Performance Today®

Two of the greatest pianists of our time perform in today's show. Emmanuel Ax plays Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 22 at the Mozart Week Festival in Salzburg, Austria. And Stephen Hough (pictured) plays Rachmaninoff's First Piano Concerto in Birmingham, England. It may be Rachmaninoff's least popular concerto, but don't call it a forgotten Cinderella piece. Hough says that, for him, it's his Prince Charming concerto.

George Gershwin's "An American in Paris" is just the sort of piece that conductor Gustavo Dudamel shines at. It's jazzy, energetic, exuberant, and passionate, just like Dudamel himself. Last fall, Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic opened their season with an all-Gershwin concert, including his wide-eyed look at Paris in the 1920s. We'll hear highlights in today's show.

Last fall, the San Francisco Symphony was preparing for a concert in honor of its 100th birthday. Music director Michael Tilson Thomas searched for just the right piece to show off the talents of the orchestra. What better work, thought Tilson Thomas, than Benjamin Britten's "Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra," which showcases each instrument of the orchestra. We'll hear it, from that gala concert last September.

When PT host Fred Child recently asked Philip Glass what the experience of composing is all about, Glass had a quick answer. "It's about fear," he said jokingly. If that's true, then Glass has been living with fear for three quarters of a century. He turned 75 this past week. In today's show, we'll have a tribute to this iconic American composer and hear highlights from the world premiere of his Ninth Symphony.

When piloting an airplane, safety has to be the number one consideration. Everything else takes a back seat. But safety isn't always the first thing on the mind of pianist (and private pilot) Alexander Melnikov. He says that, while he always has a Plan B when he's flying, that's tough to do on the concert stage. Melnikov takes some well-considered risks today, playing Schubert's "Wanderer Fantasy" in the PT studios.

If young men view death as an enemy to be conquered, then perhaps it's true that old men welcome it as a friend. That was the case with Richard Strauss, who imagined death and the afterlife in music when he was 26, with "Death and Transfiguration." The 84-year-old Strauss drew a warmer, richer, more bittersweet picture of death in his "Four Last Songs." Renee Fleming sings two, in concert in London.

When they met in 1999, pianist Lang Lang and conductor Christoph Eschenbach both fell victim to mistaken first impressions. Eschenbach thought Lang Lang, then 16, was nothing more than another kid with unrealistic ambitions. Lang Lang thought Eschenbach looked just like the actor Yul Brynner. They got past those awkward first moments, recognized the immense talent in each other, and have since forged a close friendship. They collaborate on a Mozart concerto in today's show.

When PT host Fred Child recently asked Philip Glass what the experience of composing is all about, Glass had a quick answer. "It's about fear," he said jokingly. If that's true, then Glass has been living with fear for three quarters of a century. He turns 75 today. In today's show, we'll have a tribute to this iconic American composer and hear highlights from the world premiere of his Ninth Symphony.

Stories of obsession in today's show. A conductor who obsesses over every detail of every performance, who says there's no room for democracy in his musical world. A composer so obsessed with his unfaithful wife that he murdered her and her lover, and spent the rest of his life anguishing over what he had done. And finally, a slightly manic piece for solo violin by Eugene Ysaye (pictured), aptly titled "Obsession."