Classical Music Playlist, July 22, 2021
1803 Portrait of Ludwig van Beethoven by Christian Hornemann
In his early days Beethoven successfully built a reputation as a pianist and improviser, writing smaller scale works for himself to perform. Fame as a symphonic composer would come later. His Quintet for Piano and Winds (op. 16) from 1796 was structurally modeled on a piano quintet by Mozart thirteen years before - same instrumentation and key, etc. But built upon that frame it’s all Beethoven, including prominence for himself in the piano part which he played at the premiere and in future concerts. It’s documented that at the premiere Beethoven took liberties to improvise at length in the Rondo finale movement to the delight of himself and the audience. His fellow musicians, on the other hand, were not amused, especially the famed oboist Friedrich Ramm (for whom Mozart had written music). Beethoven’s student Ferdinand Ries described the scene:
“Beethoven suddenly started improvising, taking the Rondo subject as his theme and entertaining himself and the others for quite some time. This was not the case with the accompanists, however; they were very annoyed and Mr. Ramm was even angry. It did indeed look very droll to see these gentlemen, expecting to begin at any moment, raising their instruments to their mouths incessantly and then quietly putting them down again. At last Beethoven was satisfied and returned to the rondo. The whole society was enchanted.”
Beethoven: early jazz-like improviser! Apparently it was at about a minute and a half into the final movement where Beethoven started improvising. However, in the recording you’ll hear today, pianist Anton Kuerti performs the Quintet as written and so where Beethoven improvised at length, today takes only about 23 seconds. Beethoven’s Quintet for Piano and Winds is your Midday Masterpiece today at 2:00pm!
6:00 a.m.
Johann Sebastian Bach
Concerto No. 1 (originally for violin) in A minor BWV 1041
Elias String Quartet Xuefei Yang, guitar
6:15 a.m.
Jan Kalliwoda
Symphony No. 2 in Eb major Opus 17
Cologne Academy; Michael Alexander Willens, conductor
6:43 a.m.
Johann Georg Rollig
Horn Concerto No. 14 in Eb major
Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields; Iona Brown, conductor Barry Tuckwell, horn
6:54 a.m.
Wilhelm Stenhammar
Piano Concerto No. 1: II. Vivacissimo in Bb minor Opus 1
Malmo Symphony Orchestra; Mario Venzago, conductor Niklas Sivelov, piano
7:00 a.m.
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Symphony No. 6 (Pathetique): III. Molto Vivace Opus 74 Pathetique
New York Philharmonic; Leonard Bernstein, conductor
7:12 a.m.
Gerald Finzi
Romance in Eb major Opus 11
London Sinfonia; Richard Hickox, conductor
7:21 a.m.
Ludwig Van Beethoven
Piano Sonata No. 21 "Waldstein" in C major Opus 53
Stephen Kovacevich, piano
7:45 a.m.
Gisle Kverndokk
Symphonic Dances: V. Weddings and Funerals
Stavanger Symphony Orchestra; Ken-David Masur, conductor
7:54 a.m.
Maurice Ravel
Kaddisch
Niv Ashkenazi, violin; Matthew Graybill, piano
8:00 a.m.
Jose Moncayo
Sinfonietta
Mexico National Symphony Orchestra; Enrique Arturo Diemecke, conductor
8:13 a.m.
Benjamin Godard
JOCELYN: Berceuse
Eroica Trio
8:20 a.m.
Georg Philipp Telemann
Sonata in G major
Buffalo Guitar Quartet
8:32 a.m.
Hubert Parry
Symphonic Variations
London Philharmonic Orchestra; Adrian Boult, conductor
8:47 a.m.
Dmitri Shostakovich
Prelude and Fugue No. 24 in D minor
Wei Luo, piano
9:00 a.m.
Franz Joseph Haydn
Symphony No. 94 "Surprise" in G major
Capella Istropolitana; Barry Wordsworth, conductor
9:24 a.m.
Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari
Idillio Concertino
Capella Bydgostiensis; Daniel Stabrawa, conductor Albrecht Mayer, oboe
9:45 a.m.
Astor Piazzolla
Spring in Buenos Aires (Primavera Portena)
David Tanenbaum, guitar
9:50 a.m.
Edvard Grieg
PEER GYNT: In the Hall of the Mountain King Opus 23
Staatskapelle Dresden; Herbert Blomstedt, conductor
9:54 a.m.
Percy Grainger
Handel in the Strand
Members of Collage
10:00 a.m.
Jan Zach
Concerto for oboe in Bb major
Prague Chamber Orchestra; Frantisek Vajnar, conductor Jiri Krejci, oboe
10:16 a.m.
Alexander Glazunov
Concert Waltz No. 2 (Valse de Concert) Opus 51
Bamberg Symphony; Neeme Jarvi, conductor
10:27 a.m.
Benjamin Frankel
Carriage and Pair
New London Orchestra; Ronald Corp, conductor
10:30 a.m.
Felix Mendelssohn
Piano Concerto No. 2 in D minor Opus 40
Quebec Symphony Orchestra; Louis Lortie, conductor Louis Lortie, piano
10:52 a.m.
Sergei Prokofiev
Romeo & Juliet: Dance of the Knights Opus 64
Kirov Orchestra; Valery Gergiev, conductor
10:59 a.m.
Florence Price
Violin Concerto No. 2
Janacek Philharmonic; Ryan Cockerham, conductor Er-Gene Kahng
11:14 a.m.
Johann Nepomuk Hummel
Piano Quintet in Eb minor Opus 87
Schubert Ensemble of London
11:36 a.m.
An-Lun Huang
Saibei Suite No. 2: "Saibei Dance"
Chicago Sinfonietta; Mei-Ann Chen, conductor
11:41 a.m.
Johann Strauss, Jr.
Tales From The Vienna Woods Opus 325 (Geschichten aus dem Wienerwald)
Vienna Johann Strauss Orchestra; Willi Boskovsky, conductor
11:53 a.m.
John Mackey
Kingfishers Catch Fire
North Texas Wind Symphony; Eugene Corporon, conductor
12:00 p.m.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Rondo for piano & orchestra in D major K 382
Moscow Virtuosi; Vladimir Spivakov, conductor Evgeny Kissin, piano
12:10 p.m.
Jules Massenet
Suite No. 7 "Alsatian Scenes" (Scenes Alsaciennes)
New Zealand Symphony Orchestra; Jean-Yves Ossonce, conductor
12:34 p.m.
Marcel Tournier
Near a Brook in the Woods (Vers La Source Dans Le Bois)
Yolanda Kondonassis, harp
12:39 p.m.
Carl Fasch
Concerto for trumpet, oboe d'amore and violin in E major
Philharmonia Orchestra John Wallace, trumpet; John Anderson, oboe d'amore; Peter Thomas, violin
12:55 p.m.
Andrew York
Sunburst
Jason Vieaux, guitar
1:00 p.m.
Edward Elgar
Serenade for string orchestra in E minor Opus 20
Orpheus Chamber Orchestra
1:13 p.m.
Angelica Negron
Sueno Recurrente
Lara Downes, piano
1:17 p.m.
Giovanni Battista Viotti
Violin Concerto No. 13 in A major
European Community Chamber Orchestra; Jorg Faerber, conductor Adelina Oprean, violin
1:41 p.m.
Leonard Bernstein
West Side Story Suite for Piano Trio
Eroica Trio
1:54 p.m.
Ottorino Respighi
Serenata
Chamber Orchestra of New York "Ottorino Respighi"; Salvatore Di Vittorio, conductor
2:00 p.m.
Ludwig Van Beethoven
Piano Quintet in Eb major Opus 16
Anton Kuerti, piano; James Sommerville, horn; James Campbell, clarinet; James Mason, oboe; James McKay, bassoon
2:28 p.m.
