Performance Today®

One dreary day when he was studying abroad, oboist James Austin Smith received a gift, a ray of sunshine. James's father had written a special piece as a gift for his son. On today's show, James Austin Smith plays "Three Angularities" by his father, composer Larry Alan Smith. Plus, music by composers Missy Mazzoli, Louise Farrenc, and Asako Hirabayashi.

Hannah Lash knew from a young age that she wanted to be a composer, but she hadn't yet learned how to read or write music. So, Hannah developed her own system for writing music using triangles, squiggles, and x's. On today's show, hear pianist Jeremy Denk and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra play "In Pursuit of Flying," by American composer Hannah Lash.

When Michala Petri was three years old, her father gave her a little recorder as a present. Little Michala loved the challenge of making expressive music on this simple piece of wood. And for more than three decades now, Michala Petri has been one of the foremost recorder players in the world. On today's show, hear from a concert that Danish recorder player Michala Petri and guitarist Lars Hannibal presented to an online audience last summer.

In the early 1970s, two Juilliard students met and became close friends. Cellist Yo-Yo Ma and pianist Emanuel Ax. Their friendship has spanned almost half a century now, and their musical collaborations go back more than 40 years. On today's show, Fred Child talks to Emanuel Ax and Yo-Yo Ma about music and emotions, and we'll hear from their brand new album Hope Amid Tears.

June 19th, or Juneteenth, is the longest running celebration of the end of slavery. For many Americans, it's a day of reflection on freedom, resilience and strength. Join us for music to celebrate Juneteenth on this episode of Performance Today.

Two decades after he wrote his Negro Folk Symphony, composer William Dawson traveled to West Africa. Based on what he heard there, he revised his music to convey “...the missing elements that were lost when Africans came into bondage outside their homeland." On today's show, hear Dawson's Negro Folk Symphony played by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra with conductor Neeme Jarvi.

June is Pride Month, a time to celebrate the history, resilience, and joy of the LGBTQIA community. On today's show, we celebrate Pride with a special hour highlighting queer people in classical music, with songs of activism and remembrance, community and identity.

Ann Hobson Pilot came from a family of pianists, and saw the harp as an opportunity to forge her own musical path. She became a trailblazer in the classical world, with a list of accomplishments that makes one wonder...what hasn't she achieved? On today's show, hear Ann Hobson Pilot's story, and a thrilling performance of the Harp Concerto by Alberto Ginastera.

When composer Reena Esmail was a student at Yale, she became close friends with the one other woman in her program, Suzana Bartal. When Suzana got married, Esmail flew to France for the wedding and brought along a special gift. On today's show, hear the story and the gift: "Saans" by Reena Esmail.