American Public Media’s Performance Today® is America’s most popular classical music radio program and a winner of the 2014 Gabriel Award for artistic achievement. The show is broadcast on hundreds of public radio stations across the country, including at 1 p.m. central weekdays on Minnesota Public Radio. More information about our stations can be found at APM Distribution.
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 today to learn more about this exciting young musician.
Composer Inocente Carreño was born in 1919 on a little Venezuelan island called Margarita. On today's show, hear the music he wrote in tribute to his beloved home island: "Margariteña" by Inocente Carreño.
There's a musical puzzle at the heart of the Enigma Variations by Edward Elgar. Cryptographers have been working on cracking the code for a century. On this episode of Performance Today, we'll share some of the many possible solutions... and enjoy a great performance of Elgar's Enigma Variations, from the Aspen Music Festival.
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.
Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho died this past June at the age of 70. Her compositions explored themes of nature, spirituality, and human emotions, captivating audiences with their evocative and atmospheric soundscapes. On today's show, we'll hear a concerto for flute and orchestra that was inspired by the flight of birds: Aile du Songe (Wing of the Dream) by Kaija Saariaho.
James Ehnes loves to play Sergei Prokofiev's Violin Concerto No. 2. Ehnes says the piece has "…such a unique mix of lyricism and virtuosity...there's nothing quite like it in the repertoire." Join us today to hear James Ehnes play Prokofiev's second concerto in concert with the Minnesota Orchestra.
So, what is a Piano Puzzler, you might ask? Well, it's a familiar tune that Bruce Adolphe has re-written in the style of a classical composer. See if you can name the hidden tune and the composer whose style Bruce is imitating. Join us for this week’s Piano Puzzler on this episode of Performance Today.
Join us this Independence Day for a multimedia piece that highlights the unifying words of George Washington, set to dramatic music by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor. The Sphinx Symphony Orchestra plays "An American Rhapsody" by Aaron Dworkin on this episode of Performance Today.
The Ekstasis Duo loves to play the "secret jewels," lesser-known works they feel deserve to be heard. Today we'll hear them play a work that was lost for nearly a century: Three Pieces by Austrian composer Alexander Zemlinksy.
