Performance Today®

Violinist Anais Feller is one of our 2022 PT Young Artists in Residence. Join us today as Host Fred Child and Anais chat over Zoom, with musical selections recorded for PT at the Colburn School in Los Angeles.

When flutist Emi Ferguson was six years old, she had the chance to see two of her flute heroes in concert: Sir James and Lady Jean Galway. She even met them after the show, and young Emi had one crucial question for them. Flutist Emi Ferguson looks back on help from her heroes on this edition of Performance Today.

Valerie Coleman wrote a piece for flute and piano just a few years ago, and flutists around the world are already playing it. Hear the Requiem Milonga by Valerie Coleman on this episode of Performance Today.

Pianist Evren Ozel says the first time he learned to play a Chopin waltz was an act of rebellion - his teacher told him not to do it...and he did it anyway. On today's show, Evren Ozel plays music he loves by Chopin with no one to tell him otherwise.

It's a concerto for three saxophones, but NOT for three saxophone players. The concerto is a showcase for one musician trading off alto, tenor, and soprano saxes. On today's show, Jess Gillam gives a riveting performance of the Concerto for Three Saxophones by Barbara Thompson, backed by the NDR Philharmonic Orchestra.

Valerie Coleman wrote a piece for flute and piano just a few years ago, and flutists around the world are already playing it. Hear the Requiem Milonga by Valerie Coleman on this episode of Performance Today.

Fei Xie is the Principal Bassoon for the Minnesota Orchestra. Before that, he was the principal bassoonist of the Baltimore Symphony. When he won that role with the Baltimore Symphony in 2012, Xie became the first Chinese-born bassoonist to hold a principal position in a major American orchestra. We'll hear Fei Xie play a Mozart bassoon concerto with the Minnesota Orchestra on today's show.

The Alhambra is a sprawling palace and fortress built in the 1300s on a hill overlooking the city of Granada, Spain. In today's episode, hear a shimmering piece inspired by the colorful gardens on the palace grounds. Pianist Bernadene Blaha and the Texas Festival Orchestra perform Nights in the Gardens of Spain by Manuel de Falla.

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.