American Public Media’s Performance Today® is America’s most popular classical music radio program and a winner of the 2014 Gabriel Award for artistic achievement. The show is broadcast on hundreds of public radio stations across the country, including at 1 p.m. central weekdays on Minnesota Public Radio. More information about our stations can be found at APM Distribution.
One of the most well-known melodies in classical music is called La Folia. Scholars think the tune dates back to at least the 1500s. It's been interpreted and adapted by composers for the last 500 years. On today's Performance Today, we'll hear a 21st century version of the melody by Puerto Rican composer Roberto Sierra.
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.
