Gustav Mahler's massive Fifth Symphony rages on for over an hour. But in the middle of that storm, there's a 10-minute oasis of calm. The Adagietto from Mahler's Fifth has been used for everything from funerals for heads of state to Olympic skating routines. Most people hear it as an outpouring of grief, but some say there's much more to it than that. In today's show, the story behind Mahler's Adagietto and a performance from the Aspen Music Festival.
Episode Playlist
Hour 1
Johann Heinrich Schmelzer: Sonata No. 7 in A
The Masques Ensemble
Johannes Donjon: Elegy-Etude
Mary Karen Clardy, flute
Meyerson Symphony Center, Dallas
Joseph Joachim: Elegiac Overture, Op. 13
The North German Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, Michael Sanderling, conductor
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Festival, Anklam, Germany
Johann Rosenmuller: Sonata No. 7 in D Minor for Strings and Continuo
The Masques Ensemble
Our Lady of Good Help Chapel, Montreal, Quebec
Franz Schubert: Symphony No. 3 in D, D. 200
The West German Radio Symphony Orchestra, Karl-Heinz Steffens, conductor
Philharmonie, Cologne, Germany
Hour 2
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Fourth movement from Symphony No. 31 in D, K. 297 (Paris)
The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, conductor
Carlo Gesualdo da Venosa: Sorrowful is my Soul, from Tenebrae Responsory for Maundy Thursday
The Sydney Chamber Choir, Paul Stanhope, director
Verbrugghen Hall, Sydney, Australia
Alexander Scriabin: Album Leaf in E-flat, from Three Pieces, Op. 45
Evgeny Brakhman, piano
Cleveland International Piano Competition, Cleveland
Gustav Mahler: Adagietto from Symphony No. 5 in C-sharp Minor
The Aspen Festival Orchestra, Robert Spano, conductor
Aspen Music Festival, Aspen, Colorado
George Frideric Handel: Excerpts from the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ HWV 47
Concentus Musicus of Vienna, soloists, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, director
Lucerne Easter Festival, Lucerne, Switzerland
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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.
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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