Composer Richard Strauss knew all about the French horn; his father Franz was among the great horn players of the day. And when Richard Strauss was 18 years old, he wrote a horn concerto for his father. On Wednesday's Performance Today, we'll hear Philip Myers perform that piece in concert with the New York Philharmonic.
"Retro enough to call for Roman trumpets; radical enough to call for a tape recording alongside the orchestra." The answer to our Jeopardy question: "Who is composer Ottorino Respighi?" On Tuesday's Performance Today, we'll hear the New York Philharmonic perform Respighi's radical and retro Pines of Rome.
When Chinese pianist Yundi recently announced that his hero is Frederic Chopin, Chopin's biography became a best-seller in China. On Monday's Performance Today, we'll hear young mega-star Yundi play his idol's Scherzo No. 4 in concert in Germany.
Come see our exclusive photos, and take a video tour of the Aspen Percussion studio with percussionist Jonathan Haas.
If he did the same thing these days, George Gershwin might be accused of plagiarism. But in 1932, he got away with it - he used a Cuban pop song as a theme for his Cuban Overture. On this weekend's Performance Today, Gustavo Dudamel leads the Los Angeles Philharmonic in Gershwin's borrowed masterpiece.
"We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." On Friday's Performance Today, a musical celebration of July 4th.
We're living at a special moment in the history of classical music - there has never been a time with so many supremely talented young players. On Thursday's Performance Today, we'll continue our celebration of the great year we've had with PT Young Artists.
On Wednesday's Performance Today, double bass virtuoso TianYang Liu joins us as our Young Artist in Residence. He'll talk with Fred about why he chose the double bass, and we'll hear him perform a formidable arrangement of Pablo de Sarasate's Zigeunerweisen.
The Rondo Capriccioso by Camille Saint-Saens is one of the great virtuoso showpieces for violin. On Tuesday's Performance Today, we'll go to a concert at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam to hear Barnabas Kelemen perform this violin showstopper with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic.
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