Poster Vacuum cleaner
Vacuum cleaner that combines a brush and a suction pump. Image from Popular Science Monthly, Volume 88 (1916)
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Performance Today®

A weekend of unusual instruments

Lots of unusual instruments on the way on this weekend's Performance Today, including a 21st century concerto for Pipa and Orchestra, and a Grand Grand Overture for Vacuum Cleaners, Floor Polisher, and Concert Band.

Episode Playlist

Hour 1

Ludwig van Beethoven: 5 Variations on "Rule Britannia" in D, WoO 79
Melvyn Tan, fortepiano
The Beethoven Broadwood Fortepiano
EMI 54526

Gioacchino Rossini: Duetto in D Major for Cello and Double Bass
Bion Tsang, cello; DaXun Zhang, double bass
Bates Recital Hall, Butler School of Music, University of Texas, Austin, TX

Ludwig van Beethoven: String Quartet No. 11, Op. 95, "Serioso"
Danish String Quartet
Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Rose Studio at Lincoln Center, New York, NY

Malcolm Arnold: A Grand Grand Overture: For Three Vacuum Cleaners, One Floor Polisher, and Concert Band, Op. 57
United States Marine Band; Colonel Michael J. Colburn, conductor
Northern Virginia Community College, Alexandria, VA

Hour 2

Jean Francaix: Octet: 2. Scherzo - Trio
Charis-Ensemble
Jean Francaix Kammermusik
MD&G 3300

Gioachino Rossini (arr. Todd Palmer): Introduction, Theme and Variations for Clarinet and Orchestra
Todd Palmer, Tara Helen O'Connor, James Austin Smith, Livia Sohn, Daniel Philips, Gabriela Diaz, Andres Diaz, St. Lawrence String Quartet
Dock Street Theater, Charleston, SC

Zhao Jiping: Pipa Concerto No. 2
Wu Man, pipa; Buffalo Philharmonic; Matthew Kraemer, conductor
Kleinhans Music Hall, Buffalo, NY

Traditional: White Snow in Spring
Wu Man, pipa
Kleinhans Music Hall, Buffalo, NY

Jean Francaix: Divertissement for Bassoon and Strings
Frank Morelli, bassoon; Theodore Arm, violin; Guillermo Figueroa, violin; Toby Appel, viola; Keith Robinson, cello; Laurence Glazener, double bass
Taos Center for the Arts, Taos NM

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