Sergei Rachmaninoff finished his symphonic poem 'Isle of the Dead' while in Dresden in 1908. His inspiration was a black and white reproduction of Arnold Bocklin's painting 'Isle of the Dead', which Rachmaninoff had seen a year earlier. Rachmaninoff later saw the original painting, but said he preferred it in black and white. Black and white, yet full of color, you'll hear it on Friday's Performance Today.
During the 1870s, Czech composer Bedrich Smetana wrote a suite of six self-standing symphonic poems inspired by the legends and landscapes of his homeland. On Thursday's Performance Today, the Czech Philharmonic plays selections from 'Ma vlast' (My Homeland), from a live performance recorded in Tokyo, Japan.
When writing his Piano Concerto No. 3, Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev wrote a single word above a particular point in the composition..."coldly". He wants a chill to run down your spine. It's a chilling musical descent, entombed in the concerto's fiery heat. Join the audience as pianist Lang Lang and the Los Angeles Philharmonic perform the Piano Concerto No. 3 by Prokofiev.
In the spring of 1873, composer Giuseppe Verdi went to Naples to oversee a production of his opera, Aida. The star soprano got sick, and Verdi was forced to postpone rehearsals. He had some free time, so he tried something he hadn't done before...he wrote a string quartet. His friends really liked it, but Verdi was more skeptical. It was his only string quartet but has stood the test of time. On Tuesday's Performance Today, the Afiara String Quartet plays the String Quartet by Giusseppe Verdi, from a concert in Montreal.
If a single voice could invite harmony, it was the voice of Dr. Martin Luther King Junior. Strong and powerful, yet nuanced and musical in his sense of phrasing. The sound of his voice, and his message of freedom, peacefully fought to add voices to a border-less choir of love and decency. On Monday's Performance today, you'll hear "From the Mountaintop" by Richard Danielpour, inspired by the voice, sound, and message of Dr. Martin Luther King Junior.
In 1894, at the age of 27, Amy Beach became the first American woman to compose and publish a symphony. She was the first woman to establish a reputation as a great American composer. You'll hear Amy Beach's Symphony in E minor, Op. 32 ("Gaelic"), performed by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, on this edition of Performance Today.
A narrated song cycle tells the life story of Bayard Rustin: musician, activist, and architect of the 1963 March on Washington.
Clarinetist Anthony McGill is playing a new concerto where his instrument's part is inspired by the voice of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in an iconic speech.
At the age of 36, pianist Leon Fleisher was one of the greatest young performers on the planet. Then, over several months, he experienced the unimaginable. He lost the use of his right hand. For 35 years he could only play piano with his left hand. He is now 88 years old, and performs around the world...with both hands. Join us for this inspirational real life story, then hear Leon Fleisher perform "Sheep May Safely Graze" by J.S. Bach, on Friday's Performance Today.
