Poster Arvo Part
Composer Arvo Part
Photo: Eric Marinitsch
Performance Today®

Arvo Part

Composer Arvo Part is famous for the beautifully stark simplicity of his music...and he is a hero in his native country of Estonia. Every year, the city of Tallinn throws a big birthday bash for him called Arvo Part Days. On today's show, hear a performance of L'abbe Agathon by Arvo Part, from a concert celebrating his 85th birthday.

Episode Playlist

Hour 1

Hector Berlioz: Rakoczy March, from The Damnation of Faust
New York Philharmonic; Leonard Bernstein, conductor
Bernstein Favorite Marches
Sony 46709

Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 7: Mvt. 1
New York Philharmonic; Alan Gilbert, conductor
David Geffen Hall, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, New York, NY

Piano Puzzler: Contestant is Chuck Romportl from Hopkins, MN

Arvo Part: L'abbe Agathon
Maria Listra, soprano; Tallinn Chamber Orchestra; Tonu Kaljuste, conductor
Arvo Part Days, St. John's Church, Tallinn, Estonia

Hour 2

Nicola Piovani, arr. Italian Saxophone Quartet: La vita e bella
Italiano Saxophone Quartet
The Italian Way: From Classic to Film Music
Da Vinci Classics C00098

Romero Aldemaro: Fuga con pajarillo
Polish Radio Orchestra in Warsaw; Christian Vasquez, conductor
Witold Lutoslawski Polish Radio Concert Studio, Warsaw

Felix Mendelssohn: Quartet No. 3 in D Major, Op. 44, No. 1
Pacifica Quartet
Interlochen Presents, Corson Auditorium, Interlochen, MI

Freddie Mercury, arr. The Italian Saxophone Quartet: Bohemian Rhapsody
The Italian Saxophone Quartet
The Friends of Chamber Music, A&M United Methodist Church, College Station, TX

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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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