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Performance Today®

Highlights from around the world

Every week, composer Bruce Adolphe joins us for a musical game. Play along; see if you can name the tune, and the composer whose style Bruce is mimicking. On Wednesday's Performance Today, we'll play the Piano Puzzler, plus we'll hear highlights from concert halls around the world.

Episode Playlist

Hour 1

Richard Wagner: Romanza (Albumblatt)
Elissa Lee Koljonen, violin; Robert Koenig, piano
Heartbreak, Romantic Encores for Violin
Dorian 90268

Michael Engelhardt: Gaudete!
Utah State University Chamber Singers; Cory Evans, conductor
Kent Concert Hall, Chase Fine Arts Center, Logan, UT

Benjamin Britten: The Spirit of the Lord (World of the Spirit)
St. Olaf Choir Massed Choirs; St. Olaf Orchestra; Anton Armstrong, conductor
St. Olaf Christmas Festival, Skoglund Center Auditorium, St. Olaf College, Northfield, MN

Walter "Jack" Rollins & Steve Nelson (arr. Dallas Brass): Frosty the Tuba
Dallas Brass; Mike Levine, conductor
Beaches Fine Arts Series, St. Paul's by-the-Sea Episcopal Church, Jacksonville, FL

The Piano Puzzler: This week's contestant is Cynthia Schwab from Joplin, MO

Richard Wagner: Prelude to Act 1 of Lohengrin
National Festival Orchestra; Asher Fisch, conductor
The University of Maryland, The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, College Park, MD

Abbie Betinis: In the Bleak Midwinter
Evan Mitchell, piano; Luther College Nordic Choir; Dr. Allen Hightower, conductor
Center for Faith and Life, Decorah, IA

William James Kirkpatrick (arr. Patrick Kerber and David Bryan): Away In A Manger
Pepe, Celin, Lito, Celino and Angel Romero
Christmas with Los Romeros
DG 17474

Alex Bigney: New Snow/Mittens for Christmas
Kirkmount: Alex Bigney, harp and bones; Samuel Bigney, fiddle; Simeon Bigney, cello and bodhran
Mittens for Christmas
Dorian 93236

Hour 2

Antonin Dvorak (arr. Fritz Kreisler): Sonatina for violin and piano, Op.100, "Indian Lament"
Yo-Yo Ma, cello; Patricia Zander, piano
Kreisler, Paganini: Works
Sony 37280

Marc-Antoine Charpentier: Excerpts from Noels pour les instruments
Masques; Olivier Fortin, conductor
Noel baroque
Analekta 9908

Gustaf Nordqvist: Jul, jul, stralande jul
Chanticleer; Ragnar Bohlin, conductor
Sacred Music in a Sacred Space, Church of St Ignatius Loyola, New York, NY

Pietro Yon: Gesu Bambino
Adagio Trio
Winter Gift
Adagio Trio 2

Antonin Dvorak: Songs My Mother Taught Me
Yo-Yo Ma, cello; Kathryn Stott, piano
The Arc of Life
Sony 10316

Johann Sebastian Bach: Orchestral Suite No. 3: Air on the G String
Yo-Yo Ma, cello; Bobby McFerrin, vocals
Hush
Sony 48177

Traditional: Dona Nobis Pacem/Auld Lang Syne
Yo-Yo Ma, cello; Chris Botti, trumpet
Yo Yo Ma & Friends - Songs of Joy and Peace
Sony 24414

Ralph Vaughan Williams: Overture to The Wasps
Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra; Andrew Litton, conductor
Grieg Concert Hall, Bergen, Norway

Ralph Vaughan Williams: Antiphon (Five Mystical Songs)
Massed Choirs of St. Olaf College and the St. Olaf Orchestra; Christopher Aspaas, conductor
St. Olaf Christmas Festival, Skoglund Center Auditorium, St. Olaf College, Northfield, MN

Ralph Vaughan Williams: Wassail Song from "Two Songs of Winter"
Judy Mason, piano; Spivey Hall Children's Choir; Martha Shaw, conductor
Spivey Hall, Clayton State University, Morrow, GA

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Latest Performance Today® Episodes

VIEW ALL EPISODES

Latest Performance Today® Episodes

PT Weekend: Lost and found Webern

PT Weekend: Lost and found Webern

In 1945, Austrian composer Anton Webern and his family fled Vienna. Most of Webern’s valuables, mementos, and manuscripts were placed in a lock box, which they buried in the backyard. Sixteen years later, the box was recovered with the manuscripts inside. On today's show, we'll hear one of those 'found' pieces: Im Sommerwind (In the Summer Breeze) by Anton Webern. Plus, Bruce Adolphe has this week’s Piano Puzzler!

