Imagining music from other lands

Sometimes it's less about the content than the packaging—and Sergei Prokofiev was a master at repackaging his own material. In the late 1920s, he took a fiery opera destined for obscurity and turned it into a mighty symphony he dearly loved. On today's show, we'll take you to a concert in Minneapolis to hear the Minnesota Orchestra perform Prokofiev's Symphony No. 3.

For composer Jennifer Higdon, a commission isn't just about who pays for the piece; she views commissioning music as a way to empower people to share their voices and celebrate their communities. We'll learn more and hear the Merian Ensemble play Higdon's "The Sound of Light" on today's show.

Inspired by a sunrise in Qatar that coincided with checking her social media feed, composer Clarice Assad wrote a piece that captures two opposing realities unfolding at the same moment. The first movement indulges in a six-minute sunrise reverie, while the second relives those same six minutes through a chaotic stream of digital updates. Both movements share an identical conclusion. Join us today to hear a live performance of Assad's Synchronous, presented by the Society for Chamber Music in Rochester, New York.

As a teenager, composer Kian Ravaei loved listening to his iPod on shuffle, letting his favorite artists and styles blend without context—it was all just music. In 2025, Ravaei set out to replicate that sense of eclectic, high-contrast surprise with an inventive work for flute, violin, and electronics. On today's program, we'll hear Tara Helen O'Connor and Alexi Kenney play the world premiere performance of Kian Ravaei's iPod Variations.

Commissioned by the Gilmore Piano Festival, Clarice Assad composed a series of distinct vignettes in which resting instruments hand off the musical baton to fill the void. Written for the Chicago-based ensemble Eighth Blackbird, the work explores creative continuity through clever structural transitions. We'll hear Eighth Blackbird give the world premiere of Clarice Assad's The Spaces Between, recorded live at the Gilmore International Piano Festival in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

In 2023, composer Gabriel Kahane collaborated with clarinetist Anthony McGill to create a clarinet concerto titled "if love will not swing wide the gates" (after a quote from James Baldwin). The work draws on Kahane's songwriting background while showcasing McGill's lyrical playing. On today's program, we'll hear a live performance from the 2026 BBC Proms at London's Royal Albert Hall, featuring soloist Anthony McGill, conductor Ryan Bancroft, and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales.

The viola often plays a supporting role, but Spanish composer Joaquín Turina flipped the script in his "Escena andaluza" (Andalusian Scene), where the viola takes the spotlight. Written while Turina was homesick in Paris, the viola-centric sextet evokes a warm summer night in southern Spain, complete with flamenco-inspired textures. In this episode of PT, we'll hear violist Kirsten Docter and pianist Timothy Lovelace join the Thalea String Quartet for a live performance of Turina's "Escena andaluza" at the Lakes Area Music Festival in Brainerd, Minnesota.

At the root of a legendary Havana musical family tree is the late Juan Jorge Junco, a clarinetist, soloist, and educator who helped shape Cuba’s sound. In honor of his grandfather’s enduring legacy, composer and pianist Aldo López-Gavilán created a new work for the wind repertoire. Today, we'll hear soloist Ricardo Morales and the Boulder Philharmonic Orchestra, led by Michael Butterman, at the world premiere of Aldo López-Gavilán’s Clarinet Concerto.

In 2023, composer Gabriel Kahane collaborated with clarinetist Anthony McGill to create a clarinet concerto titled "if love will not swing wide the gates" (after a quote from James Baldwin). The work draws on Kahane's songwriting background while showcasing McGill's lyrical playing. On today's program, we'll hear a live performance from the 2026 BBC Proms at London's Royal Albert Hall, featuring soloist Anthony McGill, conductor Ryan Bancroft, and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales.

Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos blended European classical traditions with Brazilian folk music in his celebrated collection, Bachianas Brasileiras. We'll hear the famous Aria from No. 5, which pairs a soaring, lamenting melody with rich accompaniment. Flutist Alice K. Dade and guitarist Colin McAllister perform the piece live at Packard Performance Hall as part of the Colorado College Summer Music Festival.