Poster Portrait of a woman near a window
Composer Missy Mazzoli
Caroline Tompkins
Performance Today®

Missy Mazzoli: Dark with Excessive Bright

Composer Missy Mazzoli often makes multiple versions of her works. In 2018, Mazzoli wrote a piece for solo bass and string orchestra that she recently rearranged for violin and orchestra, and she says she loves how the solo violin soars over the orchestra in this newer version. Join us today to hear violinist Peter Herresthal and the Bergen Philharmonic play 'Dark with Excessive Bright' by Missy Mazzoli.

Episode Playlist

Hour 1

Sergei Rachmaninoff: Vocalise
Anthony McGill, clarinet | Gloria Chien, piano
Album: Anthony McGill
Anthony McGill Music 35749

Jean Sibelius: Elegie, from King Christian Suite II
Windham Festival Chamber Orchestra | Robert Manno, conductor
Catskill Mountain Foundation, Doctorow Center for the Arts, Hunter, NY

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 12 in A Major, K. 414
Gloria Chien, piano | Soovin Kim, violin | Diana Adamyan, violin | Jessica Bodner, viola | Efe Baltacigil, cello | Braizahn Jones, bass
Chamber Music Northwest, Kaul Auditorium, Reed College, Portland, OR

Egon Wellesz: Vorfruhling (The Dawn of Spring)
The Orchestra Now | Leon Botstein, conductor
Bard College and The Orchestra Now, The Sosnoff Theatre, The Fisher Center For The Performing Arts, Annandale-on-Hudson, NY

Hour 2

Missy Mazzoli: Beyond the Order of Things (after Josquin des Prez's Praeter rerum seriem)
Matt Haimovitz, cello
Album: Primavera II: The Rabbits
Pentatone

Wilhelmine von Bayreuth: Harpsichord Concerto in G minor
Lars Ulrik Mortensen, harpsichord | Concerto Copenhagen | Lars Ulrik Mortensen, conductor
DKDR, Koncertkirken, Copenhagen, Denmark

Claude Debussy: Cello Sonata in D minor, L. 135
Johannes Moser, cello | Marc-Andre Hamelin, piano
Spivey Hall, Clayton State University, Morrow, GA

Missy Mazzoli: Dark with Excessive Bright
Peter Herresthal, violin | Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra | James Gaffigan, conductor
Album: Dark with Excessive Bright
Bis

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

Christopher Gunning

Christopher Gunning

Composer Christopher Gunning often advised emerging composers not to wait to write their symphonies until they were too old and tired to do so, and he followed his advice by completing THIRTEEN symphonies before his death in 2023. On today's show, conductor Kenneth Woods leads the Colorado MahlerFest Orchestra in a performance of Christopher Gunning's Symphony No. 10.

1:59:00
Schubert's 'Unfinished' symphony

Schubert's 'Unfinished' symphony

The question of why Franz Schubert never completed his Symphony No. 8 has intrigued music scholars and enthusiasts for generations. There are theories, of course, but does it truly matter? The landmark work has become one of Schubert's most frequently performed works. On today's show, we'll travel to Lugano, Switzerland, to hear Schubert's Symphony No. 8.

1:59:00
Clarice Assad: Constellation

Clarice Assad: Constellation

In 2023, Clarice Assad composed a piece to honor the universe that is her own family. The first two movements depict her daughters, Antonia and Stella; the final movement celebrates her partner, whom Assad says "radiates the warmth and strength of the sun." We'll hear Clarice Assad's "Constellation" on today's show.

1:59:00
Mompou's "music of evaporation"

Mompou's "music of evaporation"

Pianist Stephen Hough describes the music of Federico Mompou as "the music of evaporation." Hough says, "The notes are too simple and the soul too complex for conventional analysis." On today's show, we'll hear Stephen Hough perform Mompou’s Cants Mágìcs (Magical Songs) at a concert in Morrow, Georgia.

1:59:00
PT Weekend: Barber's 'Adagio' Quartet

PT Weekend: Barber's 'Adagio' Quartet

We often hear Samuel Barber's Adagio as a standalone piece for string orchestra, but it began as the slow movement of a string quartet. Alone, the Adagio feels so simple, so profound, and somehow much more poignant in the context of the entire quartet. Hear the Viano String Quartet perform Barber's Adagio at a concert presented by Music@Menlo in Menlo Park, California.

1:59:00
Rebecca Clarke: Dumka

Rebecca Clarke: Dumka

In Ukrainian, the word "dumka" means "thought" or “notion." In music, a dumka is a somewhat dreamlike dance that often revisits a bittersweet reflection on the sadness of life. Today, we’ll hear English composer Rebecca Clarke’s ‘Dumka,’ from a concert presented by the Fabian Concert Series in Macon, Georgia.

1:59:00
Nina Bernat

Nina Bernat

Today, we’re featuring one of our 2025 Young Artists in Residence: double-bassist Nina Bernat. In today's show, Nina joins Fred Child for music and conversation at our studio in Saint Paul.

1:59:00
Geneva and Nathan Lewis

Geneva and Nathan Lewis

As talented young kids, siblings Geneva Lewis and Nathan Lewis were part of a successful family trio. They’re all grown up now, each at the top of their careers, and they still find time to make music together. In today’s episode, Geneva and Nathan Lewis perform a duet by Edward Elgar at a concert in Athens, Georgia.

1:59:00
Florence Price: Symphony No. 3

Florence Price: Symphony No. 3

In 1940, Eleanor Roosevelt was introduced to Symphony No. 3 by African American composer Florence Price; the First Lady loved it and praised it enthusiastically in her daily newspaper column. On today’s show, we’ll take you to a recent concert in St. Louis for a performance of Price’s Symphony No. 3.

1:59:00
Franz Liszt's fascination with mortality

Franz Liszt's fascination with mortality

When composer and pianist Franz Liszt was a young man, he was fascinated with death. He went to hospitals to observe people who were sick or dying. He went to prisons to meet people who had been condemned to die. On today’s show, we’ll hear Franz Liszt’s Totentanz, The Dance of Death, a piece based on the Dies Irae, a chant from the Catholic Mass for the Dead.

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