Performance Today®

The last applause Johannes Brahms ever heard was for his Symphony No. 4. He was 63 years old and terribly sick, dying of cancer. He wasn't able to get out to hear music very often. But on a Sunday evening in March, 1897, he was feeling a bit better. Brahms went to a concert in Vienna. The Vienna Philharmonic was playing his Fourth Symphony. At the end of the performance, the applause was tumultuous, and Brahms wept openly. He died only a month later. On today's show, Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony perform Brahms' Fourth, from a concert at Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco.

Most classical music concerts take place inside the concert hall, essentially a glorified box. Many of those boxes are rightly revered and cherished for their history, architecture, and acoustics. But today, we'll go outside the box. Today's show features performances from unusual locations, including a barge, a night club, and a former power plant.

On this weekend's show, we'll look ahead to some of the stories we'll be covering in 2011, including Franz Liszt's 200th birthday. We'll hear three different versions of Greensleeves, which was once a popular New Year's tune. And what New Year's celebration would be complete without a performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony? Roger Norrington leads the Orchestra of St. Luke's and the Westminster Symphonic Choir, from a concert at Carnegie Hall.

On this last day of 2010, we'll take a look back at some of the big stories of the past year. We said goodbye to some important names in the classical music world. Paid visits to some great summer music festivals and met some of the stars of tomorrow there. And observed several big composer anniversaries. Join us as we look back on a great year.

Was he the most talented unknown composer of the 20th century? Some called him the "Canadian Mozart." Andre Mathieu was an astonishing prodigy as a composer and pianist. He played his own compositions at Carnegie Hall when he was 11, he beat the young Leonard Bernstein in a composition competition when he was 13. But he was also deeply troubled. He withdrew from public life before his 20s, and died, already forgotten, at age 39 in 1968. We'll hear the Tucson Symphony in concert, playing a set of Ballet Scenes by Andre Mathieu.

Is it a stupendous work of art, a shameless piece of self-promotion, or a mockery of the music business? Maybe it's all three. "Ein Heldenleben,""A Hero's Life," by (and about) Richard Strauss. Strauss told a friend "I don't see why I shouldn't write a symphony about myself, I find myself as interesting as Napoleon." Whether you take the grandiose plot seriously, or see it as Strauss poking fun at his critics, it's an astonishing and entertaining piece. Bernard Haitink conducts the Chicago Symphony, in concert at Orchestra Hall in downtown Chicago.

Pianist Mitsuko Uchida joins PT host Fred Child to talk about Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 24. (She says "It is very dark, incredibly tragic," but the lilt in her voice conveys the beauty of that darkness.) And we'll hear her concert performance with the Cleveland Orchestra. Plus two concerts in Vienna: Lang Lang plays Chopin's "Aeolian Harp" Etude in the sumptuous acoustics of the Golden Hall at the Musikverein, and Yefim Bronfman plays the Paganini Etude No. 2 by Franz Liszt, at the outdoor gardens of Schonbrunn Palace.

2010 marked the 200th anniversary of Frederic Chopin's birth. We brought you great performances of his music from all over the world. In today's show, something a little different. Nothing by Chopin himself, but a full hour of music inspired by him. Plus, a terrific performance of Dvorak's Seventh Symphony by Marin Alsop and the Baltimore Symphony.

We're celebrating Christmas around the world, our annual program of musical highlights from concert halls and churches all around the globe. Including ancient Byzantine carols from Romania, an over-the-top Christmas medley by Leroy Anderson, and two lovely settings of the Ave Maria. Plus, Bruce Adolphe's latest creation, "Santa and Isolde," a brilliant and hilarious collage of Christmas tunes and opera highlights.