Poster black and white portrait of man
Ralph Vaughan Williams
E. O. Hoppé
Performance Today®

Ralph Vaughan Williams

At the age of 35, English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams went to Paris to study with Maurice Ravel (who was younger than Vaughan Williams). They worked together intensely for several months, after which Ravel gave him a great compliment. He said Vaughan Williams was his only student who didn't try to write exactly like Ravel himself. On today's show, we'll take you to the most recent Spoleto Festival USA to hear the Piano Quintet by Ralph Vaughan Williams. Plus, we’ll have the story of a musical hoax!

Episode Playlist

Hour 1

Ludwig van Beethoven: String Quartet in C minor, Op. 18, No. 4: 4. Allegro
Tokyo String Quartet
Album: Beethoven: The  Early String Quartets / Tokyo String Quartet
RCA 61284

Stephen Flaherty, arr. Robert W. Smith: Highlights from Ragtime
Aspen Music Festival Orchestral Ensemble | Lawrence Isaacson, conductor
Aspen Music Festival and School, Benedict Music Tent, Aspen, CO

Henri Tomasi: Cinq Danses Profanes et Sacrees
Lucy Song, flute | Peter Davies, oboe | Harrison Kim, clarinet | Jerver Hernandez, bassoon | Dana Reckard, horn
Round Top Music Festival, Festival Concert Hall, Round Top, TX

Ludwig van Beethoven: Cello Sonata No. 3 in A Major, Op. 69
Thomas Mesa, cello | Ilya Yakushev, piano
Honest Brook Music Festival, Honest Brook Farm, Delhi, NY

Hour 2

Jean-Philippe Rameau: Concert Suite No. 6: La Poule (The Hen)
Musicians of the Louvre | Marc Minkowski, conductor
Album: Rameau: Une Symphonie Imaginaire
Archiv 4478

Samuel Dushkin: Sicilienne for Violin and Piano
Axel Strauss, violin | Michael Brown, piano
Music in the Vineyards, Silverado Vineyards, Napa, CA

Jean-Philippe Rameau: Pieces de Clavecin en Concert, No. 1 in C minor
Emi Ferguson, flute | William Short, bassoon | Paolo Bordignon, harpsichord
Camerata Pacifica, Hahn Hall, Music Academy of the West, Santa Barbara, CA

Ralph Vaughan Williams: Piano Quintet in C minor
Stephen Prutsman, piano | Owen Dalby, violin | Lesley Robertson, viola | Christopher Costanza, cello | Anthony Manzo, double bass
Spoleto Festival USA Chamber Music Series, Dock Street Theatre, Charleston, SC

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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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