Classical Music Playlist, May 22, 2025
Young and old Richard Strauss (1864-1949)
Composed shortly before his own passing, Richard Strauss's "Four Last Songs" for soprano and orchestra are a serene reflection on themes of life and the peaceful acceptance of death. On the 75th anniversary of their first performance on May 22, 1950, they are today’s Midday Masterpiece.
Soprano Renée Fleming said of them, “...they have tremendous humanity. He really understood women [Strauss composed them for his soprano wife]. The Four Last Songs really do mirror the stages of life to a great degree. Strauss clearly is making a final statement, offering a credo of sorts, particularly in the song Im Abendrot (At Sunset), which describes death as a vast, tranquil peace after the weariness of wandering.
The four songs are:
1. "Frühling" (Spring) - Text by Hermann Hesse. Evokes the awakening of nature in spring, with images of blossoming trees, blue skies, and birdsong, filled with a sense of wonder and renewed life.
2. "September" - Text by Hermann Hesse. Paints a picture of a fading summer garden as autumn approaches. It speaks of the garden's mourning, the falling leaves, and a sense of quiet resignation as summer comes to its end.
3. "Beim Schlafengehen" (When Falling Asleep) - Text by Hermann Hesse. Explores the desire to let go of the day's burdens and find solace in sleep. It depicts the soul's peaceful flight into the "magic circle of the night."
4. "Im Abendrot" (At Sunset) - Text by Joseph von Eichendorff. This is the earliest composed of the four and is often considered the emotional heart of the set. It portrays an aging couple resting at sunset, reflecting on their journey through "joy and sorrow," and ends with the profound question, "Ist dies etwa der Tod?" (Is this perhaps death?).
6:00 a.m.
Santiago de Murcia
Guitar Sonata in D
Richard Savino, guitar
6:08 a.m.
Cesar Franck
Sonata for violin and piano in A major
Shlomo Mintz, violin; Yefim Bronfman, piano
6:36 a.m.
Luigi Cherubini
Eliza: Overture
Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields; Neville Marriner, conductor
6:45 a.m.
Georg Philipp Telemann
Concerto for flute and strings in D major
Berlin Baroque Soloists; Rainer Kussmaul, conductor Emmanuel Pahud, flute
6:59 a.m.
Hubert Parry
Symphonic Variations
Scottish National Orchestra; Andrew Penny, conductor
7:13 a.m.
Franz Joseph Haydn
Symphony No. 83 "The Hen" in G minor
London Mozart Players; Jane Glover, conductor
7:37 a.m.
Edward Elgar
Serenade for string orchestra in E minor Opus 20
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra; David Zinman, conductor
7:50 a.m.
Gentil Montana
Suite Colombiana No. 2: IV. Porro
Jose Antonio Escobar, guitar
7:54 a.m.
Antonin Dvorak
Piano Quintet No. 2: III. Scherzo (Furiant) in A major Opus 81
Takacs Quartet Marc-Andre Hamelin, piano
7:59 a.m.
Arnold Bax
Overture to a Picaresque Comedy
London Philharmonic Orchestra; Bryden Thomson, conductor
8:11 a.m.
Edvard Grieg
Symphonic Dances Opus 64
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra; Paavo Berglund, conductor
8:42 a.m.
Antonio Vivaldi
Violin Concerto No. 11 in D major Opus 4/11 RV 204
Academy of Ancient Music; Christopher Hogwood, conductor Monica Huggett, violin
8:50 a.m.
George Gershwin
I Got Rhythm Variations
Boston Pops Orchestra; Arthur Fiedler, conductor Earl Wild, piano
9:00 a.m.
Dag Wiren
Symphony No. 3 Opus 20
Norrkoping Symphony Orchestra; Thomas Dausgaard, conductor
9:23 a.m.
Paulinho Nogueira
Bachianinha No. 1
Plinio Fernandes, guitar
9:27 a.m.
Johann Sebastian Bach
Art of the Fugue: Contrapunctus No. 9 BWV 1080
Les Violons du Roy; Bernard Labadie, conductor
9:30 a.m.
Jose Moncayo
Sinfonietta
Mexico National Symphony Orchestra; Enrique Arturo Diemecke, conductor
9:42 a.m.
Alexander Borodin
Symphony No. 3 (Incomplete) in A minor
Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra; Neeme Jarvi, conductor
10:00 a.m.
George Friederich Handel
Concerto Grosso No. 6 in G minor Opus 6/6 HWV 324
Boston Baroque; Martin Pearlman, conductor
10:16 a.m.
Gabriela Lena Frank
Four Folk Songs: III. Serenata
Claremont Trio
10:23 a.m.
Emmanuel Chabrier
Pastoral Suite (Suite Pastorale)
Monte Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra; Herve Niquet, conductor
10:41 a.m.
Mauro Giuliani
Grand Quintet (Gran Quintetto) Opus 65
Artaria Quartet Richard Savino, guitar
11:00 a.m.
Asger Hamerik
Symphony No. 3 "Symphonie Lyrique" in E major Opus 33
Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra; Thomas Dausgaard, conductor
11:36 a.m.
Erik Satie
Gnossienne No. 1
Pascal Roge, piano
11:39 a.m.
