Poster Portrait of composer William Grant Still, 1936
Studio portrait of composer and conductor William Grant Still (1895 - 1978), the first African-American conductor of a major orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, 1936.
Hulton Archive/Getty Images
Performance Today®

William Grant Still: Three Visions

In 1935, William Grant Still wrote a musical picture of the journey of a human spirit after death. It's a suite for piano called Three Visions. On today's show, we'll hear pianist Andrew Armstrong play Still's suite at a concert presented by the Seattle Chamber Music Society.

Episode Playlist

Hour 1

Leopold Godowski: Piano Sonata, Mvt. 4: Allegretto
Marc-Andre Hamelin, piano
Album: Godowsky: Sonata And Passacaglia
Hyperion

Jacques Ibert: Deux Interludes
Carol Wincenc, flute | Guillaume Sutre, violin | Kyunghee Kim-Sutre, harp
Round Top Music Festival, Festival Concert Hall, Round Top, TX

Ludwig van Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 29 in B-flat Major Op. 106, "Hammerklavier" Mvt. 4
Marc-Andre Hamelin, piano
Tippet Rise Art Center, The Olivier Music Barn, Tippet Rise Art Center, Fishtail, MT

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor: 5 Fantasiestucke for String Quartet, Op. 5
Catalyst Quartet
Chamber Music Northwest, Mixon Hall, Cleveland Institute of Music, Cleveland, OH

Hour 2

Cesar Franck: Violin Sonata in A, Mvt. 1: Allegretto ben moderato
Lara St. John, violin | Matt Herskowitz, piano
Album: Key of A: Beethoven Sonata #9 | Franck Sonata
Ancalagon

Cesar Franck: Piano Quintet in F minor: Mvts. 2-3
David Coucheron, violin | Helen Hwaya Kim, violin | Catherine Lynn, viola | Brad Ritchie, cello | Elizabeth Pridgen, piano
Atlanta Chamber Players, Ahavath Achim Synagogue, Atlanta, GA

William Grant Still: Three Visions Suite
Andrew Armstrong, piano
Seattle Chamber Music Society, SCMS Center for Chamber Music, Seattle, WA

George Enescu: Octet in C-Major for Strings, Op. 7, Mvts 1 & 2
West-Eastern Divan Ensemble
University of Georgia Performing Arts Center, Hodgson Concert Hall, Athens, GA

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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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