Poster Ludwig Van Beethoven
Ludwig Van Beethoven
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Performance Today®

April 28, 2015: Music of glorious contradictions

Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 4 is music of glorious contradictions. Delicate, with an undercurrent of aggression; full of both vivid light, and creeping shadow. On Wednesday's Performance Today, we'll take look back at the very definition of avant-garde, on the way from a recent concert in Warsaw, Poland.

Episode Playlist

Hour 1

Ludwig van Beethoven: String Quartet No. 4 in C minor, Op. 18: 4. Allegro
The Miro Quartet
Beethoven: Six String Quartets
Vanguard 1655

Johann Sebastian Bach: Italian Concerto, BWV 971
Yeol Eum Son, piano
Great Mountains Music Festival, Alpensia Concert Hall, Pyeongchang, South Korea

Ney Rosauro (trans.Tony McCutchen): Marimba Concerto, Op. 12: 3. Danca (Dance); 4. Despedida (Farewell)
Zachary Sherburn, marimba; United States Marine Band; Major Michelle A. Rakers, conductor
Hylton Performing Arts Center, George Mason University, Manassas, VA

Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony No. 4 in B flat, Op. 60: 1. Adagio - Allegro vivace; 3. Allegro vivace; 4. Allegro, ma non troppo
Concerto Koln; Michael Guttler, conductor
Chopin and his Europe International Music Festival, Philharmonic Concert Hall, Warsaw, Poland

Hour 2

Gabriel Faure: Sonata No. 1 in A Major, Op. 13: 4. Allegro quasi presto
Yo-Yo Ma, cello; Kathryn Stott, piano
Paris La Belle Epoque - Faure, Massenet, Etc / Ma, Stott
Sony 87287

Darius Milhaud: Suite Francaise
University of Texas Wind Ensemble; Jerry Junkin, conductor
Bates Recital Hall, Butler School of Music, University of Texas, Austin, TX

Giuseppe Verdi: String Quartet in E minor: 2. Andantino; 3. Prestissimo
Afiara String Quartet
Montreal Chamber Music Festival, St. James United Church, Montreal, Canada

Gabriel Faure: Dolly Suite, Op. 56
Anna Petrova, piano; Josu de Solaun, piano
Virginia Arts Festival, Trinity Episcopal Church, Portsmouth, VA

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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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