Poster Man posing with a cello
Joshua Roman, composer & cellist
Courtesy of artist
Performance Today®

PT Weekend: Joshua Roman

Cellist Joshua Roman almost quit music altogether after developing Long Covid in 2021, but an encounter with Bach reminded him that the cello has been his lifelong friend. He's now shifted his mindset to center human connection over perfection in music and life. On today's show, he'll join Fred Child to discuss his journey with Long Covid and his new project, Immunity.

Episode Playlist

Hour 1

Alexander Tsfasman: Suite for Piano and Orchestra: Mvt. 2 Lyrical Waltz
Mikhail Pletnev, piano | Verbier Festival Orchestra | Kent Nagano, conductor
Album: Verbier Festival: 25 Years of Excellence
Deutsche Grammophon 4835143

Reza Vali: Funebre for solo violin and orchestra
Vesa-Matti Leppanen, violin | New Zealand Symphony Orchestra | Fawzi Haimor, conductor
EBU, Michael Fowler Centre, Wellington, New Zealand

Piano Puzzler
Contestant: Stacy Fahrion calling from Denver, CO

Anton Bruckner: Symphony No. 9 in D minor, WAB 109: Mvt 1
Verbier Festival Orchestra | Sir Antonio Pappano, conductor
EBU, Verbier Festival, Combins Hall, Verbier, Val de Bagnes, Switzerland

Hour 2

Joshua Roman: Duet
Joshua Roman, cello | Tessa Lark, violin
Album: Immunity
BSTC

Rebecca Clarke: Morpheus
Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt, viola | Audrey Andrist, piano
ROCO, Rienzi, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov: Capriccio Espagnol, Op. 34
NDR Radio Philharmonic Orchestra | Stanislav Kochanovsky, conductor
EBU, Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, Holstenhall, Neumunster, Germany

Johann Sebastian Bach: Suite No. 1 in G Major - Prelude
Joshua Roman, cello
Album: Immunity
BTSC

Mark Summer: Julie-O
Joshua Roman, cello
Album: Immunity
BSTC

Joshua Roman: Immunity
Joshua Roman, cello
Album: Immunity
BSTC

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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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