Performance Today®

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.

We're celebrating the 20th Anniversary of the Piano Puzzler! Bruce Adolphe joins Fred Child in the studio to discuss the evolution of our weekly musical game over the past two decades, AND Bruce also has some special "treats" to share with us.

It's fair to say that Robert Schumann was impressed when he heard Schubert's first piano trio. Schumann wrote: "..the troubles of our human existence disappear...and the whole world is fresh and bright again." Can there be a better review than that? On today's show, join us for uplifting music by Franz Schubert, his Piano Trio No. 1.

Gao Hong grew up in China but has lived in Minnesota for about 30 years. Recently, she's been writing music combining her pipa (Chinese lute) with Western ensembles. We’ll hear a great example on today’s show: Nostalgia, by Gao Hong, for pipa, clarinet, cello, and piano.

Tune in today for a special occasion: we're celebrating the 20th Anniversary of the Piano Puzzler! Bruce Adolphe joins Fred Child in the studio to discuss the evolution of our weekly musical game over the past two decades, AND Bruce also has some special "treats" to share with us.

They're called the Swiss Orchestra. They've been around since 2018, and they aim to bring back forgotten Swiss music. Join us for highlights from a concert they gave in the heart of the Swiss Alps on this edition of 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.

Maurice Ravel’s second violin sonata is known for its show-stopping moments, but Joshua Bell says that the very beginning of the piece is his favorite. We’ll hear Joshua Bell play Ravel’s Violin Sonata No. 2 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.