Poster Richard Wagner
Richard Wagner
Wikipedia
Performance Today®

Wagner's over-the-top operas

Richard Wagner's operas are so over-the-top, they're sometimes an inch away from being self-parodies. On Friday's Performance Today we'll hear the Cleveland Orchestra give a serious (and seriously great) performance of the Ride of the Valkyries, plus a bit of humor courtesy of Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd.

Episode Playlist

Hour 1

John Adams: Two Fanfares for Orchestra: 1. Tromba Lontana
San Francisco Symphony; Edo De Waart, conductor
The John Adams Earbox
Nonesuch 79453

Richard Wagner: Die Walkure, Act III: Ride of the Valkyries
The Cleveland Orchestra; Franz Welser-Most, conductor
Severance Hall, Cleveland, OH
Wagner: Wesendonck-Lieder Preludes & Overtures
Deutsche Grammophon 4778773

Ludwig van Beethoven: Violin Sonata No. 2 in A Major, Op. 12, No. 2
Alina Ibragimova, violin; Cedric Tiberghien, piano
Wigmore Hall, London, England
Beethoven Violin Sonatas 2
Wigmore Hall Live 41

Charles Ives: Symphony No. 2: 4. Lento, 5. Allegro molto vivace
New York Philharmonic; Alan Gilbert, conductor
Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, New York, NY

Charles Ives (orch. Henry Brant): A Concord Symphony: 3. The Alcotts
San Francisco Symphony; Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor
Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco, CA

Hour 2

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: La Clemenza di Tito, Overture
The Orchestra of the Royal Opera House; Nicholas McGegan, conductor
The Mozart Experience
Conifer 55031

Percy Grainger: English Morris Dance, "Shepherd's Hey"
United States Marine Band; Major Jason K. Fettig, conductor
Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall and Arts, Northern Virginia Community College, Alexandria, VA

Ralph Vaughan Williams: The Turtle Dove
Choir of Clare College; Tim Brown, director
Chapel of St. Thomas Aquinas, University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, MN

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Symphony No. 36 in C Major, K. 425
Academy Festival Orchestra; Nicholas McGegan, conductor
Music Academy of the West, Lobero Theatre, Santa Barbara, CA

Jacques Ibert: Hommage a Mozart
Music Academy of the West, Nicholas McGegan, conductor
Lobero Theatre, Santa Barbara, CA

Brad Richter: Starry Night on the Beach (with Federales)
Brad Richter, guitar
Enid Arts and Humanities Council, Enid, OK

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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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