In 1985, composer John Adams had a daughter named Emily, but he and his wife nicknamed her "Quackie." One night, Adams dreamed that Quackie was riding on the shoulder of mediaeval mystic Meister Eckhardt, and as they floated through the night sky, she whispered in the master's ear, sharing the secret of grace. That dream inspired an ethereal movement called "Meister Eckhardt and Quackie" in Adams' 1985 piece, Harmonielehre. The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra plays it, in concert at the Concertgebouw, in Amsterdam. In a similar vein, Samuel Barber was inspired by a made-up phrase in James Joyce's "Finnegans Wake." Barber's "Fadograph of a Yestern Scene" is a nostalgic look back, a wonderfully reflective and rarely played gem of American music. Our concert performance is by the Polish National Radio Symphony.
Episode Playlist
Hour 1
Claude Debussy: Clair de Lune
Renaud Capucon, violin, Jerome Ducros, piano
Ludwig van Beethoven: Egmont Overture, Op. 84, and the Creatures of Prometheus, Op. 43
The BBC Symphony Orchestra, Jiri Belohlavek, conductor
The BBC Proms, London, England
Robert Schumann: Violin Sonata in A Minor, Op. 105
Renaud Capucon, violin, Martha Argerich, piano
Lugano Festival, Lugano, Switzerland
Frederic Chopin: Mazurka No. 2 in A Minor, Op. 68
Roberto Plano, piano
Southeastern Piano Festival, Columbia, South Carolina
Antonio Vivaldi: Concerto for Two Violins in A Minor, Op. 3, No. 8, RV 522
Giora Schmidt and Jennifer Frautschi, violins, and friends
Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Hour 2
John Adams: China Gates
Nicolas Hodges, piano
Giacomo Puccini: Chrysanthemums
The Enso String Quartet
Cullen Theater, Houston
Samuel Barber: Fadograph of a Yestern Scene, Op. 44
The National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Michal Klauza, conductor
Grzegorz Fitelberg Concert Hall, Katowice, Poland
Frederic Chopin: Nocturne No. 1 in B-flat Minor, Op. 9, No. 1, and Nocturne No. 8 in D-flat, Op. 27, No. 2
Maria Joao Pires, piano
The BBC Proms, London, England
Alexander Scriabin: Etude No. 9 in G-sharp Minor, Op. 8
Yuja Wang, piano
Schwetzingen Festival, Schwetzingen, Germany
John Adams: Excerpt from Harmonielehre
The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Markus Stenz, conductor
The Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
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American Public Media’s Performance Today® is America’s most popular classical music radio program and a winner of the 2014 Gabriel Award for artistic achievement. The show is broadcast on hundreds of public radio stations across the country, including at 1 p.m. central weekdays on Minnesota Public Radio. More information about our stations can be found at APM Distribution.
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