COMING UP ON NPR's WEEKEND PT JUNE 12 AND JUNE 13, 1999 LISA SIMEONE IS HOST Saturday, JUNE 12 Hour 1-- Milestones of the Millennium--Claudio Monteverdi: We continue our countdown to the year 2001 with PT's "Milestones of the Millennium," a two-year series of essays that will create a picture in sound of the pivotal events, places, movements, artists and musical works of the past 1000 years. Today, commentator Jan Swafford looks at the life and contributions of a man who revolutionized opera and created a bridge from the Renaissance to the Baroque --16th century Italian composer Claudio Monteverdi. Hour 2-- Van Cliburn Amateurs: The first Van Cliburn International Piano Competition for Outstanding Amateurs is in full swing, and we'll meet some of the pianists who've gathered in Fort Worth, Texas to go for the gold--from a casino executive to a meteorologist who chases tornadoes. They'll tell us why they decided to throw caution--as well as their spare time--to the wind and enter the event. And we'll hear a performance from the first round of the competition. Sunday, JUNE 13 Hour 1-- Beethoven from the Sunshine State: "That damned work; I wish it could be burned!" Ludwig van Beethoven uttered these words about his very popular E-flat major Septet in 1815, after hearing one-too-many a performance of it. In this hour, we'll hear the Septet performed by musicians of Florida's Sarasota Music Festival, which opened last week Hour 2-- Basic Gorecki: Ted Libbey joins host Lisa Simeone for a visit to the 20th-century wing of the PT Basic Record Library. Today Ted discusses and recommends three outstanding recordings of the Symphony No. 3, the "Symphony of Sorrowful Songs," by Polish composer Henryk Gorecki. COMING UP ON NPR's PERFORMANCE TODAY JUNE 14--JUNE 21, 1999 Monday, JUNE 14 Hour 1-- And the winner is: The first Van Cliburn International Piano Competition for Outstanding Amateurs ended Sunday night. Lisa talks to the first-prize winner, as well as a critic who heard every note and we'll hear signal performances from the competition. Hour 2-- Pacifica Quartet live in Studio 4A: Lisa welcomes PT's newest Young Artists in Residence, the Pacifica Quartet, to NPR's Studio 4A for a week of music and conversation. Today we'll meet the members of the group--violinists Simin Ganatra and Kyu-Young Kim, violist Kathryn Lockwood, and cellist Brandon Vamos--and they'll perform the String Quartet in E minor by Felix Mendelssohn as well as three Cypresses by Antonin Dvorak. Tuesday, JUNE 15 Hour 1-- Stradivarius versus Guarnerius, comparing the world's greatest violins: Violinist Elmar Oliveira recently tested thirty of these precious 17th and 18th-century instruments over the course of two days. The unprecedented experience was documented in a new book called "The Miracle Makers." It's published by Bein and Fushi, Inc. of Chicago and includes recordings of all of the violins. Lisa talks with the Tchaikovsky Competition gold medalist about the qualities that distinguish the two types of instruments from each other. Hour 2-- Pacifica Quartet live in Studio 4A: On the second day of their residency, the members of the Pacifica Quartet turn their attention to the slow movements of quartets. They'll talk with Lisa about the characteristics of good slow movements, and the challenges they face when performing them. And they'll play a selection of slow movements by Johannes Brahms, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Antonin Dvorak, and Sergei Prokofiev. Wednesday, JUNE 16 Hour 1-- Milestones of the Millennium--Pastoral Music: When composers look for inspiration, a source they often turn to is Mother Nature. In today's edition of "Milestones of the Millennium," we'll look at the history of pastoral music and hear how nature has been captured in beautiful music like the Lark Ascending by Ralph Vaughan Williams and the Pastoral Symphony by Beethoven. Hour 2-- Pacifica Quartet live in Studio 4A: The members of the Pacifica Quartet are Artists-in-Residence at the University of Chicago, where one of their jobs is to play new music composed by students. We'll hear part of a successful student composition. The Pacificas also turn to a tried-and-true favorite, the String Quartet in A minor, Op. 51, No. 2 by Johannes Brahms. Thursday, JUNE 17 Hour 1-- Basic Barber: PT critic Ted Libbey joins Lisa for a visit to the PT Basic Record Library. Throughout 1999, Ted is adding important 20th-century works to the collection, and today he recommends three recordings of Violin Concerto by American composer Samuel Barber. Hour 2-- Pacifica Quartet live in Studio 4A: On the fourth day of their residency, the members of the Pacifica Quartet tackle a quartet by a man who wrote more than seventy of them--Franz Joseph Haydn. They'll perform one that demonstrates Haydn's unfailing inventiveness, the String Quartet in D minor, Op. 76, No. 2, also known as the "Fifths" quartet. Plus, we'll hear how the Pacifica Quartet uses the "Toy Symphony" by Leopold Mozart to teach kids about music. Friday, JUNE 18 Hour 1-- The Eroica Trio at Rockport: The Rockport Chamber Music Festival opened last week with a concert by the Eroica Trio. They began with an unusual selection--the Chaconne from the Partita No. 2 by Bach--which is normally played by just one violin. We'll hear their performance of the piece in an arrangement by Anne Dudley. Hour 2-- Pacifica Quartet live in Studio 4A: The members of the Pacifica Quartet wrap up their week as PT's Young Artists in Residence. For their final performance, they turn to the music of Ludwig Van Beethoven: the String Quartet in C Major, Op. 59, No. 3, the third of the "Razumovsky" Quartets. MONDAY, JUNE 21 Hour 1--The Red Violin: Film music critic Royal Brown joins Lisa to evaluate the new movie by Francois Girard, which traces the history of a fictional violin from its creation under tragic circumstances in Italy to China during the Cultural Revolution, all within the framework of a modern-day auction. John Corigliano composed the haunting music for the film, and it's performed by violinist Joshua Bell. Girard also directed the remarkable movie "Thirty-two Short Films about Glenn Gould." Hour 2-- American Orchestras: In this hour, we'll feature an outstanding performance by a US orchestra. FOR MORE PROGRAM INFORMATION, COME AND BROWSE PERFORMANCE TODAY'S WEB PAGE: http://www.npr.org/programs/pt ***NOTE: SCHEDULE IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE. FOR EXACT BROADCAST TIMES, CONTACT YOUR LOCAL PUBLIC RADIO STATION OR CALL PERFORMANCE TODAY AT (202) 414-2370.