Jorge Calandrelli
Solitude
Milos Karadaglic, guitar; Jess Gillam, soprano saxophone
2:32 p.m.
Charles Avison
Concerto Grosso No. 6 (after Scarlatti) in D major
L'Ensemble Berlin
2:45 p.m.
Bela Bartok
Viola Concerto: III. Allegro Vivace Sz. 120
London Philharmonic Orchestra; Vladimir Jurowski, conductor David Aaron Carpenter, viola
2:51 p.m.
Leon Minkus
Don Quixote: Grand pas de deux
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra; Robert Irving, conductor
2:59 p.m.
Jean-Philippe Rameau
Les Boreades suite (Abaris)
Capella Savaria; Mary Terey-Smith, conductor
3:22 p.m.
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Prelude No. 5 in G major Opus 32
Howard Shelley, piano
3:26 p.m.
Franz Benda
Flute Concerto in A minor
Ars Rediviva Ensemble of Prague; Milan Munclinger, conductor Andras Adorjan, flute
3:49 p.m.
Robert Schumann
Kinderszenen: Traumerei (Dreaming) Opus 15/7
Angel Romero, guitar
3:54 p.m.
John Williams
Schindler's List: Main Theme
Niv Ashkenazi, violin; Matthew Graybill, piano
3:59 p.m.
TRADITIONAL
Dulaman
The Choral Scholars of University College Dublin; Desmond Earley, conductor Ciaran O'Donovan, tenor; Conor Lyons, bodhran
4:03 p.m.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Piano Concerto No. 2 in Bb major K 39
English Chamber Orchestra; Murray Perahia, conductor Murray Perahia, piano
4:19 p.m.
Peter Warlock
Six Italian Dance Tunes
London Festival Orchestra; Ross Pople, conductor
4:31 p.m.
Lili Boulanger
2 Pieces for Violin and Piano (arr for cello & piano)
Matt Haimovitz, cello; Mari Kodama, piano
4:37 p.m.
Franz Joseph Haydn
String Quartet "Quinten" (Fifths) in D minor Opus 76/2
Lindsay String Quartet
5:00 p.m.
Domenico Cimarosa
Serenade for flute and guitar in C minor
James Galway, flute; Kazuhito Yamashita, guitar
5:13 p.m.
Florence Price
Symphony No. 1: I. Allegro ma non troppo in E minor
Fort Smith Symphony; John Jeter, conductor
5:30 p.m.
Antonin Dvorak
Goin' Home (melody from Dvorak's 9th Symphony)
Yo Yo Ma, cello; Kathryn Stott, piano
5:37 p.m.
Johann Hertel
Trumpet Concerto No. 3 in D major
Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields; Neville Marriner, conductor Hakan Hardenberger, trumpet
5:48 p.m.
Emile Waldteufel
La Barcarolle Waltz
Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra; Kurt Redel, conductor
5:55 p.m.
Aram Khachaturian
Masquerade: Waltz
The Bolshoi Theater Orchestra; Mark Ermler, conductor
6:01 p.m.
Darius Milhaud
Suite Provencale Opus 152
Detroit Symphony Orchestra; Neeme Jarvi, conductor
6:16 p.m.
Johann Sebastian Bach
Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D major BWV 1068
Le Concert des Nations; Jordi Savall, conductor La Capella Reial de Catalunya
6:43 p.m.
Franz Liszt
Piano Sonata in B minor: II. Andante Sostenuto in B minor
Benjamin Grosvenor, piano
6:51 p.m.
Rodion Shchedrin
Two Polyphonic Pieces: 1. Two-Part Invention
Wei Luo, piano
6:54 p.m.
Amjad Ali Khan
Love Avalanche
Sharon Isbin, guitar; Ayaan Ali Bangash, sarod; Amit Kavthekar, tabla
