Performance Today®

Concert curator Geoff Nuttall loves cellos. Can't get enough of them. But he says that getting four cellists onstage at the same time is like trying to get four unicorns together. On today's show, a rare sighting: four all-star cellists at the Spoleto Festival USA perform "When the Night" by Paul Wiancko.

A starburst is a galaxy undergoing an intense rate of star formation activity, with stars being created hundreds or thousands of times more rapidly than usual. Composer Jessie Montgomery found this to be the perfect metaphor for an ensemble she plays in, The Sphinx Virtuosi. Join us today for music that bursts with energy and color: "Starburst" by Jessie Montgomery.

When someone says, "Here's something nobody can do..." have you ever thought to yourself, "Hmm, maybe I can do that." Composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor took that challenge from his teacher and nailed it. Join us today to hear the clarinet quintet by Coleridge-Taylor...and it doesn't sound like Brahms.

The Dies Irae is a hymn from the old Latin Mass for the Dead. Composer Kenji Bunch once misspelled it by a letter - he wrote the word "Irie" - which, in Jamaican patois, loosely means "everything is okay." Join us for music with a positive spin on today's show: Dies Irie by Kenji Bunch.

Avi Avital was the first mandolin soloist nominated for a classical Grammy. More than 100 contemporary compositions have been written for him, but Avital is also known for his renditions of Baroque pieces. On today's show, Avi Avital plays a concerto by Vivaldi at a recent concert in Oslo, Norway.

When someone says, "Here's something nobody can do..." have you ever thought to yourself, "Hmm, maybe I can do that." Composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor took that challenge from his teacher and nailed it. Join us today to hear the clarinet quintet by Coleridge-Taylor...and it doesn't sound like Brahms.

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.