Classical Music Playlist, July 18, 2024Beethoven’s first two piano concertos are numbered by the order they were published, not composed. His second-composed “Piano Concerto No. 1" - in a live 1995 recording by, then, 12 year old pianist Helen Huang - is today's Midday Masterpiece.
Classical Music Playlist, April 18, 2023With subtle hints of ragtime and jazzy syncopation popular in 1931, the Symphony No. 2 by American composer Randall Thompson is today’s Midday Masterpiece.
Classical Music Playlist, April 17, 2023Derived from his draft of an abandoned early symphony, the Piano Concerto No. 4 by French composer Camille Saint-Saëns is today's Midday Masterpiece.
Classical Music Playlist, April 14, 2023Full of waltzes in a nostalgic nod to the charms of old Vienna, a concert Suite of music from the 1911 opera “Der Rosenkavalier” by Richard Strauss is today's Midday Masterpiece.
Classical Music Playlist, April 13, 2023Beethoven’s first two piano concertos are numbered by the order they were published, not composed. His second-composed “Piano Concerto No. 1” is today's Midday Masterpiece.
Classical Music Playlist, April 12, 2023Taken from an 80-minute score for a stage production and with its tuneful dances drawn from different cultures, the “Aladdin Suite” by Danish composer Carl Nielsen is today's Midday Masterpiece.
Classical Music Playlist, April 11, 2023In 1924 Aaron Copland called Gabriel Fauré’s 1921 Piano Quintet No. 2 his career masterwork. He said, "In profundity it recalls Bach; in grace, Mozart." Fauré's sublime Piano Quintet No. 2 is today's Midday Masterpiece.
Classical Music Playlist, April 10, 2023After a great reception of his first symphony, Danish composer Niels Gade soon composed his Symphony No. 2 which was also enthusiastically received. It’s today's Midday Masterpiece.
Classical Music Playlist, April 7, 2023The complete "Easter Oratorio" by Johann Sebastian Bach, in which biblical characters sing of their discovery that Christ has risen, is today's Midday Masterpiece.
Classical Music Playlist, April 6, 2023With its third movement that became a standalone hit, the 1937 Symphony No. 2 by Swedish composer Lars-Erik Larsson is today's Midday Masterpiece.
Classical Music Playlist, April 5, 2023Edward Elgar idly improvising a new melody on the piano turned into one of his most famous compositions. Elgar’s "Enigma Variations" are today's Midday Masterpiece.