In 1964, pianist Leon Fleisher's right hand simply stopped working. He went from being one of the world's great pianists, to being a man with a tragic tale. Thankfully, his story has a happy ending; through the use of Botox, he eventually regained the use his right hand. On Tuesday's Performance Today, we will hear the now 86 year-old pianist playing music by Debussy in concert this season.
Mozart Week is a big celebration that takes place every January in Mozart's hometown of Salzburg, Austria. On Monday's Performance Today, we'll travel to the festival to hear the Vienna Philharmonic play Mozart's Haffner Serenade.
Every week on our Piano Puzzler, composer Bruce Adolphe re-writes a familiar tune in the style of a classical composer. Play along on this weekend's Performance Today to see if you can guess the tune and the composer whose style Bruce is mimicking.
On Friday's Performance Today, we have something old and something new. We'll go to Paris to hear the French National Orchestra in concert, then we'll head to New York to hear a new piece for two marimbas by Argentine composer Alejandro Vinao.
On the picturesque hills of Lausanne, Switzerland, leafy grapevines scramble down the slopes to the waters of Lake Geneva, directly across from the snow-capped Alps. On Thursday's Performance Today we'll go to Lausanne to hear music perfect for the setting: Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony.
Every week on our Piano Puzzler, composer Bruce Adolphe re-writes a familiar tune in the style of a classical composer. Play along on Wednesday's Performance Today to see if you can guess the tune and the composer whose style Bruce is mimicking.
Joaquin Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez is one of the great concertos of the 20th century, and one of the most beloved pieces in all of classical music. On Tuesday's Performance Today, we'll hear Pepe Romero and the Los Angeles Philharmonic play it in concert in Los Angeles.
On Monday's Performance Today, we're featuring final concert performances by three 20th century legends: violinist Nathan Milstein, conductor Leonard Bernstein, and pianist Vladimir Horowitz.
The Butterfly Lovers is often considered the Chinese equivalent of Romeo and Juliet. It's the story of two star-crossed lovers who, after their tragic deaths, are reincarnated and reunited as butterflies. On this weekend's Performance Today we'll hear a musical interpretation of this tale performed by Gil Shaham and the Singapore Symphony Orchestra.
