It would be hard to name a composer more popular today than Gustav Mahler or one whose music delivers a more emotional wallop. Gilbert Kaplan explores just what is it about Mahler’s music that confronts us so powerfully. Wednesday, July 7 at 9 p.m.

In this July 4th special edition, we will explore music by American composers – works chosen by 11 of our guests including Tom Brokaw, Condoleezza Rice, Alan Alda and Renée Fleming.

When President Obama began considering whom he should appoint to the Supreme Court, Diane Wood was the first person he interviewed. She was on everyone’s short list. He ultimately picked someone else but as a Judge on the United States Court of Appeals, Wood remains a formidable force in shaping the law. She also happens to be an accomplished oboist playing in several amateur orchestras.

Stephen Schwarzman heads one of Wall Street’s most successful private equity firms, The Blackstone Group, which he launched together with Peter Peterson in 1985. Today with assets under management in excess of $98 billion, it is the largest firm in its field. According to Forbes Magazine, Schwarzman himself is a multibillionaire.

British financier Leopold de Rothschild has had a rich career in finance, but along the way, music has been at least an equal partner. A lifelong student of the piano, he has also been a leading musical philanthropist and a member of the legendary Bach Choir with which he has sung for 50 years.