Performance Today®

In the 1860s, the Maori village of Parihaka was founded in New Zealand. When white troops came to seize the land, the villagers responded with non-violent resistance. We'll hear a piece called Remember Parihaka by New Zealand composer Anthony Ritchie on today's show.

Levko Revutsky's Symphony No. 2 is recognized as the first national symphony inspired by Ukrainian culture. In 2020, Revutsky's first edition was rediscovered after being lost for almost a century. Hear that first edition of the Symphony No. 2 by Levko Revutsky on this edition of Performance Today.

Mason Bates is a classical composer and an electronic music DJ…and he wrote a fanfare that combines BOTH styles of music. On today's episode, hear Attack, Decay, Sustain, Release by Mason Bates.

Georgian pianist Ketevan Sepashvili has a terrific career playing at concert halls throughout Europe and the world. On today's show, Sepashvili plays music from Beethoven's Tempest Sonata at a concert in Raiding, Austria.

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.

Mason Bates is a classical composer and an electronic music DJ…and he wrote a fanfare that combines BOTH styles of music. On today's episode, hear Attack, Decay, Sustain, Release by Mason Bates.

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.

23-year-old Canadian pianist Jaeden Izik-Dzurko is having a breakthrough year | over the past six months, he's won five gold medals at international piano competitions. On this edition of Performance Today, we'll hear from his gold-medal-winning performance in Hilton Head, South Carolina.

The Acana tree can grow up to 90 feet, standing tall over wide-spreading roots. Its remarkably strong wood is essential to Cuban life and society. On today's show, hear music inspired by this majestic tree: Acana by the 2021 Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Tania León.