Dear Listeners, This week, we'll continue to bring you performances from
the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in Fort Worth, Texas. On
Sunday night, the field will be narrowed to six finalists, and we'll follow
their progress. Also, director Bruce Beresford tells us why he decided to
base a movie on the story of Alma Mahler. It's called "Bride of the Wind"
and it opens on Friday. And music critic Steve Metcalf tells the classical
music establishment to lighten up about a couple of popular singers.
Thanks for listening,
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Coming Up on NPR's Performance Today
JUNE 2 - 8, 2001
KORVA COLEMAN IS HOST
Saturday, JUNE 2
Hour 1 -- Music fit for a king: The New York Collegium plays music from
a court of intrigue. We'll hear a concerto by a king's favorite court
musician, Francesco Maria Veracini, who continued to write music after a
bizarre suicide attempt. We'll also hear the King's Violins play some
regal Albinoni and a Royal Harpist of today plucks a little Bach.
Hour 2 -- Cellists in competition: Tonight, three finalists will be
competing for the top prize at the Leonard Rose International Cello
Competition on the campus of the University of Maryland in College Park.
We'll hear performances by all three finalists this hour: Alice Neary,
Danjulo Ishizaka and Niklas Eppinger.
Sunday, JUNE 3
Hour 1 -- Encores from the Prague Chamber Orchestra: At the end of
a concert at the University of Georgia in Athens, the Prague Chamber
Orchestra presented a series of encores, from a Czech dance to a musical
joke. We'll listen in. Plus, the Shanghai String Quartet plays Brahms
at the University of Richmond.
Hour 2 -- And the finalists are...: Late tonight, judges at the
Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in Fort Worth, Texas will
name six finalists. We'll hear performances by three of the hopefuls:
Ukrainian pianist Oleksiy Koltakov, Stanislav Ioudennitch from Uzbekistan
and Italian pianist Antonio Pompa-Baldi.
FRED CHILD IS HOST
Monday, JUNE 4
Hour 1 -- The competitive edge: This hour of PT is filled with adrenaline
and sweaty palms. We'll hear a winning performance from the first prize
winner of the Leonard Rose International Cello Competition. We'll also
find out who made it to the final round of the Van Cliburn International
Piano Competition in Fort Worth, Texas.
Hour 2 -- Sibelius in Buffalo: During dark days of World War One, Jean
Sibelius wrote a symphony that might be seen as a protest against the war
and a tribute to his faith in God. JoAnn Falletta conducts the Buffalo
Philharmonic in a concert performance of the Sibelius Symphony No. 5.
Tuesday, JUNE 5
Hour 1 -- Little Red Riding Hood in Rachmaninoff?: Rachmaninoff
imbedded vivid scenarios into his Etudes-Tableaux, including at least
one fairy tale. Conductor Robert Spano introduces a performance of the
Etudes-Tableaux, in a version for orchestra by Ottorino Respighi. We're
in concert with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.
Plus, our coverage of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition
continues.
Hour 2 -- Coming to Terms with competitions: As the Van Cliburn
International Piano Competition gets down to the wire in Fort Worth,
Texas, commentator Miles Hoffman comes to terms with the pros and cons
of competitions.
Wednesday, JUNE 6
Hour 1 -- Don't be so stuck up: Critic Steve Metcalf of The Hartford
Courant urges the classical music establishment not to be dismissive of
phenomena like Charlotte Church and Andrea Bocelli, who manage to attract
thousands to their sold-out performances. He ponders what we can learn
from their success.
And a performance by one of the finalists at the Van Cliburn International
Piano Competition.
Hour 2 -- A sampler of recent concert performances from around the county.
Thursday, JUNE 7
Hour 1 -- Bride of the Wind: Alma Mahler was a composer and the wife and
muse of three artists including the composer Gustav Mahler, the architect
Walter Gropius and the novelist Franz Werfel. She was also the subject of
an early 20th-century Oskar Kokoschka painting named Bride of the Wind--
now she's the inspiration for a movie with the same title directed by Bruce
Beresford. Bride of the Wind (Paramount Classics) hits theaters tomorrow
and Fred interviews Beresford about his fascination with Alma Mahler.
And, we'll showcase another finalist at the Van Cliburn International Piano
Competition in Fort Worth.
Hour 2 -- Basic "Dumky:" PT Basic Record Library curator Ted Libbey takes
Fred for another tour of the stacks to recommend three great recordings of
Antonin Dvorak's nationalistic and romantic "Dumky" Trio.
Friday, JUNE 8
Hour 1 -- More Cliburn coverage: Performance Today is hot on the trail
of the next gold medal winner of the Van Cliburn International Piano
Competition. Today Claude Frank, a Cliburn judge, talks to Fred about what
the judges are looking for in a gold medallist. We'll also hear more
performances from the final round.
Hour 2 -- An hour in concert around the country.
Monday, JUNE 11
Hour 1 -- The Cliburn Winner: Last night, judges at the Van Cliburn
International Piano Competition picked a winner. We'll bring you the news,
and we'll hear one of the winning performances.
CHECK OUT THE NEW PERFORMANCE TODAY WEBSITE!!: Check out our coverage of
the 11th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition....Listen to guitarist
Sharon Isbin in Studio 4A.... Listen to pianist Angela Hewitt play
Bach.... Get up-to-date on the latest additions to the PT Basic Record
Library....Order your copy of "Peter and the Wolf: A Special Report."
You'll find it all at http://www.npr.org/programs/pt/.
PT EXCLUSIVE: Meet our PT Young Artist in Residence, pianist Jeremy Denk
at the link below:
http://www.npr.org/programs/pt/news/features/denk.interview.html.
NOTE: SCHEDULE IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE. FOR EXACT BROADCAST TIMES, CONTACT
YOUR LOCAL PUBLIC RADIO STATION, GO TO OUR WEBSITE, OR CALL PERFORMANCE
TODAY AT (202) 513-2370.
Don Lee
Executive Producer
Performance Today
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