Poster Florence Price
Florence Beatrice Smith Price
University of Arkansas
Performance Today®

Certified organic

Composer Florence Price was also an excellent organist. In the 1930s, she played organ for silent films and radio shows in Chicago—and she wrote for the organ as well. We'll hear a Passacaglia and Fugue for organ by Florence Price on today's show.

Episode Playlist

Hour 1

Peter Tchaikovsky, arr. Walter Wollenweber: Nocturne
Sol Gabetta, cello | Munich Radio Orchestra | Ari Rasilainen, conductor
Album: Sol Gabetta plays Tchaikovsky, Saint-Saens and Ginastera
RCA 675951

Margi Griebling-Haigh: Rhapsody for Violin and Piano
Peter Otto, violin | Randall Fusco, piano
Cleveland Composers Guild, Drinko Recital Hall, Cleveland State University, Cleveland, OH

Alexander Zemlinsky: The Mermaid: Movement 1
The Orchestra Now | Leon Botstein, conductor
Bard College and The Orchestra Now, Sosnoff Theatre at The Fisher Center for The Performing Arts, Annandale-on-Hudson, NY

Florence Price: Passacaglia & Fugue
Alan Morrison, organ
Spivey Hall, Clayton State University, Morrow, GA

Hour 2

Ernest Bloch: At Sea
Lara Downes, piano
Album: America Again
Dorian 92207

Bedrich Smetana: Vltava (The Moldau)
Texas Festival Orchestra | Michelle Merrill, conductor
Round Top Music Festival, Festival Concert Hall, Round Top, TX

Harry T. Burleigh: From the Southland: Movements 1, 2, 5, 6
Lara Downes, piano
Brevard Music Center, Parker Concert Hall, Brevard, NC

Richard Wagner: Die Meistersinger von Numberg Suite, Wwv 96
National Orchestral Institute Philharmonic | David Neely, conductor
National Orchestral Institute + Festival, Elsie and Marvin Dekelboum Concert Hall, Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, College Park, MD

Love the music?

Donate by phone
1-800-562-8440

Show your support by making a gift to YourClassical.

Each day, we’re here for you with thoughtful streams that set the tone for your day – not to mention the stories and programs that inspire you to new discovery and help you explore the music you love.

YourClassical is available for free, because we are listener-supported public media. Take a moment to make your gift today.

More Ways to Give

Your Donation

$5/month
$10/month
$15/month
$20/month
$

Latest Performance Today® Episodes

VIEW ALL EPISODES

Latest Performance Today® Episodes

Maria Dueñas

Maria Dueñas

Violinist Maria Dueñas is a university student, but she already has a global following and is selling out concert halls worldwide. Gustavo Dudamel says: "She has the magic... an artistic soul. She is fire." We’ll hear Maria Dueñas play a concerto by Max Bruch on today’s show.

1:59:00
Not to be overlooked

Not to be overlooked

Pianist Lara Downes's passion for sharing the music of underrepresented composers goes beyond performing onstage. She's also been hard at work making this previously overlooked music accessible for other musicians to play. On today's show, Lara Downes plays Harry T. Burleigh's "From the Southland" at a concert in Brevard, North Carolina.

1:59:00
Nominate the 2025 Classical Woman of the Year
PT Weekend: Vladimir Jurowski

PT Weekend: Vladimir Jurowski

Conductor Vladimir Jurowski was born and raised in the Soviet Union. He's now a citizen of Germany and an outspoken critic of Russia. He sees being political as a necessary part of an artist's life. We'll hear Vladimir Jurowski lead a concert with the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra on today's show.

1:59:00
Paul Wiancko: Lift

Paul Wiancko: Lift

American composer Paul Wiancko wrote a piece named LIFT, his "ode to joy...a journey of the soul." On this episode of Performance Today, hear the Aeolus Quartet give an inspired performance of LIFT by Paul Wiancko.

1:59:00
Sheku Kanneh-Mason

Sheku Kanneh-Mason

At age 25, cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason holds a multi-year residency at one of the world's biggest music festivals. He's the "artiste etoile"—literally "the star artist"—at the Lucerne Festival in Switzerland. Hear Sheku Kanneh-Mason in Lucerne on this episode of Performance Today.

1:59:00
Vladimir Jurowski

Vladimir Jurowski

Conductor Vladimir Jurowski was born and raised in the Soviet Union. He's now a citizen of Germany and an outspoken critic of Russia. He sees being political as a necessary part of an artist's life. We'll hear Vladimir Jurowski lead a concert with the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra on today's show.

1:59:00
Richard Danielpour: Triptych

Richard Danielpour: Triptych

Dante's Divine Comedy takes us through hell, purgatory, and paradise. Composer Richard Danielpour says he sees a metaphor for the recent pandemic in that, and he wrote a new symphony reflecting on those themes. The ensemble ROCO plays Danielpour's Triptych on this weekend's episode of Performance Today.

1:59:00
Wynton Marsalis: Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra

Wynton Marsalis: Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra

On today's show, we'll hear a piece for solo trumpet and orchestra by Wynton Marsalis. Throughout the piece, Marsalis gives us a quick history of the trumpet, from simple horns (literally) to the invention of brass and on to one of Marsalis's heroes: Louis Armstrong. Today, we’ll hear Wynton Marsalis's Trumpet Concerto, played by trumpeter Alison Balsom and the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra.

1:59:00
PT Weekend: David Lai

PT Weekend: David Lai

We're pleased to introduce the first of our 2025 PT Young Artists in Residence: pianist David Lai. David joins Fred Child for music and conversation at our Saint Paul studio on today's show.

1:59:00
VIEW ALL EPISODES

About Performance Today®

To find a station near you on our Stations Listings page, click here.

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.

How do I leave a comment?

Send us a comment here.

About Performance Today®
YourClassical Radio
0:00
0:00