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Special Features Archive
Past special features from Performance Today
Wild At Heart
As a child Romanian pianist Mihaela Ursuleasa was a musical phenom. She took a giant leap of faith as a teenager and put on hold her performance career, moved to Austria and began studying the piano literature at the Vienna Conservatory. Mihaela says she went from playing on intuition to playing with insight. She joined Fred Child in the studio recently to play Chopin and Rachmaninoff--works that show her maturity but haven't tamed her wild streak.
Wild At Heart
(July 18, 2008)
Artists in Exile
Joseph Horowitz has written a new book about immigrant musicians coming to the U.S. It's called Artists in Exile. Horowitz talked with Fred Child recently about the difference between German and Russian composers who came to America, and about the strange but true story of conductor Leopold Stokowski, an American original.
Germans and Russians
(July 9, 2008)
From Deep Purple to Disguises
Jon Lord says he never aspired to be one type of musician--he aspires to be all types of musicians. Lord is keyboardist and founding member of the band Deep Purple whose hits included "Smoke on the Water" and "Hush." All the while Lord was performing in rock bands, he was also composing classical music. Listen to his interview with Fred Child about his newest works: a piano concerto titled "Boom of the Tingling Strings" and "Disguises," a piece for string orchestra.
Boom of the Tingling Strings
(June 26, 2008)
Cypress String Quartet
It's a lucky coincidence that this quartet is based in San Francisco, a place known for its cypress trees. Actually, the ensemble's name comes from a series of Dvorak quartets nicknamed "the Cypresses." The Cypress String Quartet talked with John Birge in our studio and played music of Mozart, Schulhoff, and Dvorak.
From the cello on up
Discovering texture in Dvorak
Watch a preview of the Cypress String Quartet's multi-media performance of "Inspired by America."
(June 3, 2008)
Music and Literature
Through their masterworks, great writers and great composers have inspired and enriched each other for centuries, as they do today. This week, Performance Today explores this perennial love affair with recent performances and insightful interviews from around the country and the world.
Visit the feature page
(May 2008)
Pianist Rudolf Buchbinder
When Rudolf Buchbinder was a teenager he'd often accompany his piano teacher to the bars in Vienna where he stretched his musical repertoire past the standard classical canon. Listen as Buchbinder joins Fred Child in the studio for some music by Schubert and Strauss, plus a few highlights from after-hours gig as a teenager.
Listen
(May 30, 2008)
Chicago appoints Muti
After a four year search, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra has named Riccardo Muti as its music director. Right after the announcement was made, Fred Child spoke with Steve Lester, bass player for the orchestra and chairman of the Members Committee which selected Muti.
Listen
(May 5, 2008)
John Brown, the opera
Conflict over slavery, the Pottwatomie massacre, the raid on Harper's Ferry... historic events that create a dramatic setting for a new opera. Listen to composer/librettist Kirke Mechem describe his new opera, John Brown, which will premiere at the Lyric Opera of Kansas City the first weekend of May.
Listen
(May 2, 2008)
Lars Vogt
German pianist Lars Vogt calls Robert Schumann's Piano Concerto the most important of all the great Romantic concertos. He recently performed it with the Minnesota Orchestra but before the concert Brian Newhouse joined him on stage to discuss what makes this concerto great.
Listen
(May 1, 2008)
Crossing borders
Gao Hong has been a working professional musician since she was 12 years old, playing the Chinese pipa, a traditional instrument similar to a lute. She joined Fred in the studio with Shubhendra Rao on sitar and Biplab Bhattacharya on tabla just days before her Carnegie debut where she played traditional Chinese pipa songs alongside some cross-cultural musical collaborations.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
(April 28, 2008)
2007 Features
The Rest Is Noise
Named by the New York Times as one of the ten best books of 2007, Alex Ross's The Rest Is Noise shows us the cultural context and backstory of some of the most important pieces of music written in the 20th Century and the composers who wrote them. Listen to Ross read excerpts from the most talked about musical book of the year.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
(April 28, 2008)
Ronn MacFarlane
Lutenist and composer Ronn MacFarlane talks to Fred Child about MacFarlane's new CD and his transition from playing old music to writing new music.
