Performance

When an international cello soloist couldn't travel halfway around the world due to Covid travel restrictions, the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra turned to one of their own. Join us today to hear the NZSO's Principal Cellist Andrew Joyce do more than "fill in" at an NZSO performance in Wellington, New Zealand.

Guitarist Mak Grgić was born in Slovenia in 1987. He's based in the US now, but he loves to play music from the Balkans as a way to connect with his homeland and his heritage. On today's show, we'll hear Mak Grgić perform a set of pieces called the Balkan Suite by Miroslav Tadić.

On today's show, we'll hear a new piece that bass player and composer Edgar Meyer wrote for himself and the Scottish Ensemble before going on tour last year: Meyer's Concertino for 14 Strings and Bass.

German composer Otto Nicolai wrote several successful operas during the 19th century. Still, today he’s mostly known for one piece, and he only enjoyed the success of his biggest hit for two months before he died at 38. On today’s show, we’ll take you to Shanghai to hear the overture from The Merry Wives of Windsor by Otto Nicolai.

More than a billion people are ushering in the Year of the Rabbit with food and family celebrations. Join us for music that celebrates the Lunar New Year on this episode of Performance Today.

Every week, composer Bruce Adolphe joins us for a musical game, our Piano Puzzler. Bruce re-writes a familiar tune in the style of a great composer. 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.

They're called the Swiss Orchestra. They've been around since 2018, and they aim to bring back forgotten Swiss music. Join us for highlights from a concert they gave in the heart of the Swiss Alps on this edition of Performance Today.

Forty years ago, conductor Giovanni Antonini helped launch a musical movement by playing works from 300 years ago as we think they might have been originally played. Antonini and his group, Il Giardino Armonico, are on the way in concert on today's episode of PT.

Every week, composer Bruce Adolphe joins us for a musical game, our Piano Puzzler. Bruce re-writes a familiar tune in the style of a great composer. 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.

Argentine bandoneon player JP Jofre remembers hearing music by Astor Piazzolla for the first time. He says, "It was classical, and it was tango, and it had the power of heavy metal. I knew this was what I wanted to do." Join us today to hear JP Jofre and friends play music by Astor Piazzolla from a concert at the Geneva Music Festival in Geneva, NY.