Poster Aaron Copland
Aaron Copland
Library of Congress, Music Division
Performance Today®

Performance Today for Tuesday, June 18, 2013

In 1942, choreographer Agnes de Mille came to composer Aaron Copland with an idea: a ballet about cowboys. Copland responded by saying..."A cowboy ballet? I've already composed one of those," he said. That was called Billy the Kid. "Can't you do a ballet about Ellis Island?" Agnes de Mille said no, Aaron Copland shrugged, composition on the ballet Rodeo began and some of the most memorable music of the 20th century was written. We'll hear dances from the ballet Rodeo on Tuesday's Performance Today.

Episode Playlist

Hour 1

Antonin Dvorak: Quintet in G Major for Strings, Op. 77 - II. Intermezzo (Notturno)
Emerson String Quartet with Edgar Meyer, bass

Antonio Vivaldi: L'Estate (Summer), RV 315 in G minor, The Four Seasons - 1. Allegro non molto, 2. Adagio, 3. Presto
New Century Chamber Orchestra; Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, music director
Herbst Theatre, San Francisco, CA

Aaron Copland: Four Dance Episodes from Rodeo - 1. Buckaroo Holiday, 2. Corral Nocturne, 3. Saturday Night Waltz, 4. Hoe-Down
Artosphere Festival Orchestra; Corrado Rovaris, conductor
Baum Walker Hall, Walton Arts Center, Fayetteville, AR

Antonin Dvorak: Piano Quartet no. 2, E-flat, Op. 87 B162 - iii. Allegro moderato, grazio; iv. finale-allegro, ma non troppo
Eteri Andjaparidze, piano; Espen Lilleslatten, violin; Brett Deubner, viola; Emilio Colon, cello
Round Top Festival Institute; Festival Concert Hall, Round Top, TX

Hour 2

Frederic Chopin: Prelude No. 2 & No. 4 (arr. by Wispelwy & Lazic)
Pieter Wispelwey, cello; Dejan Lazic, piano

Ludwig van Beethoven: Coriolan Overture in c minor, Op. 62
Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra; Ilyich Rivas, Conductor
Berwaldhallen, Stockholm

PT Young Artist-in-Residence: Coleman Itzkoff, cello

Frederic Chopin: Introduction and Polonaise brillante, Op. 3
Coleman Itzkoff, cello; Eliza Ching, piano
Fitzgerald Theater, St. Paul, MN

Modest Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition - Promenade V, 7. Limoges, le marche, 8. Catacombae, Cum mortuis in lingua mortua, 9. The Hut on Fowl's Legs, 10. The Great Gate at Kiev
San Francisco Symphony; Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor
Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco, CA

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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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