Classical Music Playlist, June 7, 2023
At age 24 in 1889 Carl Nielsen began his 16-year position in the second violin section of the Royal Danish Orchestra. Five years later he performed in the orchestra for the premiere of his own First Symphony. He would become a Danish national hero, eventually composing six symphonies that to this day are among the core repertoire of the Danish National Symphony Orchestra who have recently released a 3-CD set of all six symphonies led by Principal Conductor Fabio Luisi. Each day this week, we'll feature one of Nielsen's first five symphonies from this new cycle with the Fifth on his birthday, June 9.
“Carl Nielsen has his own, personal language,” Fabio Luisi says. “At times, it is highly unusual, but it is also witty and profound, and it is highly obvious that the Danish National Symphony Orchestra is extremely familiar with its distinctive characteristics.”
Liner notes from this new recording cycle describes the Symphony No. 3 "Sinfonia expansiva":
In 1905, Nielsen gave up his orchestral position as a violinist in order to devote all his time to composition, and Symphony No. 3 “Sinfonia espansiva” (1910–1911) marked his breakthrough as a symphonic composer. For Carl Nielsen, the work represented development, growth and humanity’s infinite potential. The irregular sharp whipcracks at the beginning of the symphony sling the music out with so much energy that the first movement unfolds from its own impetus, developing in a remarkable way and even including a giddy waltz. In the second movement, one finds oneself in unspoilt nature and a paradise-like serenity. Nielsen adds the voices of a man and a woman, who wordlessly blend with the vegetative music as if they are some kind of Adam and Eve. The stark contrast to this elevated passivity comes in the form of the agitation and restlessness of the third movement, before the symphonic development concludes in the fourth movement, which pays homage to human activities here on Earth. “A paean of praise to labour and the healthy development of daily life,” as Nielsen himself formulated it.
The Symphony No. 3 "Sinfonia espansiva" by Carl Nielsen, from the new cycle recorded by the Danish National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Fabio Luisi, is today's Midday Masterpiece.
6:00 a.m.
Johann Joachim Quantz
Horn Concerto No. 9 in Eb major
Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields; Iona Brown, conductor Barry Tuckwell, horn
6:09 a.m.
Ethel Smyth
String Quintet in E major Opus 1
Mannheim String Quartet
6:37 a.m.
John Williams
Munich: Prayer For Peace
Los Angeles Recording Arts Orchestra; John Williams, conductor
6:42 a.m.
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Capriccio Italien Opus 45
Berlin Philharmonic; Seiji Ozawa, conductor
6:59 a.m.
Karl Goldmark
Im Fruhling Overture (In Spring) Opus 36
Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra; Andras Korodi, conductor
7:11 a.m.
Florence Price
Piano Quintet in A minor
Catalyst Quartet Michelle Cann, piano
7:38 a.m.
Antonin Dvorak
Slavonic Dance No. 9 in B major Opus 72
Cleveland Orchestra; Christoph Von Dohnanyi, conductor
7:44 a.m.
Alessandro Scarlatti
Concerto Grosso No. 4 in G minor
Europa Galante; Fabio Biondi, conductor
7:50 a.m.
Anton Arensky
Piano Quintet: Scherzo Opus 51
Ying Quartet Adam Neiman, piano
8:00 a.m.
Jean Sibelius
Karelia Suite Opus 11
Helsinki Philharmonic; Okko Kamu, conductor
8:17 a.m.
Franz Joseph Haydn
Symphony No. 100 "Military" in G major
Orchestra of St. Luke's; Charles Mackerras, conductor
8:40 a.m.
Alexandra Streliski
The hills
Alexandra Streliski, piano
8:45 a.m.
Dmitri Shostakovich
Jazz Suite No. 1
Concertgebouw Orchestra; Riccardo Chailly, conductor
8:54 a.m.
Mikhail Glinka
RUSLAN AND LUDMILA: Overture
Chicago Symphony Orchestra; Fritz Reiner, conductor
9:01 a.m.
