“The bad news is that the entire classical music world (well, the American part, anyway) is canceled due to technical difficulties,” writes Michael Andor Brodeur in Thursday’s (9/10) Washington Post. “The good news is that the entire classical music world is also technically at our fingertips…. The PBS docuseries ‘Now Hear This’ … premieres its second season Sept. 18…. Written, directed and produced by filmmaker Harry Lynch and hosted by Mexico City Philharmonic Orchestra principal director Scott Yoo, ‘Now Hear This’ … manages to turn its exploration of a single subject into a hybrid of travelogue, mystery, history, cultural study, documentary and performance…. In its first season, [Yoo] visits Venice and Bergamo, Italy, for Vivaldi; Berlin and Leipzig, Germany, for Bach; Madrid and Tangier, Morocco, for Scarlatti; then doubles back to Italy for Handel…. This second season will [cover] Haydn, Schubert, Mozart and Beethoven. A third season will focus exclusively on American composers…. Both Yoo and Lynch point to what contemporary cooking shows have done for the restaurant industry, just by giving viewers a peek into the kitchen…. ‘There’s a reason why Beethoven’s Ninth has survived 200 years,’ says Yoo. ‘It’s because the message of brotherhood is more important today than ever.’ ”
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