Performance Today®

For 25 years, the New York Philharmonic has been encouraging and empowering young musicians with their Very Young Composers program. On today’s show, we’ll hear works by 16-year-old Nicholas Hutfilz and 14-year-old Dalya Shaman.

American composer Pierre Jalbert is from a French-Canadian family. He hadn’t thought about addressing his heritage in music until he found inspiration in French-Canadian folk songs. On today's show, we'll hear the world premiere performance of Jalbert’s L'esprit du Nord (Spirit of the North), performed and commissioned by the Apollo Chamber Players.

On today's show, we'll hear a piece Mexican-American composer Jorge Machain wrote for Joseph Alessi, the principal trombone player of the New York Philharmonic. The work is called "Adelante," which in Spanish means "ahead" or "forward." Machain hopes this piece can be seen to "represent moving forward as a nation, with the hopes of everyone becoming one undivided people."

On today's show, we'll hear a cello concerto that premiered last fall: Last Year by Mark Adamo. Adamo described it as an updated, environmental take on a familiar classic by Vivaldi.

American composer Pierre Jalbert is from a French-Canadian family. He hadn’t thought about addressing his heritage in music until he found inspiration in French-Canadian folk songs. On today's show, we'll hear the world premiere performance of Jalbert’s L'esprit du Nord (Spirit of the North), performed and commissioned by the Apollo Chamber Players.

Pianist Sara Davis Buechner says that music takes her to a place where she feels completely herself, especially the music of Mozart. Tune in and learn more about Sara Davis Buechner and hear her play music by Bach and Mozart.

Composer Richard Scofano wrote a 15-minute piece of music inspired by a hopeful vision of the future. On today's show, hear La Tierra sin Mal (The Land Without Evil) by Richard Scofano; a musical journey through struggle, determination, and finally, the discovery of peace and serenity.

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 today’s show.

As a kid, flutist Matvey Demin was upset that the Tchaikovsky Competition was only for pianists, string players, and singers. But, In 2019, a new category opened up for wind instruments… and Demin took first prize. Hear Matvey Demin’s gold medal final round concerto on this episode of Performance Today.