Performance Today®

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.

For Christmas Eve day, we have a special mix of holiday music. From ancient to modern, from lively to reflective, it's a mix of familiar melodies and some new surprises. The haunting voice of Linn Andrea Fuglseth in a traditional Norwegian carol. A glass harmonica played in a limestone cave in Spain. The charming Tokyo FM Boys Choir singing "Santa Claus is Coming to Town," in both English and Japanese. Plus much more. It's special holiday music from around the country and around the world.

The PT Artists in Residence, the men of the vocal ensemble Cantus, join host Fred Child for conversation and a selection of holiday tunes. Everything from the ancient "Veni, Veni Emmanuel" to the dark Russian sound of Sergei Rachmaninoff's "Come Let us Worship," to a Cantus mash-up that they call "Pat a Drummer," a pairing of "Patapan" and "The Little Drummer Boy." Plus, we'll hear Bruce Adolphe's latest creation, "Santa and Isolde," a brilliant and hilarious collage of Christmas tunes and opera highlights.

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, Edward Elgar's "Nursery Suite," written for the four-year-old Princess Elizabeth, now Queen Elizabeth II of England. And Bruce Adolphe stops by for a new Piano Puzzler.