Performance Today®

If you sat through Richard Wagner's four-opera "Ring" cycle start to finish, it would take close to a day. It's tough to break that down into bite-sized portions, but there are a few "Ring" excerpts that make their way into the concert hall. On today's show, we'll hear orchestral excerpts from the final opera in the cycle, "Gotterdammerung," or "The Twilight of the Gods," featuring Simon Rattle and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic.

Cellist Alban Gerhardt was used to shutting out the audience. He always plays with earplugs, and used to perform with his eyes closed. But recently, he decided he needed to engage the audience a little more, to create a more emotionally honest performance. He's working on keeping his eyes open, although he still won't part with the earplugs. We'll hear Gerhardt today, performing the Dvorak Cello Concerto with the Philadelphia Orchestra.

Jean Sibelius: "Valse Triste," Op. 44, No. 1 The Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra with conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen

The Grammy awards are this Sunday, and today we'll continue our look at some of the nominees. We'll hear violinist Elmar Oliveira playing part of the Bloch Violin Concerto, from a recording that's up for best instrumental soloist. And we'll hear works by composers Meredith Monk and Jennifer Higdon, also up for Grammies. Tune in next week, too, when we'll have news about the winners.

A couple of years ago, pianist Simone Dinnerstein was a struggling young artist, trying to break into the classical musical world. Today, she's one of the hottest tickets on the concert circuit. She recently dropped by our studios for an interview, and played a Bach suite. Plus, we'll hear from another young artist coping with sudden success: the first place winner of last week's Sphinx Competition, cellist Tony Rymer.

Ever wonder what Debussy's faun did all day? Debussy captured what his life was like from, say, noon to four. But the rest of the day is a mystery. Today we'll go to a concert in Copenhagen, Denmark, to hear Debussy's "Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun." Plus, we'll feature performances by violinist Hilary Hahn and pianist Leif Ove Andsnes that are up for Grammy awards this Sunday.

Today is the 200th birthday of Felix Mendelssohn. Even after 200 years, new Mendelssohn works are still popping up, and we'll take you to a concert in New York City featuring several world premieres of his music. Plus, host Fred Child talks with pianist Wu Han and Mendelssohn biographer Larry Todd about the life and music of this great composer.

Tomorrow is Felix Mendelssohn's 200th birthday, but his music is as fresh as ever. Today, we'll begin a two-day PT celebration marking the event. You'll hear performances of some of his greatest works. And today, host Fred Child chats with author and musical commentator Rob Kapilow about what makes the Mendelssohn octet so great.

Beethoven's Kreutzer Sonata (Violin Sonata No. 9) has primed the creative pumps of plenty of other artists. Tolstoy wrote a book about it. Prinet painted this picture of it. Leos Janacek wrote a string quartet about it. There was even a silent movie, starring Hollywood vamp Theda Bara. Today, we'll hear a bit of the original, plus the Janacek version, from a performance at Washington's Smithsonian.