Aretha Franklin liked how Kris Bowers played piano at a competition in 2011. It was his big break — a fact that he says was with him while he scored a upcoming biopic about the late Queen of Soul.
A union representing 800 backstage workers began a publicity campaign today urging donors and government entities to withdraw support for the company because of a labor dispute.
The duo, famed for enmeshing classical and hip-hop, looks back at America's past year and toward its near future on a new song, "Time to Shine."
A seashell found in a French cave appears to have been modified by prehistoric people so that it could be used like a trumpet, making it a new addition to the Stone Age orchestra.
Grammy-winning Iranian musician Kayhan Kalhor called the U.S. home for decades, until chaotic encounters with the immigration system caused him to leave the country permanently.
The new documentary tells the story of the roles women played — and continue to play — in the creation and development of electronic music, from theremin virtuoso Clara Rockmore to today.
As a student, the young baritone was never really introduced to any Black composers. Liverman's latest album, Dreams of a New Day , features an abundance of them.
NPR's Scott Simon speaks to Salisbury Cathedral's Director of Music David Halls about playing music for those getting vaccinated in the church.
Raymond Bisha introduces a new album of choral transcriptions by Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887-1959) that forms part of Naxos’ Music of Brazil series. The programme represents part of Villa-Lobos’ efforts to create a body of music education resources, following his invitation in 1932 to set up an ambitious programme in the public school system Read More ...
Raymond Bisha introduces a new album of orchestral works by Žibouklé Martinaityté (b. 1973). Born in Lithuania and now based in New York City, she was awarded both a Guggenheim Fellowship and the Lithuanian Government Award in 2020. The four works on the programme were written between 2013 and 2019 and employ a fascinating use Read More ...
Raymond Bisha introduces a new album of 21st-century mallet percussion concertos performed by virtuoso percussionist Dame Evelyn Glennie and the City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong under Jean Thorel. The works by Alexis Alrich and Karl Jenkins put the marimba in the solo spotlight, while Ned Rorem’s 7-movement Mallet Concerto — written in 2003 and Read More ...
Raymond Bisha introduces a programme of orchestral music by the Pulitzer and Erasmus Prize-winning American composer John Adams. The two works on this new album from the Nashville Symphony under Giancarlo Guerrero demonstrate why Adams is one of today’s most widely performed and recorded composers. Adams describes My Father Knew Charles Ives as “an homage Read More ...
Choral music formed an important part of Anton Bruckner’s output throughout his career, even though the genre was widely underappreciated by a public more inclined to large-scale symphonic and operatic works. Although the big-boned structure of such music also made its presence felt in Church masses and oratorios, there was always a need for smaller Read More ...
Czech composer Vitězslav Novák (1870-1949), who was one of Dvořák’s composition students, rose to prominence with a series of increasingly ambitious orchestral works that fused elements of folk music, impressionism and late-Romanticism. Raymond Bisha introduces Vol. 1 of his orchestral works performed by Marek Štilec and the Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra. The programme pairs the heady Read More ...
Raymond Bisha discusses a release of music by the American composer Bernard Herrmann with Joseph Horowitz, co-founder of PostClassical Ensemble, a group dedicated to stepping across normal repertoire boundaries. The album’s programme showcases Herrmann’s talents not only as a composer of film scores, but also as a consummate provider of music for the forgotten genre Read More ...
George Frideric Handel: impresario, performer, composer. The Great Bear, as he was referred to in his time, remains an Ursa Major of the musical firmament to this day. Raymond Bisha illustrates Handel’s creative genius with Vol. 2 in pianist Philip Edward Fisher’s recordings of his Keyboard Suites, released in April 2015. View album details Catalogue Read More ...
Once in a while you hear such incredibly beautiful music for the first time that you just can’t understand why it has remained under wraps for so long. The Violin Concertos Nos. 1 and 2 by the Italian-born composer Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco are a case in point. Originally championed in the 1920s and 30s by no less Read More ...
