Poster Teatro Nacional in Havana
Outside the Teatro Nacional before the Minnesota Orchestra's May 2015 concert in Havana, Cuba.
MPR photo / Nate Ryan
Performance Today®

May 23, 2015: The Cuba concerts

The Minnesota Orchestra's concerts in Cuba were historic and, because of political implications, covered by news outlets around the world. But the greatest impact of the Minnesota Orchestra's trip to Havana may have been in personal, musical, one-on-one connections. On this weekend's Performance Today, we'll hear performances from the Minnesota Orchestra's recent Cuban concerts.

Episode Playlist

Hour 1

Johann Sebastian Bach: Suite in E minor, BWV 996: 2. Allemande; 3. Courante
Jason Vieaux, guitar
Bach: Works For Lute Vol 1
Azica 71250

Andrew Norman: Sabina
Calder Quartet
Strings Music Festival, Strings Music Pavilion, Steamboat Springs, CO

Robert Beaser: Selections from "Mountain Songs" for Flute and Guitar: 1. Barbara Allen; 5. Cindy
Marya Martin, flute; Jason Vieaux, guitar
Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival, Bridgehampton Presbyterian Church, Bridgehampton, NY

Perucho Figueredo: La Bayamesa (Cuban National Anthem)
Minnesota Orchestra; Osmo Vanska, conductor
Teatro Nacional de Cuba, Havana, Cuba

Francis Scott Key: The Star-Spangled Banner
Minnesota Orchestra; Osmo Vanska, conductor
Teatro Nacional de Cuba, Havana, Cuba

Alejandro Garcia Caturla: Danzon
Minnesota Orchestra; Osmo Vanska, conductor
Teatro Nacional de Cuba, Havana, Cuba

Sergei Prokofiev: Romeo and Juliet: Juliet as a young girl; Dance of the Knights; Death of Juliet
Minnesota Orchestra; Osmo Vanska, conductor
Teatro Nacional de Cuba, Havana, Cuba

Ernesto Lecuona: Malaguena
Minnesota Orchestra; Osmo Vanska, conductor
Teatro Nacional de Cuba, Havana, Cuba

Hour 2

Leonard Bernstein: Overture to Candide
London Symphony Orchestra; Leonard Bernstein, conductor
Reaching for the Note
Deutsche Grammophon 459552

Heitor Villa-Lobos: Aria from Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5
Kimberly Patterson, cello; Patrick Sutton, guitar
Strings Music Festival, Strings Music Pavilion, Steamboat Springs, CO

Philip Glass: Concerto for Saxophone Quartet: Movement 1 and Movement 4
Amstel Saxophone Quartet
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA

Leonard Bernstein: Symphonic Dances from West Side Story
New York Philharmonic; Alan Gilbert, conductor
Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, New York, NY

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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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