Poster Fred Child
Fred Child
MPR

Performance Today®

with host Fred Child

All Episodes

Richard Goode

Richard Goode

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.

Avi Avital

Avi Avital

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.

A fateful choice

A fateful choice

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.

Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3

Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3

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.

Veterans Day

Veterans Day

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.

Mahler's Piano Quartet

Mahler's Piano Quartet

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.

An unusual duo

An unusual duo

The combination of harp and guitar isn't exactly traditional. But that doesn't discourage harpist Yolanda Kondonassis and guitarist Jason Vieaux, who love the way their instruments sound together. On Monday's Performance Today, this unique duo will join Fred in the studio for music and conversation.

An ukulele challenge

An ukulele challenge

The Hawai'i Symphony Orchestra asked Byron Yasui to write a concerto for ukulele. He wasn't quite sure that he could balance the quiet ukulele with the power of an orchestra, but he accepted the challenge. On this weekend's Performance Today, we'll hear the world premiere of Yasui's concerto in Honolulu.

Yasui's Concerto for Ukulele and Orchestra

Yasui's Concerto for Ukulele and Orchestra

The Hawai'i Symphony Orchestra asked Byron Yasui to write a concerto for ukulele. He wasn't quite sure that he could balance the quiet ukulele with the power of an orchestra, but he accepted the challenge. On Friday's Performance Today, we'll hear the world premiere of Yasui's concerto in Honolulu.

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