Poster Bruce Adolphe
Bruce Adolphe Piano Puzzler
Milken Family Foundation
Performance Today®

Musical Heroes

Three musical heroes make an appearance today. Lohengrin was the mysterious knight of the Holy Grail, who rescued a damsel by riding in a boat drawn by swans. We'll hear the prelude to Act III of Wagner's "Lohengrin." Don Quixote was the mad anti-hero who tilted at windmills and waged war against armies of sheep. Georg Philipp Telemann brought him to life in a suite for strings, performed at New Mexico's Music from Angel Fire. And finally, the hero of the bullfight, the torero. The Jupiter String Quartet plays Joaquin Turina's "Bullfighter's Prayer" at Music@Menlo. Plus, pianist Paul Lewis playing Beethoven's "Emperor" Concerto at the Proms, and the hero of the Piano Puzzler, composer Bruce Adolphe.

Episode Playlist

Hour 1

Robert Schumann: Romance No. 2 in F-sharp, Op. 28
Thomas Lorango, piano

Richard Wagner: Prelude to Act III from Lohengrin
The BBC Symphony Orchestra, Jiri Belohlavek, conductor
The BBC Proms, London, England

Georg Philipp Telemann: His Attack on the Windmills, from Don Quixote Suite
Musicians from Music from Angel Fire
Music from Angel Fire, Taos, New Mexico

Joaquin Turina: La Oracion del Torero
The Jupiter String Quartet
Music@Menlo, Atherton, California

The Piano Puzzler: This week's contestant is Stephen Herschkorn from Highland Park, New Jersey

Robert Schumann: Introduction and Allegro Appassionato in G, Op. 92
Finghin Collins, piano, the BBC Philharmonic, Gianandrea Noseda, conductor
The BBC Proms, London, England

Hour 2

Albert Roussel: Gigue from Suite in F
The Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Stephane Deneve, conductor

Ralph Vaughan Williams: Excerpt from English Folk Song Suite
The Dallas Wind Symphony, Jerry Junkin, conductor
Meyerson Symphony Center, Dallas

Bela Bartok: Homage to Johann Sebastian Bach, from Mikrokosmos, Book 3, BB 105
Donald Berman, piano
An Appalachian Summer Festival, Boone, North Carolina

Johann Sebastian Bach: Gigue from Partita No. 3 in E for Violin
Gil Morgenstern, violin, Donald Berman, piano
An Appalachian Summer Festival, Boone, North Carolina

Ludwig van Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat, Op. 73 (Emperor)
Paul Lewis, piano, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Stephane Deneve, conductor
The BBC Proms, London, England

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About Performance Today®

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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.

Performance Today® features live concert recordings that can’t be heard anywhere else, highlights from new album releases, and in-studio performances and interviews. Performance Today® is based at the APM studios in St. Paul, Minnesota, but is frequently on the road, with special programs broadcast from festivals and public radio stations around the country. Also, each Wednesday, composer Bruce Adolphe joins host Fred Child for a classical musical game and listener favorite: the Piano Puzzler.

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