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They seemed  opposite: Mstislav Rostropovich, the fiery Soviet cellist, Benjamin Britten  the cool-tempered English composer. But they shared uncompromising convictions about social issues and musical genius. On Wednesday's Performance Today Coleman Itzkoff, - PT"s Young Artist in Residence - brings to life music that Britten wrote for Rostropovich.

Spring planting could linger into the summer for many Iowa soybean farmers. The state's trading partners and commodity markets are keeping a close eye on what happens here and it could impact the economy down the road. Grant Kimberley is the market development director for the Iowa Soybean Association. He tells Iowa Public Radio's Pat Blank, this year has been a challenge.

Last week a man was killed in a boating incident on the Cedar River, and over the weekend a man had a close call while trying to rescue a child on Clear Lake.  What are the rules and what are the good and bad ideas on the water?  Also, hear about preventing recreational water illnesses.

The 2013 winner of the Miss Iowa Scholarship Program is Nicole Kelly.  Besides attention from Iowans, national news outlets have been interested in her story in part because of a unique attribute: Kelly was born without her left forearm.  Hear Kelly's story and a broader discussion about Iowans with disabilities with the chair of the Iowa Commission of Persons with Disabilities LaSheila Yates, who also happens to be the 2013 Mrs. Iowa International winner.

The farm bill is legislation is worth more than $90 billion. It deals with everything from farm subsidies to crop insurance; but over 80% of this massive outlay goes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP,) which was once called food stamps.  More than 45 million people depend on SNAP, especially since the economic downturn.  However, in the current versions of the bill both Democrats and Republicans are discussing cutting funds from the program. 

  Republican candidate for U.S. Senate David Young introduced himself to Polk County Republicans at a breakfast in Des Moines.   Young is  the former chief of staff for Senator Chuck Grassley.    Political observers say that alone won’t catapult  him to victory in the Republican primary.    

Within the local food movement, the community supported agriculture model is praised. CSAs, as they’re commonly known, are often considered one of the best ways to restore a connection to the foods we eat.

The model is simple: Consumers buy a share of a farmer’s produce up front as a shareholder and then reap the rewards at harvest time. But running a CSA can bring with it some tricky business decisions.

"Ethereal, it glitters like stars millions of light-years away" - that's Distant Light, by Latvian composer Peteris Vasks. Tune in Tuesday at 7 PM to hear the world premiere by the Los Angeles Philharmonic led by Gustavo Dudamel. Also on the program is Mozart's Posthorn Serenade and Marriage of Figaro overture.

Governor Branstad just announced Iowa’s ninth sister-state relationship with Kosovo, a state Iowa has maintained a unique partnership with over the years. Today on River To River, host Ben Kieffer talks with Iowa national-guard members who have spent time in the region. He also explores Iowa's other sister city relations, from the Hebei province in China to Yucatan, Mexico.

There are a lot of ways to share information online, so it's not surprising that some people are oversharing. Host Charity Nebbe chats about social media etiquette with Andrew High, assistant professor at the University of Iowa's Department for Communication Studies, and Nathan Wright, founder of the digital media consulting firm Lava Row.

Last year, one of the country’s largest Community Supported Agriculture share providers went bankrupt. Grant Family Farms in Northern Colorado launched an organic CSA back in 2007 with 127 members and peaked with more than 5,000 in 2012.

The story behind why Grant Family Farms went bankrupt is complicated. But it also sheds light on whether a CSA can become too big.

Losing It All

Tune in Sunday at noon or Monday at 7 PM to hear the Dubuque Symphony Orchestra in a program of Russian Romantics. Tchaikovsky's glorious Piano Concerto no. 1 features Romania-born guest artist Eugene Alcalay, who was praised by Leonard Bernstein for his “outstanding talent as both a performer and composer." The orchestra, led by music director William Intriligator, also performs Borodin’s Polovtsian Dances and Rimsky-Korsakov's Russian Easter Festival Overture and Capriccio Espagnol.

Many Iowans have been battling swarms of gnats for the past few weeks and the dreaded mosquito is soon to come.  Host Charity Nebbe talks with entomologist Donald Lewis about why the gnats keep getting into ears, eyes, nose and hair; he'll also give his prediction of this year's mosquito season.  Horticulturist Richard Jauron joins the conversation. 

