Performance Today
Former logo for Performance Today
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| Genre | live concert selections worldwide |
|---|---|
| Running time | 2 hours, daily |
| Country of origin |
 United States |
| Language(s) | English |
| Home station | American Public Media Saint Paul, MN |
| Syndicates | 237 NPR stations |
| Hosted by | Fred Child |
| Recording studio | APM studio at MPR |
| Original release | 1987 – present |
| Website | performancetoday.org |
Performance Today is a Peabody Award-winning classical music radio show, currently hosted by Fred Child. It is the most listened-to daily classical music radio program in the United States, with 1.2 million listeners on 237 stations. The program builds its two-hour daily broadcast (some stations broadcast only one hour) on recent live concert performances from around the world. Performance Today is based at the American Public Media (APM) studios in Saint Paul, Minnesota, but is frequently on the road, with special programs broadcast from festivals and public radio stations around the country.
In addition to live concert performances, the show airs in-studio performances and interviews. Weekly features include the "Piano Puzzler" with composer Bruce Adolphe.
Through the PT Young Artist in Residence program, the show highlights young soloists from American conservatories who have the potential for great careers. Former Performance Today young artists include pianists Orli Shaham, Jeremy Denk, and Jonathan Biss, guitarist Jason Vieaux, and violinist Colin Jacobsen among many others.
Performance Today was created by National Public Radio (NPR), and went on the air in 1987. The program was founded by NPR vice president for cultural programming Dean Boal, who gave Performance Today its name, and who, along with NPR colleagues Doug Bennet, Jane Couch, Ellen Boal, and retired Baldwin piano company president Lucien Wulsin, secured the series' initial funding. NPR produced and distributed the program from Washington, D.C. until 2007. For most of its first two years, under hosts Kathryn Loomans and Liane Hansen, it combined classical music with numerous and wide-ranging arts features. In 1989, the focus shifted exclusively to classical music. Martin Goldsmith then hosted for nearly ten years; he left in October 1999. During Goldsmith's tenure as host the show grew from 40 stations to 230, with weekly listeners reaching 1.5 million. The show won a Peabody Award in 1998.
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