Poster Orchestra in a concert hall
Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Leipzig, Germany
Jens Gerber via WikiMedia Commons
Performance Today®

Where true joy is serious business

The Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra has an official motto. It's carved in stone on the side of their concert hall, a Latin phrase that translates: "True joy is serious business." We'll hear some of that joy from a concert in Leipzig, Germany, on today’s episode of Performance Today.

Episode Playlist

Hour 1

Claude Debussy: Suite Bergamasque: Clair de lune (Moonlight)
Anne Akiko Meyers, violin | Emmanuel Ceysson, harp
Album: Seasons...Dreams...
Koch

Morten Lauridsen, arr. Lauridsen: Dirait-on
Anne Akiko Meyers, violin | Fabio Bidini, piano
Community Arts Music Association, Lobero Theater, Santa Barbara, CA

Richard Wagner, arr. Nikolai Lugansky: Four Scenes from Gotterdammerung
Nikolai Lugansky, piano
EBU, Verbier Festival, Eglise de Verbier, Bagnes, Switzerland

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, arr. Valter Despalj: Sonata for 4 Hands in D Major (arranged for 4 cellos), K. 381
Nathan Mo, cello | Ray Kim, cello | Denielle Wilson, cello | Isabel Kwon, cello
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Pre-concert Chamber Music Series, Symphony Hall, Atlanta, GA

Hour 2

Alberto Ginastera: Danzas Argentinas: Danza de la moza donosa
Lise de la Salle, piano
Album: When Do We Dance
Naive

Alberto Ginastera: Impresiones de la Puna for flute and string quartet
Elizabeth Mann, flute | Stefan Hersh, violin | Steven Rose, violin | Virginia Barron, viola | Bion Tsang, cello
Colorado College Summer Music Festival, Packard Hall, Colorado Springs, CO

Frederic Chopin: Ballade No. 1 in G minor, Op. 23
Michael Davidman, piano
American Pianists Awards 2025 Sneak Preview, Steinway Hall, New York, NY

Grazyna Bacewicz: Symphony No. 4
Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra | Sakari Oramo, conductor
EBU, Gewandhaus, Leipzig, Germany

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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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