Performance Today®

Maurice Ravel’s second violin sonata is known for its show-stopping moments, but Joshua Bell says that the very beginning of the piece is his favorite. We’ll hear Joshua Bell play Ravel’s Violin Sonata No. 2 on today’s show.

Polyrhythm means two or more different rhythms going at the same time. Composer Kenji Bunch recently wrote a piece using polyrhythm as a metaphor for the peaceful coexistence of opposing ideologies. He not only used polyrhythms; he also used elements from a wide range of musical traditions. On today's show, we'll take you to Portland, Oregon, to hear "Time In" by Kenji Bunch.

According to the famous song, whenever "The Girl from Ipanema" passes someone, they respond:  "Ahhh." Composer Dylan Schneider drew inspiration from that moment in a new piece filled with bossa nova and the enchanting sounds of the Amazon rainforest. Join us today to hear the Cassatt String Quartet perform "Goes A-H-H-H" by Dylan Schneider from a concert at the Seal Bay Festival in Vinalhaven, Maine.

Compared to Antonin Dvorak's big hits, his Poetic Tone Pictures collection has flown mostly under the radar. It's a collection of musical poetry, and each piece reflects a different mood or "picture." Pianist Leif Ove Andsnes says it's gorgeous, and we'll hear him play it on today's show.

Composer Inocente Carreño was born in 1919 on a little Venezuelan island called Margarita. On today's show, hear the music he wrote in tribute to his beloved home island: "Margariteña" by Inocente Carreño.

Join us today for the world premiere performance of a concerto that composer Michael Abels wrote for Slovenian guitarist Mak Grgic. We'll hear the story behind the piece and how it became an emotional collaboration inspired by the idea of finding beauty in troubled environments.

Compared to Antonin Dvorak's big hits, his Poetic Tone Pictures collection has flown mostly under the radar. It's a collection of musical poetry, and each piece reflects a different mood or "picture." Pianist Leif Ove Andsnes says it's gorgeous, and we'll hear him play it on today's show.

In the early 1900s, English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams was deeply inspired by a hymn written four centuries earlier. Join us today to hear a Buffalo Philharmonic performance of Vaughan Williams' Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis.

James Ehnes loves to play Sergei Prokofiev's Violin Concerto No. 2. Ehnes says the piece has "…such a unique mix of lyricism and virtuosity...there's nothing quite like it in the repertoire." Join us today to hear James Ehnes play Prokofiev's second concerto in concert with the Minnesota Orchestra.