Here's a combination you might find unlikely - Russian conductor Yuri Temirkanov and American composer George Gershwin.

The former may be best known for his intense performances of Rachmaninoff, Shostakovich and Prokofiev, but that's only a portion of his interests. A longtime aficionado of jazz, the conductor led the first production of Porgy and Bess in St. Petersburg 35 years ago and continues to savor Gershwin's music whenever he can.

"I think Gershwin has always been underestimated in America," Temirkanov said recently.

"The musicologists and critics prefer to write about something modern, controversial, elitist. They prefer to be the only ones who can understand a composer's music. They thought Gershwin was too understandable for the public. I adore him."

This week, Termirkanov will devote an entire program to Gershwin with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. The lineup offers An American in Paris, one of the greatest musical postcards in the repertoire; Rhapsody in Blue, the revolutionary piece that first put jazz into a classical framework, with a hot young piano talent, Fazil Say, as soloist; and excerpts from the groundbreaking opera Porgy and Bess, featuring soprano Kishna Davis, bass Arthur Woodley and the Morgan State University Choir.

Performances are at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 3 p.m. Nov. 10 at Meyerhoff Hall, 1212 Cathedral St. Tickets are $29 to $78. Call 410-783-8000.