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'Performance Today' at 20: A Look Back

For 20 years Performance Today has brought listeners to concert halls around the world to hear classical music. Vital performances in the present tense, played by the super-stars of our time and exciting young musicians just starting their careers.

Twenty years of programs, two hours a day, every day. That's a lot of notes--around 45-thousand performances, recorded in places as remote as alpine ski villages in South Korea, to the great cathedrals of music in Paris, to chamber music festivals in the hills of New Mexico, to NPR's own Studio 4-A.

Performance Today has followed the music as it evolves and adapts. It's impossible to squeeze 20 years into a two hour show. So here are some sweet memories, thrilling performances, and even a few flukes.

Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.