New Season of Great Performances: Now Hear This Premieres this Month
The Great Performances mini-series, Now Hear This, returns for a new season of musical discovery this month. Join host and Mexico City Philharmonic chief conductor Scott Yoo as he travels around the world exploring the creative process behind a diverse range of classical music in both historic and modern-day periods.
This season explores themes and stories of gifted young artists, virtuosos and even Scott Yoo’s own experiences as a composer. The four new episodes air Saturdays, April 12 through May 3, at 9pm on ThinkTV16. Watch a preview: https://video.thinktv.org/video/now-hear-this-season-6-preview-zv6h5m/.
Learn more about the episode details and air dates below:
Episode 1 “Chopin’s Polish Heart”
Saturday, April 12, at 9pm on ThinkTV16
Follow Scott Yoo and world-renowned Canadian-Polish pianist Jan Lisiecki as they explore Frédéric Chopin’s life and his Polish roots. Through personal letters and original musical manuscripts, take a close look at the composer’s musical evolution and his deep connection to his homeland while living in France.
Places visited: Paris and Nohant, France; Warsaw and Żelazowa Wola, Poland; Mallorca, Spain
Episode 2 “Boccherini: Night Music”
Saturday, April 19, at 9pm on ThinkTV16
Join Scott Yoo and four young musicians on a night tour of the musical streets of Madrid to uncover Luigi Boccherini’s deep love for the city. Blending history and the pulse of the streets, learn how his iconic “Night Music of the Streets of Madrid” was inspired by Spanish rhythms and the folk music of the city.
Places visited: Madrid, Boadilla del Monte and Sierra de Madrid, Spain
Episode 3 “Rachmaninoff Reborn”
Saturday, April 26, at 9pm on ThinkTV16
Scott Yoo joins Russian pianist Anna Polonsky and Ukrainian-American photographer Sonia Goydenko to explore Sergei Rachmaninoff’s journey from a Russian aristocrat to an American artist after the Bolshevik revolution. Fleeing Russia with his wife and daughters, he landed in New York and reinvented himself as a modern American artist.
Places visited: Lake Lucerne, Switzerland; New York and Brooklyn, New York; New Jersey
Episode 4 “Barrios: Chopin of the Guitar”
Saturday, May 3, at 9pm on ThinkTV16
Host Scott Yoo traces Agustin Barrios’ path from rural Paraguay to global recognition with young French-Spanish guitarist Thibaut Garcia, composer and guitarist Cyro Delvizio and world-leading Barrios expert, Dr. Fred Sheppard. Despite facing rejection and personal struggles, Barrios’ innovative compositions and passion for Latin American folk music made him a 20th-century icon.
Places visited: Rural Paraguay; Montevideo, Uruguay; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Mexico City, Mexico
Watch episodes from previous seasons of Now Hear This,on the PBS App: https://video.thinktv.org/show/great-performances/.
