Poster Mary Lou Williams, pianist and composer
Mary Lou Williams, pianist and composer
Photo by William P. Gottlieb
Performance Today®

Mary Lou Williams

Pianist and composer Mary Lou Williams got her start in the jazz world in 1917, at the age of 7, playing at parties around her neighborhood in Pittsburgh. In a field dominated by men, she quickly became a star. At age 13, she played with Duke Ellington, and later was the first woman hired by Benny Goodman. On Tuesday's Performance Today, the Ancia Saxophone Quartet plays selections from Zodiac Suite, by Mary Lou Williams.

Episode Playlist

Hour 1

Robert Schumann (trans. Eric Ruske): Fantasiestucke, Op. 73
Eric Ruske, horn; Pedja Muzijevic, piano
The Classic Horn: World Premiere Transcriptions
Albany 615

Gabriel Pierne: Introduction and Variations on a Popular Rondo
Sinta Saxophone Quartet
Corpus Christi Chamber Music Society, Wolfe Recital Hall - Del Mar College, Corpus Christi, TX

Robert Schumann: Piano Quartet in E flat, Op. 47
Wu Han, piano; Daniel Hope, violin; Paul Neubauer, viola; David Finckel, cello
Mozart@Augsburg Festival, Small Golden Hall, Town Hall, Augsburg, Germany

Aaron Jay Kernis: For the Love of the Mountains
Grand Teton Music Festival Orchestra; Donald Runnicles, conductor
Grand Teton Music Festival, Walk Festival Hall, Jackson Hole, WY

Hour 2

Johann Sebastian Bach: Partita No. 6 in E Minor, BWV 830: Movement 3
Jeremy Denk, piano
Jeremy Denk J.S. Bach
Azica 71262

Wilhelm Stenhammar: Mellanspel ur Sangen, Op. 44
Baltic Sea Youth Orchestra; Kristjan Jarvi, conductor
Ludwig van Beethoven Easter Festival, Philharmonic Concert Hall, Warsaw, Poland

Mary Lou Williams (arr. David Milne): Zodiac Suite: Movements 1-3
The Ancia Saxophone Quartet
Weisman Art Museum, Minneapolis, MN

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K. 466
Jeremy Denk, piano; Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra
The Ordway Center for Performing Arts, Saint Paul, MN

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About Performance Today®

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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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