Performance Today®

Composer Aaron Copland was a city slicker from Brooklyn, New York. And yet he instinctively knew how to capture the sound of the great open spaces of the American West. Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony play highlights from Copland's cowboy ballet, Billy the Kid, in a special gala concert in honor of the orchestra's 100th anniversary.

Pianist Imogen Cooper calls Beethoven's "Tempest" Sonata "a deeply disturbing work." From the enigmatic opening bars where Beethoven draws us into a mysterious world, to the ambiguous ending, he takes us through a whole range of conflicting emotions. Cooper confesses that playing this piece sometimes leaves her feeling shaken. Today she joins host Fred Child in the PT studios for conversation and a performance of Beethoven's "Tempest" Sonata.

In today's show, a performance from Music City - Nashville, Tennessee. Pianist Kirill Gerstein plays a Rachmaninoff concerto with the Nashville Symphony. And the story of trombonist Jeremy Wilson, who's resigning his chair in the Vienna Philharmonic to return to his roots in Tennessee. He'll teach at Vanderbilt University in Nashville. We'll hear the Vienna Philharmonic in Beethoven's "Eroica" Symphony.

It's a rare treat to have British pianist Imogen Cooper in the Performance Today studio this Friday. She's world-renowned as a Franz Schubert expert, but this time Cooper joins host Fred Child to talk about one of Schubert's heros: Ludwig van Beethoven. Tune in to Friday's PT to hear Cooper play Beethoven and to spend a delightful half hour with a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire.

Composer Aaron Copland was a city slicker from Brooklyn, New York. And yet he instinctively knew how to capture the sound of the great open spaces of the American West. Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony play highlights from Copland's cowboy ballet, Billy the Kid, in a special gala concert in honor of the orchestra's 100th anniversary.

There are those who can point to one moment in their lives and say, "That was it. That was when everything changed forever." It's likely pianist Daniil Trifonov would point to June 30, 2011, as the day he knew things would never be the same. That was the day he won the International Tchaikovsky Competition, and went from being an unknown 20-year-old music student to being a star. Trifonov plays Tchaikovsky's First Piano Concerto in today's show.

Here at PT, we get to say "we knew them when." Two years ago, the members of the Parker Quartet were PT Artists in Residence. And they've gone on to do great things since then. They're getting rave reviews. They won a Grammy award last year. And their playing has only gotten better and better. The Parker Quartet joins host Fred Child for music and conversation, today and tomorrow in the PT studio.

Two years ago, the Parker Quartet was just out of school, just learning the ropes of their professional careers and just named PT's first Young Artists in Residence. Since then, they've earned praise for their concerts all over the world and won a Grammy Award. Recently they joined Fred Child in the studio for a little reunion of music and conversation.

Nostalgia is a sweet but dangerous thing. Too much sugar and it loses its authenticity. Too much vinegar and it's more painful than satisfying. When he was past 50, Zoltan Kodaly resurrected a favorite childhood memory, hearing the local Gypsy musicians in his home town of Galanta. He came up with just the right blend of sugar and spice, of energy and reflection, in his Dances of Galanta. We'll hear it, from a concert in Paris.