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’ has selected performer and composer Jessie Montgomery as the 2025 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. Find out more!
Johannes Brahms described his fourth symphony as "dark and melancholy." The powerful final movement is built on a theme from a Bach cantata, creating a massive, ebbing chaconne that balances gravity and beauty. Today, Gianandrea Noseda conducts the Zurich Philharmonia in a performance of Brahms's Symphony No. 4.
Cellist Alban Gerhardt grew up inspired by the warmth of his mother’s soprano voice, yet he finds his own vocal expression in the strings of his cello. Join us today to hear Gerhardt perform Mieczyslaw Weinberg’s Cello Concerto with the RTVE Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Delyana Lazarova.
The pressure to achieve perfection can be overwhelming. So, what would it be like to embrace vulnerability and imperfection? For composer Derrick Skye, it's a profound release from fear and anxiety. In today’s episode, we’ll hear a quartet inspired by the idea of imperfection: Deliverance by Derrick Skye.
Johannes Brahms described his fourth symphony as "dark and melancholy." The powerful final movement is built on a theme from a Bach cantata, creating a massive, ebbing chaconne that balances gravity and beauty. Today, Gianandrea Noseda conducts the Zurich Philharmonia in a performance of Brahms's Symphony No. 4.
When Felix Mendelssohn was in his late teens, he processed his first romantic heartbreak by "breaking up" one of his own songs and weaving its fragments into his String Quartet No. 2. On today's show, we'll hear the Pacifica Quartet perform this emotionally charged work, which was once famously—and perhaps fittingly—mistaken for the music of Beethoven.
Pianist Isata Kanneh-Mason draws inspiration from Clara Schumann both as a musician and as a powerful female role model. On today's show, Kanneh-Mason performs Schumann’s Piano Concerto, a piece Schumann began composing at just 13 years old.
On today’s episode, we're featuring the world premiere of a new suite by Hanna Helgegren. Inspired by the quiet magic of the forests and bogs near her home in rural Sweden, the work pays tribute to the natural world. On today's show, we'll hear the Camerata Nordica Octet perform Helgegren’s "The Nordic Seasons."
Violinist James Ehnes says Dvořák's Violin Concerto can surprise listeners. Many violin concertos emphasize high, soaring notes, but Dvořák’s work highlights the rich, warm colors of the violin’s lower register. Join us today to hear Dvořák's concerto performed by James Ehnes and the Minnesota Orchestra, with Edward Gardner conducting.
