Performance Today®

For years and years, Sergei Rachmaninoff received negative music reviews for breaking tradition. In response he once wrote, "I'm more focused saying simply and directly that which is in my heart." No more is that focus more evident than in his Second Symphony. We'll hear a concert with Marin Alsop directing the Sao Paolo Symphony Orchestra. Also ahead, Ottorino Respighi composes slithering sounds in music after a visit to the Butantan Snake Institute in Brazil. On Monday's Performance Today, from APM.

Mozart's music often sounds so simple, but unpack it and you will find complexity. Pianist Jeffrey Kahane unravels Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 6 with the New York Philharmonic. Plus, music to open realms of mass enlightenment. Metaphysical music from Alexander Scriabin's Piano Concerto in concert from Belgium. This weekend on Performance Today, from APM.

Finnish composer Jean Sibelius once wrote, "Compositions are like butterflies. Touch them even once, and the dust of color is gone. They can still fly, but are nowhere near as beautiful." That is, let your ears and your gut be your guide, not your analytical mind. We'll admire a musical butterfly this hour: the Symphony No. 7, by Sibelius. Also on the way, a world-premiere performance of chamber music inspired by ephemeral sculptures of Andrew Goldsworthy. On Friday's Performance Today, from APM.

As a young man, Felix Mendelssohn took a road trip across Europe and brought back his own kind of souvenirs: musical impressions of travel memories. We'll hear about a visit to the Sistine Chapel, and take in Mendelssohn's "Italian" Symphony with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. Also ahead, cellist Lynn Harrell talks about the evocative Elgar Cello Concerto from the Bellingham Festival. On Thursday's Performance Today, from APM.

Mozart's music often sounds so simple, but unpack it and you will find complexity. Pianist Jeffrey Kahane unravels Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 6 with the New York Philharmonic. Plus, violinist Christian Tetzlaff and friends test the acoustics at a de-commissioned power plant in the German mountains. On Performance Today, from APM.

Compared to other animals, birds seem to get all the attention. That's the case in music, at least. We'll hear Igor Stravinsky's musical depiction of fluttering and singing birds in "The Song of the Nightingale," based on Hans Christian Andersen's storytelling. Plus, musical images of the power and beauty of the sea in "La Mer" by Claude Debussy, played by the New York Philharmonic. On Tuesday's Performance Today, from APM

Joseph Haydn was abruptly laid off after working three decades for a Hungarian prince. He took that lemon and made lemonade. Haydn took a trip to London, wrote a dozen symphonies, and found great success late in his career. We'll hear a performance of his "London" Symphony from Belgium. Plus, music as metaphysics with a piano concerto by the young Alexander Scriabin.

Franz Schubert wrote a heart-wrenching piano sonata in the fall of 1828, just 2 months before he died at age 32. Pianist Inon Barnatan says even if Schubert was not foreseeing his own passing, it's still some of the most deeply introspective music ever written. PT Host Fred Child joins Barnatan for an exclusive conversation from Steinway Hall in New York City.

Alessio Bax and Lucille Chung met when they were both in a major piano competition. Instead of becoming arch rivals, they they began to fall in love and now they're married. They'll join PT host Fred Child in the APM studios. Plus, music for string quartet by our PT Piano Puzzler (TM) composer, Bruce Adolphe. On Friday's Performance Today, from APM.