Performance Today®

The West-Eastern Divan Ensemble includes talented young players from Israel and Arab countries. They're a musical ensemble, but they're also a project of cultural diplomacy. Divan founder Daniel Barenboim says, "[In the face of recent violence] ...our message of peace must be louder than ever." Hear their story and a highlight from their recent U.S. tour on today's show.

Composer Richard Danielpour found musical inspiration in a sculpture made by his mother...an image of an Iranian woman breaking away from her veil. He contemplated recent protests in Iran, led by young women who want to choose whether they wear a headscarf or not. On today's show, we'll hear music inspired by the brave women of Iran: Breaking the Veil, by Richard Danielpour.

Composer Matt Jackfert has a particular interest in Appalachian music. On today's show, hear a piece by Jackfert inspired by three scenes from West Virginia, featuring an instrument that isn't typically associated with Appalachian music: the euphonium.

On today's show, we'll hear some fascinating new music by Navajo composer Juantio Becenti. Becenti found a unique parallel between the Navajo creation story and his own musical journey. Join us to hear the ensemble A Far Cry play The Glittering World by Juantio Becenti at a concert presented by the Rockport (MA) Chamber Music Festival.

Amy Beach's Piano Quintet is a technically demanding work, but it is also deeply expressive and emotionally engaging. On today's show, we'll hear Beach’s Piano Quintet played in concert by an ad hoc, all-star quintet at the Spoleto Festival USA in Charleston, South Carolina.

Composer Matt Jackfert has a particular interest in Appalachian music. On today's show, hear a piece by Jackfert inspired by three scenes from West Virginia, featuring an instrument that isn't typically associated with Appalachian music: the euphonium.

Composer David Kirkland Garner is fascinated by a wide range of American roots music, and the legacies of the people who made it happen. On today's episode, we'll hear a piece he wrote honoring the blues legend Mississippi John Hurt. It's a dance called MELT, by David Kirkland Garner, from a concert presented by the Atlanta Chamber Players.

Composer Brian Nabors feels as though the universe is connected through a unified pulse. In 2019, he composed a piece with examples of that unwavering pulse set in different life scenarios, and it's up to you to decide for yourself what those settings are. On today's show, we'll hear Pulse by Brian Nabors, from a concert with Marin Alsop conducting the National Orchestral Institute Philharmonic.

It's 15 minutes of mostly solemn music for solo violin, a set of variations with a few unexpected breaks in the pattern along the way. As simple as that may sound, when it's well played, it's incredibly moving. Join us to hear Violinist Itamar Zorman play the Chaconne from J.S. Bach’s Partita in D Minor…on a violin that’s nearly as old as the music itself.