There's a musical puzzle at the heart of the Enigma Variations by Edward Elgar. Cryptographers have been working on cracking the code for a century. On this episode of Performance Today, we'll share some of the many possible solutions... and enjoy a great performance of the Elgar's Enigma Variations, from the Aspen Music Festival.
Episode Playlist
Hour 1
Frederic Chopin: Etude in E Major, Op. 10, No. 3
Jon Kimura Parker, piano
Album: Bravo! Chopin Piano Works
Telarc 82003
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 23 in A Major, K. 488
Samuel Glicklich, piano | Aspen Philharmonic Orchestra | Ludovic Morlot, conductor
Aspen Music Festival and School, Benedict Music Tent, Aspen, CO
Antonio Vivaldi: "Vedro con mio diletto" from Giustino, RV 717
Anthony Roth Costanzo, countertenor
Luri Lee, violin
Jeffrey Dyrda, violin
Geoff Nuttall, violin
Owen Dalby, violin
Hezekiah Leung, viola
Jonathan Lo, cello
Anthony Manzo, double bass
The Bank of America Chamber Music Series, Spoleto Festival USA, Dock Street Theater, Charleston, SC
Claude Debussy: Sonata for Cello and Piano in D minor
Bion Tsang, cello | Jon Kimura Parker, piano
Seattle Chamber Music Society, Nordstrom Recital Hall at Benaroya Hall, Seattle, WA
Hour 2
Lyun Joon Kim / Roxanna Panufnik: Korean Elegy
Han-Na Chang, cello | Philharmonia Orchestra | Leonard Slatkin, conductor
Album: The Swan: Classic Works for Cello and Orchestra
EMI 57052
Maurice Ravel: Piece en forme de Habanera
Peter Sanders, cello | Adrienne Kim, piano
Central Vermont Chamber Music Festival, Chandler Center for the Arts, Randolph, VT
Jessie Montgomery: Rhapsody No. 1
Jessie Montgomery, violin
Album: Strum: Music for Strings
Azica Records 71302
Edward Elgar: Variations on an Original Theme, Op. 36 “Enigma”
Aspen Festival Orchestra | Leonard Slatkin, conductor
Aspen Music Festival and School, Benedict Music Tent, Aspen, CO
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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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