Classical Music Playlist, October 13, 2023
Costume design by Léon Bakst for the 1910 production of The Firebird
In the early 1900s, Russian impresario Sergei Diaghilev found great success presenting Russian music in France. Building on this, he founded his ballet company Ballets Russes in Paris in 1909 and for the 1910 season wanted an entirely new ballet with a Russian story and music. After being turned down by other more notable composers, Diaghilev approached a mostly unknown 27 year old Russian composer whose music he had heard and had hired to help orchestrate Chopin's music for an earlier ballet. Igor Stravinsky accepted the commission in December 1909 and the resulting ballet, "The Firebird," was an immediate success on its June 1910 premiere in Paris. Subsequent performances made Stravinsky an international sensation and led to future Diaghilev-Stravinsky productions "Petrushka" and the notorious "The Rite of Spring." The popularity of the music led Stravinsky to create three concert suites of the music in later years. The most popular “Firebird” suite, from 1919, is today’s Midday Masterpiece.
6:00 a.m.
George Friederich Handel
Concerto Grosso No. 3 in E minor Opus 6/3 HWV 321
Handel & Haydn Society; Christopher Hogwood, conductor
6:12 a.m.
Felix Mendelssohn
Piano Concerto No. 2 in D minor Opus 40
Bamberg Symphony; Claus Peter Flor, conductor Sergei Edelmann, piano
6:41 a.m.
Edward K. (Duke) Ellington
Solitude
Detroit Symphony Orchestra; Neeme Jarvi, conductor
6:46 a.m.
Robert Schumann
Ghost Variations Wo0 24
Igor Levit, piano
6:59 a.m.
Antonio Vivaldi
Violin Concerto, Op. 4, No. 4 in A minor Opus 4 RV 357
Academy of Ancient Music; Christopher Hogwood, conductor Monica Huggett, violin
7:08 a.m.
Camille Saint-Saens
Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor Opus 22
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra; Yoel Levi, conductor Andre Watts, piano
7:34 a.m.
Anthony Holborne
The Night Watch
The King's Noyse
7:36 a.m.
Sophie Hutchings
By Night
Voces8 Elitsa Bogdanova, viola; Matthew Sharp, cello; Olivia Jageurs, harp
7:42 a.m.
Franz Liszt
Mephisto Waltz No. 1
Chicago Symphony Orchestra; Fritz Reiner, conductor
7:54 a.m.
Charles Gounod
Funeral March of a Marionette
Cincinnati Pops; Erich Kunzel, conductor
7:59 a.m.
Ludwig Van Beethoven
Symphony No. 9: II. Molto Vivace (Scherzo and Trio) in D minor Opus 125
Cleveland Orchestra; Christoph Von Dohnanyi, conductor
8:12 a.m.
Felix Mendelssohn
Violin Concerto in E minor Opus 64
Boston Symphony Orchestra; Charles Munch, conductor Jascha Heifetz, violin
8:37 a.m.
Florence Price
Piano Concerto in One Movement
New York Youth Symphony; Michael Repper, conductor Michelle Cann, piano
8:44 a.m.
Modest Mussorgsky
Night on Bald Mountain
Chicago Symphony Orchestra; Daniel Barenboim, conductor
8:56 a.m.
Edvard Grieg
Peer Gynt Suite No. 1: In the Hall of the Mountain King Opus 46
Cincinnati Pops; Erich Kunzel, conductor
9:00 a.m.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Piano Concerto No. 24 in C minor K 491
Scottish Chamber Orchestra; Charles Mackerras, conductor John O'Conor, piano
9:30 a.m.
Elena Kats-Chernin
WILD SWANS: Eliza Aria
Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra; Ola Rudner, conductor Jane Sheldon, soprano
9:34 a.m.
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor
Petite Suite de Concert Opus 77
Chineke! Orchestra; Anthony Parnther, conductor
9:51 a.m.
Joe Hisaishi
A Town with an Ocean View (from Kiki's Delivery Service)
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra; Joe Hisaishi, conductor Bruce Liu, piano
10:00 a.m.
George Friederich Handel
Concerto Grosso No. 10 in D minor Opus 6/10 HWV 328
Handel & Haydn Society; Christopher Hogwood, conductor
10:14 a.m.
Ludovico Einaudi
Odd Days
La Pieta; Angele Dubeau, conductor Angele Dubeau, violin
10:21 a.m.
Louis Spohr
Clarinet Concerto No. 4 in E minor WOO 20
Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields; Kenneth Sillito, conductor Sabine Meyer, clarinet
10:46 a.m.
Samuel Barber
Adagio for Strings Opus 11
Kronos Quartet
10:55 a.m.
Astor Piazzolla
Michelangelo 70
Gidon Kremer, violin; Per Arne Glorvigen, bandoneon; Alois Posch, double-bass; Vadim Sakharov, piano
11:00 a.m.
Edward Elgar
Cello Concerto in E minor Opus 85
London Philharmonic Orchestra; George Pehlivanian, conductor Ofra Harnoy, cello
11:29 a.m.
Amy Beach
Fireflies Opus 15
Joanne Polk, piano
11:32 a.m.
Alexandre Desplat
The Shape of Water: Main Theme
London Symphony Orchestra; Alexandre Desplat, conductor Alexandre Desplat, whistler
11:38 a.m.
Antonio Vivaldi
Flute Concerto No. 2 "The Night" (La Notte) in G minor Opus 10 RV 439
The English Concert; Trevor Pinnock, conductor Lisa Beznosiuk, flute
11:48 a.m.
