Piano Puzzler

In 2007, Composer Errollyn Wallen wrote a piece to mark the anniversary of the Abolition of the British Slave Trade. She says, ‘It is human instinct to be free, just as it is for the river to rush headlong to the sea.’ We'll dive into Errollyn Wallen’s Mighty River on today's show.

Composer Jennifer Higdon wrote 'blue cathedral' in 2000. It was inspired by an imaginary vision of a glass cathedral in the sky. We'll take you to the Grand Teton Music Festival for a musical journey to Higdon’s ‘blue cathedral’ on today's show.

Critics called one of Igor Stravinsky's concertos "unfinished" because the composer omitted the strings entirely, but the omission was deliberate. Stravinsky famously argued that "strings and piano, a sound scraped and a sound struck, do not sound well together; piano and winds, sounds struck and blown... do." On today’s show, we'll hear Stravinsky's Concerto for Piano and Wind Instruments, featuring pianist Kirill Gerstein and the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, conducted by David Robertson.

Move over, Romeo and Juliet. Make way for Radúz and Mahulena. The Slovakian tale also features romance amid intense family rivalries, but in a welcome twist of fate, these legendary lovers end up together and alive when the curtain falls. Today, we'll take you to a concert in Prague to hear Josef Suk’s music for a fairy tale with a happy ending: Pohádka (Fairy Tale).

Inspired by Isabel Wilkerson's moving book on the Great Migration, composer Carlos Simon captures the search for hope and the struggle to find a home. On today's show, we'll hear the Ivalas Quartet perform Simon's Warmth from Other Suns at a concert in Skaneateles, New York.

Critics called one of Igor Stravinsky's concertos "unfinished" because the composer omitted the strings entirely, but the omission was deliberate. Stravinsky famously argued that "strings and piano, a sound scraped and a sound struck, do not sound well together; piano and winds, sounds struck and blown... do." On today’s show, we'll hear Stravinsky's Concerto for Piano and Wind Instruments, featuring pianist Kirill Gerstein and the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, conducted by David Robertson.

Composer Jessie Montgomery says she has tried to answer the question: "What does an anthem for the 21st century sound like in today's multicultural environment?" On today's show, hear Montgomery's answer, a rhapsody on the Star-Spangled Banner.

Memorial Day. It's the unofficial beginning of summer, but that's not what this holiday is about. On today's show, we mark the day with music by American composers and recognize the people who have made the ultimate sacrifice while serving in the United States Armed Forces.

Away from the unrelenting logistics of travel and performance, Belgian cellist Camille Thomas found sanctuary in Montana’s open skies. During a 2024 residency at the Tippet Rise Art Center, she and pianist Julien Brocal were given the rare freedom to create without the pressure of a production schedule—an experience Thomas described as being on "a planet of its own." On today’s show, we’ll take you to Tippet Rise to hear their intimate arrangement of the Larghetto from Frédéric Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 1.