Performance Today®

On Friday's Performance Today, the power of musical youth. Great young performers from across the country. We'll hear the National Youth Orchestra of the U.S. in concert this summer in London, and 15 year-old pianist George Li tearing up a Hungarian Rhapsody by Franz Liszt.

Pianist Stephen Hough says the melody in Rachmaninoff's Paganini Variations is so nimble, so adaptable, it could be a musician's most valuable tool in his repertoire. Or wardrobe. "It's like a white shirt," Hough says. "You can do anything with it. You can put jean, a suit, evening dress, a tie." Hough performs the white shirt in a white shirt on Thursday's Performance Today with the BBC Symphony Orchestra.

Conductor Christoph von Dohnanyi led the Cleveland Orchestra for 18 years. When his tenure came to an end in 2002, the orchestra liked him so much, they named Dohnanyi "Conductor Laureate." Something similar happened in London. Dohnanyi led the Philharmonia Orchestra for 10 years. Again, they didn't want to see the relationship come to an end so the Philharmonia gave Dohnanyi the title: "Honorary Conductor for Life." On Wednesday's Performance Today we'll hear from a conductor whom is not just respected, but loved by the orchestras he works with.

If you enjoy classical music, there's no escaping Johann Sebastian Bach. This 18th Century German composer continues to influence how we organize pitches, put notes in order and create harmony. We'll hear Bach at work in the 21st Century from modern performances of his music to new compositions playing upon Bach's themes, on Tuesday's Performance Today.

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach was the son of the immortal Johann Sebastian Bach. But CPE was also a great composer and musician in his own right. He was the harpsichordist and composer for the Prussian King, Frederick the Great. We'll hear a cello concerto by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, on Monday's Performance Today.

Composer Maurice Ravel was a dear friend of the Gaudin family. When World War One began, the brothers Pascal and Pierre Gaudin proudly signed up for the French army. On the day they arrived, the two brothers were killed by a single German shell. On this weekend's Performance Today we'll hear music Ravel wrote this in memory of his friends Pierre and Pascal, Le Tombeau do Couperin. And we'll sample music celebrating new life, the birth of a royal baby.

French composer Gabriel Faure spent five weeks on vacation in Venice. The feel and mood and music of the city, though, stayed with him. Over the next several decades, he wrote 20 pieces inspired by Venice. On Friday's Performance Today we'll hear one of those pieces, a musical image of the famous gondolas.

Growing up, composer Benjamin Britten's house had a great view of the North Sea. He saw the ocean first thing in the morning. He saw it by moonlight. He saw it calm and placid and through the havoc of tumultuous storms. It was a deep part of Britten and he brought the sea to life in music, just as real as any human opera character. We'll hear Britten's Sea Interludes from the BBC Proms on Thursday's Performance Today.

Composer Maurice Ravel was a dear friend of the Gaudin family. When World War One began, the brothers Pascal and Pierre Gaudin proudly signed up for the French army. On the day they arrived, the two brothers were killed by a single German shell. On Wednesday's Performance Today we'll hear music Ravel wrote this in memory of his friends Pierre and Pascal, Le Tombeau do Couperin. And we'll sample music celebrating new life, the birth of a royal baby.