This month, JoAnn Falletta and the Buffalo Philharmonic celebrate their 21-year association with Naxos as they release their 26th recording on the label — a second album of music by the French composer Florent Schmitt (1870-1958). Peter Hall talks with the orchestra’s music director about that sustained collaboration, reviewing the musical development she has achieved Read More ...
With Lew Smoley
Listening Guide: With Lew Smoley Richter No. 5b in G minor Larghetto Allegro Spirituoso Andantino Grazioso Tempo Di Minuetto Cambini No. 2 in F Major Allegro Maestoso Larghetto Cantabile Minuetto (Allegretto) Allegro Ma Non Tanto Rosetti No. 5 in D Major Allegro Molto Andante Sostenuto Rondeau Allegretto Abel No. 5 in A Major Un Poco […]
Listening Guide with Lew Smoley Mills Soundscapes For Percussion and Orchestra Signals, Dialogues Dance Nocturne Continuum Broadstock Federation Flourish Symphony No. 2: Stars In A Dark Night Movement 1 Movement 2 Movement 3 Movement 4 Movement 5 Timeless Vine Symphony No. 3 Symphony No. 4.2 Koehne Unchained Melody Inflight Entertainment Agent Provocateur Horse Opera Beat […]
Listening Guide – With Lew Smoley Meale Lumen Brumby Symphony No. 1: The Sun Andante Sostenuto, Allegro Larghetto Presto Stisky Violin Concerto No. 2: Gurdjieff Dolce Allegro Allegretto Andantino Andante Con Moto Allegretto Larghetto Mageau An Early Autumn’s Dreaming Butterley Fire In The Heavens Edwards Mountain Village In A Clearing Mist Symphony No. 4: Star […]
Listening Guide – with Lew Smoley Dreyfus Sextet For Didjeridu and Wind Instruments Williamson Piano Concerto No. 3 Eb Allegro Toccata Allegro, Allegretto, Scherzo Molto Largo E Cantando Ben Allegro Travel Diaries: Sydney North Head Pyrmont Dockside Harbour Bridge Botanical Gardens At Central Railway Harbour Ferry Lane Cove King’s Cross A Morning Swim Kirribilli The […]
Listening Guide: With Lew Smoley Glanville-Hicks Sinphonia Da Pacifica Allegro Energico Recitativo, Lento Tranquillo Allegro Giocoso Hughes Sea Spell Holland Trio for Violin, Cello, and Piano Allegro Non Troppo Allegro Scherzando Allegro Maestoso Hyde Fantasia on Waltzing Matilda Sonata in g minor Le Gallienne Sinfonietta Penberthy Symphony No. 6: The Earth Mother Werder Violin Concerto: […]
Get a free MP3 of Scott Joplin - Rose Leaf Rag. Can you guess this week's theme? Let us know for a chance to win more free music. And don't forget to sign up for the Daily Download newsletter so you never miss a free classical track!
In today's music lesson, we will learn about an instrument in the brass family--the trombone!
Get a free MP3 of Clarence Cameron White - Basque Folk Song. Can you guess this week's theme? Let us know for a chance to win more free music. And don't forget to sign up for the Daily Download newsletter so you never miss a free classical track!
Minnetonka high school senior Eli Hooker Reese entered a composing competition for the King's Singers with no expectations. On Sunday, his winning composition will be featured alongside three others for the King's Singers New Music Prize Concert.
As composer Jessie Montgomery spent time thinking about 'The Star-Spangled Banner,' she wondered, 'What does an anthem for the 21st century sound like in today's multicultural environment?' Find out about the resulting work on Extra Eclectic, with Steve Seel.
Get a free MP3 of Charles Lucien Lambert - L'Americaine. Can you guess this week's theme? Let us know for a chance to win more free music. And don't forget to sign up for the Daily Download newsletter so you never miss a free classical track!
Baritone Will Liverman hopes listeners will learn to explore more music by Black composers, just as he did, with his new album, 'Dreams of a New Day: Songs by Black Composers.' Don't forget to enter the giveaway for a chance to win a copy of the CD!
Here is the classic Piano Puzzler, an exclusive bonus for subscribers to the Piano Puzzler newsletter from Performance Today.