Performance

Memorial Day. It's the unofficial beginning of summer, but that's not what this holiday is about. On today's show, we mark the day with music by American composers and recognize the people who have made the ultimate sacrifice while serving in the United States Armed Forces.

Performance Today has selected acclaimed Venezuelan pianist Gabriela Montero as the 2023 Classical Woman of the Year. This annual award recognizes women who have made significant contributions to the classical music art form and have inspired our listeners.

Clarinetist Anthony McGill joins Fred Child as co-host for a special hour of PT. Plus, Bruce Adolphe joins us with this week’s Piano Puzzler!

Sharon Isbin is a master of Western classical music. Amjad Ali Khan is a master of Indian classical music. Together, they're building Musical and cultural bridges. Join us at a concert in Aspen for a highlight from Sharon Isbin's and Amjad Ali Khan's Strings for Peace project.

In 2020, composer Shawn E. Okpebholo published a piece that reflects on two acts of racial violence, events separated by more than fifty years. The music serves as a tribute to the resilience and perseverance of the African American community in the face of adversity. On today's show, we'll hear "Two Black Churches" by Shawn E. Okpebholo.

Clarinetist Anthony McGill joins Fred Child as co-host for a special hour of PT!

The young Aaron Copland went to Paris to study composition, and his teacher told him, "You'll do your best work if you explore what it means to be American." The 25-year-old Copland took that advice and returned to New York. We'll hear pianist John Novacek play Copland's Four Piano Blues on today's show.

American composer William Bolcom has won many awards, including a Pulitzer and a Grammy. On today's show, we'll take you to a concert in Houston to hear the world premiere of Bolcom's 'Dedication.'

Every week, composer Bruce Adolphe joins us for a musical game: the Piano Puzzler. Bruce re-writes a familiar tune in the style of a great composer, and we get one of our listeners on the phone who tries to guess the hidden tune and the composer whose style Bruce is imitating. Play along with the PT Piano Puzzler on this episode of Performance Today.

On today's show, we'll head to Houston to hear the ensemble ROCO play the Overture to the comic opera Jery and Bätely (1872) by Swiss-German composer Ingeborg Bronsart von Schellendorf.