Sunday is Father's Day.  Find out about the Father’s Day Index and hear about the changing role of dads, who are increasingly stay-at home parents. How is that fact affecting families and our stereotypes?  Guest host Ben Stanton gets advice for dads to communicate with kids using handwritten letters.  

Researchers argue that spending time in nature can reduce stress and improve health.  In cities, it can be more challenging to find nature.  Guest host Ben Stanton talks about urban nature with Kathleen Wolf, the keynote speaker at today's Trees Forever Symposium in Des Moines. 

Tune in tonight at 5 PM to hear the sensational pianist Vadym Kholodenko - who triumphed this week at the Van Cliburn Competition in Texas - in his victory performance of Mozart's Piano Concerto no. 21 (the one with the beautiful "Elvira Madigan" slow movement). Leonard Slatkin conducts the Fort Worth Symphony. Also on the program is another highly acclaimed young pianist, Conrad Tao, performing one of his own compositions.

Anna Netrebko as Mimi, Joseph Calleja as Rodolfo,  Elizabeth Futral as Musetta -  you can't find a better cast for La Boheme today than the one we'll broadcast Saturday at noon from Lyric Opera of Chicago. Critic Lawrence Johnson praised  Netrebko's "gleaming vocalism, dramatic acuity, and personality-plus stage charisma," and found Calleja to be "on an equally inspired level."

Approximately a thousand chimpanzees are held in U.S. laboratories for experiments. This week the federal government announced a proposal to list captive chimpanzees as endangered, a move that would increase protections for them.  Today on River To River - two opposing views over whether this is a good idea and how it might affect advances in the field of medicine.

I met Mark Kenney on his family’s farm in Nevada, Iowa, when I was working on a story about farmer taxes. He turned out to be perfect for that—a farmer with a keen interest in spreadsheets.

Comedian Jim Gaffigan started his career discussing life as a single guy in New York.  Now Gaffigan is married and lives with his five kids in a two bedroom, five-floor walk-up apartment in Manhattan. Host Charity Nebbe talks with the comic about his new book "Dad is Fat" which explores the complexities of fatherhood as well as the pros and cons of a delicacy known as “Hot Pocket.”  

Tune in Thursday to hear the New York Philharmonic perform Copland, Stravinsky, Shostakovich - and Marsalis. Jazz-influenced works by Aaron (the  Clarinet Concerto), Igor (Ragtime) and Dmitri (Tahiti Trot) precede the Symphony no. 3 (Swing Symphony) by Wynton, who brings his Jazz at Lincoln Center orchestra along to join Alan Gilbert and the orchestra.

Dubuque Symphony Orchestra – Classics 5 Russia’s Greatest

William Intriligator, conductor
Eugene Alcalay, piano

TCHAIKOVSKY        Piano Concerto No. 1, Op. 23 in B-flat Minor

Tune in tonight at 7PM to hear Yevgeny Sudbin - at 32 "hailed as potentially one of the greatest pianists of the 21st century"- perform Beethoven's Third Concerto with musicians famed for Beethoven, the Minnesota Orchestra with Osmo Vanska. Then Vanska conducts a work he's famed for, the Second Symphony of his fellow Finn, Jean Sibelius. Opening this concert is a new work by American composer Aaron Jay Kernis. The concert comes to us via SymphonyCast.

Host Ben Kieffer explores memories this hour.  First, he has a talk with ISU Assistant Professor Jason Chan about his research showing how our memories can be altered by incorrect information.  In the second half, you can hear about how memories are affected by aging.  Guests include representatives from long-term care facilities, and a woman who tells her personal story helping her husband deal with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease.

When Lennox Randon asked his friends Rob Cline and Dennis Green to form a writing group, they were reluctant to devote the time until Randon mentioned his diagnosis of gastrointestinal cancer.  Now the three Cedar Rapids residents have been meeting weekly for more than two years to write, read and help each other polish their work.  Their dedication has paid off with three separate publishing contracts.  The men are each mystery writers,

Relief is coming soon for Des Moines residents bothered by noisy F-16 jet fighters. All 21 planes, with their roaring engines, will be phased out by fall. We observed flight training for the full impact.