The Nickname Connection
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The “Moonlight” Sonata. The “Jupiter” Symphony. The “Air on the G String”
All have one thing in common: their composers did not give them the names we know them by.
So . . . who did? And why?
In this hour, we’ll explore the often surprising stories behind these and other musical nicknames.
FEATURED RECORDINGS
| Title |
Group/Artist |
Catalog # |
UPC |
| Beethoven: The Piano Sonatas, Vol. 4 [for the “Moonlight” Sonata] |
Andras Schiff |
ECM 1944 |
028947658757 |
| Bach Orchestral Suites [for Air on the G string”] |
Freiburg Baroque Orchestra |
Harmonia Mundi
HMC 902113.14 |
3149020211328 |
| Handel: Organ Concertos [for “The Cuckoo & the Nightengale”] |
Simon Preston; English Concert, Trevor Pinnock |
Archiv Produktion D 150066 |
034571120522 |
| Haydn String Quartets [for “The Joke”] |
Angeles String Tro |
Philips 464 650-2 |
028946465028 |
| Haydn Symphonies [for the “Surprise” Symphony |
Austro-Hungarian Haydn Orchestra, Adam Fischer |
Brilliant Classics 99925 |
842977099256 |
| Mozart Symphony No. 40 & 41 [for the “Jupiter” Symphony] |
Prague Chamber Orchestra, Charles Mackerras |
Telarc CD-80139 |
089408013928 |
| Mendelssohn Symphonies 3 & 4 [for “Scottish” Symphony] |
Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, Pablo Heras-Casado |
Harmonia Mundi HMC 902228 |
3149020222829 |
| Chopin - Complete Works [for the “Military” Polonaise] |
Garrick Ohlsson |
Hyperion CDS44351/66 |
034571143514 |
| Tchaikovsky Symphonies 1, 2 and 5 [for “Little Russian” Symphony] |
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Vasily Petrenko |
Onyx ONYX4150 |
880040415022 |
| Mozart: The Piano Concertos [for “Elvira Madigan” Concerto] |
Geza Anda, Camerata Academica of the Salzburg Mozarteum |
Deutsche Grammophon 469 510-2 |
028946951026 |
