Great Performances: Now Hear This

Chopin was born in Poland and lived there until age 20, when the Russians invaded. Seeking safety and inspiration, he found a new home in Paris, though he longed for his old one. Scott Yoo and Polish-Canadian pianist Jan Lisiecki explore the folk music of Poland and the Romantic-era artists and musicians of Paris, Chopin’s diverging inspirations. Living in France, his heart was always in Poland.

The Spanish court brought Boccherini, Europe’s greatest cellist, from Italy to Spain. There he created new musical forms and fell in love with his adopted hometown--until he was exiled to the Sierra, where he wrote Night Music of the Streets of Madrid. Scott and four great young players take an all-night walking tour of Madrid to better understand how Boccherini wrote his night music.

Rachmaninoff was a Russian aristocrat who lost everything in the Bolshevik revolution: his home, his family fortune, his musical inspiration. Adrift in a new landscape, he longed for a homeland that had disappeared. At age 44, to support his family, he changed careers and charted a new path. He embraced modern technology, toured relentlessly, and reinvented himself as a modern American artist.

Agustín Barrios was born and raised in rural Paraguay. He identified more strongly with the Guaraní Indians of his home than the European culture of Spain’s former colonies, and faced many rejections, personal and professional. Yet through hundreds of concerts and innovative new compositions, he captured the soul of Latin America to become the most important guitar composer of the 20th century.