February 25, 2009

Losing, and regaining, what's most important

For a musician, hearing is everything. If Beethoven was alive now, he could attest to that. It's tempting to speculate whether modern medicine could have helped Beethoven overcome his deafness. Doctors were unable to help Austrian pianist Till Fellner, who suffered a temporary hearing problem in 2005. The malady, a bad case of tinnitus, got better on its own. On today's show, Fellner plays one of Beethoven's piano sonatas in Washington, D.C.

Today's Playlist

LISTEN

hour 1

Sergei Prokofiev
Vivace from Sonata No. 2 in D Minor, Op. 14
Pianist Yefim Bronfman
King Henry VIII
"Pastime with Good Company"
Schola Cantorum San Francisco
Old First Presbyterian Church, San Francisco
William Cornysh
"Blow Thy Horn, Hunter"
Schola Cantorum San Francisco
Old First Presbyterian Church, San Francisco
"The Piano Puzzler"
This week's contestant is Alan Fletcher from Aspen, Colorado.
Sergei Prokofiev
Piano Concerto No. 3 in C, Op. 26
Pianist Yefim Bronfman with the Aspen Chamber Symphony and conductor David Zinman
Aspen Music Festival, Aspen, Colorado

hour 2

Peter Tchaikovsky
Polonaise from "Eugene Onegin," Op. 24
The Cleveland Orchestra with conductor Christoph von Dohnanyi
Claude Debussy
"Syrinx"
Flutist Ransom Wilson
Alice Tully Hall, New York City
Henry Purcell
"Ayre for the Flute"
Capriccio Stravagante with conductor Skip Sempe
Musica Antica Early Music Festival, Bruges, Belgium
Samuel Scheidt
Courant
Capriccio Stravagante with conductor Skip Sempe
Musica Antica Early Music Festival, Bruges, Belgium
Ludwig van Beethoven
Sonata No. 28 in A, Op. 101
Pianist Till Fellner
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Richard Wagner
Overture to "Tannhauser"
The Cleveland Orchestra with conductor Robert Spano
Severance Hall, Cleveland

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