Performance Today®

Music can reflect our greatest hopes, our struggles, and our most profound revelations. The young Richard Strauss was aiming for all of that when he wrote his monumental piece, "Death and Transfiguration." On Tuesday's Performance Today, listen in and experience the emotions of a life on the cusp, from a concert in Copenhagen Denmark. You'll also hear music from "Considering Matthew Shepard", a deeply reflective composition by Craig Hella Johnson, featuring the vocal ensemble Conspirare.

The Shalin Liu Performance Center in Rockport, Massachusetts is an intimate venue with about 330 seats. The stage sits right above the water of the Atlantic Ocean. The music performed onstage is supplemented by the ambience of the world backstage. With this backdrop in mind, join the audience for music by Francis Poulenc and Gabriel Faure in performances from the Rockport Chamber Music Festival, on Monday's Performance Today.

If you listen to Performance today regularly, or are simply a lover of chamber music, you'll likely have heard of Alice Tully Hall, home of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center in New York. Who was Alice Tully? Her story is a life of character, performance, and philanthropy. Find out more about Alice Tully's life and legacy, and hear a performance from her namesake, Alice Tully Hall, on Saturday's Performance Today.

Cal Ripken holds the record for playing in the most consecutive baseball games. Composer Camille Saint-Saens has his version of that record - he composed music in TEN consecutive decades. From the 1830s to the 1920s, Saint-Saens never stopped composing. Listen to Saint-Saens' Sonata for clarinet and piano from a concert at Lincoln Center in New York, on Friday's Performance Today.

Sir Neville Marriner died this past weekend, on Oct. 2, at the age of 92. In 1958, he founded the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, one of the world's premiere chamber orchestras. He began as a violinist, but is best known for his work as a conductor. It is truly a challenge to imagine a more prolific musical career. On Thursday's Performance Today, Joshua Bell, current Musical Director of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, reflects on the legacy of Sir Neville Marriner.

Sir Neville Marriner, one of the stalwart legends of today's classical scene, passed away on Oct. 2, 2016. Recently, Fred spoke with Joshua Bell about Marriner's legacy.

If you're a regular PT listener, or simply a lover of chamber music, you'll likely have heard of Alice Tully Hall, home of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, in New York City. Who was Alice Tully? Her life is a story of character, performance, and philanthropy. Find out more about Alice Tully's life and legacy, and hear a performance from her namesake, Alice Tully Hall, on Wednesday's Performance Today.

At the age of 19, Franz Schubert wrote the following in his diary: "O Mozart! Immortal Mozart! You have impressed upon our souls countless impressions of a brighter, better life!" On Tuesday's Performance Today, hear some of these impressions reflected in Schubert's Symphony No. 5, performed at the Windham (NY) Chamber Music Festival.

As a kid, Orion Weiss played the piano simply because he loved playing. Practice wasn't a chore -- there wasn't a 30-minute timer ticking away in disagreement with a metronome. He simply liked to practice, to play the piano. That continued into his teenage years, then through his studies at the Juilliard School in New York City. Even then, he says, he was only playing piano because he loved it. The idea of becoming a professional musician hadn't really crossed his mind. You'll hear Orion Weiss play music by Brahms on Monday's Performance Today.