Poster Fred Child
Fred Child
MPR

Performance Today®

with host Fred Child

All Episodes

Cracking the Code

Cracking the Code

There are lots of great encoded mysteries in the world. Some of them, like Egyptian hieroglyphics, have been solved. Unfortunately, there's no Rosetta Stone to help decipher Edward Elgar's "Enigma Variations," but there are some interesting theories about them. Tune in today for a performance of the "Enigma Variations" by the Iceland Symphony Orchestra.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas

Like a box of fine chocolates, today's show features a rich assortment of the sweet and the tart, the smooth and the chewy. Sink your teeth into today's show, and you'll hear holiday music from all over the world. We'll feature music from different cultures - some serious, some fun, all delightful. Merry Christmas from all of us at Performance Today!

All is Calm

All is Calm

Christmas Eve of 1914 wasn't supposed to be a silent night. World War I was going on, and men were supposed to be killing one another. But, just for that night, both sides gave up fighting and made peace. Join us today as the men of Cantus tell the story of that night, in word and song.

Two great choral works

Two great choral works

Today's show features two great choral masterpieces for Christmas. We'll feature Cantata I of Bach's "Christmas Oratorio" from Stockholm, Sweden, and selections from Handel's "Messiah," featuring Apollo's Fire from Cleveland. In addition, we'll talk with Rob Kapilow, author of a series of commentaries called "What Makes it Great?" He'll explain what makes Handel's "Hallelujah Chorus" so great.

Celebrating the Season

Celebrating the Season

Today we'll celebrate the start of winter after yesterday's solstice. It's also the first full day of Hannukah, and Christmas is just a few days away. We'll have lots of great programming in honor of this most festive season of the year, featuring great performances from all over the world.

Performance Today for Saturday, December 20, 2008
Irreverent Praise

Irreverent Praise

When Francis Poulenc was composing one particular piece, he said he was imagining angels sticking out their tongues and solemn monks playing soccer. The result is the gloriously irreverent "Gloria," for choir and orchestra. Today we'll hear Mariss Jansons and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra perform it in Amsterdam. Plus, the Rose Ensemble returns for some early American Christmas music.

A Mexican Christmas

A Mexican Christmas

The Rose Ensemble, one of the country's great early music groups, stopped by our studios recently to share some of their holiday music with us. Today, we'll feature them in a set of Baroque Christmas pieces from Mexico. It's a unique sound that's a blend of both the old and new worlds.

Fast and furious

Fast and furious

He's young, handsome, and plays a Guarneri violin. That's the equivalent of driving an expensive sports car. Today, the young Ukrainian violinist Andrej Bielow will take us on some fast curves and hairpin turns, as he performs Glazunov's violin concerto with the Slovak Radio Symphony in Bratislava, Slovakia. Mario Kosik conducts.

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