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.
Gustav Mahler got over a bad breakup, in part, by writing his Symphony No. 1. He confided to a friend: "The music begins where the love affair ends." On Tuesday's Performance Today, we'll Mahler's First from a concert by the Cincinnati Symphony.
The first time Johannes Brahms wrote his Piano Quintet, a violinist said it didn't quite work. The second time, Brahms' friend Clara Schumann said nope, still not right. But the third time was a charm. On Monday's Performance Today, we'll hear take three of Brahms' Piano Quintet in concert from Bergen, Norway.
On this weekend's Performance Today, we've got a PT listener favorite: Cymbeline, by composer David Bruce. We'll hear it performed by mandolin virtuoso Avi Avital and the Dover Quartet in Savannah, Georgia.
On Friday's Performance Today, we've got a PT listener favorite: Cymbeline, by composer David Bruce. We'll hear it performed by mandolin virtuoso Avi Avital and the Dover Quartet in Savannah, Georgia.
In 1930, composer Maurice Ravel wrote a special concerto for a pianist who had lost his right arm during the First World War. On Thursday's Performance Today, we'll hear pianist Kirill Gerstein play that piece; Ravel's Piano Concerto for Left Hand.
Every week on our Piano Puzzler, composer Bruce Adolphe re-writes a familiar tune in the style of a great composer. Then, one of our listeners calls in and tries to guess two things: the tune, and the composer whose style Bruce is mimicking. Play along with our weekly musical game, on Wednesday's Performance Today.
Today is French composer Erik Satie's 150th birthday. In celebration, we'll hear pieces composed by Satie, and pieces that he inspired. Plus, pianist David Kadouch will share his take on Satie's legacy.
For students at the Aspen Music Festival and School, the experience is not just about the music. On Friday's Performance Today, we'll hear cellist Alisa Weilerstein's take on the Aspen experience. Plus, we'll hear her play a cello solo by Osvaldo Golijov live from Aspen's Harris Hall.
Julian Barnes' new novel, "The Noise of Time," is based on the story of composer Dmitri Shostakovich, and tackles the conflict between art and power. On this weekend's Performance Today, we'll hear more from both Barnes and Shostakovich.
