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.
Inspired by Charles Baudelaire's poetry, French composer Henri Dutilleux drew on literary lines to set the mood for a concerto he was working on. Tune in today to hear Dutilleux's Tout un monde lointain (A Whole Distant World), featuring cellist Jan Vogler and conductor Kent Nagano leading the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra.
Violinist Alexi Kenney challenges the pressure to be perfect in classical music by letting intuition guide his performances rather than succumbing to perfectionism. On today's show, Kenney joins harpist Bridget Kibbey to perform a C.P.E. Bach sonata (Kibbey arranged it for violin and harp) from a recent ChamberFest Cleveland concert.
While exploring a glacier in the Swiss Alps, composer Charles Kwong used underwater microphones to record a trickling stream. Slowing the recordings revealed distinct, marimba-like pitches in the flowing water. This time-shifting inspired Festina lente, meaning "make haste slowly." Overlapping musical textures and timelines make the piece feel both fast AND slow. Today, we’ll hear the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra perform the world premiere of Charles Kwong’s Festina lente, conducted by Lio Kuokman.
In 2017, Aldo López-Gavilán composed a piano concerto based on a simple tune he had written for his daughters. He imagined a beautiful place, full of wonder and curiosities from around the world... a musical emporium. On today's show, we'll hear Aldo López-Gavilán's Emporium, a fusion of classical, gospel, and Afro-Cuban musical traditions.
When English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams traveled to Paris in 1907 to study with Maurice Ravel, Ravel pushed him to broaden his thinking and pursue greater artistic ambition. Vaughan Williams remained grateful for that guidance, forging a lifelong friendship with Ravel while maintaining his distinctive voice. Tune in for music by the ever-original Ralph Vaughan Williams on this episode of Performance Today.
Composer Jimmy Lopez Bellido says the pulse of techno music is instantly recognizable in any dance hall or club around the world —a steady, thumping rhythm you feel in your body. Tune in today to hear the thrilling fusion of techno and world music: Fiesta! by Jimmy López Bellido.
Violinist Alexi Kenney challenges the pressure to be perfect in classical music by letting intuition guide his performances rather than succumbing to perfectionism. On today's show, Kenney joins harpist Bridget Kibbey to perform a C.P.E. Bach sonata (Kibbey arranged it for violin and harp) from a recent ChamberFest Cleveland concert.
A few years ago, saxophonist Salvador Flores was a Performance Today Young Artist in Residence. A lot has happened for Flores since then, and we're thrilled to welcome him back to the show. We'll catch up with Salvador Flores—sharing both live music and conversation—on this installment of Performance Today, from APM.
At age three, Stewart Goodyear found boxes of his father's LPs. He devoured all of Beethoven's symphonies, one after another. Then he listened to all the sonatas in one sitting, and a lifelong love of Beethoven emerged. Join us today to hear pianist Stewart Goodyear perform at the 2026 Gilmore International Piano Festival in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