Listen
(April 18, 2008)
Paul Galbraith
Paul Galbraith plays his classical guitar in an unusual manner - more in the position of a cello than a guitar - and what he creates is some marvelous music. He drops by our Maud Moon Weyerhaeuser Studio in St. Paul for a two-part conversation that features music by Mozart, Lennox Berkeley and Bach.
Part 1
Part 2
(April 11, 2008)
Our April 1st special feature
An innovative concert hall in Copenhagen has a colorful kid-friendly environment. Fred Child has an audio tour of the new "Koncerthalle I Lego," with 80% of its construction from oversize Lego blocks. Violinist Hilary Hahn and pianist Lang Lang talk about their experience at Lego Hall.
Listen
(April 1, 2008)
In studio with Lang Lang
Listen to Fred Child's conversation with Lang Lang as the pianist recalls his recent performance at the Grammy awards with Herbie Hancock and talks about some of the other artists with whom he will be collaborating. Some of their names may surprise you.
Listen
(March 25, 2008)
John Schaefer in Pyongyang
The New York Philharmonic made a historic trip to North Korea this week for the first ever performance by an American orchestra in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. The orchestra was accompanied by a large number of international journalists, including John Schaefer from station WNYC in New York City. Fred Child spoke with John in his room at the Yanggakdo International Hotel in Pyongyang right after the concert about his impressions of the music and of this landmark event.
Listen
(February 26, 2008)
Turtle Island String Quartet
The Turtle Island String Quartet is never one to play it safe. On their newest and Grammy nominated CD, A Love Supreme, the group tackles jazz saxophonist John Coltrane's landmark composition, A Love Supreme. Hear them transform the jazz combo into a string quartet in our studios.
Listen
(February 7, 2008)
Christopher Theofanidis
Christopher Theofanidis's composition Muse was recently premiered by the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. He talks about the music, it's connection to Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 and a new concerto project with violinist Sarah Chang.
Listen
(January 29, 2008)
Past special features from Performance Today
As a child Romanian pianist Mihaela Ursuleasa was a musical phenom. She took a giant leap of faith as a teenager and put on hold her performance career, moved to Austria and began studying the piano literature at the Vienna Conservatory. Mihaela says she went from playing on intuition to playing with insight. She joined Fred Child in the studio recently to play Chopin and Rachmaninoff--works that show her maturity but haven't tamed her wild streak.
Wild At Heart
(July 18, 2008)
Joseph Horowitz has written a new book about immigrant musicians coming to the U.S. It's called Artists in Exile. Horowitz talked with Fred Child recently about the difference between German and Russian composers who came to America, and about the strange but true story of conductor Leopold Stokowski, an American original.
Germans and Russians
(July 9, 2008)
Jon Lord says he never aspired to be one type of musician--he aspires to be all types of musicians. Lord is keyboardist and founding member of the band Deep Purple whose hits included "Smoke on the Water" and "Hush." All the while Lord was performing in rock bands, he was also composing classical music. Listen to his interview with Fred Child about his newest works: a piano concerto titled "Boom of the Tingling Strings" and "Disguises," a piece for string orchestra.
Boom of the Tingling Strings
(June 26, 2008)
It's a lucky coincidence that this quartet is based in San Francisco, a place known for its cypress trees. Actually, the ensemble's name comes from a series of Dvorak quartets nicknamed "the Cypresses." The Cypress String Quartet talked with John Birge in our studio and played music of Mozart, Schulhoff, and Dvorak.
From the cello on up
Discovering texture in Dvorak
(June 3, 2008)
Through their masterworks, great writers and great composers have inspired and enriched each other for centuries, as they do today. This week, Performance Today explores this perennial love affair with recent performances and insightful interviews from around the country and the world.
Visit the feature page
(May 2008)
When Rudolf Buchbinder was a teenager he'd often accompany his piano teacher to the bars in Vienna where he stretched his musical repertoire past the standard classical canon. Listen as Buchbinder joins Fred Child in the studio for some music by Schubert and Strauss, plus a few highlights from after-hours gig as a teenager.