William Schuman
New England Triptych: Chester
The President's Own U.S. Marine Band; Lt. Col. Jason K. Fettig, conductor
11:55 a.m.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Turkish Rondo (from Sonata No. 11 "Turkish March") in A major K 331
John O'Conor, piano
12:00 p.m.
Gustav Mahler
Symphony No. 5: I. Trauermarsch (Funeral March) in C# minor
Berlin Philharmonic; Claudio Abbado, conductor
12:14 p.m.
Johann Sebastian Bach
Prelude, Fugue and Allegro in Eb major BWV 998
Plinio Fernandes, guitar
12:29 p.m.
Margaret Bonds
Spiritual Suite: III. Troubled Water
Michelle Cann, piano
12:36 p.m.
Alan Hovhaness
Symphony No. 2 "Mysterious Mountain" Opus 132
Dallas Symphony Orchestra; Andrew Litton, conductor
12:54 p.m.
Reinhold Gliere
Romance Opus 35/6
Felix Klieser, horn; Christof Keymer, piano
12:59 p.m.
Hector Berlioz
Symphonie Fantastique: No. 5 Witches Sabbath Opus 14
BBC Symphony Orchestra; Andrew Davis, conductor
1:09 p.m.
John Williams
Devil's Dance (from The Witches of Eastwick)
Boston Pops Orchestra; Keith Lockhart, conductor
1:16 p.m.
Ludwig Van Beethoven
Piano Trio "Ghost" in D major Opus 70/1
The Gold Coast Trio Rachel Vetter Huang, violin; Susan Lamb Cook, cello; Hao Huang, piano
1:42 p.m.
Camille Saint-Saens
Danse Macabre Opus 40
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra; Lorin Maazel, conductor
1:50 p.m.
Frederic Chopin
Piano Sonata No. 2: III. Marche fun�bre (Funeral March) in Bb minor Opus 35
Leif Ove Andsnes, piano
2:00 p.m.
Igor Stravinsky
The Firebird: Ballet Suite
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra; Yuri Temirkanov, conductor
2:23 p.m.
Philipp Friedrich Boddecker
Violin Sonata, from Sacra Partitura in D minor RISM A/I: B 3263
Carrie Krause, baroque violin; John Lenti, theorbo
2:32 p.m.
Cesar Franck
The Accursed Huntsman (Le Chasseur Maudit)
Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra; Jesus Lopez-Cobos, conductor
2:48 p.m.
Carl Maria Von Weber
DER FREISCHUTZ: Overture Opus 77 J 277
Hanover Band; Roy Goodman, conductor
2:59 p.m.
Fanny Mendelssohn
Piano Sonata in G minor in G minor (1843) H395
Anna Shelest, piano
3:17 p.m.
James Newton Howard
The Village
La Pieta; Angele Dubeau, conductor Angele Dubeau, violin
3:25 p.m.
Sergei Rachmaninoff
The Isle of the Dead Opus 29
Philadelphia Orchestra; Yannick Nezet-Seguin, conductor
3:48 p.m.
Johann Sebastian Bach
Prelude and Fugue (from the Well-Tempered Clavier I:02) in C minor BWV 847
Angela Hewitt, piano
3:52 p.m.
Michael Daugherty
Once Upon A Castle: Neptune Pool
The Nashville Symphony; Giancarlo Guerrero, conductor Paul Jacobs, organ
4:00 p.m.
Paul Dukas
The Sorcerer's Apprentice
Los Angeles Philharmonic; Andre Previn, conductor
4:13 p.m.
Heitor Villa-Lobos
Choros No. 1
Pepe Romero, guitar
4:19 p.m.
William Grant Still
Symphony No. 2 "Song of a New Race" in G minor
Fort Smith Symphony; John Jeter, conductor
4:47 p.m.
Mark Isham
A River Runs Through It: Main Theme
Studio Orchestra
4:51 p.m.
Camille Saint-Saens
Symphony No. 3 "Organ": Finale in C minor Opus 78
Montreal Symphony Orchestra; Kent Nagano, conductor Olivier Latry, organ
5:00 p.m.
Johann Sebastian Bach
Toccata & Fugue in D minor BWV 565
Canadian Brass
5:09 p.m.
Leo Delibes
Coppelia: (Suite from the ballet)
Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra; Heinz Fricke, conductor
5:34 p.m.
Max Richter
Autumn 1
Berlin Chamber Orchestra; Andre de Ridder, conductor Daniel Hope, violin
5:41 p.m.
Antonio Vivaldi
Four Seasons: Winter (L'Inverno) in F minor Opus 8 RV 297
...and friends Janine Jansen, violin
5:50 p.m.
Gustav Holst
The Planets: Mars, Bringer of War Opus 32
Philharmonia Orchestra; John Eliot Gardiner, conductor
6:00 p.m.
Ludwig Van Beethoven
Piano Sonata No. 14 "Moonlight" in C# minor Opus 27/2
Los Angeles Philharmonic; Gustavo Dudamel, conductor Alice Sara Ott, piano
6:26 p.m.
Grace Williams
Trumpet Concerto
London Symphony Orchestra; Sir Charles Groves, conductor Howard Snell, trumpet
6:41 p.m.
John Williams
Close Encounters of the Third Kind: Suite
Boston Pops Orchestra; John Williams, conductor American Boychoir; Tanglewood Festival Chorus
6:52 p.m.
Derrick Skye
Black Ocean
Mir� Quartet; Conspirare; Craig Hella Johnson, conductor
