Poster Jennifer Higdon
Composer Jennifer Higdon
Photo: Andrew Bogard
Performance Today®

Higdon: Blue Cathedral

Composer Jennifer Higdon wrote Blue Cathedral in 2000. It was inspired by an imaginary vision of a glass cathedral in the sky. On today's show, The Orchestra Now (TON) takes us on a journey through that cathedral. Blue Cathedral by Jennifer Higdon, from a concert in upstate New York.

Episode Playlist

Hour 1

Claude Debussy: Dances for Harp and String Orchestra: 2. Danse Profane
Vera Badings, harp; Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra; Bernard Haitink, conductor
Debussy: Orchestral Music
Philips 438 742

Georg Philipp Telemann: Burlesque de Quichotte: Movements 1-7
Tempesta di Mare; Gwyn Roberts and Richard Stone, artistic directors
Philadelphia, PA

The Piano Puzzler: This week's contestant is David Hempling from San Francisco, CA

Claude Debussy: Jeux
New York Philharmonic; Alan Gilbert, conductor
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, New York, NY

Hour 2

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Adagio for glass harmonica
John Williams, guitar
Mozart Makes You Smarter
Sony 66245

Karen Linford: Here I Stand
iSing Silicon Valley; Anna Khaydarova, piano; Lesley Robertson viola; Kent Reed, percussion; Jennah Delp Somers and Shane Troll, conductors
Here I Stand
Innova Records 058

Jennifer Higdon: Blue Cathedral
The Orchestra Now; James Bagwell, conductor
Bard College, Bard's Fisher Center for The Performing Arts, Annandale On-Hudson, NY

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Quartet No. 16 in E-Flat Major, K. 428
Tetzlaff Quartet
Spivey Hall, Clayton State University, Morrow, GA

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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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