Poster Artist Mark Rothko
Mark Rothko, Yorktown Heights, NY, ca. 1949
Photo: Consuelo Kanaga
Performance Today®

Finding Rothko

In 2006, composer Adam Schoenberg went to a show of paintings by Mark Rothko, and he had what he calls a "visceral reaction." Schoenberg was inspired to write music based on four of Rothko’s paintings. On today's show, we'll take you to Houston to hear Finding Rothko by Adam Schoenberg.

Episode Playlist

Hour 1

Leos Janacek: In the Mists: Movement 1 Andante
Leif Ove Andsnes, piano
Album: Janacek: Piano Sonata 1.X.1905 - In the Mists etc
Virgin 91222

Michael Tippett: Little Music for Strings
English String Orchestra | Kenneth Woods, conductor
The Elgar Festival, Worcester Cathedral, Worcester, United Kingdom

Adam Schoenberg: Finding Rothko
ROCO | Delyana Lazarova, conductor
ROCO, St. John the Divine Church, Houston, TX

Leos Janacek: Violin Sonata
Yeri Roh, violin | Hyeyeon Park, piano
Music@Menlo Chamber Music Festival and Institute, Spieker Center for the Arts, Menlo Park, CA

Hour 2

Edgar Meyer, Chris Thile, and Stuart Duncan: Goat Rodeo
Stuart Duncan, fiddle | Chris Thile, mandolin | Yo-Yo Ma, cello | Edgar Meyer, bass
Album: Goat Rodeo
Sony 84118

Antonin Dvorak: String Quartet No. 14 in A-flat major: Movement 1
Apollo Chamber Players
Apollo Chamber Players, Midtown Arts and Theater Center, Houston, TX

Kayhan Kalhor: Blue as the Turquoise Night of Neyshabur
Yo-Yo Ma, cello | Silk Road Ensemble
Album: Yo-Yo Ma & The Silk Road Ensemble & Silk Road Journeys
Sony 89782

Dmitri Shostakovich: Piano Concerto No. 2 in F major, Op. 102
Denis Kozhukhin, piano | Grand Teton Music Festival Orchestra | Donald Runnicles, conductor
Grand Teton Music Festival, Walk Festival Hall, Jackson Hole, WY

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Latest Performance Today® Episodes

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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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