Poster West-Eastern Divan Ensemble
The West-Eastern Divan Ensemble
Photo: Peter Adamik
Performance Today®

Now more than ever

The West-Eastern Divan Ensemble includes talented young players from Israel and Arab countries. They're a musical ensemble, but they're also a project of cultural diplomacy. Divan founder Daniel Barenboim says, "[In the face of recent violence] ...our message of peace must be louder than ever." Hear their story and a highlight from their recent U.S. tour on today's show.

Episode Playlist

Hour 1

Valerie Coleman: Afro-Cuban Concerto: Afro
Imani Winds
Album: The Classical Underground
Koch 7599

Nathalie Joachim: Seen
Imani Winds
Chamber Music Northwest, Alberta Rose Theatre, Portland, OR

Sergei Prokofiev: Sonata No. 7 in B-flat Major, Op. 83
Clayton Stephenson, piano
Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, TCU Van Cliburn Concert Hall, Fort Worth, TX

Maurice Ravel: La Valse
The Orchestra Now | Naomi Woo, conductor
Bard College and The Orchestra Now, Fisher Center for the Performing Arts, Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, NY

Hour 2

Paul Hindemith: Symphonic Metamorphosis: March
Kansas City Symphony | Michael Stern, conductor
Album: Miraculous Metamorphoses: Hindemith, Prokofiev, Bartok
Reference

Paul Hindemith: Trauermusik
West-Eastern Divan Ensemble | Michael Barenboim, conductor
University of Georgia Performing Arts Center, Hodgson Concert Hall, UGA Performing Arts Center, Athens, GA

Albert Roussel: Bacchus et Ariane, Op. 43, Suite No. 2
WDR Symphony Orchestra | Stephane Deneve, conductor
Philharmonie, Cologne, Germany

Joaquin Turina: Piano Quartet in A minor, Op. 67
Hyeyeon Park, piano | Bella Hristova, violin | Matthew Lipman, viola | Nicholas Canellakis, cello
Music@Menlo Chamber Music Festival and Institute, Spieker Center for the Arts, Menlo Park, CA

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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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