Poster Aaron Copland
Aaron Copland
Aaron Copland Collection
Performance Today®

A Ballet by any Other Name

In a 1980 interview with NPR, composer Aaron Copland chuckled when he talked about misconceptions people have about his ballet, "Appalachian Spring.""I was not thinking about the Appalachian Mountains when I wrote it. People are very disappointed to hear me say that." In today's show, the story of how the "Ballet for Martha" became "Appalachian Spring," and a performance by the Knights in Stillwater, Minnesota. Plus, Bruce Adolphe stops by for a new Piano Puzzler.

Episode Playlist

Hour 1

Aaron Copland: Saturday Night Waltz, from Rodeo
The London Symphony Orchestra, Aaron Copland, conductor

Mikhail Glinka: Overture to Ruslan and Lyudmila
The Norwegian Radio Orchestra, Ari Rasilainen, conductor
Radio Concert Hall, Oslo, Norway

The Piano Puzzler: This week's contestants are Dick and Serena LaVine from New York City

Aaron Copland: Appalachian Spring
The Knights, Eric Jacobsen, conductor
Stillwater Music Festival, Stillwater, Minnesota

Hour 2

Johann Sebastian Bach: First movement from Concerto for Oboe, Violin, Strings and Continuo in C Minor, BWV 1060
Allan Vogel, oboe, Hilary Hahn, violin, the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Jeffrey Kahane, conductor

Various Composers (Arranged by William Kanengiser): Music from the Time of Cervantes
The Los Angeles Guitar Quartet
Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 23 in A, K. 488
Rudolf Buchbinder, piano, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Gustavo Dudamel, conductor
Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles

Dmitri Shostakovich: Galopp from the Nose
The Los Angeles Philharmonic, Esa-Pekka Salonen, conductor
Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles

Various Composers: Three Encores
Denis Matsuev, piano
Chopin and his Europe International Music Festival, Warsaw, Poland

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About Performance Today®

To find a station near you on our Stations Listings page, click here.

American Public Media’s Performance Today® is America’s most popular classical music radio program and a winner of the 2014 Gabriel Award for artistic achievement. The show is broadcast on hundreds of public radio stations across the country, including at 1 p.m. central weekdays on Minnesota Public Radio. More information about our stations can be found at APM Distribution.

Performance Today® features live concert recordings that can’t be heard anywhere else, highlights from new album releases, and in-studio performances and interviews. Performance Today® is based at the APM studios in St. Paul, Minnesota, but is frequently on the road, with special programs broadcast from festivals and public radio stations around the country. Also, each Wednesday, composer Bruce Adolphe joins host Fred Child for a classical musical game and listener favorite: the Piano Puzzler.

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