Poster Pamela Howland
Pianist Pamela Howland
Courtesy of artist
Performance Today®

A tip of the cap to Beethoven

This month marks the 250th anniversary of Beethoven's birth. We'll be celebrating with plenty of his music, and with works by living composers that find inspiration in Beethoven. On today's show, hear a track from pianist Pamela Howland's new album "Christmas with Beethoven".

Episode Playlist

Hour 1

Luis Cardoso: Double Concertino for Tenor Saxophone and Tuba, Op. 22: I. Praeludium - Motus perpetuus
Jeff Siegfried, saxophone; Ja'Ttik Clark, tuba; Oregon State University Wind Ensemble; Christopher C. Chapman, conductor
Current
Mark Records NA

Ludwig van Beethoven: Overture to Egmont
Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra; Louis Langree, conductor
Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Music Hall, Cincinnati, OH

Scott Joplin, arr. Gunther Schuller: Three Joplin Rags
Grand Teton Music Festival Chamber Ensemble
Grand Teton Music Festival, Walk Festival Hall, Jackson Hole, WY

Sergei Prokofiev: Sonata for Cello and Piano in C Major Op. 119.
Viktor Uzur, cello; Guigla Katsarava, piano
Allred Theater, Weber State University, Ogden, UT

Hour 2

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Wind Serenade in C minor: II. Andante
Orpheus Chamber Orchestra
Night Moods Soulful Serenade
DG 453903

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor: from African Suite, Op. 35, No. 4
National Orchestral Institute Philharmonic; John Morris Russell, conductor
National Orchestral Institute + Festival, Elsie & Marvin Dekelboum Concert Hall, University of Maryland, College Park, MD

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: String Quartet No. 17 in B flat Major, K. 458 "The Hunt"
Elias String Quartet
Spivey Hall, Clayton State University, Morrow, GA

Ludwig van Beethoven/Traditional, arr. Pamela Howland: Away in a Manger (in the style of Sonata Op. 14 No. 2, Mvt. 3)
Pamela Howland, piano
Christmas with Beethoven
Pamela Howland NA

John Frederick Coots: Santa Claus is Coming to Town
WDR Radio Orchestra, Cologne; WDR Chorus; Stefan Parkman, conductor
Philharmonie, Cologne, Germany

Love the music?

Donate by phone
1-800-562-8440

Show your support by making a gift to YourClassical.

Each day, we’re here for you with thoughtful streams that set the tone for your day – not to mention the stories and programs that inspire you to new discovery and help you explore the music you love.

YourClassical is available for free, because we are listener-supported public media. Take a moment to make your gift today.

More Ways to Give

Your Donation

$5/month
$10/month
$15/month
$20/month
$

Latest Performance Today® Episodes

VIEW ALL EPISODES

Latest Performance Today® Episodes

PT Weekend: Barber's 'Adagio' Quartet

PT Weekend: Barber's 'Adagio' Quartet

We often hear Samuel Barber's Adagio as a standalone piece for string orchestra, but it began as the slow movement of a string quartet. Alone, the Adagio feels so simple, so profound, and somehow much more poignant in the context of the entire quartet. Hear the Viano String Quartet perform Barber's Adagio at a concert presented by Music@Menlo in Menlo Park, California.

1:59:00
Rebecca Clarke: Dumka

Rebecca Clarke: Dumka

In Ukrainian, the word "dumka" means "thought" or “notion." In music, a dumka is a somewhat dreamlike dance that often revisits a bittersweet reflection on the sadness of life. Today, we’ll hear English composer Rebecca Clarke’s ‘Dumka,’ from a concert presented by the Fabian Concert Series in Macon, Georgia.

1:59:00
Nina Bernat

Nina Bernat

Today, we’re featuring one of our 2025 Young Artists in Residence: double-bassist Nina Bernat. In today's show, Nina joins Fred Child for music and conversation at our studio in Saint Paul.

1:59:00
Geneva and Nathan Lewis

Geneva and Nathan Lewis

As talented young kids, siblings Geneva Lewis and Nathan Lewis were part of a successful family trio. They’re all grown up now, each at the top of their careers, and they still find time to make music together. In today’s episode, Geneva and Nathan Lewis perform a duet by Edward Elgar at a concert in Athens, Georgia.

1:59:00
Florence Price: Symphony No. 3

Florence Price: Symphony No. 3

In 1940, Eleanor Roosevelt was introduced to Symphony No. 3 by African American composer Florence Price; the First Lady loved it and praised it enthusiastically in her daily newspaper column. On today’s show, we’ll take you to a recent concert in St. Louis for a performance of Price’s Symphony No. 3.

1:59:00
Franz Liszt's fascination with mortality

Franz Liszt's fascination with mortality

When composer and pianist Franz Liszt was a young man, he was fascinated with death. He went to hospitals to observe people who were sick or dying. He went to prisons to meet people who had been condemned to die. On today’s show, we’ll hear Franz Liszt’s Totentanz, The Dance of Death, a piece based on the Dies Irae, a chant from the Catholic Mass for the Dead.

1:59:00
PT Weekend: The outsider

PT Weekend: The outsider

Invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s, the saxophone has long been seen as an outsider in classical music. But Timothy McAllister is on a mission to change that. On today’s show, Timothy McAllister performs a saxophone classic: Alexander Glazunov’s Saxophone Concerto.

1:59:00
Henriëtte Bosmans

Henriëtte Bosmans

On today's show, we explore music by Dutch composer Henriëtte Bosmans. Join us at a concert in Wismar, Germany, to hear a performance of Bosmans's String Quartet, a piece from a time when in-home concerts were a matter of necessity for artists whose work had to be kept undercover.

1:59:00
Sibelius' final symphony

Sibelius' final symphony

The final symphony by Jean Sibelius unfolds over twenty-one minutes, evolving from a quiet opening to a warm, life-affirming ending—it's one unbroken weightless stream. Join us at a concert in Zurich for the Symphony No. 7 by Jean Sibelius.

1:59:00
Photos: Scenes from MPR Day at the 2025 Minnesota State Fair
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.

How do I leave a comment?

Send us a comment here.

About Performance Today®
YourClassical Radio
0:00
0:00