Poster Old photograph of a person
Composer Mel Bonis
via Wikimedia Commons
Performance Today®

Mel Bonis: Soir-Matin

Melanie Bonis composed captivating music in Paris in the early 1900s, surprising even her contemporaries. Upon hearing her work, Camille Saint-Saëns exclaimed, "I never imagined a woman could write such music!" Thankfully, this attitude toward female composers is changing, allowing the music to speak for itself. On today’s show, we’ll hear a piano trio by Mel Bonis from a concert presented by the Manhattan School of Music.

Episode Playlist

Hour 1

Mel Bonis: Eglogue
Myriam Barbaux-Cohen, piano
Album: Mel Bonis: Memoires d'une femme
Ars Produktion 38349

Ludwig van Beethoven: Leonore Overture III, Op. 72b
Summer Music Festival Orchestra | Scott Yoo, conductor
Colorado College Summer Music Festival, Packard Hall, Colorado Springs, CO

Mel Bonis: Soir-Matin, Op. 76
Daniel Epstein, piano | Xiao Wang, violin | Ben Larsen, cello
Manhattan School of Music, The Gordon K. and Harriet Greenfield Hall, New York, NY

Edward Elgar: Symphony No. 1 in A-flat Major, Op. 55, Mvt 1: Andante. Nobilmente e semplice
English Symphony Orchestra | Kenneth Woods, conductor
Elgar Festival, Worcester Cathedral, Worcester, England

Hour 2

Cesar Franck, arr. Harold Bauer: Prelude, Fugue and Variations, Op. 18, Mvts 1-2
Nikolai Lugansky, piano
Album: Franck: Preludes, Fugues & Chorals
Harmonia Mundi HMM902642

Eleanor Alberga: Remember
East Coast Chamber Orchestra
Skaneateles Festival, First Presbyterian Church, Skaneateles, NY

Frederic Chopin: Nocturne No. 8 in D-flat, Op. 27/2
Nikolai Lugansky, piano
EBU, Verbier Festival, Eglise de Verbier, Bagnes, Switzerland

Peter Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake Suite Op. 20a
Detroit Symphony Orchestra | Jader Bignamini, conductor
Interlochen Presents, Kresge Auditorium, Interlochen, MI

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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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