Performance Today®

Guitarist Mak Grgić was born in Slovenia in 1987. He's based in the US now, but he loves to play music from the Balkans as a way to connect with his homeland and his heritage. On today's show, we'll hear Mak Grgić perform a set of pieces called the Balkan Suite by Miroslav Tadić.

This past summer, the Czech Philharmonic Piano Trio performed music by Czech composer Bohuslav Martinů at the Smetana Litomyšl Festival in the Czech Republic. On today's show, we'll hear from that concert — a collection of short pieces called the Bergerettes written in 1939 by Bohuslav Martinů. Plus, Bruce Adolphe has this week’s Piano Puzzler!

German composer Otto Nicolai wrote several successful operas during the 19th century. Still, today he’s mostly known for one piece, and he only enjoyed the success of his biggest hit for two months before he died at 38. On today’s show, we’ll take you to Shanghai to hear the overture from The Merry Wives of Windsor by Otto Nicolai.

Pianist Inna Faliks recently asked a few composers to write responses to the music she loves. Joins us today to hear Faliks play the piece composer Billy Childs wrote in response to the technically demanding Scarbo from Maurice Ravel’s Gaspard de la Nuit.

This past summer, the Czech Philharmonic Piano Trio performed music by Czech composer Bohuslav Martinů at the Smetana Litomyšl Festival in the Czech Republic. On today's show, we'll hear from that concert — a collection of short pieces called the Bergerettes written in 1939 by Bohuslav Martinů.

Covid travel restrictions kept Gao Hong from visiting her family in China, so she reminisced about her childhood to comfort herself and channeled that nostalgia into a new piece for Pipa and Bassoon. Join us today to hear Gao Hong play her new concerto, "Reminiscences of My Hometown," from a recent concert in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Forty years ago, conductor Giovanni Antonini helped launch a musical movement by playing works from 300 years ago as we think they might have been originally played. Antonini and his group, Il Giardino Armonico, are on the way in concert on today's episode of PT.

We're celebrating National Hispanic Heritage Month here on PT, inviting some of our favorite Latin musicians to pick out some music to share. We recently spoke with violist Paul Laraia of the Catalyst Quartet - we'll hear his musical suggestions for Hispanic Heritage Month on today's show. Plus, Bruce Adolphe has this week's Piano Puzzler!

Argentine bandoneon player JP Jofre remembers hearing music by Astor Piazzolla for the first time. He says, "It was classical, and it was tango, and it had the power of heavy metal. I knew this was what I wanted to do." Join us today to hear JP Jofre and friends play music by Astor Piazzolla from a concert at the Geneva Music Festival in Geneva, NY.