Performance Today®

Franz Schubert wrote a fantasy so demanding and difficult that he himself was unable to play it. Never fear... we'll hear from a pianist who can! On this episode of Performance Today, Juho Pohjonen gives a virtuoso performance of the Wanderer Fantasy in concert at the Music@Menlo Festival.

Join us for a musical New Year's celebration! We'll usher in 2019 with a celebratory Trumpet Concerto by Johann Neruda, and sample a bit of musical champagne, courtesy of Johann Strauss Jr. Music for the New Year, on this edition of Performance Today.

Molly Yeh grew up surrounded by music... she went to the Juilliard School to pursue a musical career, but then found her calling as a food writer and cookbook author. On Wednesday's Performance Today, we meet Molly Yeh at her farm on the high prairie, and she tells us what she'd make if Mozart came over for dinner.

In 2011, Philip Glass composed a seven movement piece specifically for violinist Tim Fain. Last year, Fain stopped by the PT studios and played some of it just for us. On this episode of Performance Today, hear Tim Fain perform the opening movement of Partita for Solo Violin by Philip Glass.

Six musical friends in New York have a part-time project called yMusic, a one-of-a-kind ensemble with an interest in "flourishing in the overlap between pop and classical worlds." On this episode of Performance Today, hear yMusic perform music written for them by Ryan Lott...aka Son Lux.

At a recent concert with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, pianist Mitsuko Uchida walked onstage to a cheering audience. She sat down at the piano, made a funny face, and promptly walked offstage. On this episode of Performance Today, hear the story... and the music that Mitsuko Uchida played upon returning to the stage.

On this episode of Performance Today, cellist Raphael Bell plays music by Bohuslav Martinu... music that Bell didn't like when he was younger. Tune in to find out more about Bohuslav Martinu, and why Raphael Bell now loves his music.

For Christmas Day, we're playing some of the best holiday music... you might even find yourself joining the chorus. Tune in for Christmas and holiday music from concerts around the world. Happy Holidays from all of us at Performance Today!

It's a symphony made from Christmas carols, weaving together songs of the season with a few unexpected sounds and styles. How many carols can you hear in the piece? On this edition of Performance Today, count the carols in Victor Hely-Hutchinson's "A Carol Symphony."