Performance Today®

Tim Bradley recently arranged a piece by Clara Schumann for his group, the Copper Street Brass. Join us today to hear the Copper Street Brass play Bradley's arrangement of Soirees Musicales from a concert in St Paul, Minnesota.

American composer William Bolcom has won many awards, including a Pulitzer and a Grammy. On today's show, we'll take you to a concert in Houston to hear the world premiere of Bolcom's 'Dedication.'

Every week, composer Bruce Adolphe joins us for a musical game: the Piano Puzzler. Bruce re-writes a familiar tune in the style of a great composer, and we get one of our listeners on the phone who tries to guess the hidden tune and the composer whose style Bruce is imitating. Play along with the Piano Puzzler on today’s show.

On today's show, we'll head to Houston to hear the ensemble ROCO play the Overture to the comic opera Jery and Bätely (1872) by Swiss-German composer Ingeborg Bronsart von Schellendorf.

Composer Osvaldo Golijov is drawn to the milonga—a rhythm and dance that's quite similar to the tango. Join us today to hear cellist Alisa Weilerstein and pianist Inon Barnatan play the world premiere of a new milonga by Osvaldo Golijov.

Saul Bitran of Cuarteto Latinoamericano says he loves practicing his violin. He says, "(it's) like filing taxes for accountants or cleaning teeth for a dentist, except my daily practice is fun." On today’s show, we’ll hear Cuarteto Latinoamericano play the String Quartet No. 5 by Heitor Villa-Lobos. Plus, Bruce Adolphe joins us for our weekly musical game.

Joshua Bell says playing the Chaconne from J.S. Bach’s Partita No. 2 is a journey through tragedy, loss, redemption, and spirituality. It’s one of the most iconic works for solo violin played in concert by one of the great violinists of our time: Joshua Bell plays the Bach Chaconne on Today’s show.

In Ukrainian, the word "dumka" means "thought." And in music, a dumka is a somewhat dreamlike dance that often comes back to a bittersweet reflection on the sadness of life. We'll hear a dumka by Rebecca Clarke on today's show from a performance at the Geneva Music Festival in Geneva, New York.

Saul Bitran of Cuarteto Latinoamericano says he loves practicing his violin. He says, "(it's) like filing taxes for accountants or cleaning teeth for a dentist, except my daily practice is fun." On today’s show, we’ll hear Cuarteto Latinoamericano play the String Quartet No. 5 by Heitor Villa-Lobos.