For several generations of Americans, the first place that they heard classical music was in cartoons. Be it Disney's "Fantasia," Looney Tunes or something fairly fresh like "Wall-E," great music has found its way to our ears while accompanying animation. We'll spend an hour with music made famous by cartoons, celebrating the centennial of the birth of composer Raymond Scott and talking to Lang Lang about how "Tom and Jerry" made him want to become a pianist.
Episode Playlist
Hour 1
Jean Sibelius: "Valse Triste" from "Kuolema," Op. 44, No. 1
The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra with conductor Lorin Maazel
Franz Schubert: "ondo Brilliant"for Violin and Piano in B Minor, Op. 70
Violinist Soovin Kim and pianist Jeremy Denk
Seattle Chamber Music Society Winter Festival, Seattle
"The Piano Puzzler"
This week's contestant is Ben Fowler of Helena, Montana
Maurice Ravel: "Mother Goose" Suite
The New York Philharmonic with conductor Lorin Maazel
The BBC Proms, London, England
Georges Bizet: "Farandole" from "L'Arlesienne" Suite No. 2
The New York Philharmonic with conductor Lorin Maazel
The BBC Proms, London, England
Hour 2
Peter Graham: "Cartoon Music"
Percussionist Evelyn Glennie with the Black Dyke Band
Raymond Scott: "Powerhouse"
The Hot Springs Music Festival Orchestra with conductor Katherine Kilburn
Hot Springs Music Festival, Hot Springs, Arkansas
Raymond Scott: "Peter Tambourine"
Quartet San Francisco
Kaul Auditorium, Portland, Oregon
Franz Liszt: Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 in C-sharp Minor
Pianist Lang Lang
Aspen Music Festival and School, Aspen, Colorado
Carl Stalling: "There They Go Go Go"
The Carl Stalling Project
Johann Strauss Jr.: "On the Beautiful Blue Danube"
The Vienna Philharmonic with conductor Riccardo Muti
The Musikverein, Vienna, Austria
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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.
Hosted by Valerie Kahler, 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.
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