Poster Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein
Library of Congress
Performance Today®

West Side Story

West Side Story has been an American musical theater classic for 56 years. On Tuesday's Performance Today, we'll hear a performance of Leonard Bernstein's Symphonic Dances from West Side Story at Lincoln Center, a concert hall in the very New York neighborhood that inspired the story. Plus, a dear friend of Peter Tchaikovsky's writes touching music of remembrance after the composer's sudden death.

Episode Playlist

Hour 1

Dmitri Shostakovich: Two Waltzes: Spring Waltz for clarinet and piano; Waltz for flute, clarinet, and piano
Nash Ensemble: Michael Collins, clarinet, Philippa Davies, flute, Ian Brown, piano
Shostakovich: The Nash Ensemble
Virgin 59312

Felix Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 10 in b minor, 1. Adagio, 2. Allegro
New Century Chamber Orchestra
Center for Performing Arts, Atherton, CA

Dmitri Shostakovich: Prelude and Fugue no. 4 in e minor, op. 87
Gilles Vonsattel, piano
Music@Menlo Festival, The Center for Performing Arts, Atherton, CA

Leonard Bernstein: Symphonic Dances from "West Side Story"
Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas; Alondra de la Parra, conductor
Alice Tully Hall, New York, NY

Hour 2

Peter Tchaikovsky: "Danse Russe" from Swan Lake op. 20 Act III
Joshua Bell, violin; Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra; Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor
Sony 94832

Franz Liszt: Benediction de Dieu dans la Solitude
Marc-Andre Hamelin, piano
Rockport Chamber Music Festival, Shalin Liu Performance Center, Rockport, MA

Peter Tchaikovsky: None but the lonely heart
Susan Graham, mezzo-soprano; Malcom Martineau, piano
Spivey Hall, Morrow, GA

Henryk Pachulski: Suite in Memory of Peter Tchaikovsky, op. 13
Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Lukasz Borowicz, conductor
Witold Lutoslawski Polish Radio Concert Studio, Warsaw, Poland

Peteris Vasks: Gramata cellam (encore), 2. Dolcissimo
Sol Gabetta, cello and vocalist
Theatre des Champs-Elysees, Paris

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About Performance Today®

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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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