Sure, we’ll have plenty of Mendelssohn today on The Classical Network, on his birthday. We’ll also pay tribute to Palestrina and hear a wacky concerto by Johann Georg Abrechtsberger, who was a teacher of Beethoven. Where Albrechtsberger got the idea he should be writing concertos for Jew’s harp – you know, Snoopy’s favorite instrument – is anybody’s guess. Those concertos also include a solo part for the mandora, a kind of lute popular in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

While we’re on the subject of unbowed strings, at the heart of today’s program will be an interview with Sharon Isbin. Isbin, of course, is one of the great guitarists of our time. She’ll be talking about her new album, of music by Boccherini, Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Turina, and Vivaldi, on the Cedille Records label, “Souvenirs of Spain and Italy,” made with the Pacifica Quartet.

Isbin will perform on a gala benefit concert for JCC Thurnauer School of Music, at Bergen County Academies Auditorium, in Hackensack, NJ, this Sunday at 4 p.m. Our conversation will take place this afternoon around 5:00.

Whether you’ve the munchies for Mendelssohn, a palate for Palestrina, or a craving for Castelnuovo-Tedesco, you’ll want to bring your appetite, from 4 to 7 p.m. EST, to WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.