Poster Fred Child
Fred Child
MPR

Performance Today®

with host Fred Child

All Episodes

Richard Strauss's Don Juan

Richard Strauss's Don Juan

The story of Don Juan taps a deep territory in the human psyche: love, betrayal, excess, and death. On Wednesday's Performance Today, we'll hear Richard Strauss's explosive tone poem Don Juan, performed by the National Orchestral Institute Philharmonic.

Eric Satie

Eric Satie

Claude Debussy offered his friend Erik Satie a little advice - he said "Your music needs structure and shape." On Tuesday's Performance Today, hear Erik Satie's humorous response to his friend's advice.

Charlie Albright plays 'the fun stuff'

Charlie Albright plays 'the fun stuff'

Pianist Charlie Albright likes to make room for what he calls "the fun stuff." He dabbles in jazz and performs on-the-spot improvisations at most of his concerts. On Monday's Performance Today, hear Charlie Albright have some fun performing Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue," from a concert with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra.

Alexander Sitkovetsky

Alexander Sitkovetsky

It's one of the first exercises you learn to play on an instrument, one of the basic ways to build technique... and, it's awfully tempting to skip while practicing. Alexander Sitkovetsky shares his most valuable practice tip, on this weekend's Performance Today.

The elephant in the room

The elephant in the room

Is it a tree? Is it a silk cloth? Is it a whip? It's music inspired by a famous parable about perspective. On Friday's Performance Today, we'll take you to a concert in Portland, Oregon, to hear "Aspects of an Elephant" by American composer Kenji Bunch.

Cellos unite

Cellos unite

On Thursday's Performance Today, hear a small herd of contented cellos perform Joseph Jongen's "Two Pieces for Four Cellos," from a concert at the Grand Teton Music Festival.

Alexander Sitkovetsky

Alexander Sitkovetsky

It's one of the first exercises you learn to play on an instrument, one of the basic ways to build technique... and, it's awfully tempting to skip while practicing. Alexander Sitkovetsky shares his most valuable practice tip, on Wednesday's Performance Today.

Carl Nielsen: Symphony No. 5

Carl Nielsen: Symphony No. 5

Danish composer Carl Nielsen wrote his Symphony No. 5 in the early 1920s. It's a musical illustration of the eternal battle between darkness and light. On Tuesday's Performance Today, we'll hear Nielsen's Fifth Symphony from a recent concert in Ireland.

Quartet San Francisco

Quartet San Francisco

Jeremy Cohen, of Quartet San Francisco, says that one of their most popular pieces is a Michael Jackson medley. On Monday's Performance Today, Quartet San Francisco performs the medley at a concert in Edgartown, Massachusetts - on Martha's Vineyard.

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