From the Top

A teen guitarist from Colorado plays a beautiful work by Bach, a cellist plays an emotional Elegy by John Williams, and a pianist performs a piece that draws from the worlds of classical and jazz. We'll also hear from a teenage bassoonist who shares what it's like living with neurodivergence and meet a young clarinetist who left his home in Peru to pursue music in the U.S.

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We hear Clara Schumann performed on clarinet, a ferocious performance of Rachmaninoff, and a moving new cello work inspired by the pandemic. We also meet an 18-year-old who loves the euphonium so much that he's determined to make it a household name and a young woman who is making an impression on the double bass world.

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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're treated to the magical music of Classical masters Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Liszt, and Kreisler. Plus, an 18-year-old soprano finds inspiration in the history of the first African American Opera House in the United States in her hometown of Pittsburgh. And two teens tell us what it's been like to leave their home countries to study music in New York and Los Angeles.

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We meet an award-winning saxophone quartet from Texas. A teen flutist who is also a talented figure skater performs Faure. An impressive 16-year-old performs a piece by a guitarist/composer who inspires him, and a violinist from Hong Kong studying in Los Angeles tells us about how a letter from a stranger impacted his life.

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New York Philharmonic President and CEO Deborah Borda joins Peter Dugan as co-host and shares insights into her iconic career at the helm of the country's leading orchestras. She speaks with an inspiring 16-year-old violist who is an emerging leader in her own right. We also meet an articulate young composer who wants her music to bring people joy and healing, a teen clarinetist who has traveled the world with his musical parents, and a pianist with a passion for acting. They give incredible performances of Prokofiev, Enescu, Kovács, and more.

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We meet young musicians from all over the country, from South Carolina to California. A 17-year-old cellist fulfills a childhood dream to be on From the Top and kicks off the program with a gorgeous Beethoven piece. We also hear a beautiful Chopin Nocturne, a Barber Sonata played by a teen flutist, and a young mandolin player shows off her gorgeous new instrument with a performance of Bach.

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18-year-old violinist and From the Top alum Julia LaGrand co-hosts this special episode dedicated to celebrating the stories and performances of disabled and neurodivergent musicians. Julia, who is blind, also interviews special guest Itzhak Perlman. We meet a 15-year-old double bassist who began studying music when spina bifida made it difficult to keep up with youth sports leagues, a 14-year-old pianist who uses Braille scores to learn his repertoire, a 26-year-old cellist who believes his musical skills are sharpened by his autism, and a 16-year-old pianist with Escobar Syndrome who shares her journey to millions on social media. They perform works by Grieg, Liszt, and more.

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This week features young musicians studying at the Colburn School in LA. They range from a 14-year-old cellist with a mature performance of Beethoven to the winners of a major chamber music competition whose secret to success just might be their musical handshake. We also hear from an incredible trumpeter, a globe-trotting teen violinist, and a 15-year-old pianist performing Mendelssohn.

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We hear the first work Brahms wrote for a solo instrument and a stunning Wieniawski Polonaise played by a 13-year-old violinist. We also meet a teenage baritone who has been drawn to community activism since childhood, a guitarist who plays an arrangement of Dizzy Gillespie's Night in Tunisia, and a young pianist who shares a special tip she got from piano superstar Lang Lang... play like a grandma!

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