Poster Tanya Leon
Tania Léon conducting the Youth Orchestra LA.
Craig Matthew/Courtesy of the artist
Performance Today®

PT Weekend: Tania Leon

A colorful bird sings high in a tree. Suddenly, it takes off and flies in chaotic circles, running into nearby trees. The bird exhausts itself and falls asleep. That's the story of a piece called Alma by Tania Leon—and we'll hear it on today's show!

Episode Playlist

Hour 1

Bela Bartok: "For Children," Hungarian Folk Tunes, Volume 1
Paul Galbraith, 8-string guitar
Album: In Every Lake the Moon Shines Full
Delos 3236

Duke Ellington: Night Creature
Courtney Bryan, piano | Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra | Louis Langree, conductor
Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Music Hall, Cincinnati, OH

Piano Puzzler
Contestant: Austin Hooper calling from Waco, Texas

Bela Bartok: Contrasts for Violin, Clarinet and Piano, Sz. 111
Gilbert Kalish, piano | Tommaso Lonquin, clarinet | Kristin Lee, violin
Music@Menlo Chamber Music Festival and Institute, Spieker Center for the Arts, Menlo Park, CA

Hour 2

Florence Price: Piano Concerto in One Movement (Excerpt - Adagio)
Michelle Cann, piano | New York Youth Symphony | Michael Repper, conductor
Album: Piano Concerto in One Movement (Excerpt - Adagio) - Single
New York Youth Symphony

Maurice Ravel: Sonatine
Avery Gagliano, piano
Young Artist in Residence Series, Maud Moon Weyerhaeuser Recording Studio, St. Paul, MN

Florence Price: The Deserted Garden for Viola and Harp
Jessica Oudin, viola | Elisabeth Remy Johnson, harp (members of the Merian Ensemble)
ASO Pre-Concert Chamber Music Series, Symphony Hall, Atlanta, GA

Gabriel Faure: Nocturne No. 4
Avery Gagliano, piano
Young Artist in Residence Series, Maud Moon Weyerhaeuser Recording Studio, St. Paul, MN

George Frideric Handel: Selections from Keyboard Suite No. 5 in E Major, HWV 430
Avery Gagliano, piano
Young Artist in Residence Series, Maud Moon Weyerhaeuser Recording Studio, St. Paul, MN

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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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