Performance Today®

Gustav Mahler's monumental Symphony Number 8 (the "Symphony of a Thousand") is ambitious in almost every way. Not just its size (intended for an amassed orchestra and chorus of 1,000 people), but in its emotional and intellectual content. Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony have just completed a massive recording project, recording all of the Mahler symphonies. We'll feature Tilson Thomas and San Francisco in part one of the Symphony of a Thousand in today's show. Look for part two on Friday.

Simon Rattle has been Principal Conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic since 2002. Despite some ups and downs in his relationship with the orchestra, the players recently voted to extend his contract through 2018. The Berlin Philharmonic is sounding as lush and sweet as ever under Rattle, as we'll hear from a concert they gave last month in Berlin. Rattle conducts the Symphony No. 3 by Jean Sibelius. Also: Bruce Adolphe has a brand new Piano Puzzler. This week's caller is from San Antonio, Texas.

Is it true? Well...it's a great story. Domenico Scarlatti's "Cat's Fugue" got the name because the strange rising six-note theme was plunked out by his cat, Pulcinella, walking up the keyboard of his harpsichord. The Georgia Guitar Quartet plays the Cat's Fugue, in concert in Athens, Georgia. Plus, violinist Nikolaj Znaider on the passion expressed, and the passion repressed, in Johannes Brahms' Violin Concerto. (Znaider thinks the restrained passion is more interesting.) Znaider joins the Cleveland Orchestra for a concert in Miami.

The Chopin Piano Competition happens once every five years, and hadn't had a winner in 15 years. But in 2005, a young Polish pianist walked away with every prize the jury had to give. Rafal Blechacz was just 20 when his life changed forever. On today's show, he joins host Fred Child to talk about, and play, music of Chopin and Mozart.

There is a lovely Bavarian town called Traunstein. The Alps rise majestically on one side, lakes glimmer on the other. A monastery was founded in the town center in 1685. Now it's used as an art gallery and performance space. From that former monastery in Bavaria, we'll hear a sparkling performance of Mozart's Piano Quartet in E-flat Major. Also: Samuel Barber was a great American composer, but as his friend Lee Hoiby recalls, Barber was not always a model of decorum. Hoiby tells a story about Barber kicking his way through patrons at a concert one evening.

This week's 21st century music feature highlights a composer who doesn't limit his audience to humans. David Teie also writes music for cats to enjoy. His cat music incorporates sounds of purring and bird chirps. His human music features more conventional sounds. On today's show, we'll hear Teie's concerto for viola and cello, with the composer himself playing the cello solo.

Flying at night is no big deal these days. It was a huge deal during World War II. Weather reports were sketchy, maps were occasionally correct. Cockpit instruments were unreliable. Not to mention the existential anxiety of getting shot at. American composer Samuel Barber was in the Army Air Force during World War Two. His piece "Night Flight" is evocative of the inky darkness, but also the beautiful calm of being above it all. We'll hear Barber's Night Flight played by the London Symphony Orchestra. Also: "Playing and hearing music by Chopin, you learn not only what the piano can do, you learn about its soul." American pianist Jonathan Biss joins us to talk about, and play, music by Chopin and Schumann.

Irish poet William Butler Yeats tried to "reconstruct an old song from three lines imperfectly remembered by an old peasant woman in the village, who sings them to herself." That inspired his poem, "The Salley Gardens," which has been set to music by at least half a dozen composers. We'll hear Benjamin Britten's version, sung by Sarah Connolly, in concert last week at Wigmore Hall in London. Also, Chatham Baroque plays a set of Irish jigs in concert in Pittsburgh. Two great Irish orchestras in concert in Dublin. And Bruce Adolphe has a brand new Piano Puzzler.

In 1962, pianist John Browning was set to give the premiere of Samuel Barber's new piano concerto. There was just one problem. Two weeks before the premiere, Barber still hadn't written the third movement. In today's show, Browning tells the story behind that premiere, involving himself, Barber, and the interventions of Aaron Copland and Vladimir Horowitz. And pianist Meng-Chieh Liu performs it with Barber's alma mater orchestra, the Curtis Symphony Orchestra in Philadelphia.