Poster Fred Child
Fred Child
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Performance Today®

with host Fred Child

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Enrique Crespo

Enrique Crespo

Enrique Crespo was a supremely talented composer and trombonist. He was raised in Uruguay but spent most of his career in Germany writing great music for brass ensembles. We've got an example of Enrique Crespo's brassy creativity on this edition of Performance Today.

Rebecca Clarke: Dumka

Rebecca Clarke: Dumka

In Ukrainian, the word "dumka" means "thought." And in music, a dumka is a somewhat dreamlike dance that often comes back to a bittersweet reflection on the sadness of life. We'll hear a dumka by Rebecca Clarke on today's show from an all-star performance in Colorado Springs.

Elgar's Enigma Variations

Elgar's Enigma Variations

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 the Elgar's Enigma Variations, from the Aspen Music Festival.

Harry Partch: Seduced into carpentry

Harry Partch: Seduced into carpentry

Composer Harry Partch built one-of-a-kind instruments based on his own tuning systems. He described himself as "a philosophic music man seduced into carpentry." We'll hear music by Harry Partch arranged for string quartet on this episode of Performance Today.

A new take on the Danse Macabre

A new take on the Danse Macabre

Join us for a wildly creative new version of the Danse Macabre by Camille Saint-Saens, featuring the Anderson and Roe Piano Duo (and friends) from a concert at the Grand Teton Music Festival.

Justin Holland

Justin Holland

Justin Holland was born in 1819 as a free black American. He devoted his life to civil rights, did dangerous work on the Underground Railroad, and was a talented guitarist and composer. Hear and learn more about the music of Justin Holland on this episode of Performance Today.

Music inspired by Edgar Allan Poe

Music inspired by Edgar Allan Poe

During a fictitious plague called The Red Death, a prince invited friends to a party, locked safely inside his castle. But a mysterious visitor showed up, and the party took a turn decidedly for the worse. On today's show, hear Andre Caplet's "Conte fantastique," inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's "Masque of the Red Death."

Maria Newman: Storgé

Maria Newman: Storgé

Maria Newman was born into a family of famous, formidable composers. She was so intimidated when she was growing up she gave up composition altogether. In the end, though, she had music inside her that just had to come out. On today's show, learn about how Maria Newman stepped into her own as a composer and hear her Sonata for Solo Guitar, Storgé, performed by guitarist Nicholas Goluses.

Libby Larsen: Emergence

Libby Larsen: Emergence

It goes around and around: evaporation, condensation, precipitation, runoff, and the cycle repeats. So, would music inspired by the ecological water cycle also have no beginning and no end? We'll find out, with music by Libby Larsen on this edition of Performance Today.