Poster Isle of the Dead
Isle of the Dead by Arnold Bocklin (Third version, 1883)
Wikimedia Commons
Performance Today®

The Isle of the Dead

The Isle of the Dead is a painting of a dark, forbidding island. After viewing it, Sergei Rachmaninoff was inspired to write a symphonic poem; a musical depiction of the journey of a newly departed soul. On Tuesday's Performance Today, we'll hear Rachmaninoff's Isle of the Dead in concert from Nashville.

Episode Playlist

Hour 1

Alexander Scriabin (arr. Willard Elliot): Seven Preludes for Clarinet and Piano, Op. 16
Anthony McGill, clarinet; Gloria Chien, piano
String Theory, Hunter Museum of American Art, Chattanooga, TN

Ferrer Ferran: Euterpe, Concertino for Flute and Wind Band
Otavio Bloes, flute; State Symphonic Band of Sao Paulo; Shawn Smith, conductor
Instituto Pensarte, Sala Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil

Franz Schubert: String Quartet No. 15 in G major, D. 887, Op. 161: Movements 1, 4
Escher String Quartet
Rockport Music, Shalin Liu Performance Center, Rockport, MA

Hour 2

Igor Stravinsky: Suite italienne
Stefan Jackiw, violin; Anna Polonsky, piano
Spivey Hall, Clayton State University, Morrow, GA

Sergei Rachmaninoff: The Isle of the Dead, Op. 29
Nashville Symphony; Giancarlo Guerrero, conductor
Schermerhorn Symphony Center, Nashville, TN

Nino Rota: Passerella, from Fellini's 8 1/2
Italian Saxophone Quartet
Beaches Fine Arts Jacksonville, St. Paul's by-the-Sea Episcopal Church, Jacksonville, FL

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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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