George Friederich Handel
Concerto Grosso No. 2 in F major Opus 6/2 HWV 320
Boston Baroque; Martin Pearlman, conductor
9:13 a.m.
Igor Stravinsky
The Firebird: Finale (1911)
Orchestre de Paris; Klaus Makela, conductor Isata Kanneh-Mason, piano
9:17 a.m.
Louise Farrenc
Piano Trio No. 1: IV. Finale. Vivace in Eb major Opus 33
Neave Trio
9:26 a.m.
Manuel Ponce
Romantic Sonata: III. Musical Moment (Sonata romantica "Hommage a Franz Schubert")
Marcin Dylla, guitar
9:31 a.m.
Victor Herbert
Cello Concerto No. 1 in D major Opus 8
Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields; Neville Marriner, conductor Lynn Harrell, cello
10:00 a.m.
Franz Schubert
Piano Sonata No. 20: IV. Rondo in A major D 959
John O'Conor, piano
10:13 a.m.
Carel Anton Fodor
Symphony No. 3 in C minor Opus 19
Netherlands Radio Chamber Orchestra; Anthony Halstead, conductor
10:43 a.m.
Astor Piazzolla
Histoire du Tango: III.Night Club 1960
Manuel Barrueco, guitar; Emmanuel Pahud, flute
10:50 a.m.
Felix Mendelssohn
Trumpet Overture Opus 101
London Symphony Orchestra; Claudio Abbado, conductor
11:00 a.m.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Clarinet Concerto in A major K 622
English Chamber Orchestra; Alun Francis, conductor Thea King, clarinet
11:31 a.m.
Jean-Philippe Rameau
Gigue
Assad Brothers Sergio Assad, guitar; Odair Assad, guitar
11:36 a.m.
Robert Schumann
Piano Quartet: IV. Finale in Eb major Opus 47
Emerson String Quartet Menahem Pressler, piano
11:45 a.m.
Emmanuel Chabrier
Bourree Fantasque
L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande; Neeme Jarvi, conductor
11:53 a.m.
John Corigliano
Lullaby for Natalie
London Symphony Orchestra; Leonard Slatkin, conductor Anne Akiko Meyers, violin
11:59 a.m.
Johannes Brahms
Violin Concerto: III. Allegro Giocoso (Finale) in D major Opus 77
Chicago Symphony Orchestra; Fritz Reiner, conductor Jascha Heifetz, violin
12:08 p.m.
Jean Sibelius
Violin Concerto: III. Allegro, ma non tanto in D minor Opus 47
Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra; Klaus Makela, conductor Janine Jansen, violin
12:13 p.m.
Edvard Grieg
Norwegian Dances Opus 35
Estonian National Symphony Orchestra; Paavo Jarvi, conductor
12:32 p.m.
Gentil Montana
Suite Colombiana No. 2: II. Guabina Viajera (Traveller Guabina)
Jose Antonio Escobar, guitar
12:39 p.m.
Johann Sebastian Bach
Orchestral Suite No. 4 in D major BWV 1069
La Petite Bande; Sigiswald Kuijken, conductor
12:59 p.m.
Antonin Dvorak
String Quartet No. 14 in Ab major Opus 105
Takacs Quartet
1:32 p.m.
Teresa Carreno
Nocturne, "Souvenirs de mon pays"
Alexandra Oehler, piano
1:41 p.m.
Georg Philipp Telemann
Concerto for trumpets, oboes, strings and timpani in D major TWV 54:D3
English Chamber Orchestra; Simon Preston, conductor Hannes Laubin, trumpet; Wolfgang Laubin, trumpet; Bernhard Laubin, trumpet
1:52 p.m.
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Prelude in G minor in G minor Opus 23
Vladimir Ashkenazy, piano
1:56 p.m.
Johannes Brahms
Hungarian Dance No. 1 in G minor
North German Radio Symphony; John Eliot Gardiner, conductor
2:00 p.m.
