Poster Langston Hughes
Langston Hughes - American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist
Photo: Carl Van Vechten (Library of Congress)
Performance Today®

Musical poetry

American writer and poet Langston Hughes had a musical way with words. Music inspired his poetry...and his poetry has now inspired music. Join us today to hear a piece inspired by the words of Langston Hughes: A Thousand Whirling Dreams by composer, jazz pianist, and teacher Dana Wilson.

Episode Playlist

Hour 1

Johannes Brahms: Sonata No. 1 for Clarinet & Piano: Movement 3
Jon Manasse, clarinet | Jon Nakamatsu, piano
Album: Brahms: Clarinet Sonatas
Harmonia Mundi 907430

Joel Thompson: In Response to the Madness, for string quartet
Members of the Minnesota Orchestra: Rui Du, violin | Cecilia Belcher, violin | Sam Bergman, viola | Minji Choi, cello
Minnesota Orchestra, Orchestra Hall, Minneapolis, MN

Frederic Chopin: Piano Sonata No. 2 in B flat minor, Op. 35
Charles Richard-Hamelin, piano
Quebec Summer Festivals, Concerts aux Iles de Bic, Quebec, Canada

Johannes Brahms: Tragic Overture, Op. 81
Lviv National Philharmonic Orchestra of Ukraine | Theodore Kuchar, conductor
University of Georgia Performing Arts Center, Hugh Hodgson Concert Hall, UGA Performing Arts Center, Athens, GA

Hour 2

Fanny Mendelssohn: Andante Soave
Beatrice Rauchs, piano
Album: Fanny Mendelssohn: Piano Music
BIS 885

Fanny Mendelssohn: String Quartet in E-Flat Major
Geoffrey Herd, violin | Eliot Heaton, violin | Hillary Herndon, viola | Max Geissler, cello
Geneva Music Festival, Froelich Hall Gearan Center for the Performing Arts, Hobart & William Smith Colleges, Geneva NY

Margaret Bonds: from Three Dream Portraits: Movements 1-2
Bonnie Pomfret, soprano | Laura Gordy, piano
Album: De Toda la Eternidad
ACA

Dana Wilson: A Thousand Whirling Dreams
STRATA
The Ulster Chamber Music Series, Church of the Holy Cross, Kingston, NY

Scott Joplin, arr. Rick Benjamin: Treemonisha: Act 3: A Real Slow Drag
Janinah Burnett, soprano | Anita Johnson, soprano | Paragon Ragtime Orchestra and Singers | Rick Benjamin, conductor
Album: Scott Joplin: Treemonisha
Anthology of Recorded Music, Inc.

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Latest Performance Today® Episodes

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Latest Performance Today® Episodes

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

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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

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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
Lost and found Mendelssohn

Lost and found Mendelssohn

When Felix Mendelssohn was 14, he wrote music for a family party. The manuscript was then stashed away in the Mendelssohn household and forgotten about, and it wasn't played again until 1999. Hear the lost and found Double Concerto by Felix Mendelssohn on today’s show.

1:59:00
Franz Schubert's 'Miracle Year'

Franz Schubert's 'Miracle Year'

Some people refer to 1815 as Franz Schubert's "Miracle Year." He was only 18 years old, living at home and working as an elementary school teacher, but in that year, this humble young man composed an astonishing amount of memorable music. On today's show, we'll take you to a concert in Germany to hear a symphony from Schubert's 'Miracle Year.'  

1:59:00
Music@Menlo looks to the future

Music@Menlo looks to the future

On today's program, pianists Wu Han and Hyeyeon Park share the piano bench in a program that represents the future of the Music@Menlo Festival. Hear this special performance and learn how a carefully planned leadership transition is ensuring the festival's continued success.

1:59:00
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About Performance Today®

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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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