Pianist Saleem Ashkar says he never heard classical music growing up in Israel. Then, when he was six years old, Saleem's father traded a truck for a piano... and Saleem found his calling. On Tuesday's Performance Today, Saleem Ashkar plays Mendelssohn's Piano Concerto No. 1 with the Luxembourg Philharmonic.
Episode Playlist
Hour 1
Ludwig van Beethoven: Variations on "Rule Britannia"
Melvyn Tan, fortepiano
The Beethoven Broadwood Fortepiano
EMI 54526
George Gershwin (arr. Silverman): Selected Songs for Clarinet and Strings
Music from Angel Fire: Stanislav Chernyshev, clarinet; Ida Kavafian, violin; Theodore Arm, violin; Bryony Gibson-Cornish, viola; Will Chow, cello; Ida Kavafian, Artistic Director
Shuler Theater, Raton, NM
Ludwig van Beethoven: Six Variations on an Original Theme in F, Op. 34
Boris Berman, piano
Ludwig van Beethoven Easter Festival, Grand Hall, Royal Castle, Warsaw, Poland
Maurice Ravel: Daphnis et Chloe Suite No. 2
Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra; Louis Langree, conductor
Taft Theatre, Cincinnati, OH
Hour 2
Felix Mendelssohn: String Quartet No. 2 in A major, Op. 13: Movement 3
Juilliard String Quartet
50 Years, Vol. 6 - Scherzo Through Time
Sony 62712
Joseph Canteloube: Rustiques for oboe, clarinet, and bassoon
Olmos Ensemble: Paul Lueders, oboe; Ilya Shterenberg, clarinet; Sharon Kuster, bassoon
Olmos Ensemble, First Unitarian Universalist Church, San Antonio, TX
Felix Mendelssohn: Piano Concerto No. 1 in G minor, op. 25
Saleem Ashkar, piano; Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra; Nikolaj Znaider, conductor
Philharmonie, Luxembourg
Carlos Guastavino (arr. Mimi Stillman / Roberto Lara): El Sampedrino
Dolce Suono Ensemble: Mimi Stillman, flute; Gideon Whitehead, guitar
Dolce Suono Ensemble, Gould Rehearsal Hall, Lenfest Hall, Curtis Institute of Music, Philadelphia, PA
Alberto Ginastera: Danzas Argentinas Op. 2, No. 3: Dance of the Arrogant Cowboy
Joyce Yang, piano
from a concert with the Minnesota Orchestra, Orchestra Hall, Minneapolis, MN
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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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