Performance Today®

A rocky island, surrounded by black water, with a dark sky overhead. A boatman is rowing toward an out-cropping where, presumably, his ghostly white passenger will spend the rest of time. It's a painting by Arnold Bocklin called "The Isle of the Dead." Sergei Rachmaninoff was so taken with the painting that he wrote a tone poem called "The Isle of the Dead." We'll hear it today, from a concert in Cincinnati.

The Oslo Chamber Choir was founded as a classical vocal ensemble 25 years ago. But they've been branching out into new territory in the past few years. Their unique layerings of Norwegian folk music with classical choral works were a big hit with PT listeners when we first aired them. Now they have a new CD, called Strid. Today and Monday, The Oslo Chamber Choir joins host Fred Child for music and conversation in the PT studios.

If Gustavo Dudamel was running on fumes the night he and the Los Angeles Philharmonic played at London's Barbican Hall, no one could tell. He and the members of the L.A. Phil had stayed up late the night before, celebrating his 30th birthday. And they went on to deliver a dynamite concert the next day. One critic called it "electrifying, impossible not to be swept away." We'll hear highlights from that post-birthday concert in today's show.

When art and politics collide, politics usually wins, at least in the short term. It depends on the size of the political hammer being wielded. But art almost always wins out in the end. Gyorgy Ligeti wrote a lively rhapsody on Romanian folk music that had a few too many crunchy, off-color harmonies in it. Officials banned it for 20 years, but couldn't ultimately squash it. We'll hear Ligeti's Concerto Romanesc from a concert in Buffalo. Plus, a rare international tour by a North Korean orchestra, in concert in Paris.

A rocky island, surrounded by black water, with a dark sky overhead. A boatman is rowing toward an out-cropping where, presumably, his ghostly white passenger will spend the rest of time. It's a painting by Arnold Bocklin called "The Isle of the Dead." Sergei Rachmaninoff was so taken with the painting that he wrote a tone poem called "The Isle of the Dead." We'll hear it today, from a concert in Cincinnati.

Geoff Nuttall is the charming and genial host for chamber music concerts at the Spoleto Festival USA. He's there at every concert, introducing every piece of music, injecting wit and humor into every performance. In today's show, Nuttall introduces us to the original waltz king, Austrian composer Josef Lanner. We'll hear music by Lanner from the 2012 Spoleto Festival USA, the first of a number of Spoleto performances on PT this week.

In honor of the Father's Day holiday this weekend, we'll meet Canadian composer Robert Rival. Rival says his new piece, "Lullaby," was inspired by the experience of rocking his son to sleep. The Edmonton Symphony plays Robert Rival's "Lullaby," from a concert last month at Carnegie Hall in New York.

It's hard enough to balance work and family life. But for classical musicians who travel a lot, it can be even more difficult. Today, in honor of Father's Day, we'll talk to pianist Leif Ove Andsnes, and find out how fatherhood has changed his life. Andsnes says, "I'm both crying and laughing more easily than before." We'll hear Andsnes in concert in Poland. And the Edmonton Symphony plays Robert Rival's Lullaby, written last year for his newborn son.

Musically-speaking, pianist Lang Lang came of age long ago. He's been an international star since he was a teen-ager. But at last, all of us who are on the far side of 30 get to welcome Lang Lang into the fold. Today is his 30th birthday. We'll celebrate with highlights from his sold-out concert two weeks ago at Carnegie Hall in New York.