Performance Today®

Is it jazz or is it classical music? Listen to the interview and watch a video of his performance

Edward Elgar had the ability to compose personal references in his music: his favorite landscapes, references to dear friends, even his swaggering bulldog named Dan. Musical snapshots and more from the Italian Riviera in Elgar's picturesque Alassio Overture, on the way from a concert in Philadelphia. Plus, a cello concerto from French cellist Gautier Capucon at the Concertgebouw. On Thursday's Performance Today, from APM.

Conductor JoAnn Falletta has a real knack for bringing forgotten musical treasures to light. She leads the Buffalo Philharmonic in Franz Schreker's "Prelude to a Drama," which was an important opera in the early 20th century, yet largely forgotten today. Plus, this week's Piano Puzzler with Bruce Adolphe, on Wednesday's Performance Today.

Daniel Barenboim is a full-time pianist. And a full-time conductor. If you think that adds up to too much, Barenboim is quick to disagree. In fact, he wants to keep up the frenetic pace. He says, "I pray every day that I will not get comfortable in my old age." In Tuesday's show, Barenboim the pianist and Barenboim the conductor, from concerts in Austria and Germany.

For years and years, Sergei Rachmaninoff received negative music reviews for breaking tradition. In response he once wrote, "I'm more focused saying simply and directly that which is in my heart." No more is that focus more evident than in his Second Symphony. We'll hear a concert with Marin Alsop directing the Sao Paolo Symphony Orchestra. Also ahead, Ottorino Respighi composes slithering sounds in music after a visit to the Butantan Snake Institute in Brazil. On Monday's Performance Today, from APM.

Mozart's music often sounds so simple, but unpack it and you will find complexity. Pianist Jeffrey Kahane unravels Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 6 with the New York Philharmonic. Plus, music to open realms of mass enlightenment. Metaphysical music from Alexander Scriabin's Piano Concerto in concert from Belgium. This weekend on Performance Today, from APM.

Finnish composer Jean Sibelius once wrote, "Compositions are like butterflies. Touch them even once, and the dust of color is gone. They can still fly, but are nowhere near as beautiful." That is, let your ears and your gut be your guide, not your analytical mind. We'll admire a musical butterfly this hour: the Symphony No. 7, by Sibelius. Also on the way, a world-premiere performance of chamber music inspired by ephemeral sculptures of Andrew Goldsworthy. On Friday's Performance Today, from APM.

As a young man, Felix Mendelssohn took a road trip across Europe and brought back his own kind of souvenirs: musical impressions of travel memories. We'll hear about a visit to the Sistine Chapel, and take in Mendelssohn's "Italian" Symphony with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. Also ahead, cellist Lynn Harrell talks about the evocative Elgar Cello Concerto from the Bellingham Festival. On Thursday's Performance Today, from APM.

Mozart's music often sounds so simple, but unpack it and you will find complexity. Pianist Jeffrey Kahane unravels Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 6 with the New York Philharmonic. Plus, violinist Christian Tetzlaff and friends test the acoustics at a de-commissioned power plant in the German mountains. On Performance Today, from APM.