WORTH NOTING ON TV

FRIDAY Kennedy Center Honors (CBS, 9-11 p.m.): A wonderful event, for all its hot air and pomposity, because it salutes people in the performing arts who richly deserve the dignity and visibility provided by the special setting. This year's tributes - hosted by Walter Cronkite - go to Dizzy Gillespie, Katharine Hepburn, Ris"e Stevens, Jule Styne, and Billy Wilder. TUESDAY From Vienna: The New Year's Celebration (PBS, 2:30-4 p.m.): This live show - musically and visually dazzling - is being aired for the seventh time in the US and will likely to be seen by some 750 million people worldwide. Claudio Abbado leads the Vienna Philharmonic in the Golden Hall of that city's historic Musikverein - and host Walter Cronkite guides viewers on a trip through Prague.

WEDNESDAY ...Talking With David Frost (PBS, 8-9 p.m.): The first of six monthly shows - conducted by one of the medium's most thoughtful and expansive interviewers - is a conversation between Frost and President and Mrs. Bush at the midpoint of his term. But also get ready for later guests as varied as Robin Williams and former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

Carnegie Hall at 100: A Place of Dreams (PBS, 9-10 p.m.): ``Practice, practice,'' as the old joke explains, is how you get there. And artists have been doing so ever since the acoustically superb auditorium opened in 1891. To trace its fascinating history, this salute taps rare footage of the greats and offers reminiscent comments by a fascinating spectrum of artists like Ray Charles and the late Leonard Bernstein.

Please check local listings for all programs, especially on PBS.