Violinist Nicola Benedetti defies conventional wisdom. When she was a finalist at the BBC Young Artist Competition, she didn't play an impressive, well-known warhorse. She chose the obscure and wildly atmospheric Violin Concerto No. 1 by Karol Szymanowski. She won. That led to a 1.7 million dollar major-label recording contract, and now at age 22, she's still playing that Szymanowski concerto. Nicola Benedetti with the Brabant Orchestra, in concert at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. Also: Bruce Adolphe has a new Piano Puzzler, and this week's caller (from Lawton, Oklahoma) plays his piano right back at Bruce, over the phone.
Episode Playlist
Hour 1
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Andante from Symphony No. 31 D, K. 300a
The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra with conductor Nikolaus Harnoncourt
Georg Philipp Telemann: Fantasie in D
Flutist Emmanuel Pahud
Hugh Hodgson Concert Hall, Athens, Georgia
The Piano Puzzler: This week's contestant is David Anderson from Lawton, OK.
Karol Szymanowski: Violin Concerto No. 1, Op. 35
Violinist Nicola Benedetti with the Brabant Orchestra and conductor Alan Buribayev
The Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Hour 2
Jordania James: Night Song, from Evocations, Op. 75
Clarinetist Jon Manasse with the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra and conductor Vakhtang
Cohn
Heitor Villa-Lobos: Aria from Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5
The New Century Chamber Orchestra with violinist and music director Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg
First United Methodist Church, Palo Alto, California
Perfchat with Jon Nakamatsu and Jon Manasse: Perfchat
Johannes Brahms: Two movements from Clarinet Sonata in F Minor, Op. 120, No. 1
Clarinetist Jon Manasse and pianist Jon Nakamatsu
NPR Studio 4A, Washington, D.C.
Maurice Ravel: Piece en Forme d'un Habanera
Clarinetist Jon Manasse and pianist Jon Nakamatsu
NPR Studio 4A, Washington, D.C.
Antonio Vivaldi: Concerto Grosso Op. 3, No. 11, RV 565
The Australian Chamber Orchestra with conductor and violinist Richard Tognetti
Lobero Theatre, Santa Barbara, California
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: First movement from Divertimento in F, K. 138
The Montreal Chamber Music Festival Orchestra
Montreal Chamber Music Festival, Montreal, Quebec
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Turkish March
Pianist Yuja Wang
Copley Symphony Hall, San Diego, California
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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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