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.
Conrad Tao wrote a piece when he was 15 years old called Eventide. It's inspired by the gentle arrival of night. Now, more than a dozen years later, it's still one of his favorites. On today's show, we'll hear Conrad Tao and friends play Eventide from a concert in Rockport, Maine.
The Alexander String Quartet is known in part for their recordings of Beethoven quartets. Cellist Sandy Wilson says Beethoven's music can seep into anyone's subconscious and stir up feelings of empathy. On today's show, hear them play Beethoven's String Quartet No. 1 at a concert in New York City.
One of the great joys of the summer music festival season is hearing ad-hoc all-star groups who would never otherwise get to play together. We've got just such an ensemble on today's show, a unique all-star quartet in concert at the Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival on Long Island.
At age seventeen, composer Kayhan Kalhor left his home in Iran, fled for safety, and walked over two-thousand five-hundred miles to Italy, alone, with just a small backpack and his beloved kamancheh (spiked fiddle). We'll hear music Kalhor wrote for Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble on today’s show.
Osmo Vänskä has seen the Minnesota Orchestra through a great deal of struggle, change, and triumph. Now, Vänskä has decided to end his 19-year tenure as their Music Director, and this weekend, the orchestra is saying farewell to him with several celebratory concerts. Join us today for an exceptional Minnesota Orchestra performance of a new composition by Osmo Vänskä himself.
After a visit to the coast of England, composer Ethel Smyth became fascinated by the history of "wrecking" - where villagers on the coast would lure ships onto the rocks and plunder the wrecked vessels. Hear music by Ethel Smyth from a piece called "The Wreckers" on today's show.
At age seventeen, composer Kayhan Kalhor left his home in Iran, fled for safety, and walked over two-thousand five-hundred miles to Italy, alone, with just a small backpack and his beloved kamancheh (spiked fiddle). We'll hear music Kalhor wrote for Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble on today’s show.
In 2014, Hungarian composer Péter Eötvös wrote a piece blending his phrases with music by Mozart. In today’s episode, hear a musical conversation between the 18th and 21st centuries: Dialogue with Mozart by Péter Eötvös.
Cuban pianist and composer Aldo Lopez-Gavilan is equally talented in classical and jazz. He draws from both worlds when he composes, leaving plenty of room for improvisation. Hear original music by Aldo Lopez-Gavilan from a concert in Bonita Springs, Florida, on this episode of Performance Today.
