Now Hear This – Season 2

• Fred Vigeant
  BioRecent Stories

  

  Fred Vigeant is WITF's Director of Programming and Promotions for TV and Radio. Fred manages the schedules for our radio and television platforms. He also analyzes audience research and manages the public affairs program Smart Talk. Previously, Fred was at WRVO in Oswego, NY for 12 years serving in various roles including Program Director and before that Operations Manager. Fred graduated from the State University of New York College at Oswego with a B.A. in Mass Communications and Broadcasting.

 Arcos Film + Music

Scott Yoo

From Vienna to Montreal, Berlin to Philadelphia, London to New York City and beyond, celebrated violinist and chief conductor of the Mexico City Philharmonic Scott Yoo discovers the secret stories behind some of the greatest classical music ever composed in the second season of Great Performances: Now Hear This.

The critically acclaimed documentary miniseries that merges music, storytelling, travel and culture returns with four new episodes focusing on signature works by Classical period composers Haydn, Schubert, Mozart and Beethoven beginning Friday, September 18 at 9:00pm on WITF.

Each episode traces the creation of different masterworks and explores the composer’s profound, lasting cultural impact.

Great Performances: Now Hear This “Haydn: King of Strings” – September 18 at 9:00pm  – When Joseph Haydn visited England, he was so taken with “God Save the King” that he wanted to write an anthem for Austria’s monarch. Host Scott Yoo discovers how Haydn borrowed folk music from Scotland, Hungary and Austria to create his “Emperor Quartet.” Along the way, he and guest violinist Geoff Nuttall reveal how Haydn created the string quartet format, providing an inside look and deeper appreciation for the genre. Haydn went on to write more great string quartets than any other composer.  Places visited: Eisenstadt, Rohrau and Vienna, Austria; Fertod, Hungary; London; Charleston, S.C.

Great Performances: Now Hear This “The Schubert Generation” – September 25 at 9:00pm – Franz Schubert composed 1,500 works, but his genius wasn’t recognized until after his tragic death at 31. The Vienna native never found success in his hometown, then the world’s musical capital. Host Scott Yoo goes to today’s musical capitals to meet tomorrow’s most promising artists—all of them Schubert’s age during his career—to understand Schubert’s life through some of his greatest music and learn what it takes for a young classical artist to make it in the 21st century. Places visited: New York City and rural New York; Montreal and rural Quebec; Philadelphia, P.A.

Great Performances: Now Hear This “Becoming Mozart”– October 2 at 9:00pm – Host Scott Yoo invites piano phenomenon Stewart Goodyear to his Festival Mozaic to play Mozart’s titanic 20th piano concerto as Mozart himself would have done it: directing the orchestra from the piano while improvising the solos. To do that, Yoo must teach Goodyear to conduct. And Goodyear, one of the only classical concert pianists with this improvisational skill, will have to find his inspiration to become Mozart. Places visited: San Luis Obispo and rural California

Watch Great Performances: Now Hear This Friday’s beginning September 18 at 9:00pm on WITF. All three episodes of Great Performances are available for on-demand viewing through the PBS Video app. You can also find the first season of Great Performances: Now Hear This available for viewing for WITF Passport members. You can now watch WITF TV through a webstream free through our website and on your Roku through the PBS Video app. Find out more…

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