COMING UP ON NPR's PERFORMANCE TODAY   MARCH 20 -- MARCH 29, 1999

Saturday, MARCH 20

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 -- And the Winner Should Be...:  Film scholar Royal Brown talks
about the scores that are vying for the Oscar on Sunday evening, including
the soundtracks from "Elizabeth," "Life is Beautiful," "Shakespeare in
Love," "The Thin Red Line," and "Saving Private Ryan."

Sunday, MARCH 21

Hour 1-- Happy Birthday, Bach:  We'll celebrate Johann Sebastian Bach's
314th birthday with an hour of his music, including a performance by
pianist Angela Hewitt:  She plays the monumental Goldberg Variations and
"Jesu, Joy of Mans Desiring," from a concert earlier this month at the
Freer Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.

Hour 2-- Basic Vaughan Williams:  PT critic Ted Libbey joins Martin for
their weekly visit to the PT Basic Record Library.  Today Ted recommends
three outstanding recordings of another 20th century composition, the
Symphony No.  4 by Ralph Vaughan Williams

COMING UP ON NPR's PERFORMANCE TODAY   MARCH 22--MARCH 29, 1999

LISA SIMEONE  IS HOST

Monday, MARCH 22

Hour 1-- McDuffie's memory slip:  Violinist and periodic PT commentator
Robert McDuffie entertains us and his audience in Santa Rosa, California
with stories about recitals gone wrong.  We'll also hear McDuffie in some
music made right:  by Kreisler, Paganini, Lehar, and others.

Hour 2-- The Russians play Rachmaninoff:  From a February 1999 concert in
West Palm Beach, Florida, conductor Valery Polvansky and the Russian State
Symphony offer a rare uncut performance of the Symphony No.  2 by Sergei
Rachmaninoff.

Tuesday, MARCH 23

Hour 1-- The Original Spice Girls:  PT commentator Tina Chancey talks about
the Concerto Delle Donne, a 16th-century all-girl singing group that was
stronger on looks than on talent, and compares their fame with that of
today's Spice Girls.

Hour 2-- Coming to Terms with cadenzas:  In response to a listener's
question, PT commentator Miles Hoffman joins Lisa to talk about the cadenza
and how the tradition of playing a cadenza at the end of a piece was born.

Wednesday, MARCH 24

hour 1-- Milestones of the Millennium--Mozart's Last Year:  We continue
our countdown to the year 2001 with the eleventh installment of PT's
"Milestones of the Millennium" series.  Today Lisa Simeone and guest
commentator Neil Zaslaw, a Cornell University music professor and co-editor
of the book "The Compleat Mozart," focus on the last year of Mozart's life,
1791, during which he composed some of his greatest works, including "The
Magic Flute" and the unfinished Requiem.

Hour 2-- The Boston Romantics:  We'll survey the music of a fascinating
series at the New England Conservatory in Boston examining works by
American composers George Chadwick, John Knowles Paine, and more.

Thursday, MARCH 25

Hour 1-- The Perils of Perfect Pitch:  Music critic and PT commentator
Steve Metcalf explains how perfect pitch can sometimes be a curse to the
person who has it.

Hour 2-- Basic Ravel:  PT critic Ted Libbey joins Lisa for a visit to the
20th century wing PT Basic Record Library.  Today Ted recommends three
outstanding recordings of Maurice Ravel's ballet "Daphnis et Chloe."

Friday, MARCH 26

Hour 1-- TBA

Hour 2-- Live in Studio 4A--the New Century Saxophone Quartet:  Lisa
welcomes the members of the New Century Saxophone Quartet to NPR's Studio
4A for an hour of conversation and performances of music by Mozart,
Gershwin and David Ott.

Monday, MARCH 29

Hour 1--Quartetto Gelato gets a new flavor:  Lisa Simeone welcomes back to
NPR's Studio 4-A the popular Canadian foursome Quartetto Gelato, boasting
a new accordion player and lots of new repertory.

Hour 2-- American Orchestras:  The Baltimore Symphony.  David Zinman
conducts the Batimoreans and guest pianist Radu Lupu in a stirring
performance of Beethoven's Piano Concerto No.  3.

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