Performance Today®

Menahem Pressler learned to play piano as a boy in Germany, before he and his Jewish family were chased from the country in 1939. Much later, at age 90, Pressler made his debut appearance with the Berlin Philharmonic. On Thursday's Performance Today, we'll hear Pressler and the Berlin Philharmonic in concert playing a Mozart Concerto.

Cellist Daniel Muller-Schott says that playing Dvorak's Cello Concerto is simultaneously tremendously challenging and deeply satisfying. On Wednesday's Performance Today, we'll take you to a recent concert in Paris featuring Daniel Muller-Schott playing alongside the Radio France Philharmonic.

It seems that Tchaikovsky never approved the published version of his famous Piano Concerto No. 1. So who did? On Tuesday's Performance Today, pianist Kirill Gerstein joins Fred in the studio with the story of the actual version that Tchaikovsky wanted us to hear.

In his latest CD, pianist Kirill Gerstein plays Tchaikovsky's familiar Piano Concerto No. 1 in an unfamiliar way. Listen to his discussion with Fred to learn more about his inspiration for this project.

When pianist Stephen Hough played recently in Santa Barbara, he was called back on stage for three encores. On Monday's Performance Today, we'll hear all three -- back to back to back.

With winter coming to a close and spring beginning to loom (or bloom) on the horizon, there's often a big clean-up that has to take place. So on this weekend's Performance Today, we'll help out with a special piece by Malcolm Arnold: his Grand Grand Overture for Vacuum Cleaners, Floor Polisher, and Concert Band.

On Friday's Performance Today, we'll hear concert performances of forward-looking music from the 18th through the 21st centuries, including a quintet by Luigi Boccherini and Nicola Campogrande's brand new piece, Urban Gardens.

A month after he became a U.S. citizen, composer Igor Stravinsky wrote his Symphony in Three Movements. The New York Philharmonic premiered the piece in 1946; on Thursday's Performance Today, we'll hear a much more recent performance by that same ensemble.

With winter coming to a close and spring beginning to loom (or bloom) on the horizon, there's often a big clean-up that has to take place. So on Wednesday's Performance Today, we'll help out with a special piece by Malcolm Arnold: his Grand Grand Overture for Vacuum Cleaners, Floor Polisher, and Concert Band.