A feel-good showcase of youthful classical talent

In an age of, you know, "American Idol," it's almost hard to fathom a showcase of youth talent that is nonjudgmental and nice. Then again, the networks haven't yet gotten their hands on classical music.

"From the Top: Live From Carnegie Hall," the WGBH-produced series that premieres at 5 tomorrow on PBS, turns showcasing young musicians into an exercise in sweetness. Based on the National Public Radio show of the same name -- and directed by Don Mischer, a veteran producer of Super Bowl halftime shows -- it's aggressively good-natured, like medicine that goes down gently.

The host, classical pianist Christopher O'Riley, is pleasant and blandly droll, embodying the classic NPR-host style that's occasionally spoofed on "Saturday Night Live." ("That's exciting," he says, in monotone, at one point, when a young pianist announces the piece she'll be playing.) He accompanies the talent more fluidly than he handles the shtick between performances: a "Top 10" list about cellos read by Yo-Yo Ma, a Martha Stewart-inspired sketch that involves decorating Bela Fleck's banjo case with pine cones.

Such sketches, it seems, are an effort to show that these accomplished young musicians are just regular kids. It's an oft-repeated theme; in one segment tomorrow, three sisters, all great pianists, talk about convincing schoolmates that they're actually quite normal.

But it's their abnormality -- I mean that in a good way, relating to talent and astounding dedication -- that makes these kids worth watching at all. Any transcendent moments in "From the Top" come during the performances themselves, as we watch young players inhabit wordless music, using their faces as much as their hands. It's especially striking when you consider the "Idol" contestants who can't interpret song lyrics with any shred of believability.

The Carnegie Hall audience is obviously moved; in one upcoming episode, the crowd goes wild for a virtuosic violin performance by an 18-year-old named Charles Yang . He also happens to be blessed with a TV-ready personality; in a segment filmed in his hometown of Austin, Texas, he looks to be auditioning for a role on MTV. A punk violinist. It wouldn't be so bad.

It's unclear, however, who makes up the intended audience of "From the Top." Classical music lovers will be cheered by the promise of talented youth. But will kids be moved to practice until their fingers bleed? It probably depends on the message. At one point tomorrow, Clark Pang , a 10-year-old cellist, talks about his early inspiration: He saw Ma on " Mister Rogers ' Neighborhood" using his cello to mimic a fire engine siren. Pang demonstrates. It's pretty cool. And, in some funny way, the best inspiration of all.

Joanna Weiss can be reached at weiss@globe.com. For more on TV, go to viewerdiscretion.net.