Poster Szymon Laks
Szymon Laks
photograph from Andre Laks's family archive
Performance Today®

Szymon Laks

Szymon Laks was a prisoner at Auschwitz, and leader of the prison orchestra. He says music did not offer comfort or peace, that music became a kind of torture, but he played on because his very life depended on it. The story and the music of Szymon Laks, on Saturday's Performance Today.

Episode Playlist

Hour 1

Alexander Scriabin: Two Etudes: C-sharp minor, F-sharp minor
Garrick Ohlsson, piano
Alexander Scriabin - The Complete Etudes
Bridge 9287

Frederico Moreno Torroba: Suite castellana for Guitar
Pepe Romero, guitar
92nd Street Y, Kaufmann Concert Hall, New York City, NY

Piano Puzzler: This week's contestant is Jean Bostrum from Zimmerman, MN

Ferruccio Busoni: Concerto for Piano, Orchestra and Male Choir, Op. 39: Movements 4-5
Garrick Ohlsson, piano; Warsaw Philharmonic Male Choir; Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra; Wojciech Rajski, conductor
17th Fryderyk Chopin International Piano Competition, Concert Hall, Philharmonic, Warsaw, Poland

Hour 2

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, arr. Robert Stallman: Quintet for Flute and Strings in C Major, K. 358: Movement 3
Robert Stallman, flute; Martinu Quartet
W. A. Mozart & R. Stallman: New QUINTETS for Flute and Strings
BOCA 102

Szymon Laks: String Quartet No. 3
Dover String Quartet
Minnesota Beethoven Festival, Page Theatre, Saint Mary's University, Winona, MN

Marco Pereira (arr. Marco Pereira): Bate-Coxa
Brasil Guitar Duo
Americas Society, New York, NY

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Symphony No. 31 in D, K 297
Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana; Nicholas Milton, conductor
Stelio Molo Auditorium, RSI, Lugano, Switzerland

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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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