From the Top

Today’s performers are creative to their core. A talented teen violinist with a gift for storytelling performs Ravel. A guitarist who developed his own mobile app performs a lively piece inspired by a Spanish dance. A young pianist with an ear for improvisation uses social media as a playground for his creativity and plays Chopin.

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A teenage string quartet shares how their non-verbal communication is the secret sauce to their success. Plus a young cellist performs Mendelssohn’s moving Songs Without Words.

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When was the last time music made you feel like a part of something greater than yourself? This week, we meet teens who have a special passion for finding connection through music and hear their outstanding performances of Poulenc, Telemann, and Schumann.

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Both teen artists on today’s program have forged meaningful connections with living composers: our teen cellist worked closely with composer José Elizondo on the piece he performs today, and our violist co-founded an organization dedicated to introducing more people to contemporary composers and new music.

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We hit the jackpot of incredible repertoire. A teen guitarist describes her Spanish-inspired work like a fiesta, a cellist with insights into physical and mental wellbeing brings fire to her performance of Cassado, and a piano trio from the Pacific Northwest perform Shostakovich with gusto!

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A passionate young clarinetist performs Brahms and we meet a New England brass player with the fortitude to lug around two tubas at once.

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A Georgia teen shares how the children’s cartoon “Little Einstein’s” influenced him to pick up the French Horn and speaks from the heart about the superpowers that come with playing music. A young bassoonist shows the range of her instrument, and we learn about percussion instruments from a South Carolina teen with a love for playing Bach on marimba.

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All of today’s young musicians are 12 or younger! Wipe your jaw off the floor and enjoy some truly memorable moments.

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We’ve gone back in our archive to rediscover astonishing performances by some of the youngest performers (12 and under) to appear on From the Top! You’ll even hear a young violinist who now performs in the London Philharmonic.

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Clarinetist Alex Laing joins Peter Dugan at the Atlanta Music Project for a program featuring musicians from Georgia! We hear the fantastic Atlanta Music Project Senior Youth Choir performing a Spiritual. A flutist shares her love for Eastern European Folk music, a percussionist performs Sibelius on marimba, and Peter collaborates on a gorgeous four handed Ravel with an alum.

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We meet a violist with a love for Formula One racing who gives an evocative performance of Schumann. We hear a conversation between a teen clarinetist and his mentor, the principal clarinetist of the Minnesota Orchestra, who share much in common including leaving their homes in Costa Rica to study at Interlochen Arts Academy.

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A talented 12-year-old cellist performs The Swan by Saint-Saëns, a flutist with a passion for marine biology plays a dreamy Fantasie by Hüe, and the winner of Interlochen Arts Academy’s Concerto Competition performs a difficult but rewarding work by Ysaÿe.

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We meet a percussionist from the famous LaGuardia High School for the Performing Arts who gives a tour of the marimba to Peter Dugan, a 13-year-old cellist who loves both ballet and music, and a pianist who relates with the emotions of Schubert.

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A teen quartet plays Mozart, a 15-year-old flutist shares why her instrument is a dependable friend, and a violinist plays a Kreisler arrangement and draws connections between science and art.

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Peter collaborates with a 16-year-old violinist on an elegant rag. We hear Poulenc's trio for oboe, bassoon, and piano and meet one of Texas’ premier high school orchestras who perform Shostakovich.

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How does ensemble size and instrumentation shape the listening experience? We hear from a 14-year-old violinist who feels passionately about music-making, meet a teen pianist who takes on Rachmaninoff, and hear Peter play Barber with a young cellist who speaks about the importance of a local music program in his life.

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We hear from a teenage guitar quartet playing a lively Brazilian piece, an oboist playing a new work by composer Reena Esmail, and a violinist who imagines herself in Brahms’ world when she performs.

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We meet a 14-year-old pianist playing a Chopin Scherzo, a classical cellist who also plays rock covers, and a young trumpeter who gives insight into the physicality of playing his instrument.

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An 11-year-old pianist knocks our socks off with Chopin Etudes and we hear from an all-viola quartet on a mission to spread the beauty of the viola to the world.

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A teen pianist plays Scriabin, an Irish American violist explores classical and Celtic fiddling, and a countertenor sings a gorgeous lullaby.

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