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.
On Tuesday's Performance Today, conductor, pianist and candid commentator Bill Eddins joins host Fred Child in the studio to take listeners on a tour of his favorite pieces of classical music. He talks about the unappreciated humor in Beethoven's symphonies, the sly keyboard prowess of Alicia de Larrocha, and reveals what he calls "the sexiest piece of classical music ever written."
On Monday's Performance Today, we'll hear two French masterpieces played in concert by two great orchestras. First, the French National Orchestra plays Claude Debussy's musical picture of the sea; La Mer. And from downtown Los Angeles, the LA Philharmonic plays Maurice Ravel's Daphnis and Chloe.
As a boy, Ramzi Aburedwan threw stones at Israeli soldiers. Then he learned to play the violin, and these days, he fights for peace -- with music. On this weekend's Performance Today, journalist Sandy Tolan and Palestinian music teacher Ramzi Aburedwan join Fred to discuss the power of music and Tolan's new book, "Children of the Stone."
All this summer, we're featuring great music inspired by distinctive American places. On Friday's Performance Today, our Summer Road Trip stops in Florida. We'll hear the Florida Suite by Frederick Delius; music inspired by the days he spent tending to his father's orange groves.
Pianist Vadym Kholodenko may have won the 2013 Van Cliburn Competition, but he never intends to rest on his laurels -- he believes that the process of learning is endless. On Thursday's Performance Today, we'll find out what Kholodenko has been learning since he won the Cliburn when he joins Fred in the studio for music and conversation.
Listen to in-studio interview with host Fred Child and musical performances by pianist Vadym Kholodenko.
Every summer, Lugano, Switzerland is home to the Martha Argerich Project. For over two weeks, Argerich plays several concerts, and gets her friends to play with her. On Wednesday's Performance Today, we'll hear Martha Argerich and the Swiss Italian Orchestra play a brand new piece by Luis Bacalov.
As a boy, Ramzi Aburedwan threw stones at Israeli soldiers. Then he learned to play the violin, and these days, he fights for peace -- with music. On Tuesday's Performance Today, journalist Sandy Tolan and Palestinian music teacher Ramzi Aburedwan join Fred to discuss the power of music and Tolan's new book, "Children of the Stone."
When he was 8 years old, Ramzi Aburedwan became the poster child for the first Palestinian Intifada with a photo of him throwing a rock at an Israeli tank. Then, as he says, "music chose him.' He began to play the viola, removing him from violence and giving him another means of personal expression. A new book about Aburedwan and the music school he began has just been published. Fred Child interviews the author Sandy Tolan along with Aburedwan.
