John Adams: Gnarly Buttons

‘Performance Today’ has selected performing-arts advocate Deborah Borda as the 2024 Classical Woman of the Year. This annual award recognizes women who have made significant contributions to the classical music art form and have inspired our listeners. Find out more!

Pianist and composer Courtney Bryan recently wrote a piece that she says is a love letter to all the pianists who have inspired her. The music depicts a house where pianists hang out, talk, and jam. On today's show, Courtney Bryan will play the world premiere of her new piano concerto, House of Pianos, backed by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and conductor Louis Langree.

In 2006, composer Adam Schoenberg went to a show of paintings by Mark Rothko, and he had what he calls a "visceral reaction." Schoenberg was inspired to write music based on four of Rothko’s paintings. On today's show, we'll take you to Houston to hear Finding Rothko by Adam Schoenberg.

When Alexander Scriabin was 20 years old, he was working on playing an extraordinarily demanding piece by Franz Liszt. He pushed himself so hard that he permanently injured his right hand. Scriabin adapted by creating music that is technically demanding, emotional…and particularly demanding for the left hand. Join us today to hear pianist Ilya Yakushev perform the 'Prelude and Nocturne for the Left Hand Alone’ by Alexander Scriabin.

We're proud to introduce you to violinist Sarah Ma, the first of our 2024 PT Young Artists in Residence. On today's show, Sarah joins Fred Child for music and conversation at our studio in St. Paul. Plus, Bruce Adolphe has this week’s Piano Puzzler!

Composer James Stephenson imagined what might have happened before Aaron Copland's iconic Appalachian Spring. Stephenson turned to the myth of Persephone as his inspiration and created a musical journey into the underworld and back. We'll hear the world premiere of James Stephenson's Persephone on today's show.

Pianist Marc-André Hamelin loves music by French composer Gabriel Faure. Hamelin says, "[Faure's music] …is subtle, sophisticated, but also very sensuous." On today's show, we'll hear Hamelin play music by Gabriel Faure and French composer/educator Nadia Boulanger.

We're proud to introduce you to violinist Sarah Ma, the first of our 2024 PT Young Artists in Residence. On today's show, Sarah joins Fred Child for music and conversation at our studio in St. Paul.

Sarah Ma is the first of the 2024 cohort of PT Young Artists in Residence. They are an Asian American artist from Queens, New York, who is deeply committed to cultural advocacy, inclusion, and artistic collaboration. Sarah recently joined Fred Child in our St. Paul studio—hear their music and the entire interview here!

The piece started out as a wind octet, and then Beethoven revised it into a quintet for strings. Then, in the 21st century, a bassoonist arranged the string quintet back into music for wind quintet. Don't worry if you've lost the plot—just join us to hear the group WindSync play great music by Beethoven on today's show.