Poster Ludwig van Beethoven
Portrait of Ludwig van Beethoven by Joseph Karl Stieler (1820)
Wikimedia Commons
Performance Today®

Beethoven: a hint of things to come

In his mid-20s, Ludwig van Beethoven was aspiring to be a composer, but he was known mostly as a pianist... he was still searching for his own musical voice. On Wednesday's Performance Today, hear wonderfully accomplished music by the young composer, before he became the Beethoven we know today.

Episode Playlist

Hour 1

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Concerto for Bassoon & Orchestra in B-flat Major: Movement 3
Willard Elliot, bassoon; Chicago Symphony Orchestra; Claudio Abbado, conductor
Album: Mozart Horn Concerto No. 3, Bassoon Concerto, Oboe Concerto
DG 415 104

Henry Purcell: Suite from King Arthur or The British Worthy, Z. 628
Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra; Richard Egarr, conductor
Wooddale Church, Eden Prairie, MN

Piano Puzzler: This week's contestant is Ted Fisher from Belgrade, Serbia

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Duo in G major for Violin and Viola, K. 423
Ida Kavafian, violin; Yura Lee, viola
Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, New York, NY

Hour 2

Carl Schimmel: Roadshow for Otto: Movements 2 & 4
Alex Sopp, flute; Romie de Guise-Langlois, clarinet; Sumire Kudo, cello; Steven Beck, piano
Roadshow: Music of Carl Schimmel
New Focus 167

Alexander Scriabin: Five Preludes for Piano, Op. 16
Wu Han, piano
Franklin College Chamber Music Series & The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Hodgson Concert Hall, University of Georgia Performing Arts Center, Athens, GA

Henri Du Mont: Allemanda Gravis
Sonnambula; Elizabeth Weinfield, Artistic Director
Baruch Performing Arts Center, Baruch Performing Arts Center - Engelman Recital Hall, New York, NY

Henri Du Mont: Symphonie en Re
Sonnambula; Elizabeth Weinfield, Artistic Director
Baruch Performing Arts Center, Baruch Performing Arts Center - Engelman Recital Hall, New York, NY

Ludwig van Beethoven: Septet for Winds and Strings in E-flat major, Op. 20: Movements 2-4
Romie de Guise-Langlois, clarinet; Peter Kolkay, bassoon; Stewart Rose, horn; Ani Kavafian, violin; Tien-Hsin Cindy Wu, viola; Jakob Koranyi, cello; Jeffrey Beecher, double bass
Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival, Bridgehampton Presbyterian Church, Bridgehampton, NY

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Latest Performance Today® Episodes

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Latest Performance Today® Episodes

Imogen Cooper's passion for Schubert

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1:59:00
Missy Mazzoli: These Worlds in Us

Missy Mazzoli: These Worlds in Us

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1:59:00
PT Weekend: Lost and found Webern

PT Weekend: Lost and found Webern

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Marc-Andre Hamelin

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1:59:00
Simone Dinnerstein

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1:59:00
A notable recovery

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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

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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
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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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