In the spring of 1873, Giuseppe Verdi went to Naples to oversee a production of his opera, Aida. Rehearsals were postponed when the star soprano got sick. Verdi had some free time, so he wrote a string quartet, and it has stood the test of time. On Wednesday's Performance Today, hear Orion String Quartet play Verdi's Quartet in E minor, from a concert in Athens, Georgia.
Episode Playlist
Hour 1
Cesar Franck: Panis Angelicus
Julian Lloyd Webber, cello; Royal Philharmonic Orchestra; James Judd, conductor
Cello Adagios
Decca 000233402
Richard Wagner: Prelude to Act 1 of Lohengrin
National Festival Orchestra; Asher Fisch, conductor
The University of Maryland, The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, College Park, MD
Piano Puzzler: This week's contestant is Cayce Wilkinson from Council Bluffs, IA
Cesar Franck: Piano Quintet in F Minor, FWV 7: Movements 2 & 3
Drew Petersen, piano; Pacifica Quartet
American Pianists Awards, Christ Church Cathedral, Indianapolis, IN
Hour 2
Gustav Holst: Mercury, the Winged Messenger from The Planets
CSR Symphony Orchestra (Bratislava, Slovakia); Adrian Leaper, conductor
Holst: The Planets; Suite de Ballet, Op. 10
Naxos 8.550193
Frederic Chopin: Polonaise in B flat Major Op. 71, No. 2
Wu Han, piano
Aspen Music Festival and School, Harris Hall, Aspen, CO
Gustav Holst: The Planets, Op. 32, H 125 Movement 2. Venus
Chicago Symphony Orchestra; James Levine, conductor
Holst The Planets
DG 429 730
Giuseppe Verdi: Quartet in E Minor for Strings
Orion String Quartet
The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Hodgson Concert Hall, UGA Performing Arts Center, Athens, GA
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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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