Performance Today®

Every week, composer Bruce Adolphe joins us for a musical game, our Piano Puzzler. Bruce re-writes a familiar tune in the style of a great composer. We get one of our listeners on the phone who tries to guess the hidden tune and the composer whose style Bruce is imitating. Play along with the PT Piano Puzzler on this episode of Performance Today.

Argentine bandoneon player JP Jofre remembers hearing music by Astor Piazzolla for the first time. He says, "It was classical, and it was tango, and it had the power of heavy metal. I knew this was what I wanted to do." Join us today to hear JP Jofre and friends play music by Astor Piazzolla from a concert at the Geneva Music Festival in Geneva, NY.

The impact of Dr. Martin Luther King is more important than ever. Join us for this special edition of Performance Today honoring Dr. King through music. We'll hear music he loved and the pieces composed by musicians who loved him.

Mykola Lysenko was a Ukrainian composer and conductor who is considered one of the founders of Ukrainian classical music. On today's show, we'll hear the overture from Lysenko's opera 'Taras Bulba,' from a concert by the Romanian Radio National Orchestra.

Polyrhythm means two or more different rhythms going at the same time. Composer Kenji Bunch recently wrote a piece using polyrhythm as a metaphor for the peaceful coexistence of opposing ideologies. He not only used polyrhythms; he also used elements from a wide range of musical traditions. On today's show, we'll take you to Portland, Oregon, to hear the world premiere of "Time In" by Kenji Bunch.

During the height of the pandemic, American composer Missy Mazzoli read about the history of medieval healing rituals, which was the inspiration behind a new piece of music. Join us today to hear Procession, a violin concerto by Missy Mazzoli.

Mykola Lysenko was a Ukrainian composer and conductor who is considered one of the founders of Ukrainian classical music. On today's show, we'll hear the overture from Lysenko's opera 'Taras Bulba,' from a concert by the Romanian Radio National Orchestra.

Saul Bitran of Cuarteto Latinoamericano says he loves practicing his violin. He says, "(it's) like filing taxes for accountants or cleaning teeth for a dentist, except my daily practice is fun." Hear Saul Bitran and his brothers play a string quartet by Alberto Ginastera on today's show.

Join us today for the world premiere performance of a concerto that composer Michael Abels wrote for Slovenian guitarist Mak Grgic. We'll hear the story behind the piece and how it became an emotional collaboration inspired by the idea of finding beauty in troubled environments.