Performance Today®

Fred Child recently interviewed Aaron Dworkin, the founder and president of the Sphinx Organization, about the value of diversity in art. He's written a new memoir titled Uncommon Rhythm about his experience as a violinist of mixed race and as a leader in developing young classical musicians.

Today on PT, special music in honor of a few of our 44 Commanders-in-Chief. Leonard Bernstein wrote a fanfare in honor of the Inauguration of JFK in 1961. John Knowles Paine wrote a Solemn March for Abraham Lincoln's funeral. Plus, we'll hear music by the man who can arguably be called the country's Composer-in-Chief, Aaron Copland.

Rising stars and established veterans are in this weekend's show. Cellist Lynn Harrell has been one of the top cellists in the world for decades. We'll hear him in concert with the Buffalo Philharmonic. And we'll hear from one of our favorite young pianists, Roberto Plano, performing as part of the Gilmore Rising Stars Recital Series.

Rising stars and established veterans are in today's show. Cellist Lynn Harrell has been one of the top cellists in the world for decades. We'll hear him in concert with the Buffalo Philharmonic. And we'll hear from one of our favorite young pianists, Roberto Plano, performing as part of the Gilmore Rising Stars Recital Series.

As much as we strive to be a color-blind society, the fact is, we're not. And there are few places where the color divide is as prominent as in classical music. Violinist and educator Aaron Dworkin joins us today to talk about his experience growing up as a classical musician and a person of color. And he talks about the Sphinx Organization he founded to promote diversity in classical music.

Last weekend, the 2012 Sphinx Competition was held in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The competition is held every year, and is open to young African-American and Latino string players. We'll hear from this year's winner, 18-year-old cellist Gabriel Cabezas. He played the Elgar Cello Concerto in his winning performance on Sunday.

If music be the food of love, then we'll play on. We'll hear stories of love and passion in today's show, and the music that goes with them. In "Vince and Jan: 1945," a son looks back to World War II and the roots of his parents' long love affair. And the Los Angeles Philharmonic plays music from the familiar story of a young love that didn't survive, "Romeo and Juliet."

"This music is so expressive," pianist Simone Dinnerstein says, "it sounds as if it's about to break into song, or, in this case, 'break into text.'" She joins Fred Child in the studio to talk about musical narratives and play pieces by Bach and by Daniel Felsenfed inspired by Leonard Cohen.

Faced with a choice between life and death on her wedding night, Scheherazade spun a set of fabulous tales (1001 of them, to be exact). They kept her husband intrigued and kept his sword at bay. Composer Hector Berlioz used musical story-telling to capture the romantic attentions of a woman he loved. Two sets of urgent, life-altering tall tales are in today's show, Carl Nielsen's "Aladdin Suite" and Berlioz'"Symphonie Fantastique."