Performance Today®

We'll have music for Epiphany this January 6th. Ottorino Respighi loved his adopted city of Rome. He wrote three memorable pieces about the city. Today we'll hear his "Roman Festivals," with its final movement a musical depiction of the sights, sounds, and smells of a Roman Epiphany festival. And, after taking a week off, Bruce Adolphe is back with the first "Piano Puzzler" of the new year. Make a resolution to tune in.

Conductor Simon Rattle joins Fred to introduce the Symphony No. 1 by Johannes Brahms. This begins a month-long look at the Brahms symphonies with Sir Simon, he'll be on PT every Tuesday through the month of January introducing his performances with the Berlin Philharmonic. And...it was the source of a summer-long debate on PT in 2008, and the subject never goes away -- is it okay to applaud between movements? We'll hear cellist Lynn Harrell in concert in Athens, Georgia, playing a Mendelssohn Sonata. The audience gave him an enthusiastic round of applause after the opening movement. Harrell weighs in on the subject, as does conductor Charles Dutoit, and we invite your comments, as well.

A Chinese folk tale became music in the hands of composers Chen Gang and He Zhanhao. And violinist Gil Shaham decided that he wanted to share this beautiful piece with the world. He's joined by Lan Shui and the Singapore Symphony for the "Butterfly Lovers" Violin Concerto.

The lush sound of the Philadelphia Orchestra is an ideal fit for Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony. We'll go to the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia to hear Christoph Eschenbach conduct the final three movements of this emotionally turbulent masterpiece.

It just wouldn't be New Year's Day without some Strauss from Vienna. Daniel Barenboim conducts the Vienna Philharmonic in two works: the march from "The Gypsy King," and "Roses from the South," from last year's New Year's Day concert in Vienna. Plus, some of the greatest party music of the last three centuries, Handel's Water Music, adds to the celebration. Jeanne Lamon conducts the Tafelmusik Baroque ensemble in Toronto.

Does wine taste better when you're listening to classical music? A study by a Scottish scientist argued that it does. We decided to put this theory to the test in a special broadcast, a Performance Today music listening and wine tasting party. Jason Kallsen, founder and owner of Twin Cities Wine Education, provided some wine recommendations to accompany our playlist.

The lush sound of the Philadelphia Orchestra is an ideal fit for Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony. We'll go to the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia to hear Christoph Eschenbach conduct the final three movements of this emotionally turbulent masterpiece.

Was he the most talented unknown composer of the 20th century? Some called him the "Canadian Mozart." Andre Mathieu was an astonishing prodigy as a composer and pianist. He played his own compositions at Carnegie Hall when he was 11, he beat the young Leonard Bernstein in a composition competition when he was 13. But he was also deeply troubled. He withdrew from public life before his 20s, and died, already forgotten, at age 39 in 1968. We'll hear the Tucson Symphony in concert, playing a set of Ballet Scenes by Andre Mathieu.

Most classical music concerts take place inside the concert hall, essentially a glorified box. Many of those boxes are rightly revered and cherished for their history, architecture, and acoustics. But today, we'll go outside the box. The first hour of today's show features performances from unusual locations, including a barge, a night club, and a former power plant.