Performance Today®

Maurice Ravel was 31 when he began writing a piece that he called simply, "La Valse," a light tribute to carefree Viennese waltzes. He set the piece aside, then saw the agony of World War I firsthand. When the 45-year-old Ravel came back to his waltz, the world was different place. He was a different man. And La Valse was no longer a light tribute. In 13 minutes, you can hear the waltz slowly go delirious, spin out of control, and finally, fly apart into chaos.

How to sum up Claude Debussy in just a few words? A man who revolutionized 20th century music. Who broke all the rules for composing. Who said, in fact, that there was only one rule, and that was pleasure. A man who explored musical moods and colors and textures in a way no one ever had before. Today is Claude Debussy's 150th birthday. We'll celebrate with some of his greatest works, including a performance of La Mer from San Francisco.

Claude Debussy once said that he hated the term impressionism. And yet, he also wrote to a friend, "You do me a great honor by calling me a pupil of Claude Monet." Conductor David Robertson shares his thoughts on the parallels between Debussy's music and Monet's painting, and leads the New York Philharmonic in a ravishing performance of Debussy's "Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun."

Fred Child hosted a very special live event in Boston recently. A three-hour tribute to the music of Claude Debussy, featuring pianist Marc-Andre Hamelin, clarinetist Richard Stoltzman, and saxophonist Kenneth Radnofsky. We'll hear highlights today and tomorrow, and lots of Debussy all week long, in honor of his 150th birthday on Wednesday.

They call it a tent, but it's really much more than that. It has a solid roof, and can seat nearly 2,000 people. But it's the movable side panels that make the Benedict Music Tent such a favorite of Aspen concertgoers. When the weather is nice, those panels open up and allow the gorgeous sounds to waft out over the lawn. You can bring a picnic, bring the kids, even the family dog. Today, we'll meet some folks on the lawn outside the Benedict Tent, and hear highlights from the great concerts inside.

Here at PT, we're in the business of bringing you amazing performances every day. But once in a while, we hear one that stops us in our tracks. Today, we'll hear from a young lady who brought down the house with her recent performance at the Aspen Festival, 9-year-old violinist Elizabeth Aoki. She sits down with host Fred Child for her first-ever interview. And with a future as bright as hers, it certainly won't be her last.

Irish pianist John O'Conor is on the piano faculty at the Aspen Music Festival and School. And he's a big champion of the music of fellow Irishman John Field. O'Conor shares the story of John Field, and plays nocturnes by Field and Alexander Scriabin.

Three days ago, Fred Child hosted a very special onstage event at the Aspen Festival. Music and conversation with some Aspen all-stars, including Aspen music director Robert Spano, composer John Harbison, and 9-year-old Aspen student Elizabeth Aoki. Today and tomorrow, we'll bring you highlights from that special night at Aspen. Plus, violinist Gil Shaham talks about his lifelong association with the festival.

As a young man, composer John Harbison was passionate about both jazz and classical music. At the time, he felt he had to choose between the two, and picked classical. Times have changed, and nowadays he's comfortable combining the two in his music. Hear Fred Child's onstage interview with John Harbison at the 2012 Aspen Festival, along with Harbison's performance of his own music.