of thought-provoking interviews will grow over the course of the year, so keep coming back to see and hear more.

A massive, ambitious piece of music

A massive, ambitious piece of music

Ferruccio Busoni's Piano Concerto is a massive, ambitious piece of music for full orchestra, 48 male singers, and a really, really good pianist. On this weekend's Performance Today, we'll hear it from a concert in Warsaw, featuring Garrick Ohlsson and the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra.

A lesser-known Bach

A lesser-known Bach

Over the span of two centuries, the Bach family produced more than 50 musicians and composers. On Friday's Performance Today, we have music by Bach -- but not the guy who immediately comes to mind when you hear that name. We'll travel to Denmark to hear an overture by Johann Bernhard Bach, Johann Sebastian Bach's lesser-known second cousin.

A massive, ambitious piece of music

A massive, ambitious piece of music

Ferruccio Busoni's Piano Concerto is a massive, ambitious piece of music for full orchestra, 48 male singers, and a really, really good pianist. On Thursday's Performance Today, we'll hear it from a concert in Warsaw, featuring Garrick Ohlsson and the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra.

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