Best-bets for Aug. 9: Splendor in Vienna

1) “Vienna Philharmonic Summer Night Concert,” 9 p.m., PBS. This isn’t what you’d expect: The setting and the orchestra are Austrian, the conductor is Venezuelan, the soloist is Chinese … and most of the music is from American composers. Really. Gustavo Dudamel (shown here) opens spectacularly with Bernstein’s “Candide” overture and Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue,” with pianist Yuja Wang. She pauses for a Chopin waltz, but then we’re back to Sousa, Steiner and more, beautifully played and filmed. Read more…

1) “Vienna Philharmonic Summer Night Concert,” 9 p.m., PBS. This isn’t what you’d expect: The setting and the orchestra are Austrian, the conductor is Venezuelan, the soloist is Chinese … and most of the music is from American composers. Really. Gustavo Dudamel (shown here) opens spectacularly with Bernstein’s “Candide” overture and Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue,” with pianist Yuja Wang. She pauses for a Chopin waltz, but then we’re back to Sousa, Steiner and more, beautifully played and filmed.

2) “Magnum, P.I.,” 9 p.m., CBS. We’re still baffled that this reboot wasn’t an instant hit. Sure, its star (Jay Hernandez) is no Selleck – but who, outside of Clooney and Pitt, is? Still, this has everything – action, humor, passion and gorgeous Hawaiian backdrops. Maybe it will soar in its second season, when it follows “Hawaii Five-0”; tonight, it settles into that slot, repeating its zesty pilot film.

3) “WE Day,” 8 p.m., ABC. This annual special mixes music with talks about young people who have made a difference. Neil Patrick Harris introduces people who are musicians (Meghan Trainor, Pentatonix, Hailee Steinfeld, Joe Jonas, Chance the Rapper), actors (Natalie Portman, Mahershala Ali) and both (Selena Gomez).

4) U.S. Gymnastics championships, 8-10 p.m., NBC Sports Network. A year from the Olympics, here’s a chance to see people who may be stars there. This is the opening round for the women, who have their finals Sunday on NBC; the men have their finals Saturday on the NBC Sports Network.

5) “GLOW,” any time, Netflix. It’s the third season of this comedy about 1980s female wrestlers, now moved to Las Vegas. At the same time, streaming channels also give us two serious documentary series. Netflix has “The Family,” focusing on the conservative group called The Fellowship. Amazon has “Free Meek,” about the legal battles of Meek Mill; he’s been charged with perpetual parole violations, while both the judge and the arresting officer have been accused of misconduct.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *