Classical Music Playlist, March 13, 2023
Florence Price (1887-1953)
CapRadio Classical and Jazz is celebrating women in music all month long by featuring a different classical composer every weekday. Today's spotlight is on Florence Price (1887-1953).
- Born in 1887, Florence Price trailblazed many firsts as an African American female composer of classical music.
- She first performed on piano publicly at age four,
- had her first music published at age 11,
- graduated high school first in her class;
- studied at the New England Conservatory and graduated with honors in 1906.
- Her First Symphony and a Piano Sonata won first prizes in their categories in a 1932 composition competition.
- That First symphony was the first by an African American woman to be performed by a major American orchestra when the Chicago Symphony Orchestra performed it in 1933.
- But Price was not the first woman or the first African American to be ignored. In 1943 she wrote a letter to Serge Koussevitsky of the Boston Symphony Orchestra requesting that he look past her two “handicaps” [her words, to him] of race and gender and look at her compositions and base them on their own merits. He never wrote back.
- Though she faced obstacles, she also enjoyed success. But ten years after her letter to Koussevitsky she died at age 66 and her fame faded from the mainstream. But now 70 years after her death, the mainstream is rising to meet her as composers of color and women are finally getting more recognition for their music on “merit alone” as Price urged of Koussevitzky.
In 1935 Florence Price was living in a particularly rich and stimulating artistic environment in Chicago with Margaret Bonds and her mother in Chicago where their home was a meeting place for Black artists and musicians. It was here that Price composed her 1935 Piano Quintet in A-minor. It's today's Midday Masterpiece.
6:00 a.m.
George Phillip Telemann
Tafelmusik II: Quartet in D minor
European Baroque Soloists
6:15 a.m.
Florence Price
Violin Concerto no. 1 in D major
Janacek Philharmonic; Ryan Cockerham, conductor Er-Gene Kahng
6:40 a.m.
Luis de Milan
Pavana No. 1
Massimo Marchese, vihuela de mano
6:42 a.m.
Domenico Scarlatti
Sonata in E major K 162
Assad Brothers Sergio Assad, guitar; Odair Assad, guitar
6:49 a.m.
Jean Sibelius
Swan of Tuonela
Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra; Neeme Jarvi, conductor
7:00 a.m.
Johann Christian Bach
Symphony No. 5 in F major Opus 3
Camerata Budapest; Hanspeter Gmur, conductor
7:12 a.m.
Florence Price
Piano Sonata in E minor
Althea Waites, piano
7:38 a.m.
Randy Edelman
Gettysburg: Reunion and Finale
Cincinnati Pops; Erich Kunzel, conductor Timothy Berens. guitar
7:45 a.m.
Gustav Holst
The Planets: Venus, Bringer of Peace Opus 32
Philharmonia Orchestra; John Eliot Gardiner, conductor
7:54 a.m.
Johann Sebastian Bach
Sinfonia (Konzertsatz) in D major BWV 1045
Brandenburg Consort; Roy Goodman, conductor
8:01 a.m.
Jean Sibelius
Karelia Suite Opus 11
Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields; Neville Marriner, conductor
8:19 a.m.
Johannes Brahms
St. Anthony Variations in Bb major Opus 56
Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra; Riccardo Chailly, conductor
8:37 a.m.
Olivia Belli
Nocturne IV
Olivia Belli, piano
8:42 a.m.
Florence Price
Dances in the Canebrakes
Chicago Sinfonietta; Mei-Ann Chen, conductor
8:52 a.m.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
THE MAGIC FLUTE: Overture (Die Zauberflote) K 620
Scottish Chamber Orchestra; Charles Mackerras, conductor
9:01 a.m.
John Field
Rondo for piano & strings in Ab major
London Mozart Players; Matthias Bamert, conductor Miceal O'Rourke, piano
9:09 a.m.
Henning Sommerro
Varsog
Arctic Philharmonic; Christian Kluxen, conductor Eldbjorg Hemsing, violin
9:14 a.m.
Robert Schumann
Mondnacht Opus 39
Isata Kanneh-Mason, piano
9:19 a.m.
Florence Price
String Quartet No. 2 in A minor
Catalyst Quartet
9:52 a.m.
Giuseppe Verdi
OTELLO: Ballet Music
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra; Jose Serebrier, conductor
10:00 a.m.
Emmanuel Chabrier
Festive Polonaise (Le Roi Malgre Lui: Fete Polonaise)
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra; John Eliot Gardiner, conductor
10:08 a.m.
Josef Suk
Burleska
Chee-Yun, violin; Akira Eguchi, piano
10:13 a.m.
Florence Price
Symphony No. 3
Philadelphia Orchestra; Yannick Nezet-Seguin, conductor
10:45 a.m.
Louis Couperin
Passacaille
Andrew Lawrence-King, harp
10:52 a.m.
Frederic Chopin
Waltz No. 1 "Grande Valse Brillante" in Eb major Opus 18
Jean-Yves Thibaudet, piano
10:59 a.m.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Symphony No. 40 in G minor K 550
Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields; Neville Marriner, conductor
11:29 a.m.
Marc-Antoine Charpentier
Te Deum: Prelude
Empire Brass William Kuhlman, organ
11:33 a.m.
Isaac Albeniz
Iberia: Festival Day in Seville (Fete-Dieu a Seville)
Cincinnati Pops; Erich Kunzel, conductor
11:42 a.m.
Florence Price
"mini" Quintet for Piano and Strings in E minor
Catalyst Quartet Michelle Cann, piano
11:53 a.m.
Antonin Dvorak
Legend No. 6 Opus 59
San Francisco Symphony; Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor
12:00 p.m.
George Friederich Handel
Concerto Grosso No. 9 in F major Opus 6/9 HWV 327
Handel & Haydn Society; Christopher Hogwood, conductor
12:15 p.m.
Edvard Grieg
Violin Sonata No. 3: II. Allegretto espressivo alla Romanza in C minor Opus 45
Duo Gazzana; Mykola Hobdych, conductor Natascia Gazzana, violin; Raffaella Gazzana, piano
12:20 p.m.
Florence Price
Fantasie Negre No. 2 in G minor
Lara Downes, piano
12:28 p.m.
Leo Delibes
Coppelia: (Suite from the ballet)
Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra; Heinz Fricke, conductor
12:53 p.m.
Aram Khachaturian
Masquerade: Waltz
The Bolshoi Theater Orchestra; Mark Ermler, conductor
12:59 p.m.
Hamilton Harty
Comedy Overture
Ulster Orchestra; Bryden Thomson, conductor
1:14 p.m.
Enrique Granados
Danzas espanolas No. 5 "Andaluza"
Narciso Yepes, guitar
1:20 p.m.
Florence Price
Violin Concerto No. 2
Royal Scottish National Orchestra; Jonathon Heyward, conductor Rachel Barton Pine, violin
1:36 p.m.
Johannes Brahms
Tragic Overture Opus 81
Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra; Riccardo Chailly, conductor
1:50 p.m.
Claude Debussy
La Mer: III. Dialogue of the Wind and the Sea
Berlin Philharmonic; Herbert von Karajan, conductor
2:00 p.m.
Florence Price
Piano Quintet in A minor
Catalyst Quartet Michelle Cann, piano
2:28 p.m.
Jennifer Higdon
Concerto 4-3: I. The Shallows
Philadelphia Orchestra; Xian Zhang, conductor Time for Three
2:39 p.m.
John C. Williams
When The Birds Return
Voces8; Barnaby Smith, conductor Xuefei Yang, guitar
2:44 p.m.
Johann Sebastian Bach
Keyboard Concerto No. 3 in D major BWV 1054
Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields; Murray Perahia, conductor Murray Perahia, piano
3:01 p.m.
Carl Maria Von Weber
Oberon Overture J 306
Tapiola Sinfonietta; Jean Jacques Kantorow, conductor
3:11 p.m.
Philip Glass
Metamorphosis II
La Pieta; Angele Dubeau, conductor Francine Kay, piano
3:16 p.m.
John Blow
Chaconne No. 4 in G major
Musica Antiqua Koln; Reinhardt Goebel, conductor
3:22 p.m.
Florence Price
Symphony No. 4 in D minor
Fort Smith Symphony; John Jeter, conductor
3:55 p.m.
Frederick Delius
KOANGA: La Calinda
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra; Christopher Seaman, conductor
4:00 p.m.
Maurice Ravel
Le tombeau de Couperin (The tomb of Couperin)
Lyon National Orchestra; Leonard Slatkin, conductor
4:17 p.m.
Percy Grainger
The Gum Suckers March
Dallas Wind Symphony; Jerry Junkin, conductor
4:23 p.m.
Florence Price
Piano Concerto in One Movement
New York Youth Symphony; Michael Repper, conductor Michelle Cann, piano
4:41 p.m.
Felix Mendelssohn
Athalia: March of the Priests Opus 74
New York Philharmonic; Leonard Bernstein, conductor
4:46 p.m.
Antonin Dvorak
Slavonic Dance No. 1 in C major Opus 46
Cleveland Orchestra; Christoph Von Dohnanyi, conductor
4:51 p.m.
Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco
Quintet for Guitar and String Quartet: IV. Finale Op 143
Pacifica Quartet Sharon Isbin, guitar
4:59 p.m.
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Swan Lake Suite Opus 20
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra; Herbert Von Karajan, conductor
5:25 p.m.
Florence Price
Fantasie Negre No. 4
Lara Downes, piano
5:32 p.m.
Jean-Baptiste Lully
March for the Turkish Ceremony
Le Concert des Nations; Jordi Savall, conductor
5:35 p.m.
Benjamin Britten
Simple Symphony Opus 4
Orpheus Chamber Orchestra
5:54 p.m.
Carl Reinecke
Nocturne for horn and piano Opus 112
Gregory Hustis, horn; Steven Harlos, piano
6:00 p.m.
Florence Price
Symphony No. 1 in E minor
Philadelphia Orchestra; Yannick Nezet-Seguin, conductor
6:41 p.m.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Serenade No. 10 for winds "Gran Partita": III. Adagio in Bb major K 361
Sabine Meyer Wind Ensemble
6:48 p.m.
Bela Bartok
Concerto for Orchestra: IV. Interrupted Intermezzo
Chicago Symphony Orchestra; Fritz Reiner, conductor
6:54 p.m.
Hania Rani
Scream
Hania Rani, piano; Dobrawa Czocher, cello
