Performance Today®

Francis Poulenc: Divertissement: Andantino from Sextet for Piano, Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon and Horn The Nash Ensemble

"Spring" from the "Harvest Home Suite" Fiddler Jay Ungar and guitarist Molly Mason with the Nashville Chamber Orchestra and conductor Paul Gambill

Edouard Lalo: "Faintaisie Norvegienne" Violinist Philippe Graffin with the Ulster Orchestra and conductor Thierry Fischer

"Spring" from the "Harvest Home Suite" Fiddler Jay Ungar and guitarist Molly Mason with the Nashville Chamber Orchestra and conductor Paul Gambill

Peter Tchaikovsky: Chanson sans Parole Pianist Margaret Fingerhut

Francis Poulenc: Three Improvisations Pianist Pascal Roge

Felix Mendelssohn: Scherzo from "A Midsummer Night's Dream" The German Symphony Orchestra with conductor Gerd Albrecht

Claude Debussy: Bela Fleck, banjo "Doctor Gradus ad Parnassum" from "Children's Corner"

Early Friday morning, legendary cellist, conductor and human rights advocate Mstislav Rostropovich died at the age of 80 in a Moscow hospital. We're going to spend much of today's show discussing his music and his legacy. We'll have reminiscences from two former proteges -- Emerson String Quartet cellist David Finckel and conductor Hugh Wolff -- as well as sections of an interview with Rostropovich himself. And we'll hear an inspirational performance by Rostropovich of a cello concerto by Nikolai Miaskovsky.