Poet Rita Dove re-imagines Beethoven

In the early 1800s, clarinetist Heinrich Baermann begged Carl Maria von Weber for a new piece. Weber wrote the first movement in a single day—then procrastinated for four years. Tired of waiting, Baermann forced Weber’s hand by programming the unfinished work for a public concert. Faced with a deadline, Weber finished the score the day before the premiere! On today’s show, we’ll hear clarinetist Jörg Widmann lead a chamber orchestra arrangement of Weber’s Clarinet Quintet at a concert presented by Chamber Music Northwest.

A piercing high E note changed him forever. Bedrich Smetana's 'From My Life" is a musical autobiography, transformed from a string quartet into an orchestral epic by conductor George Szell. From the NOSPR hall in Katowice, Poland, Andrey Boreyko leads the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra in a performance that turns personal tragedy into a symphonic triumph.

Johannes Brahms described his fourth symphony as "dark and melancholy." The powerful final movement is built on a theme from a Bach cantata, creating a massive, ebbing chaconne that balances gravity and beauty. Today, Gianandrea Noseda conducts the Zurich Philharmonia in a performance of Brahms's Symphony No. 4.

In 2019, a 17-year-old from Spain took the stage in Estonia to perform Édouard Lalo's Symphonie Espagnole. That performance captivated the classical world and quickly went viral. Today, at just 23, violinist María Dueñas has made Lalo’s concerto her definitive musical calling card. In today's episode, we'll travel to a concert in Granada, Spain, to hear Andrés Orozco-Estrada lead the Spanish National Orchestra, with soloist María Dueñas, in Édouard Lalo's Symphonie Espagnole.

French composer Louise Farrenc grew up in Paris in the early 1800s. She had a distinguished career as a pianist and composer and was hired as a professor... but at half the pay of men doing the same work. Louise Farrenc fought for equal pay and GOT it. Today’s episode features a ROCO performance of Louis Farrenc’s Symphony No. 1.

Composer Toru Takemitsu says, "My music is something like a signal sent to the unknown. I imagine and believe that my signal meets another's and the resulting physical change creates a new harmony." We'll hear Takemitsu's Night Signal featuring the brass section of the Minnesota Orchestra on this episode of Performance Today.

In 2019, a 17-year-old from Spain took the stage in Estonia to perform Édouard Lalo's Symphonie Espagnole. That performance captivated the classical world and quickly went viral. Today, at just 23, violinist María Dueñas has made Lalo’s concerto her definitive musical calling card. In today's episode, we'll travel to a concert in Granada, Spain, to hear Andrés Orozco-Estrada lead the Spanish National Orchestra, with soloist María Dueñas, in Édouard Lalo's Symphonie Espagnole.

Lost for 182 years and wrongly attributed to her brother Felix, Fanny Mendelssohn’s Easter Sonata was finally recognized as her own in 2010. Pianist Isata Kanneh-Mason highlights the work’s hymn-like textures as signatures of Fanny’s distinctive musical voice. On today’s show, Kanneh-Mason performs this long-hidden masterpiece at a concert at the University of Georgia Performing Arts Center in Athens.

For composer Jennifer Higdon, a commission isn't just about who pays for the piece; she views commissioning music as a way to empower people to share their voices and celebrate their communities. We'll learn more and hear the Merian Ensemble play Higdon's "The Sound of Light" on today's show.

This July 4th marks the historic 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence—a monumental celebration of the United States as a sovereign democracy. We have special music lined up for the holiday weekend, including a world premiere composed specifically to commemorate this semiquincentennial milestone. Join us for a musical tribute to America's journey in this episode of Performance Today.