Performance Today®

For as long as humans have been around, we've had strong ties to our land. And we've been writing music about it, too. Today's show features an hour of Spanish music, followed by an hour of performances from Atlanta, Georgia. They're two very different worlds, with unique and exciting musical landscapes.

London's Philharmonia Orchestra started its life as a studio orchestra, only occasionally giving live concerts. Over the years, they've transformed into a more typical orchestra, giving up studio headphones in favor of tuxes and gowns. We'll hear them twice today, performing Brahms' Fourth Symphony, and the final two movements of Schubert's Ninth Symphony ("The Great").

German composer Max Bruch had a soft spot in his heart for the music of Scotland. He once said his best work was inspired by folk music. We'll hear one of his most popular works, the "Scottish Fantasy," for violin and orchestra. Violinist Michael Ludwig joins the Virginia Symphony Orchestra and conductor JoAnn Falletta, in concert in Norfolk, Virginia.

On a trip to Rome, Tchaikovsky's hotel was next door to a cavalry barracks. Every morning, the company bugler would wake everyone up, including Tchaikovsky, with a bugle call. That musical alarm clock found its way into his "Italian Capriccio," along with songs from street vendors, and lots of other local color. Today, the Hungarian Symphony performs the "Italian Capriccio" in Budapest.

Today, we'll feature performances from two outstanding Russian pianists - Mikhail Pletnev and Nikolai Lugansky. Pletnev performs the Grieg concerto with the Rotterdam Philharmonic at Amsterdam's Concertgebouw, and Lugansky performs the Schumann concerto with the Berlin Radio Symphony in Berlin. If you're a fan of great piano music, you won't want to miss today's show.

It was an unlikely chain of events that brought Igor Stravinsky and "The Firebird" together. The Ballet Russes first considered four other composers before turning, in desperation, to the young, unknown Stravinsky. The result was a masterpiece, and Stravinsky became an overnight star. Today we'll hear the Netherlands Symphony perform a suite from Stravinsky's ballet.

Every Friday beginning today, we'll feature a 21st century work, including interviews with the composer. Today, we'll hear the world premiere of "Visions from Another World," by Karim Al-Zand. JoAnn Falletta conducts Houston's River Oaks Chamber Orchestra in the performance. Al-Zand composed this whimsical work based on three different 19th century illustrations. You can view them by scrolling down to Today's Fredlines.

We're used to hearing Beethoven's Fifth Symphony come thundering at us from about a hundred musicians on stage. Today, we'll hear the work on a much smaller scale. The Chamber Orchestra of Europe, about half the size of a full symphony orchestra, tackles the Fifth, and brings out its more intimate side. Bernard Haitink conducts the performance, from a concert in Lucerne, Switzerland.

Belgium's KlaraFestival aims to get classical music out of the concert hall and into interesting new spaces, holding concerts in train stations, and even the Brussels International Airport. Today, we'll hear a performance from the 2008 KlaraFestival. The National Orchestra of Belgium performed Franz Schubert's Symphony No. 6 - not in an airport, but in a more conventional location, a concert hall in Brussels.

It was an unlikely chain of events that brought Igor Stravinsky and "The Firebird" together. The Ballet Russes first considered four other composers before turning, in desperation, to the young, unknown Stravinsky. The result was a masterpiece, and Stravinsky became an overnight star. Today we'll hear the Netherlands Symphony perform a suite from Stravinsky's ballet.