Classical Music Playlist, July 17, 2024It was 307 years ago today, July 17, 1717, that Handel’s “Water Music” was first performed as entertainment for the King as he floated down the River Thames and back. All three suites of the COMPLETE “Water Music” are today's Midday Masterpiece.
Classical Music Playlist, November 9, 2023The beauty of the first two movements and the extreme virtuosity required of the finale attract both audiences and violinists to the 1941 Violin Concerto by Samuel Barber. It’s today's Midday Masterpiece.
Classical Music Playlist, November 8, 2023A celebration of Czech independence after World War I, Moravian (Czech) composer Leoš Janácek’s unabashedly brassy and proud “Sinfonietta” is today's Midday Masterpiece.
Classical Music Playlist, November 7, 2023The final of 12 symphonies Haydn composed for a lucrative commission from London after 30 years working for the Esterhazy family, his final Symphony #104, is today's Midday Masterpiece.
Classical Music Playlist, November 6, 2023A 1992 commission from flutist Sir James Galway, the Concerto for Flute and Orchestra by American composer Lowell Liebermann (born 1961), is today's Midday Masterpiece.
Classical Music Playlist, November 3, 2023Robert Schumann wrote serially: before 1840, for piano. In 1840, song. 1841, two symphonies. 1842 was his year of chamber music with three string quartets, a piano quintet and a piano quartet, which is today's Midday Masterpiece.
Classical Music Playlist, November 2, 2023November 2nd is All Souls’ Day, a day of remembrance of the departed. Prayer, visits to graves of loved ones and Requiem masses are traditional. For the day, Mozart’s entire “Requiem” is today's Midday Masterpiece.
Classical Music Playlist, November 1, 2023Danish composer Carl Nielsen said that writing his Violin Concerto in 1911 was "essentially difficult and therefore a lot of fun." Meeting the challenge paid off as its premiere was a resounding success. It’s today's Midday Masterpiece.
Classical Music Playlist, October 31, 2023A young man has nightmarish dreams including watching his own hanging; then, witches and ghouls arrive for his funeral, among other scenes. It’s all in the "Symphonie fantastique" by Hector Berlioz, today’s Midday Masterpiece.
Classical Music Playlist, October 30, 2023Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 3, with an orchestra of period instruments and the soloist playing a fortepiano of Beethoven’s era, is today’s Midday Masterpiece.
Classical Music Playlist, October 27, 2023Symphonic in scale with four movements instead of a concerto’s typical three, the Piano Concerto No. 2 by Johannes Brahms is today's Midday Masterpiece.