Performance Today®

What do we mean when we say "American classical music"? Composer Derrick Skye sought to answer that question in the form of a string quartet. On today's show, hear music that draws on the musical traditions that reflect our multicultural American society: American Mirror by Derrick Skye.

André Watts, the acclaimed American pianist who rose to fame as a teenager and went on to have a distinguished career performing and teaching, died last week (July 12, 2023) at the age of 77. He was known for his powerful technique and his ability to communicate the emotional depth of the music he played. He will be dearly missed, but his music lives on. We'll hear André Watts play music by Franze Schubert on today's show.

During the most recent Cliburn International Piano Competition, Yunchan Lim boldly played an hour-long recital with just the Transcendental Etudes by Franz Liszt. It's difficult, demanding music...and he went on to win the Gold Medal. Hear Yunchan Lim play Liszt's Transcendental Etudes on this episode of Performance Today.

Talin Nalbandian is the latest in the 2023 cohort of PT Young Artists in Residence. A native of Los Angeles, California, Nalbandian is an Armenian-American mezzo-soprano. She recently joined Fred Child in our St. Paul studio; you can hear her music and the entire interview here.

Talin Nalbandian worked as an opera singer in New York for five years before she began her doctoral program at the University of Texas at Austin. She is now one of our 2023 PT Young Artists in Residence. She recently joined Fred Child in our St. Paul studio; tune in today to learn more about Talin Nalbandian.

Violinist Jory Lane began his musical journey playing bluegrass and Celtic music in Colorado Springs and continued to the Eastman School of Music, where he graduated this spring. He is now one of our 2023 PT Young Artists in Residence. Jory Lane recently joined Fred Child in our St. Paul studio; tune in to learn more about this exciting young musician.

What would you do if you met someone famous? Would you keep your cool and calmly shake hands? Or...are you the type of person who would get too excited and trip on your own feet? On today's show, find out how composer Robert Kahn reacted when he met Johannes Brahms.

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.

Jory Lane is the latest in the 2023 cohort of PT Young Artists in Residence. He began his musical journey playing bluegrass and Celtic music in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and continued to the Eastman School of Music, where he graduated this spring. Jory recently joined Fred Child in our St. Paul studio; listen in to learn more about this exciting young musician.