TWO SPECIAL EDITIONS OF PERFORMANCE TODAY:  We are pleased to announce that
Performance Today will broadcast two concerts live from Houston on Sunday,
May 30 at 2:00 PM CDT and Monday, May 31 at 8:00 PM CDT.  Both concerts
feature Christoph Eschenbach conducting the Houston Symphony in his last
programs as music director of the orchestra.  The May 30th program is
Mahler's Symphony No.  3, and the May 31st program is Beethoven's Symphony
No.  9.  These concerts will be aired in addition to the regular PT program
on that date.  Please check with your local station to determine if they
will be carrying these special programs.

COMING UP ON NPR's WEEKEND PT    MAY 22 AND MAY 23, 1999

LISA SIMEONE IS HOST

Saturday, MAY 22

Hour 1:  Milestones of the Millennium--Percussion:  The sound of music has
changed over the last thousand years.  And the proof can easily be found
in the percussion section of the orchestra.  For today's "Milestones of the
Millennium," Lisa welcomes the members of the percussion ensemble Nexus to
Studio 4A.  They'll span continents and centuries as they play traditional
African dances, music by Mozart and 20s ragtime on the marimba.  They'll
also talk with Lisa about how percussion has evolved over the last 1000
years.

Hour 2-- Brahms on record:  Critic John Pitcher compares three recordings
of the Piano Concerto No.  1 by Johannes Brahms.  The pianists featured on
these CDs are Glenn Gould (Sony Classical SK 60675), Helene Grimaud (Erato
3984-21633-2) and Maurizio Pollini (DG 447 041-2)

Sunday, MAY 23

Hour 1-- Perahia plays Schubert:  Pianist Murray Perahia is convinced that
Franz Schubert's great C-minor Piano Sonata, D 958, is dominated by the
idea of death.  We'll hear Perahia perform the sonata and an encore from
his April recital at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC.

Hour 2-- Basic Copland:  Ted Libbey joins Lisa for a visit to the PT Basic
Record Library, where Ted adds three outstanding recordings of Aaron
Copland's Symphony No.  3 to the collection.

COMING UP ON NPR's PERFORMANCE TODAY    MAY 24--MAY 31, 1999

Monday, MAY 24

Hour 1-- Eschenbach and Prokofiev from Houston:  After 11 years at the helm
of the Houston Symphony, Music Director Christoph Eschenbach is stepping
down at the end of this season.  From now through June 1, we'll hear music
from Eschenbach's final performances with the orchestra.  We'll begin with
Sergei Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No.  2, which they performed in concert
Sunday night.  Tzimon Barto is the pianist.

Hour 2-- Rebel in Studio 4A: ...and these Rebels have a cause.  The
members of the Baroque ensemble Rebel (pronounced reh-BEL) are our newest
PT Young Artists-in Residence, and all this week they'll join Lisa in
Studio 4A for music-making and conversation.  Today we'll meet the members
of the group-- violinist Jorg-Michael Schwarz, violinist/violist Karen
Marie Marmer, cellist John Moran, harpsichordist/organist Dongsok Kim,
and recorder player Matthias Maute.  They'll explain how they came up
with their name and what it means to be a "Baroque ensemble." They'll
also perform a selection of Venetian and Neapolitan works written for
the recorder--including music by their namesake, French Baroque composer
Jean-Fery Rebel.

Tuesday, MAY 25

Hour 1-- Coming to terms with Divertimento:  A divertimento diverts...and
so do serenades, not to mention cassations.  In today's edition of "Coming
to Terms," PT commentator Miles Hoffman and Lisa talk about the origins of
the divertimento, what it has in common with the serenade, and how it has
evolved from the 18th through the 20th centuries.

Hour 2-- Rebel in Studio 4A--the esoteric side of a Baroque ensemble:
The members of Rebel joins Lisa in Studio 4A for the second day of their
residency at Performance Today.  Today they'll share some of the unusual
aspects of performing Baroque music in an authentic style, and they'll
demonstrate some of the unusual sounds they coax from their instruments.
They'll also play a selection of 17th-century German and Italian pieces by
Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber, Domenico Gabrielli, and Johann Heinrich
Schmelzer.

Wednesday, MAY 26

Hour 1--Milestones of the Millennium--East Meets West:  When Rudyard
Kipling wrote that "East is East and West is West, And never the twain
shall meet," he wasn't talking about music.  But in today's "Milestones
of the Millennium," we'll focus on the influence that Eastern music has
had on Western Classical music.  We'll hear about Claude Debussy's
fateful encounter with an instrument from Java, the gamelan, at the Paris
Exhibition of 1889.  And Lisa talks with American composer Lou Harrison,
who's made a career of writing what he calls "pan-ethnic" music, about how
he's musically bridged the gap between West and East.

Hour 2-- Rebel in Studio 4A--Musical sleuthing:  On the third day of their
PT residency, the members of Rebel turn their attention to Italian Baroque
music of the 18th century.  They'll play concertos and sonatas by Georg
Philipp Telemann, Antonio Vivaldi, and George Frideric Handel.  And they'll
talk with Lisa about one of the most fascinating aspects of their work:
discovering old manuscripts and bringing the music to life from scores
that are often difficult to decipher.

Thursday, MAY 27

Hour 1-- Basic Gorecki:  Ted Libbey joins Lisa 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.

Hour 2-- Rebel in Studio 4A--The Art of Rehearsing:  The members of Rebel
join Lisa to talk about--and demonstrate--how they rehearse.  And they'll
play some examples of 17th-century Austrian dramatic and descriptive works
by Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber and Johann Heinrich Schmelzer.

Friday, MAY 28

Hour 1-- The classical Benny Goodman:  Clarinetist Benny Goodman is best
remembered as the "King of Swing," but his musical aspirations stretched
beyond his own big band.  On Goodman's 90th birthday, reporter Elizabeth
Blair chronicles Goodman's classical music career, and how it led him to
commission music from composers Bela Bartok, Paul Hindemith, Aaron Copland,
and Morton Gould.

Hour 2-- Rebel in Studio 4A--the Business of Baroque:  On the final day
of their PT residency, the members of Rebel reveal what it really takes
to sustain a Baroque ensemble and how they have to sell themselves to the
people who present concerts.  They'll also play 18th-century works from
the High Baroque by Jean-Fery Rebel, Victor Cornette, and Michel Blavet.

MONDAY, MAY 31

MARTIN GOLDSMITH IS HOST

Hour 1-- Performance Today Live from Houston:  Tonight marks the end of
an era for the Houston Symphony:  Christoph Eschenbach will officially
step down after 11 years as music director.  In this hour, we'll take a
look at Eschenbach's tenure in Houston and the musical legacy he's leaving
the orchestra.  And we'll hear the finale of Gustav Mahler's Symphony No.
3, performed Sunday night by Eschenbach and the Houston Symphony.

Hour 2-- Eschenbach at the keyboard:  Christoph Eschenbach started his
career as a pianist.  Last Tuesday evening he took a turn at the keyboard
with the Houston Symphony Chamber Players for a concert at Rice University.
>From that event, we'll hear their performance of Ludwig van Beethoven's
Quintet, Op.  16.  Joining pianist Eschenbach are oboist Robert Atherholt,
clarinetist David Peck, bassoonist Benjamin Kamins, and horn player William
Van Meulen.

FOR MORE PROGRAM INFORMATION, COME AND BROWSE PERFORMANCE TODAY'S WEB PAGE:

        http://www.npr.org/programs/pt

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