Poster Painting of Paul Hindemith
Paul Hindemith
Painting by Rudolf W. Heinisch (ca. 1950)
Performance Today®

Hindemith's inventive twists

In 1940, Paul Hindemith wrote a piece music based on themes written more than a century earlier by Carl Maria von Weber. He kept Weber's basic ideas intact but gave them some inventive 20th-century twists. Hear that piece on today's show: the ‘Symphonic Metamorphosis on Themes of Carl Maria von Weber’ by Paul Hindemith, from a concert in Taipei, Taiwan.

Episode Playlist

Hour 1

Lyun Joon Kim / Roxanna Panufnik: Korean Elegy
Han-Na Chang, cello | Philharmonia Orchestra | Leonard Slatkin, conductor
Album: The Swan: Classic Works for Cello and Orchestra
EMI 57052

Jorge Machain: Adelante
Joseph Alessi, trombone | Martha Locker, piano
Cutting Edge Concerts New Music Festival, Leonard Nimoy Thalia Theater at Symphony Space, New York, NY

Piano Puzzler
Contestant: Jim Weeg calling from Cedar Falls, IA

Paul Hindemith: Symphonic Metamorphosis of Themes by Carl Maria von Weber
Taipei Music Academy Festival Orchestra | Leonard Slatkin, conductor
Taipei Music Academy & Festival, National Concert Hall, Taipei, Taiwan

Hour 2

Felix Mendelssohn: String Octet in E-flat Major, Op. 20 III. Scherzo. Allegro
Castalian String Quartet | Merel Quartet
Album: Mendelssohn: Octet & Quartet
Solo Musica 293

Pedro Guerro/Josquin des Prez/trad., arr. Maureen Nelson: Renaissance Suite for Strings and Percussion
Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra
SPCO, Ordway Music Hall, Saint Paul, MN

Johannes Brahms: Clarinet Sonata No. 1 in F minor, Op. 120
Anthony McGill, clarinet | Gloria Chien, piano
Chamber Music Northwest, Kaul Auditorium, Reed College, Portland, OR

Tomaso Albinoni: Oboe Concerto in D minor, Op. 9 No. 2
James Austin Smith, oboe | Pedja Muzijevic, harpsichord | Anthony Manzo, double bass | Castalian String Quartet
Spoleto Festival USA Chamber Music Series, Dock Street Theater, 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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