Poster George Butterworth
George Butterworth
Wikimedia Commons
Performance Today®

In remembrance of George Butterworth

Over the course of four bloody months in 1916, more than a million soldiers died at the Battle of the Somme. This Friday marks the 100th anniversary of the death of George Butterworth, a young composer in the British Army. In his honor, we'll take a look back through music written by men who served in the First World War.

Episode Playlist

Hour 1

George Butterworth: A Shropshire Lad
Halle Orchestra; Mark Elder, conductor
English Rhapsody: Delius & Butterworth
Halle 7503

Maurice Ravel: Le Tombeau de Couperin: Movements 4-6
Benjamin Grosvenor, piano; Rockport Music
Shalin Liu Performance Center, Rockport, MA

Fritz Kreisler: Prelude and Allegro
Benjamin Beilman, violin; Pedja Muzijevic, piano
Bank of America Chamber Music Series, Spoleto Festival USA, Dock Street Theater, Charleston, SC

Ralph Vaughan Williams: Symphony No. 3, "A Pastoral Symphony": Movement 4
Philharmonia Orchestra; Leonard Slatkin, conductor; Linda Hohenfeld, soprano
Vaughan Williams: Symphonies Nos. 3 & 4
RCA 61194

Hour 2

Erik Satie: Three Pieces in the Form of a Pear: Movements 1-5 & 7
Anna Petrova, piano; Josu de Solaun, piano
Virginia Arts Festival Chamber Music Series, Miller Studio, Sandler Center for the Performing Arts, Virginia Beach, VA

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach: Keyboard concerto in B minor, Wq 30
Robert Levin, harpsichord; Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra; Nicholas McGegan, conductor
First Congregational Church, Berkeley, CA

Perucho Figueredo and Andres Segovia: La Bayamesa
Minnesota Orchestra; Osmo Vanska, conductor
Teatro Nacional de Cuba, Havana, Cuba

Francis Scott Key: Star-Spangled Banner
Minnesota Orchestra; Osmo Vanska, conductor
Teatro Nacional de Cuba, Havana, Cuba

Love the music?

Donate by phone
1-800-562-8440

Show your support by making a gift to YourClassical.

Each day, we’re here for you with thoughtful streams that set the tone for your day – not to mention the stories and programs that inspire you to new discovery and help you explore the music you love.

YourClassical is available for free, because we are listener-supported public media. Take a moment to make your gift today.

More Ways to Give

Your Donation

$5/month
$10/month
$15/month
$20/month
$

Latest Performance Today® Episodes

VIEW ALL EPISODES

Latest Performance Today® Episodes

PT Weekend: Barber's 'Adagio' Quartet

PT Weekend: Barber's 'Adagio' Quartet

We often hear Samuel Barber's Adagio as a standalone piece for string orchestra, but it began as the slow movement of a string quartet. Alone, the Adagio feels so simple, so profound, and somehow much more poignant in the context of the entire quartet. Hear the Viano String Quartet perform Barber's Adagio at a concert presented by Music@Menlo in Menlo Park, California.

1:59:00
Rebecca Clarke: Dumka

Rebecca Clarke: Dumka

In Ukrainian, the word "dumka" means "thought" or “notion." In music, a dumka is a somewhat dreamlike dance that often revisits a bittersweet reflection on the sadness of life. Today, we’ll hear English composer Rebecca Clarke’s ‘Dumka,’ from a concert presented by the Fabian Concert Series in Macon, Georgia.

1:59:00
Nina Bernat

Nina Bernat

Today, we’re featuring one of our 2025 Young Artists in Residence: double-bassist Nina Bernat. In today's show, Nina joins Fred Child for music and conversation at our studio in Saint Paul.

1:59:00
Geneva and Nathan Lewis

Geneva and Nathan Lewis

As talented young kids, siblings Geneva Lewis and Nathan Lewis were part of a successful family trio. They’re all grown up now, each at the top of their careers, and they still find time to make music together. In today’s episode, Geneva and Nathan Lewis perform a duet by Edward Elgar at a concert in Athens, Georgia.

1:59:00
Florence Price: Symphony No. 3

Florence Price: Symphony No. 3

In 1940, Eleanor Roosevelt was introduced to Symphony No. 3 by African American composer Florence Price; the First Lady loved it and praised it enthusiastically in her daily newspaper column. On today’s show, we’ll take you to a recent concert in St. Louis for a performance of Price’s Symphony No. 3.

1:59:00
Franz Liszt's fascination with mortality

Franz Liszt's fascination with mortality

When composer and pianist Franz Liszt was a young man, he was fascinated with death. He went to hospitals to observe people who were sick or dying. He went to prisons to meet people who had been condemned to die. On today’s show, we’ll hear Franz Liszt’s Totentanz, The Dance of Death, a piece based on the Dies Irae, a chant from the Catholic Mass for the Dead.

1:59:00
PT Weekend: The outsider

PT Weekend: The outsider

Invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s, the saxophone has long been seen as an outsider in classical music. But Timothy McAllister is on a mission to change that. On today’s show, Timothy McAllister performs a saxophone classic: Alexander Glazunov’s Saxophone Concerto.

1:59:00
Henriëtte Bosmans

Henriëtte Bosmans

On today's show, we explore music by Dutch composer Henriëtte Bosmans. Join us at a concert in Wismar, Germany, to hear a performance of Bosmans's String Quartet, a piece from a time when in-home concerts were a matter of necessity for artists whose work had to be kept undercover.

1:59:00
Sibelius' final symphony

Sibelius' final symphony

The final symphony by Jean Sibelius unfolds over twenty-one minutes, evolving from a quiet opening to a warm, life-affirming ending—it's one unbroken weightless stream. Join us at a concert in Zurich for the Symphony No. 7 by Jean Sibelius.

1:59:00
Photos: Scenes from MPR Day at the 2025 Minnesota State Fair
VIEW ALL EPISODES

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.

How do I leave a comment?

Send us a comment here.

About Performance Today®
YourClassical Radio
0:00
0:00