1:59:00
Marc-Andre Hamelin

Marc-Andre Hamelin

Marc-Andre Hamelin is one of the most celebrated and respected pianists of our time. His performances are renowned for their brilliance, technical mastery, and deep musicality. In today's show, we'll take you to a concert in Toronto to hear Hamelin perform from Nikolai Medtner's 'Forgotten Melodies.'

1:59:00
Simone Dinnerstein

Simone Dinnerstein

Philip Glass's "Mad Rush" often divides listeners—is it meditative or merely repetitive? Pianist Simone Dinnerstein finds it an amazing piece that keeps her grounded in the present moment. Today’s show features her compelling performance from a recent concert at Spivey Hall, located just outside Atlanta in Morrow, Georgia.

1:59:00
A notable recovery

A notable recovery

In 1945, Austrian composer Anton Webern and his family fled Vienna. Most of Webern’s valuables, mementos, and manuscripts were placed in a lock box, which they buried in the backyard. Sixteen years later, the box was recovered with the manuscripts inside. On today's show, we'll hear one of those 'found' pieces: Im Sommerwind (In the Summer Breeze) by Anton Webern.

1:59:00
Just Another Climb

Just Another Climb

In 1939, four women climbers reached the summit of Wyoming’s Grand Teton at dawn, racing to be the first and to counter skepticism about their unassisted ascent. Newspapers at the time called it the first "manless" ascent of the mountain. In response, one of the women said, “To us it was just another climb.” Today's show will feature both the story and the music: "Just Another Climb" by Kimberly Osberg.

1:59:00
Nathalie Stutzmann and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra

Nathalie Stutzmann and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra

Three hundred years ago, Johann Sebastian Bach began his role as the music director at St. Thomas Church in Leipzig, a position for which he was only the third choice. To impress his uncertain employers, Bach composed ambitious new cantatas every week during his first few years, including the one we will hear today: the Sinfonia from J.S. Bach's Cantata No. 42, from a concert featuring conductor Nathalie Stutzmann and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.

1:59:00
PT Weekend: Stravinsky's Ebony Concerto

PT Weekend: Stravinsky's Ebony Concerto

Jazz guitarist Charlie Christian was at his peak in the late 1930s and early 40s. To this day, guitarists are inspired by his recordings, and composer Igor Stravinsky said Charlie Christian helped inspire one of his pieces. We'll hear that piece, Stravinsky's Ebony Concerto, on today's show.

1:59:00
Marin Alsop on an American icon

Marin Alsop on an American icon

When conductor Marin Alsop was a kid, she begged her parents to decorate her bedroom. She says, "I talked them into buying me two posters: one of the Beatles and one of Leonard Bernstein." Join us today to hear some of Marin Alsop's memories of Bernstein and more as we celebrate Independence Day with all-American music.

1:59:00
Jessie Montgomery

Jessie Montgomery

Earlier this year, we announced that Jessie Montgomery is our 2025 PT Classical Woman of the Year. Montgomery is a celebrated composer, violinist, and educator known for compositions that blend classical, folk, jazz, and contemporary influences. Among her numerous accomplishments, she founded the Young Composers Initiative, where she mentors high school composers, assisting them in preparing their music for performance by members of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. Tune in today to learn more about Jessie Montgomery and why her work is so influential.

1:59:00
Stravinsky's Ebony Concerto

Stravinsky's Ebony Concerto

Jazz guitarist Charlie Christian was at his peak in the late 1930s and early 40s. To this day, guitarists are inspired by his recordings, and composer Igor Stravinsky said Charlie Christian helped inspire one of his pieces. We'll hear that piece, Stravinsky's Ebony Concerto, on today's show.

1:59:00
VIEW ALL EPISODES

About Performance Today®

To find a station near you on our Stations Listings page, click here.

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.

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. Also, each Wednesday, composer Bruce Adolphe joins host Fred Child for a classical musical game and listener favorite: the Piano Puzzler.

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