Composer Tan Dun grew up in the province of Hunan, China. His community practiced a ritual called “ghost opera,” a way of communicating with spirits of the past, future, and nature. On today’s show, we’ll hear a concerto by Tan Dun, inspired by the Chinese ‘ghost opera’ ritual.
Episode Playlist
Hour 1
Valentin Silvestrov: Bagatelle No. 3
Helene Grimaud, piano
Album: Helene Grimaud: The Messenger
DG
Xavier Foley: Mayflower, for string quartet
Ying Quartet | Xavier Foley, double bass
Spivey Hall, Clayton State University, Morrow, GA
Valentin Silvestrov: 3 Waltzes with Postludium, Op. 3
Alexey Botvinov, piano
EBU, Odessa Classics Festival, Estonia Concert Hall, Tallinn, Estonia
Tan Dun: Concerto for String Quartet and Pipa
Min Xiao-Fen, pipa | Tien-Hsin Cindy Wu, violin | Kristin Lee, violin | Paul Neubauer, viola | Sihao He, cello
Music@Menlo Chamber Music Festival and Institute, Spieker Center for the Arts, Menlo Park, CA
Hour 2
Fanny Mendelssohn: Das Jahr (The Year): October
Christina Bjorkoe, piano
Album: Das Jahr
Danacord 957
Richard Heuberger: Der Opernball (the Opera Ball): Movement 1 Overture
WDR Radio Orchestra | Alfred Eschwe, conductor
EBU. Klaus von Bismarck Hall, WDR Broadcasting House, Cologne, Germany
Johann Sebastian Bach: Italian Concerto in F Major, BWV 971
Kenari Saxophone Quartet
Beaches Fine Arts Series, St Paul's-by-the-Sea Episcopal Church, Jacksonville, FL
Fanny Mendelssohn: Quartet in E-flat Major
Ari Isaacman-Beck, violin | Joanna Maurer, violin | Erica Gailing, viola | Peter Sanders, cello
Central Vermont Chamber Music Festival, Unitarian Universalist Church, Woodstock, VT
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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.
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