Poster a man posing with a flute
Brandon Patrick George, flutist
Courtesy of the artist
Performance Today®

PT Weekend: Brandon Patrick George

Brandon Patrick George is a renowned American flutist and a member of Imani Winds, celebrated for his elegant and virtuosic performances. On today's show, we'll hear him perform two solo pieces for flute, one by Shawn Okpebholo and the other by Ruth Crawford Seeger. Plus, Bruce Adolphe has this week’s Piano Puzzler!

Episode Playlist

Hour 1

Teresa Carreno: Little Waltz (Mi Teresita)
Gabriela Montero, piano
Album: Solatino
EMI 41144

Franz Danzi: Sinfonia Concertante for Flute, Clarinet, and Orchestra
DeMarre McGill, flute | Anthony McGill, clarinet | Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra | Allen Tinkham, conductor
Album: Winged Creatures
Cedille 187

Piano Puzzler
Contestant: Beth Everett calling from Scottsbluff, NE

Frederic Chopin: Polonaise - Fantaisie in A-flat Major, Op. 61
Gabriela Montero, piano
Radio e Televisao de Portugal, Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Lisbon, Portugal

Hour 2

Richard Wagner: Traume (Dreams)
Anne Akiko Meyers, violin | Emmanuel Ceysson, harp
Album: Anne Akiko Meyers: Seasons... Dreams...
Koch 7780

Richard Wagner: Siegfried Idyll
Taipei Music Academy Festival All-Stars
Taipei Music Academy & Festival, Caroline H. Hume Concert Hall, San Francisco Conservatory of Music, San Francisco, CA

Hugo Wolf: Italian Serenade
Balourdet String Quartet
Strings Music Festival, Strings Pavilion, Steamboat Springs, CO

Shawn Okpebholo: On A Painting by Henry Ossawa Turner: The Thankful Poor
Brandon Patrick George, flute
Album: Twofold
In a Circle Records

Ruth Crawford Seeger: Diaphonic Suite
Brandon Patrick George, flute
Album: Twofold
In a Circle Records

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Latest Performance Today® Episodes

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Latest Performance Today® Episodes

A notable recovery

A notable recovery

In 1945, Austrian composer Anton Webern and his family fled Vienna. Most of Webern’s valuables, mementos, and manuscripts were placed in a lock box, which they buried in the backyard. Sixteen years later, the box was recovered with the manuscripts inside. On today's show, we'll hear one of those 'found' pieces: Im Sommerwind (In the Summer Breeze) by Anton Webern.

1:59:00
Just Another Climb

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In 1939, four women climbers reached the summit of Wyoming’s Grand Teton at dawn, racing to be the first and to counter skepticism about their unassisted ascent. Newspapers at the time called it the first "manless" ascent of the mountain. In response, one of the women said, “To us it was just another climb.” Today's show will feature both the story and the music: "Just Another Climb" by Kimberly Osberg.

1:59:00
Nathalie Stutzmann and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra

Nathalie Stutzmann and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra

Three hundred years ago, Johann Sebastian Bach began his role as the music director at St. Thomas Church in Leipzig, a position for which he was only the third choice. To impress his uncertain employers, Bach composed ambitious new cantatas every week during his first few years, including the one we will hear today: the Sinfonia from J.S. Bach's Cantata No. 42, from a concert featuring conductor Nathalie Stutzmann and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.

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PT Weekend: Stravinsky's Ebony Concerto

PT Weekend: Stravinsky's Ebony Concerto

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Marin Alsop on an American icon

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1:59:00
Jessie Montgomery

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Earlier this year, we announced that Jessie Montgomery is our 2025 PT Classical Woman of the Year. Montgomery is a celebrated composer, violinist, and educator known for compositions that blend classical, folk, jazz, and contemporary influences. Among her numerous accomplishments, she founded the Young Composers Initiative, where she mentors high school composers, assisting them in preparing their music for performance by members of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. Tune in today to learn more about Jessie Montgomery and why her work is so influential.

1:59:00
Stravinsky's Ebony Concerto

Stravinsky's Ebony Concerto

Jazz guitarist Charlie Christian was at his peak in the late 1930s and early 40s. To this day, guitarists are inspired by his recordings, and composer Igor Stravinsky said Charlie Christian helped inspire one of his pieces. We'll hear that piece, Stravinsky's Ebony Concerto, on today's show.

1:59:00
Clarice Assad: Total Eclipse

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Considering Matthew Shepard

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1:59:00
PT Weekend: Optimism in dark times

PT Weekend: Optimism in dark times

In 1944, during the height of World War II, Sergei Prokofiev composed a piece intended “…to sing the praises of the free and happy man.” It’s an optimistic work created during a time of darkness. On today's show, we'll hear the opening movement of Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 5 performed by the National Orchestral Institute (NOI) Philharmonic and conductor Joseph Young at a concert in College Park, Maryland.

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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