Performance Today®

Composer Osvaldo Golijov's search for beauty in life and in his music is on-going. He likens it to "the laughter of the universe." On today's show, we'll hear the beauty of the color blue in Golijov's new work, "Azul." Cellist Yo-Yo Ma is among the soloists in this performance with Jeffrey Kahane and the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra. Plus, we'll hear from one of the finalists at the Van Cliburn Competition, Bulgarian Evgeni Bozhanov.

The Van Cliburn Piano Competition has been going on in Texas for the last two weeks. In the shadow of that big event, the Parkening International Guitar Competition was held last week in Malibu, California. On today's show, we'll hear the gold medal performance by Italian guitarist Emanuele Buono. Plus, we'll hear more from the final round of Van Cliburn, with the winner to be featured on Monday's show.

Violinist Hilary Hahn has been on the concert stage since she was 12 years old. Now a seasoned pro, she's still only 29. She continues to grow as a soloist, offering ever richer performances. On today's show, she appears with the Cleveland Orchestra in Dvorak's violin concerto. Plus, we'll feature another performance from one of the Van Cliburn Competition finalists, South Korean pianist Yeol Eum Son.

The six remaining Van Cliburn Competition contestants are giving their final performances this week. Today, we'll hear Italian pianist Mariangela Vacatello in her semi-final round performance, playing music by Schumann and Scriabin. Our guest blogger, Gregory Allen, says of Vacatello, "She has insight, sensitivity, imagination, good taste, and - rarely found in competitions - a sense of integrity and humility about her role as an artist."

Composer Osvaldo Golijov's search for beauty in life and in his music is on-going. He likens it to "the laughter of the universe." On today's show, we'll hear the beauty of the color blue in Golijov's new work, "Azul." Cellist Yo-Yo Ma is among the soloists in this performance with Jeffrey Kahane and the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra. Plus, we'll hear from one of the finalists at the Van Cliburn Competition, Bulgarian Evgeni Bozhanov.

Felix Mendelssohn was 20 years old, and on holiday in Scotland. Visiting a ruined castle, he wrote, "Everything around is broken and mouldering, and the bright sky shines in. I believe that today I've found the beginning of my Scottish Symphony." From the shards of that ruined place, Mendelssohn created a work of great wholeness and beauty. Today, we'll go to a concert in Berlin to hear the German Symphony Orchestra perform it.

The field of competitors in the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition is down to 12. We'll hear outstanding performances by two of them, Di Wu of China (pictured), and Nobuyuki Tsujii of Japan. We'll be covering the results of the competition as they unfold. The semi-final round of the competition is underway, and the finals begin on June 3. PT host Fred Child will be emceeing the awards ceremony on June 7.

American composer Philip Glass has rarely if ever been accused of being a romantic. But in his evolution as a composer, it's only natural that he should explore the more emotional and passionate side of his music. On today's show we'll hear the world premiere performance of Glass' beautiful new violin sonata, featuring violinist Maria Bachmann and pianist Jon Klibonoff. With this work, Bachmann appropriately labels Glass a romantic, perhaps for the first time.

Robert Schumann was psychotic and suicidal in the fall of 1853. His final work, his concerto for violin, dates from that time. Schumann's family and friends suppressed the work, and it wasn't performed until 1936. On today's show, violinist Christian Tetzlaff breathes life into this seldom-played work. Plus, we'll have another terrific performance from the Van Cliburn Piano Competition, Lukas Vondracek playing a Liszt Transcendental Etude.