Poster Bugs Bunny as Brunhilde
Bugs Bunny as Brunhilde in the 1957 Merrie Melodies episode "What's Opera, Doc?"
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Performance Today®

Richard Wagner and Bugs Bunny

Richard Wagner's operas are so dramatic, they're sometimes an inch away from self-parody. On Monday's Performance Today, the Cleveland Orchestra gives a serious (and seriously great) performance of the Ride of the Valkyries. Plus, we'll hear a bit of Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd's take on Wagner's music.

Episode Playlist

Hour 1

Richard Wagner: Ride of the Valkyries from Die Walkure
Cleveland Orchestra; Franz Welser-Most, conductor
Severance Hall, Cleveland, OH
Wagner: Wesendonck-Lieder Preludes & Overtures
Deutsche Grammophon 4778773

Ludwig van Beethoven: Violin Sonata No. 2 in A Major, Op. 12, No. 2
Alina Ibragimova, violin; Cedric Tiberghien, piano
Beethoven Violin Sonatas 2
Wigmore Hall Live 41

Charles Ives: Symphony No. 2: Lento (maestoso); Allegro
New York Philharmonic; Alan Gilbert, conductor
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, New York, NY

Charles Ives (orch. Henry Brant): A Concord Symphony: The Alcotts
San Francisco Symphony; Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor
Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco, CA

Hour 2

Peter Warlock (arr. Jay Lichtmann): Capriol Suite
Summit Brass
Gates Auditorium, Newman Center for the Performing Arts, Denver, CO
Summit Brass: A Summit Brass Night
Catalog 500

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov: Flight of the Bumblebee
Christian Lindberg, trombone; Roland Pontinen, piano
The Virtuoso Trombone
Bis 258

Antonin Dvorak: Symphonic Variations for Orchestra, Op. 78, on "I Am a Fiddler"
Budapest Festival Orchestra; Ivan Fischer, conductor
Palace of Arts, Budapest, Hungary
Dvorak: Cello Concerto, Symphonic Variations
Channel Classics 25807

Frederic Chopin: Polonaise Brillante, Op. 3
Mischa Maisky, cello; Martha Argerich, piano
Mischa Maisky, Martha Argerich Live in Japan
Deutsche Grammophon 471346

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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.

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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