Performance Today®

When violinist Ilya Gringolts was just a kid in the USSR, his first teacher told him to quit the violin, that he had no talent. Fortunately, he didn't let that stop him. Now, he's THRIVING. On today's show, we'll take you to a concert in Switzerland to hear Ilya Gringolts play Pablo de Sarasate's Spanish Dances.

Conductor Delyana Lazarova calls herself a "musical migrant." She was born in Bulgaria, lives in England, and conducts orchestras all around the world. On today's show, Lazarova conducts the Bulgarian National Radio Symphony Orchestra in a performance of "Night," a symphonic poem by Bulgarian composer Marin Goleminov.

Sometimes it's not so much the content as the package it comes in—and Sergei Prokofiev was great at repackaging his own material. In the late 1920s, he took a fiery opera destined for dust and turned it into a mighty symphony he dearly loved. On today's show, we'll take you to a concert in Cincinnati to hear Prokofiev's Symphony No. 3.

The Manhattan skyline, the majesty of the Teton Mountains, and indigenous communities living in the American West. Those are some of the elements that inspired a musical reflection on our nation: American Scene by William Grant Still.

It seems to be human nature that when something is forbidden it becomes all the more enticing. When Jon Nakamatsu was a boy, no one in his family was allowed to touch the piano. Can see where this is going? On today's show, the story of how Jon Nakamatsu became a pianist.

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 Schubert and Liszt on today's show.

Pianist Lara Downes's passion for sharing the music of Black composers goes beyond performing onstage. She's also been hard at work making this previously overlooked music accessible for other musicians to play. Downes will detail her editing and publishing efforts, plus perform a highlight from the project on today's show.

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.