A French gentleman named Alphonse de Lamartine wrote a poem suggesting that every single thing we do--from the moment we're born until our last breath, every step, every meal, every job, every kiss, every heartbreak--they're all just preludes to the real show. The show that begins when we exhale for the very last time. Lamartine's ambitious poem inspired ambitious music by Franz Liszt called Les Preludes. On Performance Today we'll hear Liszt try to capture the meaning of life and death over the course of 15 minutes of music performed by the Berlin Philharmonic.
Episode Playlist
Hour 1
Felix Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 3 in A minor, Op. 56 "scottish" - II. Scherzo; Vivace non troppo
Vienna Philharmonic; Christoph von Dohnanyi, conductor
Album: London/Decca 421769
J.S. Bach (arr. Dannel Espinoza): Italian Concerto, 3 mvts
Mana Saxophone Quartet - Eric Barreto-Maymi, Dannel Espinoza, Thomas Giles, Michael Hernandez
The National Music Festival; Prince Theatre, Chestertown, MD
Igor Stravinsky: Octet for Winds - 1. sinfonia 2. theme and variations 3. finale
Festival Chamber Players; Deanna Tham, conductor
Prince Theatre, Garfield Center for the Arts, Washington College, Chestertown, MD
Franz Liszt: Les Preludes
Berlin Philharmonic; Christian Thielemann, conductor
Philharmonie, Berlin Germany
Hour 2
Robert Schumann: Symphonic Etudes, Op. 13 - Etude IX - Presto possibile, Variation I, Variation II
Rudolf Buchbinder, piano
Johannes Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat major, Op. 83 - III. Andante, IV. Allegro grazioso
Rudolf Buchbinder, piano; New York Philharmonic; Alan Gilbert, conductor
Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, New York, NY
Bela Bartok: Sonata for Violin - I. Tempo di ciaccona
Timothy Kantor, violin
Maud Moon Weyerhaeuser Studio, St. Paul, MN
J.S. Bach: Keyboard Concerto No. 1 in D minor, BWV 1052
Pius Cheung, marimba; Yoko Matsuda, violin; Hiroko Yajima, violin; Heiichiro Ohyama, viola; Robert Martin, cello; Daxun Zhang, bass
Symphonyspace, New York City, NY; Young Concert Artists and Symphonyspace
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About Performance Today®
To find a station near you on our Stations Listings page, click here.
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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