Poster Fred Child
Fred Child
MPR

Performance Today®

with host Fred Child

All Episodes

Augustin Hadelich

Augustin Hadelich

When violinist Augustin Hadelich plays the Violin Concerto by Jean Sibelius, he imagines a herd of galloping horses. He loves the final movement's raw, rollicking energy and dark and dangerous undertones. We'll hear Augustin Hadelich play that Sibelius concerto on today's show. Plus, Bruce Adolphe has this week's Piano Puzzler!

Jiri Pauer: Bassoon Concerto

Jiri Pauer: Bassoon Concerto

Concertos require great main character energy. On today's show, we'll travel to Shanghai to hear a bassoon concerto that expects its soloist to be sweet, agile, mysterious, and a little bit sassy: the Bassoon Concerto by Czech composer Jiri Pauer.

Franz Doppler: Souvenir de Rigi

Franz Doppler: Souvenir de Rigi

Imagine we’re strolling in a sunny meadow in the Swiss Alps. Birds call from overhead, boat horns echo from nearby lakes, and a gentle cow joins our walk with her bell chiming along the way. On today's show, hear a piece that Franz Doppler wrote with the intent of capturing that idyllic scene.

PT Weekend: Christopher Gunning

PT Weekend: Christopher Gunning

Composer Christopher Gunning often advised emerging composers not to wait to write their symphonies until they were too old and tired to do so, and he followed his advice by completing THIRTEEN symphonies before his death in 2023. On today's show, conductor Kenneth Woods leads the Colorado MahlerFest Orchestra in a performance of Christopher Gunning's Symphony No. 10. Plus, Bruce Adolphe has this week’s Piano Puzzler!

David Shifrin

David Shifrin

Clarinetist David Shifrin served as Artistic Director of Chamber Music Northwest for 40 years, and composer David Ludwig wrote a concerto to celebrate Shifrin's artistry and legacy. We'll hear it today—David Shifrin plays the world premiere of Ludwig's Les Adieux at a Chamber Music Northwest event in Portland, Oregon.

Coleridge-Taylor: Keep Me from Sinking Down

Coleridge-Taylor: Keep Me from Sinking Down

African-British composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor spent most of his life in London. Still, in the first decade of the 1900s, he toured the US several times and fell in love with African-American spirituals. On today's show, we'll hear a piece that Coleridge-Taylor wrote inspired by one of these spirituals: Keep Me from Sinking Down.

Christopher Gunning: Symphony No. 10

Christopher Gunning: Symphony No. 10

Composer Christopher Gunning often advised emerging composers not to wait to write their symphonies until they were too old and tired to do so, and he followed his advice by completing THIRTEEN symphonies before his death in 2023. On today's show, conductor Kenneth Woods leads the Colorado MahlerFest Orchestra in a performance of Christopher Gunning's Symphony No. 10.

Individuals with a bond

Individuals with a bond

Composer Sheridan Seyfried wrote a double concerto for two violin-playing brothers, Timothy and Nikki Chooi. Seyfried wanted to express their special bond AND their individual personalities. On today's episode, hear an expression of what it means to be family: Sheridan Seyfried's Concerto for Two Violins and Orchestra.

Beethoven's borrowed tune

Beethoven's borrowed tune

The young Beethoven borrowed a song that everybody was singing in Vienna, a tune from a popular opera. Beethoven made it very much his own by writing nine playful variations. On today's show, hear an all-star performance of Beethoven's Gassenhauer Trio, from a concert in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.

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