COMING UP ON NPR's PERFORMANCE TODAY: FEBRUARY 27--MARCH 8, 1999
Saturday, FEBRUARY 27
Hour 1-- Milestones of the Millennium--Beethoven's Ninth Symphony: We
continue our two-year countdown to 2001 with the sixth installment of PT's
"Milestones of the Millennium." Today, PT commentator and Harvard Professor
Thomas Kelly takes us back in time to the May 1824 premiere of Ludwig van
Beethoven's Ninth Symphony.
Hour 2-- The Power of the Music Critic: Some of the most important people
in music have never lifted a baton. Martin discusses the role of the music
critic with Mark N. Grant, the author of "Maestros of the Pen: A History
of Classical Music Criticism in America." (Northeastern University Press)
Sunday, FEBRUARY 28
Hour 1-- A real tear-jerker: In 1876, at a concert at the Moscow
Conservatory given in his honor, author Leo Tolstoy was moved to
tears when he heard a string quartet by a little-known composer named
Tchaikovsky. We'll hear his String Quartet No. 1 performed by the Lark
Quartet, from a concert at Spivey Hall in Morrow, Georgia.
Hour 2-- Basic Debussy: Critic Ted Libbey joins Martin for another of
their weekly visits to the PT Basic Record Library. Ted continues his
salute to the music of the 20th century with his selection of three
outstanding recordings of piano music by Claude Debussy.
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. 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.
Tuesday, MARCH 2
Hour 1-- Happy Birthday Bedrich: Today marks the 175th birthday of
composer Bedrich Smetana, and we'll hear a selection of his music during
this hour.
Hour 2-- Musical Chairs: Why do orchestra members have assigned
seating--and what determines where they're placed? PT commentator Miles
Hoffman, a former violist with the National Symphony Orchestra, joins
Martin to explain the logic behind a symphony's seating plan.
Wednesday, MARCH 3
Hour 1-- Milestones of the Millennium--Franz Joseph Haydn: We continue our
countdown to the year 2001 with the ninth installment of PT's "Milestones
of the Millennium." Today guest commentator Jan Swafford talks about Haydn,
a "gentle revolutionary" who transformed the symphony and string quartet
from minor genres into the most important forms of Western instrumental
music.
Hour 2-- Live in Studio 4A--The American String Quartet: The 1998-99
concert season has been a cross-country event for the American String
Quartet: They're celebrating their 25th anniversary with a 50-state tour.
In this hour, they join Martin in Studio 4A for an hour of music and
conversation.
Thursday, MARCH 4
Hour 1-- Authentic films with not-so-authentic music: Filmmakers of
period movies like "Elizabeth" often pay attention to the smallest details
in order to create a historically-accurate visual setting. But their
audio choices aren't always as authentic: In the case of "Elizabeth," the
soundtrack includes selections by Mozart, Holst and Elgar. PT commentator
Thomas Kelly wonders why the zeal for authenticity in motion pictures
hasn't extended to the music.
Hour 2-- Basic Vaughan Williams: PT critic Ted Libbey joins Martin for
their weekly visit to the 20th century wing of the PT Basic Record Library.
Today Ted recommends three outstanding recordings of the Symphony No. 4 by
Ralph Vaughan Williams.
Friday, MARCH 5
Hour 1-- Music around the country: In this hour, we'll feature music from
recent concert performances at various locales around the US.
Hour 2-- American Orchestras: Pianist Stephen Hough talks about Sergei
Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 1, a work the composer wrote as a
teenager and revised in 1917 as he prepared to leave Russia. And from
a concert last October, we'll hear Hough perform the concerto with the
Greensboro Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Stuart Malina.
Monday, MARCH 8
Hour 1-- TBA
Hour 2-- American Orchestras: We'll feature an outstanding concert
performance by a US orchestra.
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