Poster Cowboys on horseback
Frederic Remington's drawing of two cowboys on horseback. From the article "Cracker Cowboys of Florida," published in Harper's new monthly magazine v.91, issue 543, August 1895
Wikimedia Commons
Performance Today®

The sound of the American West

Aaron Copland was from Brooklyn. He was a city slicker who captured -- and to a certain degree, created -- what we think of as the sound of the old American West. On Tuesday's Performance Today, we'll hear selections from his cowboy ballet, "Billy the Kid."

Episode Playlist

Hour 1

Aaron Copland: Prelude for Piano Trio
Michael Boriskin, piano; Nicholas Kitchen, violin; Wilhelmina Smith, cello
Music From Copland House
Arabesque 6794

Giovanni Paolo Cima and Dario Castello: Two Sonatas in Stile Moderno
Red Priest
Hodgson Concert Hall, University of Georgia, Athens, GA

Aaron Copland: Suite from Billy the Kid
Artosphere Festival Orchestra; Corrado Rovaris, conductor
Walton Arts Center, Walton Arts Center, Fayetteville, AR

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Quartet for Flute and Strings in D major, K. 285
Lorna McGhee, flute; Augustin Hadelich, violin; Richard O'Neill, viola; Ronald Thomas, cello
Seattle Chamber Music Society, Nordstrom Recital Hall at Benaroya Hall, Seattle, WA

Hour 2

Fritz Kreisler: Caprice viennois
Joshua Bell, violin; Paul Coker, piano
The Kreisler Album
London 444 409

Ekaterina Walter-Kuhne: Fantasie on Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin
Emmanuel Ceysson, harp
The Chamber Music Society of Palm Beach, The Mar-a-Lago Club, Palm Beach, FL

Johannes Brahms: Hungarian Dance No. 1
Joshua Bell, violin; Sam Haywood, piano
Spivey Hall, Morrow, GA

Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony No. 3 in E-Flat, "Eroica": Movements 2-4
Festival Mozaic Orchestra; Scott Yoo, conductor
Festival Mozaic, Christopher Cohan Performing Arts Center, Cal Poly University, San Luis Obispo, CA

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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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