Poster Composer Ellen Taaffe Zwilich
Composer Ellen Taaffe Zwilich
Photo: Bill Keefrey
Performance Today®

Ellen Taaffe Zwilich

Last year, composer Ellen Taaffe Zwilich premiered a new concerto for cello and full orchestra. Zwilich then reimagined that piece for a smaller ensemble of only six players—the limitations of the pandemic made that idea all the more timely, appealing, and safe. On today's show, we'll hear the Cello Concerto for chamber ensemble, by Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, performed for a live (online) audience from the spacious Brungard Aviation Hangar, in Boulder, Colorado.

Episode Playlist

Hour 1

Amy Beach: Prelude on an Old Folk Tune
Joanne Polk, piano
Album: Under The Stars
Arabesque 6704

Fritz Kreisler: Schon Rosmarin
Benny Kim, violin | Simon Crawford-Phillips, piano
Savannah Music Festival, Trinity United Methodist Church, Savannah, GA

Isaac Albeniz, arr. Fritz Kreisler: Tango
Benny Kim, violin | Simon Crawford-Phillips, piano
Savannah Music Festival, Trinity United Methodist Church, Savannah, GA

Amy Beach: Piano Quintet in F-Sharp minor, Op. 67 
Shawn Moore, violin
Geoffrey Herd, violin
Kirsten Doctor, viola
Clive Greensmith, cello
Esther Park, piano
Geneva Music Festival, Froelich Hall Gearan Center for the Performing Arts, Hobart & William Smith Colleges, Geneva, NY

Antonin Dvorak: Carnival Overture, Op. 92
Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra | Yu An Chang, conductor
Tanglewood, Ozawa Hall, Lenox, MA

Hour 2

Anton Arensky: String Quartet No. 2 in A Minor, Op. 35: Mvt. 3
Kirsten Johnson, viola | Lynn Harrell & Zuill Bailey, cellos | Soovin Kim, violin
Album: Dohnanyi: Serenade In C Major - Arensky: String Quartet No. 2
Delos

Ellen Taaffe Zwilich: Cello Concerto
Zuill Bailey, cello
Charles Wetherbee, violin
Michael Brook, viola
Charles Lee, cello
David Crowe, bass
Jennifer Hayghe, piano
Michael Butterman, conductor
Boulder Philharmonic Orchestra, Brungard Aviation Hangar, Boulder, CO

Robert Paterson: Dark Mountains
The Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra | JoAnn Falletta, conductor
The Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, Kleinhans Music Hall, Buffalo, NY

Ryan George: An Ge Fhiain (The Wild Goose)
United States Marine Band | Col. Jason K. Fettig, conductor
United States Marine Band, Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall, Alexandria, VA

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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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