Performance Today®

Franz Liszt's 200th

How to sum up Franz Liszt in just a few words? A musician of such immense skill that people whispered he was in league with the devil. A savvy businessman who encouraged those rumors, knowing that there's no such thing as bad press. A reformed rock star with a wild youth and an intensely spiritual old age. We'll hear all sides of Franz Liszt this week, in celebration of his 200th birthday.

Episode Playlist

Hour 1

Johannes Brahms: Intermezzo in A Minor and Intermezzo in F Minor, Op. 118
Lang Lang, piano

Franz Liszt: Les Preludes, S. 637, R. 359
The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Valery Gergiev, conductor
Schonbrunn Palace, Vienna, Austria

Claudio Monteverdi: Pur ti Miro, from the Coronation of Poppea
Maxine Eilander, baroque harp, Stephen Stubbs, lute
Boston Early Music Festival, Boston

Giovanni Paolo Cima: Trio Sonata from Concerti Ecclesiastici
Quicksilver
Boston Early Music Festival, Boston

Franz Liszt: Piano Concerto No. 1 in E-flat, S. 124
Lang Lang, piano, the San Francisco Symphony, Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor
Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco

Hour 2

George Frideric Handel: Two movements from Concerto Grosso in F, Op. 3, No. 4
The Academy of Ancient Music, Richard Egarr, conductor

Franz Liszt: Canzonetta del Salvator Rosa, from Years of Pilgrimage, Second Year: Italy, S. 161
Till Fellner, piano
Wigmore Hall, London, England

Franz Liszt: Au lac de Wallenstadt, from Years of Pilgrimage, First Year: Switzerland, S. 160
Till Fellner, piano
Grand Studio, Hanover, Germany

George Frideric Handel: Suite No. 3 from Water Music, HWV 350
REBEL Ensemble
International Handel Festival, Gottingen, Germany

Franz Liszt: Orpheus, from Symphonic Poems
The Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Kurt Masur, conductor

Franz Liszt: La Notte, from Three Funeral Odes, S. 699, R. 664
The Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Marc Andreae, conductor
Gewandhaus, Leipzig, Germany

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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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