Claude Debussy once tried his hand at painting, but decided music had a much better way of depicting the glint of sunlight on water, the ever-changing undulations of the sea, and the smell of a salty mist shimmering in the air. In today's show, Esa-Pekka Salonen leads the New York Philharmonic in Debussy's masterpiece for the senses, "La Mer," or "The Sea."
Episode Playlist
Hour 1
Claude Debussy: Morning of a Festival Day, from Images for Orchestra
The Los Angeles Philharmonic, Esa-Pekka Salonen, conductor
Niccolo Paganini: Caprice No. 6 in G Minor for Solo Violin, Op. 1
Thomas Zehetmair, violin
Francois Couperin: Pieces de Clavecin, Book 3, Ordre 15 in A Minor (Musette de Taverny)
Edwin Swanborn, harpsichord, Robert Stallman, flute, Karl Bennion, cello
Claude Debussy: La Mer (the Sea)
The New York Philharmonic, Esa-Pekka Salonen, conductor
Avery Fisher Hall, New York City
Marin Marais: L'Arabesque
Ensemble 1700, Dorothee Oberlinger, director
Herne Early Music Days Festival, Herne, Germany
Robert Schumann: Arabesque in C, Op. 18
Yefim Bronfman, piano
Avery Fisher Hall, New York City
Claude Debussy: Arabesque No. 2
Musicians from the Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival
Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival, Bridgehampton, New York
Hour 2
Robert Schumann: Third movement from Symphony No. 3 in E-flat, Op. 97 (Rhenish)
The Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Riccardo Chailly, conductor
Ysaye Barnwell: No Mirrors in My Nana's House
Sweet Honey in the Rock
Ordway Center, St. Paul
Aaron Copland: Simple Gifts, from American Songs
The Virginia Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, JoAnn Falletta, conductor
Ferguson Center for the Arts, Newport News, Virginia
Giovanni Battista Sammartini: Symphony in G, JC 39
Milano Classica
First Baptist Church, Savannah, Georgia
Max Bruch: Romance in F for Viola and Orchestra, Op. 85
Janine Jansen, viola, the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Riccardo Chailly, conductor
Max Bruch: Violin Concerto No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 26
Janine Jansen, violin, the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Riccardo Chailly, conductor
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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.
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