Poster Fred Child
Fred Child
MPR

Performance Today®

with host Fred Child

All Episodes

Ruth Reinhardt

Ruth Reinhardt

Ruth Reinhardt is a powerhouse among up-and-coming conductors. This season, she's making her first appearance with fifteen different orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, the Nashville Symphony, and the Warsaw Philharmonic, to name a few. On today's show, Ruth Reinhardt leads the National Orchestral Institute Philharmonic in a performance of Samuel Coleridge Taylor's Ballade for Orchestra.

Sphinx

Sphinx

For more than 20 years now, the Sphinx Organization has been at the forefront of work to increase the representation of Black and Latinx artists in classical music. On today's show, we'll hear the Sphinx Virtuosi perform 'Tracking Visions' by Valerie Coleman.

Trio Ad Libitum

Trio Ad Libitum

All of us at PT are proud because two of our former PT Young Artists are part of a new powerhouse trio. On today's show, we'll hear a concert from Chicago with the new Trio Ad Libitum: Tim Petrin, Jordan Bak, and the equally talented Elizabeth Fayette.

Sara Davis Buechner

Sara Davis Buechner

Pianist Sara Davis Buechner says that music takes her to a place where she feels completely herself. Join us today to learn more about Sara Davis Buechner and hear her play music by Joaquin Turina.

PT Weekend: Valerie Coleman

PT Weekend: Valerie Coleman

Valerie Coleman wrote a piece for flute and piano just a few years ago, and flutists around the world are already playing it. Hear the Requiem Milonga by Valerie Coleman on this episode of Performance Today.

Germaine Tailleferre

Germaine Tailleferre

Germaine Tailleferre was determined to be a musician, and her father tried to stop her. She rebelled so completely that she even changed her name and went on to a 70-year career as a composer. We'll hear the String Quartet by French composer Germaine Tailleferre on today's show.

Musical poetry

Musical poetry

American writer and poet Langston Hughes had a musical way with words. Music inspired his poetry...and his poetry has now inspired music. Join us today to hear a piece inspired by the words of Langston Hughes: A Thousand Whirling Dreams by composer, jazz pianist, and teacher Dana Wilson.

Valerie Coleman: Requiem Milonga

Valerie Coleman: Requiem Milonga

Valerie Coleman wrote a piece for flute and piano just a few years ago, and flutists around the world are already playing it. Hear the Requiem Milonga by Valerie Coleman on this episode of Performance Today.

Gabriela Montero at Prager

Gabriela Montero at Prager

In the fall of 2022, pianist Gabriela Montero opened the first season of what's called Gabriela Montero at Prager, a long-term artist residency hosted by the Prager Family Center for the Arts in Easton, Maryland. Montero curates and hosts a concert series with A-list artists from around the world in an intimate concert space at Prager. We'll take you there to hear Gabriela Montero perform Sergei Prokofiev's ‘Sarcasms’ on today's show.