Performance Today®

Poet Laure-Anne Bosselaar hates Mozart, but loves Beethoven. She grew up without classical music in her life, and discovered him at age 17, hearing his fifth symphony for the first time. On today's show, Bosselaar reads her poem, "The Pleasures of Hating." Plus, we'll hear that famous fifth symphony of Beethoven's, performed by the Dallas Symphony and conductor Jaap van Zweden.

William Shakespeare's play about two young, star-crossed lovers has provided the inspiration for some great music. On today's show, we'll hear the lush romanticism of Tchaikovsky's "Romeo and Juliet" overture, and Prokofiev's ballet suites, with their combination of power and intimacy. Vladimir Spivakov leads the National Philharmonic of Russia, in concert at the Worcester Music Festival.

Franz Schubert's "Death and the Maiden" began its life as a song. Schubert later turned that song into a string quartet, and Gustav Mahler subsequently arranged it for string orchestra. On today's show, violinist Joshua Bell joins the violin section of the UBS Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra, and leads them in a performance of Schubert's "Death and the Maiden," from California's Festival del Sole.

On today's show, we wrap up our coverage of the 2009 Van Cliburn Piano Competition. We'll feature silver medalist Yeol Eum Son (pictured) performing Chopin's second piano concerto in the final round of the competition. Plus, our weekly 21st century music segment features two Van Cliburn performances, by gold medalist Haochen Zhang, and by finalist and audience favorite Mariangela Vacatello.

Franz Schubert's "Death and the Maiden" began its life as a song. Schubert later turned that song into a string quartet, and Gustav Mahler subsequently arranged it for string orchestra. On today's show, violinist Joshua Bell joins the violin section of the UBS Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra, and leads them in a performance of Schubert's "Death and the Maiden," from California's Festival del Sole.

This past Sunday, the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition concluded with a rare tie for first place. On Monday's show, we featured one of the gold medalists, Nobuyuki Tsujii of Japan. On today's show, we'll hear the other, Chinese pianist Haochen Zhang. The youngest competitor in the field, Zhang gave a mature, electrifying performance of Prokofiev's second piano concerto.

A Chinese folk tale became music in the hands of composers Chen Gang and He Zhanhao. And violinist Gil Shaham decided that he wanted to share this beautiful piece with the world. He's joined by Lan Shui and the Singapore Symphony for the "Butterfly Lovers" Violin Concerto.

Last night in Fort Worth, Texas, the Van Cliburn Piano Competition came to an end. The result? An unexpected tie for first place. Our own Fred Child was there, hosting the awards ceremony. On today's show, we'll hear from Fred in Texas, feature conversations with the winners, and catch one of the winning concerto performances, featuring co-winner Nobuyuki Tsujii of Japan.

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.