Classical Music Playlist, June 20, 2023
Benjamin Grosvenor | photo: Andrej Grilc
Jacques Offenbach's opera "The Tales of Hoffmann" spins a tale about the real life author E.T.A. Hoffmann and a few of his stories. Other works of classical music inspired by Hoffmann's books include Tchaikovsky's ballet "The Nutcracker," from the Hoffmann book "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King." Hoffmann's most famous fictional character is Johannes Kreisler, a somewhat mad musical genius and philosopher whose creativity is hampered by his excessive sensibilities (perfect fodder for music in the Romantic era). One of three novels in which Kreisler appears is Hoffmann's "Kreisleriana." Inspired by this, Robert Schumann (1810-1856) composed a suite for piano by the same name.
By channeling the emotionally volatile Kreisler, Schumann was able to express his own mood swings. This was while he was still courting Clara Wieck in the few years before they married and were having confrontations with her father regarding their intended marriage. Schumann dedicated the music to Clara, writing to her, "You and one of your ideas play the main role in it, and I want to dedicate it to you – yes, to you and nobody else – and then you will smile so sweetly when you discover yourself in it." But upon hearing the music Clara herself said, “Sometimes your music actually frightens me, and I wonder: is it really true that the creator of such things is going to be my husband?”
Yet "Kreisleriana" is viewed by critics as one of Schumann's best works and the composer himself considered it his best piano work. In a new recording from pianist Benjamin Grosvenor, Robert Schumann's "Kreisleriana" is today's Midday Masterpiece.
6:00 a.m.
Johann Sebastian Bach
Cello Suite No. 1 in G major BWV 1007
Mstislav Rostropovich, cello
6:17 a.m.
Johannes Brahms
Horn Trio in Eb major Opus 40
Martin Hackleman, horn; Martin Beaver, violin; Jane Coop, piano
6:46 a.m.
Carlos Gardel
Cuando Tu No Estas
Franz Halasz, guitar
6:51 a.m.
Maurice Ravel
Miroirs: Une Barque sur l'Ocean (A Boat on the Ocean)
Berlin Philharmonic; Pierre Boulez, conductor
7:00 a.m.
George Friederich Handel
Concerto Grosso No. 5 in D major Opus 6/5 HWV 323
Handel & Haydn Society; Christopher Hogwood, conductor
7:16 a.m.
Joseph Kraus
Concerto for viola and cello in G major VB 153a
Tapiola Sinfonietta David Aaron Carpenter, viola; Riitta Pesola, cello
7:40 a.m.
Bedrich Smetana
Polka No. 2 JB 1:107
Francine Kay, piano
7:43 a.m.
Igor Stravinsky
The Firebird: Finale (1911)
Orchestre de Paris; Klaus Makela, conductor Isata Kanneh-Mason, piano
7:47 a.m.
Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco
Quintet for Guitar and String Quartet: IV. Finale Op 143
Pacifica Quartet Sharon Isbin, guitar
7:54 a.m.
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Sleeping Beauty: Waltz from Act I
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra; Herbert Von Karajan, conductor
8:00 a.m.
Antonin Dvorak
Scherzo capriccioso Opus 66
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra; John Farrer, conductor
8:13 a.m.
Ludwig Van Beethoven
Symphony No. 1 in C major Opus 21
Orchestre Revolutionnaire et Romantique; John Eliot Gardiner, conductor
8:38 a.m.
Elena Kats-Chernin
Lullaby for Nick
Tamara-Anna Cislowska, piano; Elena Kats-Chernin, piano
8:43 a.m.
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Symphony No. 2: II. Allegro molto in E minor Opus 27
Detroit Symphony Orchestra; Leonard Slatkin, conductor
8:53 a.m.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
DON GIOVANNI Overture K 527
Scottish Chamber Orchestra; Christian Baldini, conductor
9:01 a.m.
Grace Williams
Penillion
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra; Sir Charles Groves, conductor
9:18 a.m.
Louis Moreau Gottschalk
Home Sweet Home
Alan Feinberg, piano
9:25 a.m.
Franz Krommer
Clarinet Concerto in E minor Opus 86
English Chamber Orchestra; Anthony Pay, conductor Thomas Friedli, clarinet
9:53 a.m.
Scott Joplin
Solace
Lara Downes, piano; Joe Brent, vihuela
10:00 a.m.
Georg Bohm
Overture a Cinq in D major
Parley of Instruments; Roy Goodman, conductor
10:15 a.m.
Camille Saint-Saens
Piano Concerto No. 4 in C minor Opus 44
Toulouse Capitole Orchestra; Michel Plasson, conductor Philippe Entremont, piano
10:42 a.m.
John Williams
Empire of the Sun: Cadillac of the Skies
Los Angeles Recording Arts Orchestra; John Williams, conductor
10:48 a.m.
Felix Mendelssohn
Song Without Words "Spring Song" (Book V, No. 6) in A major Opus 62/6
Andras Schiff, piano
10:51 a.m.
Elena Kats-Chernin
Re-Inventions: Re-Invention No. 1
La Pieta; Angele Dubeau, conductor
10:57 a.m.
Jean Sibelius
Karelia Suite Opus 11
Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra; Neeme Jarvi, conductor
11:15 a.m.
Hildur Gudnadottir
Chernobyl: Vichnaya Pamyat Memory Eternal
Homin Lviv Municipal Choir
11:20 a.m.
Henriette Renie
Harp Concerto in C minor
Rhenish Philharmonic Orchestra; Shao-Chia Lu, conductor Xavier de Maistre, harp
11:41 a.m.
