Look for powerful music on MPT this weekend, as some of London's finest musicians take on one of the greatest oratorios of western music.
Franz Joseph Haydn's "The Creation," as performed by the Philharmonia and Chorus of London under Gilbert Levine's baton, airs at 9 p.m. Sunday on MPT, Channels 22 and 67. The performance, dubbed "The Jubilee Creation Concert" and taped March 26 at Baltimore's Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, runs two hours and features soloists Janice Chandler, Richard Clement and John Relyea.
Written in three parts and first performed in Vienna in April 1898, "The Creation" sets to music the story in John Milton's "Paradise Lost," based on the book of Genesis and ending with the creation of Adam and Eve.
"There's something about this piece that goes right across multi-cultural boundaries," Levine has said. "For anyone open to a spiritual but not necessarily religious experience, a special communication takes place."
Pope John Paul II has chosen "The Creation" as the musical accompaniment to his call for an interfaith dialogue in the new millennium. Following their U.S. performance, the musicians are slated to tour major cities in Europe and the Middle East, finishing with performances in Bethlehem, Nazareth and Jerusalem.
"The Jubilee Creation Concert" was co-produced by MPT and the Basilica of the Assumption Historic Trust.
Fairbanks tributes
Both of cable's vintage movie channels have scheduled tributes to actor Douglas Fairbanks Jr., who died Sunday at age 90.
Today on AMC, a Fairbanks double-bill begins at 4: 45 p.m. with 1938's "Having a Wonderful Time," in which Fairbanks romances Ginger Rogers during a vacation in the Catskills. At 6 p.m., Fairbanks is at his swashbuckling best in a role that recalls the work of his legendary father, silent-film legend Douglas Fairbanks Sr. Released in 1948, "Sinbad the Sailor," one of the younger Fairbanks' last starring roles, casts him as the legendary storyteller out to find the lost treasure of Alexander the Great.
TCM's tribute is set for tomorrow, and begins with four of the actor's best films:
"The Prisoner of Zenda" (1937, 8 p.m.) features Fairbanks is in a supporting role opposite Ronald Colman, while director George Stevens' "Gunga Din" (10 p.m., 1939) puts him in India alongside Cary Grant, Victor McLaglen and Joan Fontaine. "Little Caesar" (1930, midnight), one of the most influential gangster films ever made, provided a prime showcase for Fairbanks and Edward G. Robinson, and "Morning Glory" (1933, 1: 30 a.m.) gave Katharine Hepburn the role that won her first Best Actress Oscar.
The TCM tribute concludes with "The Narrow Corner" (1933, 3 a.m.), co-starring Ralph Bellamy, and "The Life of Jimmy Dolan" (1933, 4: 30 a.m.), with Loretta Young.
Sun's Steinbach on air
Alice Steinbach, former Sun feature writer, is the scheduled guest for the second half of today's "Diane Rehm Show." Steinbach, who has won a Pulitzer Prize for features journalism, will discuss her most recent book, "Without Reservations: The Travels of an Independent Woman."
"The Diane Rehm Show" airs from 10 a.m. to noon weekdays on WJHU-FM (88.1)
TV talk
Sun TV critic David Zurawik and University of Maryland instructor Sheri Parks, co-hosts of "Media Matters" on WJHU, are the scheduled guest speakers at tomorrow's open membership meeting of Women In Film & Video of Maryland. They'll talk about the state of programming on TV.
The meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Maryland Historical Society, 201 W. Monument St. Admission is $10, free to WIFV members. Call 410-685-FILM.