Poster black and white photo of man with glasses
Nikolai Kapustin, composer and pianist
Photo: Schott Music / Peter Andersen
Performance Today®

The intersection of classical and jazz

Nikolai Kapustin’s compositions are full of joyful syncopations, and some listeners called him a jazz pianist. But, Kapustin emphasized that he was a classically trained composer who just happened to love jazz. We’ll hear Kapustin’s music at the intersection of classical and jazz on today’s show.

Episode Playlist

Hour 1

Cecile Chaminade: Serenade aux Etoiles, Op. 142
Elisabeth Weinzierl, flute | Eva Schieferstein, piano
Album: Flute Music by Female Composers
Thorofon

Johannes Brahms: Tragic Overture, Op. 81
Lviv National Philharmonic Orchestra of Ukraine | Theodore Kuchar, conductor
University of Georgia Performing Arts Center, Hugh Hodgson Concert Hall, UGA Performing Arts Center, Athens, GA

Piano Puzzler
Contestant: David Harris calling from Farmer City, Illinois

Cecile Chaminade: Piano Trio No. 1 in G minor, Op. 11
Anna Geniushene, piano | Benjamin Beilman, violin | Sterling Elliott, cello
Music@Menlo Chamber Music Festival and Institute, Spieker Center for the Arts, Menlo Park, CA

Hour 2

Jacques Casterede: 5 Bagatelles No. 1, Incantation
Cobus Du Toit, Christina Jennings, Julie Thornton, Brook Ellen Ferguson, flutes
Album: Casterede: Complete Works for Flute, Vol. 3
Naxos

Florence Price: Quartet No. 2 in A minor for Strings: Mvt. 2
Sphinx Virtuosi (members of)
Album: En Vivo
Producciones Colibri

Nikolai Kapustin: Trio for Flute, Cello, and Piano, Op. 86
Julie Thornton, flute | Bion Tsang, cello | John Novacek, piano
The Colorado College Summer Music Festival, Packard Hall, Colorado Springs, CO

Ludwig van Beethoven: Grosse Fuge in B-flat Major, Op. 133
Opus13
Chamber Music Northwest, Kaul Auditorium, Reed College, Portland, OR

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Latest Performance Today® Episodes

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Latest Performance Today® Episodes

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Nina Bernat

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

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Franz Liszt's fascination with mortality

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1:59:00
PT Weekend: The outsider

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1:59:00
Henriëtte Bosmans

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On today's show, we explore music by Dutch composer Henriëtte Bosmans. Join us at a concert in Wismar, Germany, to hear a performance of Bosmans's String Quartet, a piece from a time when in-home concerts were a matter of necessity for artists whose work had to be kept undercover.

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Sibelius' final symphony

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Photos: Scenes from MPR Day at the 2025 Minnesota State Fair
Lost and found Mendelssohn

Lost and found Mendelssohn

When Felix Mendelssohn was 14, he wrote music for a family party. The manuscript was then stashed away in the Mendelssohn household and forgotten about, and it wasn't played again until 1999. Hear the lost and found Double Concerto by Felix Mendelssohn on today’s show.

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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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