Great Performances: Now Hear This

Johannes Brahms was a quiet, private person, but he lived a life worthy of a novel. Scott Yoo crosses Germany with pianist Elisabeth Brauss and cellists Johannes Moser and Max Hornung to find a window into Brahms' secret past and unrequited love, and discover how Brahms reached a turning point to become one of the greatest composers ever known.

Scott Joplin was the king of ragtime. Rick Benjamin's Paragon Ragtime Orchestra takes Scott Yoo back in time to experience the music, movies and style of the turn of the 20th century. Pianist John Novacek reveals the birth of this musical era, and the Joplin revival that finally brought him fame. And opera director Weyni Mengesha restages Joplin's magnum opus, "Treemonisha," for the 21st century.

Istanbul sits at the crossroads of Asia and Europe, a melting pot of diverse peoples, languages and ideas. With Turkish pianist Fazil Say, conductor Çem Mansur, and a host of Anatolian folk and Turkish jazz musicians, Scott Yoo and his wife, the flutist Alice Dade, explore the art, food, traditions and fusion of cultures that shape the music of today's Istanbul.

Scott Yoo crosses this volcanic land of extremes to meet composers Anna Thorvaldsdottir and Daniel Bjarnason, popular musician JFDR, instrument makers, music historians, and one of Iceland's most famous chefs. From a clarinet choir, a troll stone, a volcano and the loudest symphony ever written, Scott learns how Iceland's unique landscape and culture combine to create this musical hotbed.