Poster "Italian Landscape with Umbrella Pines" by Hendrik Voogd
"Italian Landscape with Umbrella Pines" by Hendrik Voogd
Hendrik Voogd
Performance Today®

Mendelssohn's Italian Symphony

Felix Mendelssohn was so excited to travel to Italy for the first time. On the day he arrived, he wrote home to his family, saying: "Ahhhh, Italy at last! I am basking in happiness!" Hear the London Symphony Orchestra play Mendelssohn's "Italian" Symphony, in a concert from London, on Saturday's Performance Today.

Episode Playlist

Hour 1

Claude Debussy: Clair de lune
Renaud Capucon, violin; Jerome Ducros, piano
Capriccio Violin Pieces
Virgin 74807

Johann Sebastian Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 6
Michael Tree, viola; Philip Dukes, viola; Savannah Music Festival musicians
Savannah Music Festival, Trinity United Methodist Church, Savannah, GA

The Piano Puzzler: This week's contestant is Christina Stone from Houston, Texas

Claude Debussy: Prelude a l'apres-midi d'un faune, L. 86
Catriona Ryan, flute; RTE Symphony Orchestra; Andrew Gourlay, conductor
National Concert Hall, Dublin, Ireland

Hour 2

Ralph Vaughan Williams: Fantasia on Greensleeves
Orpheus Chamber Orchestra
Elgar, Vaughan Williams
DG 419 191

Franz Liszt: Ballade No. 2 in B Minor
Alim Beisembayev, piano
The Cliburn, Ed Landreth Hall, TCU, Fort Worth, TX

Felix Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 4, "Italian", Op. 90
London Symphony Orchestra; Sir John Eliot Gardiner, conductor
The Barbican, London, England
**Classical Live - available on Google Play**

Ralph Vaughan Williams (arr. Mark Ashford): Seventeen Come Sunday, from 'English Folk Song Suite'
VIDA Guitar Quartet
Spivey Hall, Clayton State University, Morrow, GA

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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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