Poster Juneteenth Emancipation Day Celebration, June 19, 1900, Texas
Juneteenth Emancipation Day Celebration, June 19, 1900, Texas
The Portal to Texas History, via Wikimedia Commons
Performance Today®

Juneteenth

'Juneteenth' is the longest-running celebration of the end of slavery. For many Americans, it's a day of reflection on freedom, resilience, and strength.  Tune in today for classical music reflections on the meaning of Juneteenth.

Episode Playlist

Hour 1

William Grant Still: Punto
Berlin Symphony Orchestra | Isaiah Jackson, conductor
Album: Still: La Guiablessee, Danzas de Panama, Quit Dat Fool'nish, Summerland
Koch International Classics

Traditional, arr. Terence Blanchard: A City Called Heaven
Jubilant Sykes, baritone | Terence Blanchard, piano
Album: Jubilant Sykes
Sony Classical

Carlos Simon: Between Worlds
Hannah White, violin
Sphinx Virtuosi, Lillian & Robert Utsey Chamber Music Series, Brooks Center for the Performing Arts, Clemson University, Clemson, SC

Daniel Bernard Roumain: Filter, for solo violin
Samuel Nebyu, violin
Lucerne Festival, St Luke's Church, Lucerne, Switzerland

Sergei Rachmaninoff: Sonata for Cello and Piano in G minor Op. 19: Movement 1: Lento - Allegro moderato
Bion Tsang, cello | Stewart Goodyear, piano
Seattle Chamber Music Society, The Center for Chamber Music, Seattle, WA

Henry Purcell: Dido And Aeneas: Dido's Lament
Jessye Norman, soprano | English Chamber Ensemble | Sir Thomas Allen, conductor
Album: Purcell: Dido and Aeneas
Decca International

William Grant Still: Two Pieces from the Lyric Quartet: The Quiet One and The Sentimental One
Harlem Quartet
Maverick Concerts, Maverick Concert Hall, Woodstock, NY

Hour 2

David Baker: Clarinet Sonata: Movement 1: Blues
James Campbell, clarinet; Leonard Hokanson, piano
Album: David Baker at Bay Chamber Concerts
Cala 77010

Julius Klengel: Hymnus Op. 57 for 12 Cellos
Sheku Kanneh-Mason, cello | Rowena Calvert, cello | Jo Cole, cello | Ben Davies, cello | Caroline Dearnley, cello | Ashok Klouda, cello | Josephine Knight, cello | Robert Max, cello | Chris Murray, cello | Desmond Neysmith, cello | Hannah Roberts, cello | Nicholas Trygstad, cello
Album: Elgar
London/Decca 31491

Valerie Coleman: Tzigane for woodwind quintet
Elizabeth Mann, flute | Elizabeth Koch Tiscione, oboe | Anton Rist, clarinet | Michael Kroth, bassoon | Michael Thornton, horn
Colorado College Summer Music Festival, Packard Hall, Colorado Springs, CO

David Baker: Roots II
Eliot Heaton, violin | Max Geissler, cello | Michelle Cann, piano
Geneva Music Festival, Froelich Hall, Gearan Center for the Performing Arts, Hobart & William Smith College, Geneva, NY

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Latest Performance Today® Episodes

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Latest Performance Today® Episodes

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Young Artist-in-Residence: Soprano Claudia Diaz

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Soprano Claudia Diaz

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1:59:00
Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate

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John Adams hits the road

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Bonding over Brahms

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When clarinetist Anthony McGill and pianist Gloria Chien met in 2006, they bonded over their love of Johannes Brahms's music, a bond that is evident when they play together. They'll play a clarinet sonata by Brahms for us on today's show.

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Raphaela Gromes and a long-forgotten concerto

Raphaela Gromes and a long-forgotten concerto

Cellist Raphaela Gromes was searching for new music to play when she received an email from a stranger—completely out of the blue—asking her to consider a piece his grandmother had written around 1930, a long-forgotten concerto. We'll have the story and the Cello Concerto by Maria Herz on today's show.

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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.

Hosted by Valerie Kahler, 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.

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