COMING UP ON NPR's PERFORMANCE TODAY:  FEBRUARY 20--MARCH 1, 1999

Saturday, FEBRUARY 20

Hour 1-- Milestones of the Millennium--The Great War:  We continue our
two-year countdown to 2001 with the fifth installment of PT's "Milestones
of the Millennium." Today, host Martin Goldsmith and guest commentator
Linda Kobler talk about World War I and its impact on the popular and
classical music of the time.

Hour 2-- Defending Richard Strauss:  Was composer Richard Strauss a
Nazi collaborator or a hero? In "Richard Strauss:  Man, Musician, Enigma"
(Cambridge University Press), biographer and London Telegraph columnist
Michael Kennedy says that the composer's actions during the 1930s have been
misunderstood.  He talks with Martin about why he believes that Strauss and
his music have been unfairly judged by history.

Sunday, FEBRUARY 21

Hour 1-- A Quartet for 19:  The Munich Chamber Orchestra and its new music
director, Christoph Poppen, just wrapped up their US concert tour.  From
their January 28th performance in Scottsdale, Arizona, we'll hear the
19-member ensemble play music that Felix Mendelssohn wrote for four:  his
last great work, the sorrowful Quartet No.  6.  He composed the music after
his beloved sister Fanny died in May 1847.

Hour 2-- Basic Kodaly:  Critic Ted Libbey joins Martin for another of
their weekly visits to the PT Basic Record Library.  Today they continue
their survey of 20th-century music as Ted recommends recordings of colorful
orchestral music by Hungarian composer Zoltan Kodaly--the Dances of Galanta
and Marosszek, the "Peacock" Variations, and the suite from his opera "Hary
Janos."

Monday, FEBRUARY 22

Hour 1-- Yo-Yo Ma "Simply Baroque":  Yesterday, cellist Yo-Yo Ma joined
conductor Ton Koopman and the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra for an
all-Baroque concert at New York's Lincoln Center.  We'll hear musical
excerpts from that event during this hour.

Hour 2-- An American conductor on the rise:  Marin Alsop, who's just been
named principle guest conductor of two British orchestras, leads her
American ensemble--the Colorado Symphony--in a performance of Tchaikovsky's
Symphony No.  2, also known as the "Little Russian."

Tuesday, FEBRUARY 23

Hour 1-- What Makes Handel's Concerto Grosso So Great?:  Composer,
conductor and pianist Robert Kapilow joins Martin at the keyboard for
another session of "What Makes It So Great?," examining the key moments
that turn a good piece of music into a classic.  Today, on the occasion of
George Frideric Handel's birthday, Kapilow discusses the ingenious and
dramatic musical writing in the composer's Concerto Grosso in G, Op.  6,
No.  1.

Hour 2-- Do boys' voices sound different than girls voices? In today's
edition of "Coming to Terms," PT commentator Miles Hoffman talks about
children's voices and the nuances of sound that separate the boys from the
girls.

Wednesday, FEBRUARY 24

Hour 1-- Milestones of the Millennium--Nationalism and Music:  We
continue our countdown to the year 2001 with the ninth installment of PT's
"Milestones of the Millennium." Today guest commentator Frederick Starr
talks about musical nationalism--a 19th century movement in which composers
celebrated their heritage by infusing their music with folk and other
idioms unique to their countries--and how it served as a bridge between the
music of the 18th and 20th centuries.

Hour 2-- Playing in a composer's living room:  Violinist Robert McDuffie,
who just finished touring with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra explains why
the Concerto by American composer Samuel Barber is his favorite piece and
what it was like to play for the composer on his deathbed in New York.
We'll hear McDuffie and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra play the Barber
Concerto from a concert they gave at the University of Georgia in Athens
on the 29th of January.  We'll also have news about the winners of the
1999 Concert Artist Guild competition, which ended last night in New York.

Thursday, FEBRUARY 25

Hour 1-- Basic Sibelius:  PT critic Ted Libbey joins Martin for their
weekly visit to the PT Basic Record Library.  Today Ted recommends three
outstanding recordings of another important 20th century composition--the
Symphony No.  4 by Finnish composer Jean Sibelius.  We'll also run down the
list of classical music winners at last night's Grammy Awards.

Hour 2-- Live from Studio 4A--The Jacques Thibaud String Trio:  Martin
welcomes the members of the Berlin-based Jacques Thibaud String Trio to
Studio 4A, where they'll entertain us with music by Mozart, Beethoven and
Max Reger.

Friday, FEBRUARY 26

Hour 1-- Bach on the piano x 2:  Both Richard Goode (Nonesuch 79483-2) and
Murray Perahia (Sony Classical SK 60227) have just released new CDs of
music by Johann Sebastian Bach.  PT critic Rachel Franklin has a review.

Hour 2-- Violin virtuoso Vladimir Spivakov plays Mozart:  From a concert
they gave in West Palm Beach on the 11th of February, Spivakov joins the
traveling Russian State Symphony Orchestra to play Mozart's Violin Concerto
No.  5.

Monday, MARCH 1

Hour 1-- What Makes Chopin so Great?:  Today is Frederic Chopin's birthday,
and Martin welcomes composer, conductor and PT commentator Robert Kapilow
to Studio 4B to shine a light on the Polish composer's Ballade No.  1.
Kapilow demonstrates that Chopin's seemingly effortless melodies are more
cerebral than they sound.  And they also owe a heavy debt to the opera
Chopin was hearing in Paris.

Hour 2-- Live In Studio 4A--Jennifer Koh:  Although she's only in her early
twenties, violinist Jennifer Koh has won an array of awards, including
first prize in the 1994 Concert Artists Guild competition, the Silver Medal
in the 1994 Tchaikovsky competition, and an Avery Fisher Career Grant in
1995.  Koh joins Martin live in Studio 4A, where she'll perform Schubert's
"Fantaisie" and music by Pablo de Sarasate.


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