Performance Today®

Violinist Nikolaj Znaider says there is a sense of inevitable perfection in music by Mozart. On Monday's Performance Today, we'll head to a concert in Copenhagen to hear Znaider perform Mozart's Violin Concerto No. 3. Then, it's off to the Aspen Festival. Alisa Weilerstein plays the Cello Suite No. 3 by Bach.

The Symphony No. 5 by Beethoven was revolutionary when it was first played in 1808. When it's played well, it still packs a tremendously emotional punch. On this weekend's Performance Today, we'll take that epic journey from darkness to light. Conductor Louis Langree leads the Cincinnati Symphony in Beethoven's Fifth.

Retro enough to call for Roman trumpets, but radical enough to call for a tape recorder playing alongside the orchestra. On Friday's Performance Today, we'll hear the New York Philharmonic in concert, performing Ottorino Respighi's retro and radical Pines of Rome.

Peter Tchaikovsky didn't like many other composers, but he loved Mozart. He once said, "It was... Mozart who inspired my first efforts, and made me love music above anything else in this world." On Thursday's Performance Today, we'll hear Tchaikovsky's homage to Mozart, a piece called "Mozartiana," from a concert in Warsaw, Poland.

In 1960, Maurizio Pollini won the top prize at the International Chopin Piano Competition. More than half a century later, Pollini hasn't lost his love for Chopin's music. On Wednesday's Performance Today, we'll drop in on a concert in Lucerne, Switzerland to hear Pollini perform Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 1. Bruce Adolphe joins us as well, with this week's Piano Puzzler.

The Symphony No. 5 by Beethoven was revolutionary when it was first played in 1808. When it's played well, it still packs a tremendous emotional punch. On Tuesday's Performance Today, we'll take an epic thirty minute journey from darkness to light. Conductor Louis Langree leads the Cincinnati Symphony in Beethoven's Fifth.

Listen to Daniel Barenboim as both pianist and conductor. On piano, he'll join baritone Thomas Quasthoff for highlights from Schubert's Winterreise. As conductor, we'll hear Barenboim leading a remarkable concert on the West Bank, with music of Mozart and Elgar.

On this weekend's Performance Today, Fred Child is joined by a special co-host --violinist Hilary Hahn. Since her professional debut at age 16, Hilary Hahn has been counted as one of the very best classical violinists in the world. She's curated a special playlist for PT listeners that includes performances that influenced her as a young violinist and ones that she admires today.

We're celebrating the 70th birthday of Keith Jarrett. He's legendary as a jazz pianist, and over the course of his 50 year career, Keith Jarrett has made some remarkable classical recordings as well. We'll hear him improvise and play Bartok's Piano Concerto No. 3.