Ludwig Van Beethoven
String Quartet No. 15: III. Heiliger Dankgesang in A minor Opus 132 3rd Movement
A Far Cry
12:00 p.m.
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Piano Concerto No. 1 in Bb minor Opus 23
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra; Yoel Levi, conductor Andre Watts, piano
12:35 p.m.
Antonio Lauro
Venezuelan Waltz No. 3 "Natalia" (Vals Venezolano)
Xuefei Yang, guitar
12:37 p.m.
Johann Sebastian Bach
Sinfonia (Konzertsatz) in D major BWV 1045
Brandenburg Consort; Roy Goodman, conductor
12:44 p.m.
Gustav Holst
Suite No. 1 in Eb major Opus 28
North Texas Wind Symphony; Eugene Corporon, conductor
12:56 p.m.
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Vocalise Opus 34/14
Orchestra of St. Luke's; Michael Stern, conductor Joshua Bell, violin
1:03 p.m.
George Friederich Handel
Concerto Grosso No. 4 in F major Opus 3/4a HWV 315
The English Concert; Trevor Pinnock, conductor
1:15 p.m.
Alexandra Streliski
The Breach
Alexandra Streliski, piano
1:20 p.m.
Carl Maria Von Weber
Clarinet Concerto No. 1 in F minor Opus 73
Staatskapelle Dresden; Herbert Blomstedt, conductor Sabine Meyer, clarinet
1:27 p.m.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Symphony No. 25 in G minor K 183
Prague Chamber Orchestra; Charles Mackerras, conductor
1:55 p.m.
Antonin Dvorak
Slavonic Dance No. 5 in A major Opus 46
Cleveland Orchestra; Christoph Von Dohnanyi, conductor
2:00 p.m.
Robert Schumann
Kreisleriana Opus 16
Academy of Ancient Music Benjamin Grosvenor, piano
2:36 p.m.
Anton Bruckner
Symphony No. 4 "Romantic": III. Scherzo in Eb major
Minnesota Orchestra; Osmo Vanska, conductor
2:46 p.m.
Isolina Carrillo
Dos Gardenias
Havana Lyceum Orchestra; Jose Antonio Mendez Padron, conductor Sarah Willis, horn; Harold Madrigal Frias, trumpet
2:53 p.m.
Ludwig Van Beethoven
FIDELIO Overture Opus 72
Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra; Riccardo Chailly, conductor
3:01 p.m.
Antonio Vivaldi
Concerto for 2 oboes, 2 violins, bassoon in C major RV 557
Ensemble Zefiro; Alfredo Bernardini, conductor Members of...
3:10 p.m.
Felix Mendelssohn
Variations concertantes for cello & piano in D major Opus 17
Haruma Sato, cello; Wataru Hisasue, piano
3:20 p.m.
Ottorino Respighi
Pines of Rome
Berlin Philharmonic; Herbert von Karajan, conductor
3:43 p.m.
Claude Debussy
Clair de lune ("Moonlight")
Leon Fleisher, piano
3:50 p.m.
Michael Torke
Sky: I. Lively
Albany Symphony Orchestra; David Alan Miller, conductor Tessa Lark, violin
4:01 p.m.
Edward Elgar
Enigma Variations Opus 36
Chicago Symphony Orchestra; Georg Solti, conductor
4:31 p.m.
Philip Glass
Metamorphosis II
La Pieta; Angele Dubeau, conductor Francine Kay, piano
4:36 p.m.
Florence Price
Symphony No. 1: III. Juba Dance in E minor
Philadelphia Orchestra; Yannick Nezet-Seguin, conductor
4:41 p.m.
Carl Maria Von Weber
Andante and Hungarian Rondo Opus 35
Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields; Neville Marriner, conductor Klaus Thunemann, bassoon
4:53 p.m.
Giuseppe Verdi
NABUCCO: Va, pensiero
Vienna State Opera Orchestra; Lamberto Gardelli, conductor Vienna State Opera Chorus
4:59 p.m.
Ludwig Van Beethoven
Symphony No. 7: I. Poco sostenuto - Vivace in A major Opus 92
Orchestre Revolutionnaire et Romantique; John Eliot Gardiner, conductor
5:13 p.m.
Johann Sebastian Bach
Partita No. 3 for Solo Violin: Gavotte en Rondeau in E major BWV 1006
Raphael Feuillatre, guitar
5:18 p.m.
Camille Saint-Saens
Concert Piece (Morceau de concert) Opus 94
Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra; Kurt Masur, conductor Hermann Baumann, horn
5:27 p.m.
Igor Stravinsky
The Fairy's Kiss: Divertimento
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra; Yuri Temirkanov, conductor
5:55 p.m.
Aaron Jay Kernis
100 Greatest Dance Hits: II. Salsa Pasada
Escher Quartet Jason Vieaux, guitar
5:59 p.m.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Symphony No. 38 "Prague" in D major K 504
Prague Chamber Orchestra; Charles Mackerras, conductor
6:35 p.m.
Leo Brouwer
Afro-Cuban Lullaby (Cancion de Cuna: Berceuse)
Pepe Romero, guitar
6:40 p.m.
Wynton Marsalis
Violin Concerto in D: IV. Hootenanny in D
Philadelphia Orchestra; Cristian Macelaru, conductor Nicola Benedetti, violin
6:50 p.m.
Steve Reich
Electric Counterpoint: Third Movement
Valerie Milot, harp
6:55 p.m.
Pedro Iturralde
Pequena Czarda
Tippett Quartet Jess Gillam, soprano saxophone; Zeynep Ozsuca, piano
