Enjoy our classical spring programming featuring The Bernstein Centennial Celebration at Tanglewood, The Cleveland Orchestra Centennial Celebration, and Now Hear This.
Now Hear This: Vivaldi: Something Completely Different
Available through April 13
In the series premiere of Great Performances: Now Hear This, host Scott Yoo crosses Northern Italy, chasing the story of one of the most recorded pieces of music in the world, Antonio Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons,” and discovers how the composer merged religious melodies, opera and a new level of violin playing to launch a new era of music. On the journey, Yoo discovers a new Vivaldi work, his connection to Stradivarius, a trove of original manuscripts and how Vivaldi’s music was almost lost to history.
Now Hear This: The Riddle of Bach
Available through April 13
In the second episode of Great Performances: Now Hear This, host Scott Yoo goes to Germany to learn Johann Sebastian Bach’s sonatas and partitas, widely considered among the greatest works ever written for solo violin. There, Yoo discovers a riddle Bach left behind in his portrait. In trying to solve it, Yoo and his wife, leading flutist Alice Dade, discover that Bach based his melodic style on Vivaldi and his rhythms on the music of the French court, which leads to a spectacular finale in Paris.
The Bernstein Centennial Celebration at Tanglewood
Available through April 13
In honor of Leonard Bernstein’s 100th birthday, Tanglewood—the famed summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra—dedicated its entire 2018 season to the iconic composer, conductor, performer, educator and humanitarian. Hosted by Audra McDonald, Great Performances: The Bernstein Centennial Celebration at Tanglewood features appearances by prominent conductors Andris Nelsons, Christoph Eschenbach, Keith Lockhart, John Williams and Michael Tilson Thomas leading an incredible orchestra made up of musicians from some of the organizations most important to Bernstein.
The Cleveland Orchestra Centennial Celebration
Available through April 13
Great Performances: The Cleveland Orchestra Centennial Celebration commemorates the centennial of the orchestra’s founding with a gala concert conducted by music director Franz Welser-Möst featuring works touching on more than a century of Viennese musical traditions. World-renowned, Grammy-nominated pianist Lang Lang joins the orchestra in a special performance of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 24.