From his early years under the tutelage of friend and mentor Oscar Hammerstein II and continuing through the groundbreaking productions of his later career, Stephen Sondheim has been a singular voice in the American musical theater, a true original in the pantheon of major American songwriters and composers. Beginning with his collaborations as lyricist on such fabled shows as West Side Story and Gypsy, to his breakthrough scores for Company, Follies, A Little Night Music, Sweeney Todd, Sunday in the Park with George, and Into the Woods, Sondheim led the way from Broadway's golden age into the increasingly ambivalent times of America's post-Vietnam, rock 'n' roll culture. Performed on the occasion of Sondheim's 80th birthday in March 2010, GREAT PERFORMANCES presents the New York Philharmonic's gala all-star salute to a true Broadway legend. Hosted by David Hyde Pierce, gathering to celebrate are such acclaimed Sondheim alumni as Laura Benanti, Michael Cerveris, Victoria Clark, Jason Danieley, Joanna Gleason, Nathan Gunn, George Hearn, Patti LuPone, Marin Mazzie, Audra McDonald, Donna Murphy, Karen Olivo and dancers from the current West Side Story revival, Mandy Patinkin, Bernadette Peters, Elaine Stritch and Chip Zien. Longtime Sondheim music director Paul Gemignani conducts.

Grammy Award-winning guitar superstar Eric Clapton has re-teamed with fellow "guitar gods" for a third Crossroads Guitar Festival in Chicago, America's Blues Capital. Shining a spotlight on the wide variety of guitar virtuosity, the gathering further expands the diverse range of musicianship in many musical genres, including blues, bluegrass, country, rhythm & blues and more, featuring performances by Jeff Beck, Robert Cray, Sheryl Crow, Vince Gill, Buddy Guy, B.B. King, Johnny Lang, John Mayer, Steve Winwood, Ron Wood and more; Bill Murray is the host.

A "ballet in sneakers" choreographed by the legendary Jerome Robbins in 1958, "NY Export: Opus Jazz" was a breakout success in its day, complete with a world tour and a broadcast on The Ed Sullivan Show. Set to a jazz score by Robert Prince, the five movements blend ballet, jazz and ballroom with Latin, African and American rhythms to create a style that remains expressive, sensual and contemporary. Co-conceived by New York City Ballet principal dancers Ellen Bar and Sean Suozzi, this film production takes the overlooked Robbins' masterpiece off of the stage and places it back into the landscapes that inspired it, filmed on locations all over the five boroughs of New York. The 16 emblematic characters are city kids drawn together by their youth, their energy and their hunger for life, but this "Opus Jazz" takes them out of the 50s and into today. Fashions and skylines change, but the experience of being young in New York belongs to every generation.

Located in the scenic Berkshires region of western Massachusetts, Tanglewood is the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and also the venue for a wide variety of popular music concerts and performing arts events. BSO concerts at Tanglewood can be traced back to 1936, when the Tappan Family estate was donated to the orchestra. In 1937, the orchestra returned to perform an all-Beethoven program of concerts. In 1938, a fan-shaped shed was constructed with 5,100 seats, providing the BSO with a permanent open-air structure in which to perform. Two years later, BSO conductor Serge Koussevitzky initiated a summer school for young musicians, now known as the Tanglewood Music Center. Now, on the occasion of Tanglewood's 75th anniversary, GREAT PERFORMANCES presents this concert, featuring the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Boston Pops, the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra, and the Tanglewood Festival Chorus under the batons of conductors John Williams, Keith Lockhart and Andris Nelsons; soloists include James Taylor, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, pianists Emanuel Ax and Peter Serkin, and violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter. The program is wide-ranging and includes works by Tanglewood legends including Aaron Copland and Leonard Bernstein.

Paul Taylor is the last living member of the pantheon that created America's indigenous art of modern dance. At an age when most artists' best work is behind them, Taylor continues to win acclaim for the vibrancy, relevance and power of his recent dances as well as his classics. Recorded during the Taylor Company's 2012 performances at the Theatre National de Chaillot in Paris, GREAT PERFORMANCES presents two of Taylor's enduring masterworks. Brandenburgs, first performed in 1988 to music from Bach's Brandenburg concertos #3 and # 6; and his 2008 ballet Beloved Renegade set to music of Francis Poulenc. Set to Poulenc's "Gloria," Beloved Renegade is inspired by the life and work of poet Walt Whitman, and depicts the experiences of an artist described in a line from Whitman's Leaves of Grass: "I am the poet of the body and I am the poet of the soul." The dance unfolds with various scenes reminiscent of episodes in Whitman's life.

A "ballet in sneakers" choreographed by the legendary Jerome Robbins in 1958, "NY Export: Opus Jazz" was a breakout success in its day, complete with a world tour and a broadcast on The Ed Sullivan Show. Set to a jazz score by Robert Prince, the five movements blend ballet, jazz and ballroom with Latin, African and American rhythms to create a style that remains expressive, sensual and contemporary. Co-conceived by New York City Ballet principal dancers Ellen Bar and Sean Suozzi, this film production takes the overlooked Robbins' masterpiece off of the stage and places it back into the landscapes that inspired it, filmed on locations all over the five boroughs of New York. The 16 emblematic characters are city kids drawn together by their youth, their energy and their hunger for life, but this "Opus Jazz" takes them out of the 50s and into today. Fashions and skylines change, but the experience of being young in New York belongs to every generation.

Grammy Award-winning guitar superstar Eric Clapton has re-teamed with fellow "guitar gods" for a third Crossroads Guitar Festival in Chicago, America's Blues Capital. Shining a spotlight on the wide variety of guitar virtuosity, the gathering further expands the diverse range of musicianship in many musical genres, including blues, bluegrass, country, rhythm & blues and more, featuring performances by Jeff Beck, Robert Cray, Sheryl Crow, Vince Gill, Buddy Guy, B.B. King, Johnny Lang, John Mayer, Steve Winwood, Ron Wood and more; Bill Murray is the host.