Performance Today®

A few weeks ago, conductor Gianandrea Noseda led the BBC Philharmonic in a pair of pieces by Robert Schumann at the orchestra's home hall in Manchester, England. We'll go there to hear Schumann's Overture to "Genoveva", as well as his lone Cello Concerto, with Paul Watkins as soloist.

Conductor David Robertson addresses the controversy about whether it's appropriate to applaud between movements of a symphony or not. His words to the audience come between the movements of a stirring performance of Dvorak's Eighth Symphony by the Los Angeles Philharmonic in L.A.

In honor of Independence Day, we'll explore the music of some very independent composers who helped establish a uniquely American sound. They include Aaron Copland (courtesy of the Prairie Winds and the Aspen Chamber Symphony), George Gershwin (from the Jupiter String Quartet), Christopher Theofanidis (from a world premiere performance by the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra), and one of the country's first composers, John Antes.

Like many adult siblings, Gil and Orli Shaham don't get to see one another as often as they used to. But the violinist and pianist recently connected up on stage in suburban Atlanta and showed off their musical telepathy on a Mozart Violin Sonata.

It's still not clear who was being crowned when Mozart wrote the "Coronation" Mass. But it's a masterpiece for choir, orchestra and vocal soloists. And we have an outstanding performance of it from the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, where Ton Koopman conducted the Netherlands Chamber Choir and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.

Last week, we heard Vladimir Jurowski and the Russian National Orchestra play Anton Safronov's completion of Schubert's "Unfinished" Symphony. Today, we'll offer your comments about that piece, preceded by the orchestra's performance of Schubert's incomplete original from a concert in Beaver Creek, Colorado. Can it be improved upon? Your call.

Conductor David Robertson addresses the controversy about whether it's appropriate to applaud between movements of a symphony or not. His words to the audience come between the movements of a stirring performance of Dvorak's Eighth Symphony by the Los Angeles Philharmonic in L.A.

Jon Lord has crossed over from the rock world into the classical world. A founding member of the rock band Deep Purple, he's now a composer. Today Fred sits down for a chat with Lord about his music. Plus, we'll hear the final movement of Lord's piano concerto, "Boom of the Tingling Strings."

Pianist Wu Han joins us for a pair of musical conversations today. First, she discusses and performs the first half of Tchaikovsky's "The Seasons" in Washington, D.C. Then we'll go to Colorado's Aspen Festival, where she's joined by cellist David Finckel for the world premiere performance of Pierre Jalbert's Cello Sonata.