Performance Today®

Robert Schumann wrote in his diary, "Drums and trumpets have been blaring in my head. I have no idea what will come of it..." On Wednesday's Performance Today, we'll hear what came of it: Schumann's Symphony No. 2 is on the way from a concert in England. Plus, Bruce Adolphe join us with this week's Piano Puzzler.

On Tuesday's Performance Today, we'll go to Houston to hear the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra give an energetic performance of Mozart's Haffner Symphony. Plus, flutist Emmanuel Pahud plays Sergei Prokofiev's Flute Sonata in concert in Barcelona, Spain.

Pianist Martha Argerich has a devoted following; fans who will literally follow her from one concert to another. On Monday's Performance Today, we'll take you to a concert in Switzerland to hear her play Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 1.

Two hundred and thirty-nine years ago, the Continental Congress of colonial America said, "That's it. We're going our own way." France offered support, followed by Spain and the Netherlands. On this weekend's Performance Today, we'll hear music for Independence Day; patriotic music by Americans and composers from other nations who admired American ideals.

All summer long, we're featuring great music inspired by distinctive American places on our PT Summer Road Trip. On Friday's Performance Today, we'll stop in the Pacific Northwest to hear a piece by Wayne Horvitiz called "Thursday, at Dusk, In Spokane, Washington."

Music can be beautiful -- but it can also be practical. On Thursday's Performance Today, we'll hear Norwegian trumpeter Tine Thing Helseth perform a variety of virtuosic music, as well as a serene melody based on the traditional Norwegian cow call.

In instrumentation, the Turtle Island Quartet looks like a typical string quartet: two violins, viola and cello. But in terms of sound, this group is anything but typical. On Wednesday's Performance Today, we'll go to Seattle to hear The Turtle Island Quartet playing "Alex in A Major," a new piece by their founding violinist, David Balakrishnan.

On Tuesday's Performance Today, we'll hear the epic grandeur and the playful wit of Modest Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition from a concert in Houston. Plus, English pianist Stephen Hough performs music by Claude Debussy.

The Bergen Philharmonic takes its Norwegian composers very seriously. So when the orchestra performs Edvard Grieg's Piano Concerto, the selection of the pianist is extremely important. On Monday's Performance Today, we'll hear their choice, as Dutchman Ronald Brautigam gives a thrilling performance of the concerto in concert with the Bergen Philharmonic.