Top Picks: Remembering 9/11
Blues boys
Two musical icons join forces for a singular, in-theater concert, Wynton Marsalis and Eric Clapton Play the Blues, Sept. 7 at 7:30 p.m. local time. The duo, performing songs selected by Clapton and arranged by Marsalis (left), will be playing in Lincoln Center; the show will be available in 550 theaters across the US. The event offers additional rehearsal footage as well as a special appearance by blues legend Taj Mahal. More information at www.fathomevents.com.
Defining moments of Sept. 11
Narrated by actor Martin Sheen, 9/11: The Day That Changed the World takes a sober but crisp walk through the day's events. The Smithsonian Channel special features lengthy interviews with the major political players of the day, including New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Vice President Dick Cheney, and many New York City emergency response officials. Airs on Sept. 5 at 8 p.m.
Concert for a grieving city
Showtime offers pop icon Paul McCartney in The Love We Make, which follows the British musician as he makes his way through Manhattan following the 9/11 tragedy. It also takes us inside the planning and performance of the monumental benefit concert at Madison Square Garden, "The Concert for New York City," which took place less than six weeks after the terrorist attacks. Full of candid and behind-the-scenes moments, both personal and musical, the documentary airs Sept. 10 at 9 p.m.
Reconstruction
PBS offers Engineering Ground Zero, a NOVA science special that takes us inside the process of constructing a memorial, a new iconic skyscraper, and additional buildings on the 16-acre site. The feature examines the extraordinary aesthetic, cultural, and architectural challenges of this monumental project. Available on DVD.
Resurrection Symphony
Sunday, Sept. 11, PBS will air the Saturday evening performance of Mahler's Symphony No. 2 in Manhattan's Avery Fisher Hall. Great Performances' The New York Philharmonic 10th Anniversary Concert for 9/11 features the work also known as the Resurrection Symphony, with soprano Dorothea Röschmann, mezzo-soprano Michelle DeYoung, and the New York Choral Artists. Airs from 9 to 10:30 p.m.
Are we safer?
PBS examines the response to 9/11 within the intelligence community over the past decade in Frontline's Top Secret America, an investigation by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Dana Priest into the classified and off-the-radar activities of the CIA over the past decade. Airs Sept. 6 at 9 p.m.