Listen
(May 30, 2008)
After a four year search, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra has named Riccardo Muti as its music director. Right after the announcement was made, Fred Child spoke with Steve Lester, bass player for the orchestra and chairman of the Members Committee which selected Muti.
Listen
(May 5, 2008)
Conflict over slavery, the Pottwatomie massacre, the raid on Harper's Ferry... historic events that create a dramatic setting for a new opera. Listen to composer/librettist Kirke Mechem describe his new opera, John Brown, which will premiere at the Lyric Opera of Kansas City the first weekend of May.
Listen
(May 2, 2008)
German pianist Lars Vogt calls Robert Schumann's Piano Concerto the most important of all the great Romantic concertos. He recently performed it with the Minnesota Orchestra but before the concert Brian Newhouse joined him on stage to discuss what makes this concerto great.
Listen
(May 1, 2008)
Gao Hong has been a working professional musician since she was 12 years old, playing the Chinese pipa, a traditional instrument similar to a lute. She joined Fred in the studio with Shubhendra Rao on sitar and Biplab Bhattacharya on tabla just days before her Carnegie debut where she played traditional Chinese pipa songs alongside some cross-cultural musical collaborations.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
(April 28, 2008)
Named by the New York Times as one of the ten best books of 2007, Alex Ross's The Rest Is Noise shows us the cultural context and backstory of some of the most important pieces of music written in the 20th Century and the composers who wrote them. Listen to Ross read excerpts from the most talked about musical book of the year.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
(April 28, 2008)
Lutenist and composer Ronn MacFarlane talks to Fred Child about MacFarlane's new CD and his transition from playing old music to writing new music.
Listen
(April 18, 2008)
Paul Galbraith plays his classical guitar in an unusual manner - more in the position of a cello than a guitar - and what he creates is some marvelous music. He drops by our Maud Moon Weyerhaeuser Studio in St. Paul for a two-part conversation that features music by Mozart, Lennox Berkeley and Bach.
Part 1
Part 2
(April 11, 2008)
An innovative concert hall in Copenhagen has a colorful kid-friendly environment. Fred Child has an audio tour of the new "Koncerthalle I Lego," with 80% of its construction from oversize Lego blocks. Violinist Hilary Hahn and pianist Lang Lang talk about their experience at Lego Hall.
Listen
(April 1, 2008)
Listen to Fred Child's conversation with Lang Lang as the pianist recalls his recent performance at the Grammy awards with Herbie Hancock and talks about some of the other artists with whom he will be collaborating. Some of their names may surprise you.
Listen
(March 25, 2008)
The New York Philharmonic made a historic trip to North Korea this week for the first ever performance by an American orchestra in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. The orchestra was accompanied by a large number of international journalists, including John Schaefer from station WNYC in New York City. Fred Child spoke with John in his room at the Yanggakdo International Hotel in Pyongyang right after the concert about his impressions of the music and of this landmark event.
Listen
(February 26, 2008)
Grammy Awards
Hear these Grammy Award winners react to the news:
James Ehnes, violinist
David Balakrishnan, violinist with Turtle Island String Quartet
Joan Tower, composer
Sir Simon Rattle, conductor
Lisa Kaplan, pianist with eighth blackbird
Jennifer Larmore, mezzo-soprano
Garrick Ohlsson, pianist
(February 11, 2008)
Hear these Grammy Award winners react to the news:
James Ehnes, violinist
David Balakrishnan, violinist with Turtle Island String Quartet
Joan Tower, composer
Sir Simon Rattle, conductor
Lisa Kaplan, pianist with eighth blackbird
Jennifer Larmore, mezzo-soprano
Garrick Ohlsson, pianist
(February 11, 2008)
The Turtle Island String Quartet is never one to play it safe. On their newest and Grammy nominated CD, A Love Supreme, the group tackles jazz saxophonist John Coltrane's landmark composition, A Love Supreme. Hear them transform the jazz combo into a string quartet in our studios.
Listen
(February 7, 2008)
Christopher Theofanidis's composition Muse was recently premiered by the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. He talks about the music, it's connection to Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 and a new concerto project with violinist Sarah Chang.
Listen
(January 29, 2008)