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.
An important discipline in the classical tradition is to be TRUE to the notes written by the composer. That said, it's simply stunning when classical musicians can improvise. On this episode of Performance Today, pianist Gabriela Montero improvises an encore, from a concert in Houston.
Getting cozy. Appreciating the simple pleasures of life and the people around you. That's all part of the Danish concept called hygge. On this episode of Performance Today, the Danish Quartet shares some musical hygge and tells you how to hygge in your own home.
When composer Joan Tower was a young girl, her father was a mining engineer. The family moved from New York to Bolivia for his work. On this episode of Performance Today, find out how young Joan spent her time while her father was in the mines, then we'll hear her piece called Copperwave.
Francisco Nunez is the artistic director and founder of the Young People's Chorus of New York City (YPC), an ensemble with a mission to provide children of all cultural and economic backgrounds with music education. Learn more about Francisco Nunez and the YPC on today's episode of Performance Today.
Getting cozy. Appreciating the simple pleasures of life and the people around you. That's all part of the Danish concept called hygge. On this episode of Performance Today, the Danish Quartet shares some musical hygge and tells you how to hygge in your own home.
When guitarist Jason Vieaux was preparing for his debut with the Nashville Symphony, he told Nashville Public Radio "This is the most time I've ever spent on any piece of music, ever...That's how hard it is." On this episode of Performance Today, hear Jason Vieaux and the Nashville Symphony play the Concerto for Guitar by Jonathan Leshnoff.
Her name was Dulcinea, and she is the inspiration in one of the great stories of all time: Don Quixote by Cervantes. Dulcinea doesn't even appear in the novel, but just the idea of her fuels everything that Don Quixote does. On this episode of Performance Today, tune in for "Don Quixote y Dulcinea" by Hungarian composer Gyorgy Ranki.
Erie. Superior. Michigan. Huron. Ontario. Each of the Great Lakes has a distinct personality. Jeremy Turner was inspired by family vacations at the Great Lakes when he wrote a piece for mandolin and violin. On this episode of Performance Today, Chris Thile and James Ehnes play 'The Inland Seas' by Jeremy Turner.
Composer and conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen says that he loves to take risks, even to teeter on the brink of losing control. On this episode of Performance Today, the L.A. Philharmonic plays the world premiere of Pollux, by thrill-seeker Esa-Pekka Salonen.
