Pianist Robert Levin believes in taking risks during performances. Not for his own glorification, but to deepen the level of communication between artist and audience. And for the simple fact that, in his view, to risk nothing is to achieve nothing. In today's show, Robert Levin takes risks, improvising his own cadenzas in a Mozart piano concerto, with the Nashville Symphony. Nicholas McGegan conducts.
Episode Playlist
Hour 1
Johann Sebastian Bach: Prelude from English Suite No. 5 in E Minor, BWV 810
Robert Levin, piano
Georges Bizet: Overture to Carmen
The Unhasu Orchestra and Radio France Philharmonic Orchestra, Myung-Whun Chung, conductor
Salle Pleyel, Paris, France
Heinrich Ignaz.Franz von Biber: Sonata IX in B-flat for Strings and Continuo
The Masques Ensemble
Our Lady of Good Help Chapel, Montreal, Quebec
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 22 in E-flat, K. 482
Robert Levin, piano, the Nashville Symphony, Nicholas McGegan, conductor
Schermerhorn Symphony Center, Nashville
Hour 2
Francis Poulenc: Three Miniatures
The French National Orchestra, Charles Dutoit, conductor
John Mackey: Hymn to a Blue Hour
The Dallas Wind Symphony, Jerry Junkin, conductor
Meyerson Symphony Center, Dallas
Arnold Schoenberg: Colors, from Five pieces for Orchestra, Op. 16
Ensemble Modern, George Benjamin, conductor
Ojai Music Festival, Ojai, California
Henry Purcell: Fantasia No. 11 in G, Z. 742
The Wildcat Viols
Ojai Music Festival, Ojai, California
Camille Saint-Saens: Cello Concerto No. 1 in A Minor, Op. 33
Antonio Meneses, cello, the French National Orchestra, Daniele Gatti, conductor
Theatre des Champs-Elysees, Paris, France
Johann Sebastian Bach: Courante from solo Cello Suite No. 1 in G, BWV 1007
Antonio Meneses, cello
Theatre des Champs-Elysees, Paris, France
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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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