Antonin Dvorak
Symphony No. 7 in D minor Opus 70
Los Angeles Philharmonic; Gustavo Dudamel, conductor Bomsori Kim, violin
2:40 p.m.
Antonio Vivaldi
Chamber Concerto in C major RV 87
Camerata Koln
2:49 p.m.
Elena Kats-Chernin
Peggy's Rag
Sarah Cahill, piano
2:53 p.m.
Scott Joplin
Maple Leaf Rag
Eugene List, piano
2:57 p.m.
Jean Sibelius
Finlandia Opus 26
Helsinki Philharmonic; Okko Kamu, conductor
3:07 p.m.
Yiruma
la bianca primavera
Yiruma, piano; Chanuk Kang, cello
3:11 p.m.
Felix Mendelssohn
Symphony No. 4 "Italian" in A major Opus 90
Chamber Orchestra of Europe; Yannick Nezet-Seguin, conductor
3:41 p.m.
Rafael Antonio Castellanos
Pastoras Alegres joyful shepherds
El Mundo; Richard Savino, director, conductor Jennifer Ellis Kampani, soprano; Nell Snaidas, soprano; Ryland Angel, tenor
3:46 p.m.
Manuel de Falla
Three-Cornered Hat Suite No. 2
Boston Pops Orchestra; Arthur Fiedler, conductor
3:59 p.m.
Arnold Bax
Tintagel
Royal Scottish National Orchestra; David Lloyd-Jones, conductor
4:15 p.m.
Jean-Philippe Rameau
Les Cyclopes ("Cyclops")
Los Angeles Philharmonic; Gustavo Dudamel, conductor Raphael Feuillatre, guitar
4:20 p.m.
Cecile Chaminade
Concertpiece (Concertstuck) in C# minor Opus 40
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra; Rebecca Miller, conductor Danny Driver, piano
4:36 p.m.
Wilhelm Peterson-Berger
Frosoblomster, Suite No. 1 (The Flowers of Froso) op. 16
Norrkoping Symphony Orchestra; Michail Jurowski, conductor
4:54 p.m.
Edouard Lalo
Scherzo in D minor
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra; Yondani Butt, conductor
5:00 p.m.
George Friederich Handel
Concerto Grosso No. 1 in Bb major Opus 3/1 HWV 312
Musicians of the Louvre; Marc Minkowski, conductor
5:11 p.m.
George Enescu
Romanian Rhapsody No. 1 in A major Opus 11
National Orchestra of France; Cristian Macelaru, conductor Yuja Wang, piano
5:14 p.m.
Johann Sebastian Bach
Cantata No. 142: Alleluja BWV 142
Empire Brass Douglas Major, organ
5:18 p.m.
Bernhard Crusell
Clarinet Concerto No. 2 in F minor Opus 5
Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra; Okko Kamu, conductor Martin Frost, clarinet
5:42 p.m.
Enrique Granados
La Maja de Goya
Eduardo Fernandez, guitar
5:47 p.m.
Johann Strauss, Jr.
Artist's Life Opus 316 Kunstlerleben
Berlin Philharmonic; Herbert Von Karajan, conductor
5:59 p.m.
Richard Strauss
Also Sprach Zarathustra Opus 30
Scottish National Orchestra; Neeme Jarvi, conductor
6:32 p.m.
Adolphus Hailstork
Three Spirituals
Virginia Symphony Orchestra; JoAnn Falletta, conductor
6:42 p.m.
TRADITIONAL
Scarborough Fair
Sheku Kanneh-Mason, cello; Plinio Fernandes, guitar
6:45 p.m.
Michael Nyman
If (from The Diary of Anne Frank)
BBC Concert Orchestra; Jessica Cottis, conductor Jess Gillam, soprano saxophone
6:50 p.m.
Michael Abels
Iconoclasm - For Lenny
Lara Downes, piano
6:54 p.m.
Thomas Moked Blum
Raga Etude
Fifth House Ensemble; Baladino
