In 1932, George Gershwin enjoyed a vacation in Havana, Cuba. He came home with a set of bongos, a set of maracas, and inspiration for a new composition. On this episode of Performance Today we'll hear Gershwin's Cuban Overture, his souvenir from two weeks in Cuba.
Episode Playlist
Hour 1
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: String Quartet No. 21 in D Major, K. 575 "Prussian": II. Andante
Calidore String Quartet
Music@Menlo Live: Creative Capitals, Vol. 5
Music@Menlo Live NA
Anton Webern: Langsamer Satz for String Quartet
Calidore String Quartet
Music@Menlo, Stent Family Hall, Menlo School, Atherton, CA
Piano Puzzler: This week's contestant is Peter and Mary-Bess Staffel from Bethany, WV
Reinhold Gliere: Horn Concerto B flat Major, Op. 91
Yun Zeng, French horn; Mariinsky Theatre Symphony Orchestra; Arseny Shuplyakov, conductor
The XVI International Tchaikovsky Competition, Concert Hall of the Mariinsky Theatre, St. Petersburg, Russia
Hour 2
Maurice Ravel: Oiseaux tristes ("Sad birds")
Marius Van Paassen, piano
The animal in the 20th century piano music
Attacca Babel 8950
George Gershwin: Cuban Overture
Los Angeles Philharmonic; Lionel Bringuier, conductor
Los Angeles Philharmonic, Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles, CA
Frederic Chopin: Nocturne in E-flat major, Op. 9, No. 2 (encore)
Stephen Hough, piano
Aspen Music Festival and School, Harris Concert Hall, Aspen, CO
Maurice Ravel: Mother Goose Suite Ballet version
Detroit Symphony Orchestra; Matthias Pintscher, conductor
Interlochen Presents, Kresge Auditorium, Interlochen, MI
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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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