Performance Today®

with host Valerie Kahler

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.

All Episodes

Valery Gergiev and the London Symphony Orchestra

Valery Gergiev and the London Symphony Orchestra

The collaboration between conductor Valery Gergiev and the London Symphony Orchestra hasn't always been serene, but together they've delivered a steady stream of powerful performances. On today's episode of Performance Today, Gergiev conducts the LSO in a performance of "The Miraculous Mandarin" by Bela Bartok.

JoAnn Falletta

JoAnn Falletta

When JoAnn Falleta began her career in the 1970s, there were no women conducting major American orchestras on a regular basis. Falletta says she never set out to be a pioneer; she just feels lucky to be able to do what she loves. Join us for music and conversation with JoAnn Falletta on Monday's Performance Today.

Francis Poulenc

Francis Poulenc

In 1957, the Library of Congress commissioned Francis Poulenc to write a work of music. On Wednesday's Performance Today, hear proof that our tax dollars can be used for something beautiful, something that can last forever: the Sonata for Flute and Piano by Francis Poulenc.

Women in Classical Music Weekly Highlight: Dame Ethel Smyth
The pipes are calling

The pipes are calling

If you're out and about celebrating St. Patrick's Day this weekend, you're bound to hear the ballad, Danny Boy. Hear an orchestral version in the Irish Rhapsody by Charles Stanford, on Friday's Performance Today.

Grosvenor plays the unplayable

Grosvenor plays the unplayable

When Maurice Ravel wrote Gaspard de la Nuit, he was trying to make it the most difficult piano music ever written... perhaps even unplayable. Benjamin Grosvenor plays the unplayable, in concert, on Thursday's Performance Today.

Poulenc: a Library of Congress commission

Poulenc: a Library of Congress commission

In 1957, the Library of Congress commissioned Francis Poulenc to write a work of music. On Wednesday's Performance Today, hear proof that our tax dollars can be used for something beautiful, something that can last forever: the Sonata for Flute and Piano by Francis Poulenc.

Ferde Grofe: Grand Canyon Suite

Ferde Grofe: Grand Canyon Suite

When composer Ferde Grofe was in his twenties, he went camping at the Grand Canyon, and later translated his experience into music. Experience the wonder of the Grand Canyon Suite by Ferde Grofe, from a concert in Buffalo, on Tuesday's Performance Today.

Marin Alsop

Marin Alsop

In 2007, Marin Alsop was named Music Director of the Baltimore Symphony... the first woman to lead a major American orchestra. Last month, she became the first woman to be named Chief Conductor of the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra. On Monday's Performance Today, join us for conversation with Marin Alsop, then hear a Baltimore Symphony Orchestra performance of Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet.

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