Poster Ravel (piano), Gershwin (right), New York City, 1928
Birthday party honoring Maurice Ravel, New York City, March 8, 1928. From left: Oscar Fried, conductor; Eva Gauthier, singer; Ravel at piano; Manoah Leide-Tedesco, composer-conductor; and composer George Gershwin.
By Wide World Photos 1928 [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Performance Today®

Ravel goes to Harlem

In 1928, Maurice Ravel spent some time hanging out with George Gershwin in Harlem jazz clubs. The sounds Ravel heard in Harlem made their way into some of his subsequent compositions. On Tuesday's Performance Today, pianist Inon Barnatan joins the New York Philharmonic to play Ravel's jazz-influenced Piano Concerto in G Major.

Episode Playlist

Hour 1

Felix Mendelssohn: String Quartet No. 2 in A minor, Op. 13: Movement 3
Lisa-Beth Lambert, violin; Hiroko Yajima, violin; Annemarie Moorcroft, viola; Sophie Shao, cello
Marlboro Music Festival 50th Anniversary Album
Bridge 9108

Franz Schubert: Overture for Strings in C minor, D. 8
Korean Chamber Orchestra
Ludwig van Beethoven Easter Festival, Philharmonic Concert Hall, Warsaw, Poland

Claude Debussy: Cello Sonata in D minor
Sophie Shao, cello; Pei-Shan Lee, piano
Rockport Music, Shalin Liu Performance Center, Rockport, MA

Maurice Ravel: Piano Concerto in G Major
Inon Barnatan, piano; New York Philharmonic; Alan Gilbert, conductor
David Geffen Hall, Lincoln Center for Performing Arts, New York, NY

Hour 2

Claude Debussy: Reverie
Turtle Island String Quartet
The Impressionists: A Windham Hill Sampler
Windham Hill 11116

Johann Sebastian Bach (arr. Amy Porter): Prelude from Suite No. 5 in C minor BWV 1011
Amy Porter, flute
Classical KING FM, KING FM Studios, Seattle, WA

Claude Debussy: Selections from "Children's Corner for Clarinet and Piano": Movements 1 & 2
David Shifrin, clarinet; Gloria Chen, piano
The Hunter Museum of American Art, Chattanooga, TN

Peter Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5 in E Minor, Op. 64: Movements 2-4
Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra; Louis Langree, conductor
Music Hall, Springer Auditorium, Cincinnati, OH

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About Performance Today®

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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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