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, May 29, 2023For Memorial Day and including his 1942 “Fanfare for the Common Man,” Aaron Copland’s stirring and heroic Symphony #3 that he wrote to reflect the euphoric mood of the country at the end of WW2 is today’s Midday Masterpiece.
Classical Music Playlist, May 26, 2023"The Forsaken Merman" by English composer Ernest Farrar is based on a poem about a merman's mortal wife who returns to land and forsakes her family despite her tears for doing so. It’s today’s Midday Masterpiece.
Classical Music Playlist, May 25, 2023Inspired by tales of the Arabian Nights, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s entire 45-minute “Scheherazade” is today’s colorful Midday Masterpiece.
Classical Music Playlist, May 24, 2023The Viola Concerto by 26 year old William Walton that established him as a leading British composer is today’s Midday Masterpiece.
Classical Music Playlist, May 23, 2023What was originally a Serenade for the celebrations of a family friend’s enoblement, months later Mozart reworked into his Symphony #35, the “Haffner” Symphony. It’s today’s Midday Masterpiece.
Classical Music Playlist, May 22, 2023Antonín Dvořák found writing his Piano Quartet No. 2 very easy going, with “melodies coming to me in droves.” It’s today’s Midday Masterpiece with the Emerson String Quartet joined by pianist Menahem Pressler who just passed away on May 6th.
Classical Music Playlist, May 19, 2023The Piano Concerto No. 5 was one of fourteen compositions Beethoven dedicated to Archduke Rudolph, his greatest patron. Also known as the “Emperor” Concerto, it's today's Midday Masterpiece.
Classical Music Playlist, May 18, 2023A student of Dvorak and contemporary of Brahms, Mahler and Strauss, Czech composer Josef Suk completed his First symphony in 1899 and reflects that late Romantic era and his native folk culture. It's today's Midday Masterpiece.
Classical Music Playlist, May 17, 2023Between Mozart’s death and Beethoven’s fame, Haydn composed his final set of String Quartets in 1797; considered by many his greatest in the genre that he virtually created. The first of that set, in G-major, is today’s Midday Masterpiece.
Classical Music Playlist, May 16, 2023With the flavor of an epic Russian opera, Alexander Borodin’s Symphony No. 2 is today’s Midday Masterpiece.