Poster Bruce Adolphe and Polly Rhythm
Bruce Adolphe and Polly Rhythm
APM photo/Sally Herships
Performance Today®

May 29, 2015: Happy Birthday to Bruce

Fifty years ago, composer Bruce Adolphe was given a walking, talking, flying birthday present: a green Panama parrot. The two have been together now for half a century. On the occasion of his 60th birthday, Bruce tells us about his friendship with a very special, musical bird on Friday's Performance Today, from APM.

Episode Playlist

Hour 1

Franz Waxman: Auld Lang Syne Variations: Eine kleine Nichtmusik
Kremerata Baltica; Gidon Kremer, conductor
Happy Birthday
Nonesuch 79657

Peter Heidrich: Happy Birthday Variations: Thema; Nach Antonin Dvorak; Polka/Valse
Kremerata Baltica; Gidon Kremer, conductor
Happy Birthday
Nonesuch 79657

Benjamin Britten: Prelude and Fugue for Eighteen Strings, Op. 29
Gilles Vonsattel, Sunmi Chang, Jorja Fleezanis, Kristin Lee, Sean Lee, Arnaud Sussmann, Ian Swensen, Mark Holloway, Paul Neubauer, Colin Carr, Laurence Lesser, Charles Chandler, Scott Pingel, Danish S
Music@Menlo, Menlo School, Atherton, CA

Thomas Tellefsen: Piano Concerto No. 2 in F minor, Op. 15
Alexander Melnikov, piano; Concerto Koln; Michael Guttler, conductor
Chopin and his Europe International Music Festival, Philharmonic Concert Hall, Warsaw, Poland

Bruce Adolphe: Light, Speed, Grace
Joshua Bell, violin, Marija Stroke, piano

Bruce Adolphe: Sarabande: the lonliness of genius
Joshua Bell, violin

Hour 2

Erich Korngold: The Adventures of Robin Hood from Robin Hood and His Merry Men
London Symphony Orchestra; John Williams, conductor, conductor
The Hollywood Sound
Sony 62788

Anonymous (arr. Maria Pomianowska): Sluzylem ja Tobie (I served you)
LutoSlowianie Orchestra; Maria Pomianowska, artistic director
Chopin and his Europe International Music Festival, Witold Lutoslawski Polish Radio Concert Studio, Warsaw, Poland

Adam Schoenberg: Ahava
Atlanta Chamber Players: Todd Skitch, flute; Ted Gurch, clarinet; Helen Hwaya Kim, violin; Brad Ritchi, cello; Elizabeth Pridgen, piano
Ahavath Achim Synagogue, Atlanta, GA

Erich Wolfgang Korngold: Violin Concerto in D, Op. 35
Sergei Krylov, violin; Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana; Juraj Valcuha, conductor
Stelio Molo Auditorium, Lugano, Switzerland

Love the music?

Donate by phone
1-800-562-8440

Show your support by making a gift to YourClassical.

Each day, we’re here for you with thoughtful streams that set the tone for your day – not to mention the stories and programs that inspire you to new discovery and help you explore the music you love.

YourClassical is available for free, because we are listener-supported public media. Take a moment to make your gift today.

More Ways to Give

Your Donation

$5/month
$10/month
$15/month
$20/month
$

Latest Performance Today® Episodes

VIEW ALL EPISODES

Latest Performance Today® Episodes

PT Weekend: Young Artist in Residence Claudia Diaz
1:59:00
Young Artist-in-Residence: Soprano Claudia Diaz

Young Artist-in-Residence: Soprano Claudia Diaz

Soprano Claudia Diaz is the next member of our 2026 cohort of PT Young Artists-in-Residence. Claudia recently joined Valerie Kahler in our St. Paul studio. Listen to the music and the entire interview here.

41:47
Soprano Claudia Diaz

Soprano Claudia Diaz

We're excited to introduce our next 2026 PT Young Artist in Residence: Soprano Claudia Diaz. In today's episode, Claudia joins Valerie Kahler for music and conversation at our studio in Saint Paul.

1:59:00
Michael Stephen Brown: The Lotos-Eaters

Michael Stephen Brown: The Lotos-Eaters

Recently, composer and pianist Michael Stephen Brown found inspiration in Alfred Lord Tennyson’s poem "The Lotos-Eaters." He was struck by its vivid imagery and felt compelled to express it in his own way. On today's show, we'll hear Brown's "The Lotos-Eaters" performed by the composer (and others) at a concert presented by ChamberFest Cleveland.

1:59:00
Aldo López-Gavilán: Emporium

Aldo López-Gavilán: Emporium

In 2017, Aldo López-Gavilán composed a piano concerto based on a simple tune he had written for his daughters. He imagined a beautiful place, full of wonder and curiosities from around the world... a musical emporium. On today's show, we'll hear Aldo López-Gavilán's Emporium, a fusion of classical, gospel, and Afro-Cuban musical traditions.

1:59:00
Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate

Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate

When Chickasaw composer Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate sits down to compose, he imagines his ancestral woodlands. His string quartet Abokkoli' Taloowa' (Woodland Songs)—written for the Dover Quartet—is a musical tribute to the animals revered by the Chickasaw family clans. Tate weaves traditional melodies into the score, blending his heritage with a self-described desire to create "cool music." In today's episode, the Dover Quartet performs the work in a concert from Shriver Hall in Baltimore.

1:59:00
John Adams hits the road

John Adams hits the road

John Adams says that the final movement of "Road Movies" is for four-wheel drives only, and to leave the driving to the musicians. Join us for Adams’s musical ride on this episode of Performance Today.

1:59:00
PT Weekend: Anna Clyne

PT Weekend: Anna Clyne

Composer Anna Clyne was asked to write something "exuberant" for a festival in London. She created an energetic fanfare...with an old English drinking song thrown in for good measure. On today's show, hear the BBC Symphony Orchestra play Anna Clyne's exuberant Masquerade.

1:59:00
Bonding over Brahms

Bonding over Brahms

When clarinetist Anthony McGill and pianist Gloria Chien met in 2006, they bonded over their love of Johannes Brahms's music, a bond that is evident when they play together. They'll play a clarinet sonata by Brahms for us on today's show.

1:59:00
Raphaela Gromes and a long-forgotten concerto

Raphaela Gromes and a long-forgotten concerto

Cellist Raphaela Gromes was searching for new music to play when she received an email from a stranger—completely out of the blue—asking her to consider a piece his grandmother had written around 1930, a long-forgotten concerto. We'll have the story and the Cello Concerto by Maria Herz on today's show.

1:59:00
VIEW ALL EPISODES

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.

Hosted by Valerie Kahler, 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.

How do I leave a comment?

Send us a comment here.

About Performance Today®
YourClassical Radio
00:00
Infinity:NaN