Sharp objects and sharp performances, in honor of Halloween. Josef Haydn was frustrated with a dull razor one morning, and offered to give his best string quartet for a decent shave. Someone produced one, and the "Razor" quartet was born. If that's not scary enough, we'll have music from Stephen Sondheim's "Sweeney Todd," the demon barber of Fleet Street.
Episode Playlist
Hour 1
Franz Waxman: Music from "Bride of Frankenstein"
The Westminster Philharmonic Orchestra with conductor Kenneth Alwyn
Johann Sebastian Bach: Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, BWV 565
Organist Paul Jacobs with the Pacific Symphony and conductor Carl St. Clair
Orange County Performing Arts Center, Costa Mesa, California
Igor Stravinsky: "Eccentric," from "Three Pieces for String Quartet"
The St. Petersburg String Quartet
The New York Society for Ethical Culture, New York City
Gustav Mahler: Two movements from Symphony No. 1 in D ("Titan")
The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra with conductor Leonard Bernstein
The Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Leos Janacek: Music from "In the Mist"
Pianist Leif Ove Andsnes
The Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Hour 2
Antonio Bazzini: "Dance of the Goblins"
Violinist Shannon Lee and pianist Pamela Mia Paul
Josef Haydn: String Quartet in F Minor, Op. 55/2 ("Razor")
The Meta4 String Quartet
Wartburg Castle, Eisenach, Germany
Stephen Sondheim: "The Ballad of Sweeney Todd"
George Hearn and Company with the New York Philharmonic and conductor Andrew Litton
Avery Fisher Hall, New York City
Richard Strauss: "Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks," Op. 28
The Aspen Festival Orchestra with conductor David Zinman
Aspen Music Festival, Aspen, Colorado
Franz Schubert: "The Erlking"
The Bergonzi String Quartet
Festival Miami, Miami
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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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