Performance Today®

Valery Gergiev is one of the most dynamic conductors of our time: expressive face, penetrating eyes, dramatic gyrations and leaps on the podium. But he also likes to be very precise -- he generally conducts, not with a baton, but with a toothpick held between his right thumb and forefinger. Last month, Gergiev opened the new season with the London Symphony Orchestra by using a toothpick to conduct "Daphnis and Chloe" by Maurice Ravel.

The great young American pianist Jonathan Biss joins Fred in our studio to play, and talk about, music by Franz Schubert. For Biss, Schubert's music is infused with "joyful sadness and tragic joy," these two emotional poles interweave seamlessly. Jonathan Biss plays the opening movement from Schubert's A-Major Sonata. And also introduces us to quietly quirky works by his favorite living composer: Gyorgy Kurtag.

The Vienna Philharmonic is one of the great orchestras in the world...and one of the most unusual. They play horns and oboes no one else uses. All the major decisions affecting the orchestra are made by members of the orchestra. And they have no single conductor, they dispensed with that model in 1933. All their conductors are guests, serving at the pleasure of the orchestra. From a concert last month in Lucerne, Switzerland, the Vienna Philharmonic and guest conductor Franz Welser-Most perform the elegant (and cheeky) Symphony No. 98, by Haydn.

We'll feature the wide emotional range of the piano in today's show, from two charming and reflective miniatures played by Stephen Hough and Jose Enrique Bagaria, to Beethoven's brooding and powerful third piano concerto. Alfred Brendel performs with Franz Welser-Most and the Cleveland Orchestra, in one of his last American appearances before he retired last year.

Conductor Valery Gergiev brings a penetrating intelligence to the podium, but when the moment for music-making arrives, he also has a primal intensity that can produce riveting performances. From a concert last month in London, Gergiev leads the London Symphony in Claude Debussy's musical picture of the primal power of the sea, "La Mer."

The great young American pianist Jonathan Biss joins Fred in our studio to play, and talk about, music by Franz Schubert. For Biss, Schubert's music is infused with "joyful sadness and tragic joy," these two emotional poles interweave seamlessly. Jonathan Biss plays the opening movement from Schubert's A-Major Sonata. And also introduces us to quietly quirky works by his favorite living composer: Gyorgy Kurtag.

When Sergei Rachmaninoff's First Symphony premiered in 1897, the critics were ruthless. One of the kinder, gentler reviews compared the work to the seven plagues of Egypt. Rachmaninoff fell into an emotional abyss, and didn't compose anything for several years. Nowadays, the symphony is an audience favorite. We'll hear a blistering performance of Rachmaninoff's First Symphony, from London's BBC Proms. Gennadi Rozhdestvensky conducts the BBC Symphony Orchestra.

Last night, Gustavo Dudamel made his debut as the new music Director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Host Fred Child was there, and will share his experience of the big event. We'll hear excerpts from Mahler's first symphony from the concert. Plus, our weekly 21st-century work is a charming string quartet by Paul Moravec called "Vince and Jan: 1945." It's based on a World War II-era photo of Moravec's parents, Vince and Jan (see sidebar at right).

Last night, Gustavo Dudamel made his debut as the new music Director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Host Fred Child was there, and will share his experience of the big event. We'll hear excerpts from Mahler's first symphony from the concert. Plus, our weekly 21st-century work is a charming string quartet by Paul Moravec called "Vince and Jan: 1945." It's based on a World War II-era photo of Moravec's parents, Vince and Jan (see sidebar at right).