As a composer of symphonies, Franz Schubert might be best known for one that he didn't complete; his Unfinished Symphony. But on Thursday's Performance Today, we'll hear one that he did finish: his Symphony No. 9, also known as his "great" symphony.
The Isle of the Dead is a painting of a dark, forbidding island. After viewing it, Sergei Rachmaninoff was inspired to write a symphonic poem; a musical depiction of the journey of a newly departed soul. On Wednesday's Performance Today, we'll hear Rachmaninoff's Isle of the Dead in concert from Nashville. Plus, Bruce Adolphe joins us for this week's Piano Puzzler.
Need more harp in your life? We've got you covered. On Tuesday's Performance Today, we'll hear two of today's great harpists: Nancy Allen and Yolanda Kondonassis.
American pianist Richard Goode is thoughtful and precise; with a smart and sometimes very silly sense of humor. All of which makes him perfect for music by Mozart. On Monday's Performance Today he teams up with the Los Angeles Philharmonic for a concert performance of Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 27.
When he was five years old, Avi Avital's mother asked him which musical instrument he would like to play. The Avital family had an upstairs neighbor who practiced the mandolin; Avi didn't hesitate for a moment in choosing the same instrument. 30 years later, he's on top of the classical mandolin world. On this weekend's Performance Today, we'll hear Avi Avital in concert.
When he was five years old, Avi Avital's mother asked him which musical instrument he would like to play. The Avital family had an upstairs neighbor who practiced the mandolin; Avi didn't hesitate for a moment in choosing the same instrument. 30 years later, he's on top of the classical mandolin world. On Friday's Performance Today, we'll hear Avi Avital in concert.
Garrick Ohlsson says that the piano part in Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3 is possible to play...but just barely. On Thursday's Performance Today, we'll hear a Ohlsson give a virtuosic performance of that piece from a concert at the 2015 Grand Teton Music Festival.
Around the world today is Remembrance Day or Armistice Day. Here in the U.S., November 11th is Veterans Day. On Wednesday's Performance Today, we'll honor those who've served our country in uniform.
As an adult, Gustav Mahler wrote nine and a half massive symphonies and destroyed nearly all the music he'd written as a teenager. Nearly all of it; but not his Piano Quartet in a minor, which he wrote as a skinny bespectacled 15-year-old. On Tuesday's Performance Today, we'll hear Mahler's Piano Quartet from a concert in Savannah, Georgia.
