Poster Fred Child and Bruce Adolphe
Fred Child & Bruce Adolphe
Photo: Jon Gohman
Performance Today®

Puzzling!

So, what is a Piano Puzzler? Well, it's a familiar tune that Bruce Adolphe has re-written in the style of a classical composer. See if you can name the hidden tune and the composer whose style Bruce is imitating. Join us for this week’s Piano Puzzler. Plus, as part of our celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, we'll hear music by Argentine composers Lalo Schifrin and Maximo Diego Pujol.

Episode Playlist

Hour 1

John Playford: Newcastle/Splendid Schilling
Gao Hong, Pipa | Belladonna Baroque Quartet
Album: Hui: Folk Melodies From China And 17th Century Europe
Ten Thousand Lakes

Gao Hong: Celebration
Gao Hong, Pipa | Kenwood Symphony Orchestra, Carleton College Chinese Music Ensemble | Dennis Friesen-Carper, conductor
International Friendship Through the Performing Arts, Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, St. Paul, MN

Piano Puzzler
Contestant: Brent Sverdloff calling from Rhinebeck, NY

Paulo Bellinati: Baiao de Gude
Newman & Oltman Guitar Duo | Joao Luiz, guitar | Celil Refik Kaya, guitar
The 35th Raritan River Music Festival, The Courtroom of the Historic Hunterdon County Courthouse, Flemington, NJ

Lalo Schifrin: Pampas
Pablo Aslan, bass | Alex Brown, piano | Hector Del Curto, bandoneon, Cho-Liang Lin, violin | David Shifrin, clarinet | Satoshi Takeishi, percussion
San Antonio Chamber Music Society, Trinity Baptist, Church San Antonio, TX

Maximo Diego Pujol: Suite magica
Yolanda Kondonassis, harp | Jason Vieaux, guitar
Album: Together
Azica 71297

Hour 2

Georg Philipp Telemann: Don Quixote Suite movement 1: Ouverture
Apollo's Fire | Jeannette Sorrell, conductor
Album: Telemann: Don Quixote and other Suites & Concertos
Avie 2353

Traditional Jewish, arr. Jeannette Sorrell: Avinu Malkeinu
Jeffrey Strauss, baritone | Apollo's Fire | Jeannette Sorrell, conductor
Album: Sephardic Journey: Wanderings of the Spanish Jews
Avie 2361

Sergei Prokofiev: Sonata For Two Violins in C Major, Op. 56
Nikki Chooi, violin | Timothy Chooi, violin
Hayden's Ferry Chamber Music Series, Tempe Center For The Arts, Tempe, AZ

Ernest Bloch: Piano Quintet No. 1: Movements 2-3
Wu Han, piano | Kristin Lee, violin | Stella Chen, violin | Paul Neubauer, viola | Sihao He, cello
Music@Menlo Chamber Music Festival and Institute, Spieker Center for the Arts, Menlo Park, CA

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Latest Performance Today® Episodes

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Latest Performance Today® Episodes

David Lai

David Lai

We're pleased to present pianist David Lai, one of our 2025 PT Young Artists in Residence. On today's show, David joins Fred Child for music and conversation at our Saint Paul studio.

1:59:00
PT Young Artist David Lai plays the Piano Puzzler

PT Young Artist David Lai plays the Piano Puzzler

PT Young Artist David Lai is a devoted fan of our weekly game, the Piano Puzzler. He submits his guesses every week and has even written Piano Puzzler-style pieces of his own. On today’s program, pianist David Lai joins Bruce Adolphe (in person!) at our St. Paul studio to see if he can guess this week's Piano Puzzler.

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Inon Barnatan and Summerfest La Jolla

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Composer Viet Cuong

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PT Weekend: Meet Victor Ni

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We're pleased to introduce you to clarinetist Victor Ni, our next 2025 PT Young Artists in Residence. On today's program, Victor joins Fred Child for music and conversation in our Saint Paul studio. Plus, Bruce Adolphe joins us for this week’s Piano Puzzler.

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Young Artist in Residence: Victor Ni

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Victor Ni

Victor Ni

We're pleased to introduce you to clarinetist Victor Ni, our next 2025 PT Young Artists in Residence. On today's program, Victor joins Fred Child for music and conversation in our Saint Paul studio.

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Bringing fractals to life

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Composer Jessie Montgomery found inspiration in nature's infinitely repeating patterns: fractals. Her fascination with these natural wonders led her to write a captivating new piece that brings fractals to life through sound. On today's show, we'll hear "Rounds" by Jessie Montgomery, a musical exploration of nature's boundless beauty.

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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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