Conductor, pianist and candid commentator Bill Eddins joins host Fred Child in the studio to take listeners on a tour of his favorite pieces of classical music. He talks about the unappreciated humor in Beethoven's symphonies, the sly keyboard prowess of Alicia de Larrocha, and Eddins reveals what he calls "the sexiest piece of classical music ever written." Find out the answer and get the conductor's take on classical music on Tuesday's Performance Today.
Episode Playlist
Hour 1
Johann Sebastian Bach: Goldberg Variations - Variation 11, Variation 20
Trevor Pinnock, harpsichord
Goldberg Variations
Archiv 415130
Ludwig von Beethoven: Symphony No. 4 - Mvt. IV. Allegro ma non troppo
New York Philharmonic; Leonard Bernstein, conductor
Beethoven: Symphonies No. 4 & No. 5; "Egmont" Overture
Sony 47516
Maurice Ravel: String Quartet - Mvt. II. Assez vif
Emerson String Quartet
Debussy, Ravel: String Quartets
DG 427320
Enrique Granados: Goyescas - III. Fandango by Candlelight
Alicia de Larrocha, piano
Granados - Goyescas
EMI 64524
Lili Boulanger: Faust et Helene
Ann Murray, mezzo-soprano; Bonaventura Bottone, tenor; Jason Howard, bass BBC Philharmonic; Yan Pascal Tortelier, conductor
Lili Boulanger: Faust et Helene
Chandos 9745
Hour 2
Felix Blumenfield: Etude for the Left Hand Alone, Op. 36
Michael Ponti, piano
Newport, RI at the Breakers
Michael Ponti Live
Newport 60088
Edward Elgar: Violin Sonata in e minor, Op. 82 - III. Allegro non troppo
Nai-Yuan Hu, violin; John Lenehan, piano
Newport Music Festival, Rosecliff, Newport, RI
Edward Elgar: Salut D'Amore, Op. 12
Nai-Yuan Hu, violin; John Lenehan, piano
Newport Music Festival, Rosecliff, Newport, RI
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 12 in A Major, K. 414
Vienna Philharmonic; Maurizio Pollini, piano & conductor
Musikverein, Grosser Saalm, Vienna
Enrique Granados (poem: Fernando Periquet): El mirar de la Maja (The Gaze of the Maja)
Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, mezzo-soprano; Steven Blier or Michael Barrett, piano
Katonah, New York
Spanish Love Songs
Bridge 9228
Enrique Granados: Trio for violin, cello, and piano, Op. 50, H. 140 - IV. Finale, Allegro molto
Jennifer Frautschi, violin; Jiri Barta, cello; Daniel del Pino, piano
Newport Music Festival, Newport, RI
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About Performance Today®
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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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