Erik Satie
Gymnopedie No. 1
Pascal Roge, piano
11:44 a.m.
Engelbert Humperdinck
HANSEL UND GRETEL Overture
Bavarian Radio Symphony; Jeffrey Tate, conductor
11:53 a.m.
Hugo Alfven
Festival Overture Opus 25
Royal Scottish National Orchestra; Niklas Willen, conductor
12:00 p.m.
Antonin Dvorak
Scherzo capriccioso Opus 66
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra; Marin Alsop, conductor
12:16 p.m.
Johannes Brahms
Piano Quartet No. 3: II. Scherzo. Allegro in C minor Opus 60
Krystian Zimerman, piano; Maria Nowak, violin; Katarzyna Budnik, viola; Yuya Okamoto, cello
12:20 p.m.
Joaquin Rodrigo
Concierto Madrigal
Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields; Neville Marriner, conductor Pepe Romero, guitar; Angel Romero, guitar
12:51 p.m.
Johann Sebastian Bach
Prelude and Fugue (from the Well-Tempered Clavier I:02) in C minor BWV 847
Vikingur Olafsson, piano
12:54 p.m.
Johann Sebastian Bach
Cantata No. 29: Sinfonia BWV 29
Brandenburg Consort; Roy Goodman, conductor Paul Nicholson, organ
12:59 p.m.
Ralph Vaughan Williams
Oboe Concerto
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic; Vernon Handley, conductor Jonathan Small, oboe
1:17 p.m.
Teresa Carreno
Ballade Opus 15
Clara Rodriguez, piano
1:26 p.m.
Franz Joseph Haydn
Symphony No. 102 in Bb major
Philharmonia Orchestra; Leonard Slatkin, conductor Matthias Feile, cello
1:51 p.m.
Earl Wild
Grand Fantasie on Porgy and Bess: Summertime (After G. Gershwin)
San Francisco Symphony; Herbert Blomstedt, conductor Isata Kanneh-Mason, piano
1:54 p.m.
Aaron Copland
Rodeo: Hoe-Down
Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra; Leonard Slatkin, conductor
2:00 p.m.
Richard Strauss
Four Last Songs (Vier letzte Lieder)
Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra; George Szell, conductor Elizabeth Schwarzkopf, soprano
2:24 p.m.
Gustav Mahler
Symphony No. 5: III. Scherzo in C# minor
Berlin Philharmonic; Claudio Abbado, conductor Gerd Seifert, horn
2:42 p.m.
Johannes Brahms
St. Anthony Variations in Bb major Opus 56
Scottish Chamber Orchestra; Charles Mackerras, conductor
3:01 p.m.
Gaetano Donizetti
Concertino for clarinet and orchestra in Bb major
Camerata Budapest; Laszlo Kovacs, conductor Bela Kovacs, clarinet
3:09 p.m.
John Dowland
The King of Denmark's Galiard P 40
Paul O'Dette, lute
3:12 p.m.
Tielmann Susato
Dans du Roy
New London Consort; Philip Pickett, conductor
3:16 p.m.
Bernhard Crusell
Sinfonia Concertante for clarinet, horn, bassoon and orchestra Opus 3
New York Scandia Symphony; Dorrit Matson, conductor Steven Hartman, clarinet; Marc Goldberg, bassoon; Peter Reit, horn
3:45 p.m.
Benjamin Britten
Matinees musicales (Suite after Rossini) Opus 24
National Philharmonic Orchestra; Richard Bonynge, conductor
4:00 p.m.
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Piano Concerto No. 1 in Bb minor Opus 23
Minnesota Orchestra; Osmo Vanska, conductor Stephen Hough, piano
4:33 p.m.
Sergei Prokofiev
Violin Concerto No. 1: III. Moderato in D major Opus 19
Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra; Klaus Makela, conductor Janine Jansen, violin
4:42 p.m.
Lars-Erik Larsson
Pastoral Suite: Scherzo Opus 19
CBC Vancouver Orchestra; Mario Bernardi, conductor
4:46 p.m.
Richard Wagner
LOHENGRIN: Prelude to Act III
New York Philharmonic; Giuseppi Sinopoli, conductor
4:50 p.m.
Carl Maria Von Weber
Oberon Overture J 306
Tapiola Sinfonietta; Jean Jacques Kantorow, conductor
5:00 p.m.
Aaron Copland
Outdoor Overture
Cincinnati Pops; Erich Kunzel, conductor
5:10 p.m.
Alexander MacKenzie
Twelfth Night Opus 40
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra; Martyn Brabbins, conductor
5:30 p.m.
Franz Liszt
Piano Concerto No. 2 in A major
Budapest Festival Orchestra; Ivan Fischer, conductor Zoltan Kocsis, piano
5:51 p.m.
Mikhail Glinka
Kamarinskaia
Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra; Loris Tjeknavorian, conductor
6:00 p.m.
Camille Saint-Saens
Violin Concerto No. 3 in B minor Opus 61
London Philharmonic Orchestra; Jesus Lopez-Cobos, conductor Chee-Yun, violin
6:29 p.m.
Zenobia Powell Perry
Pavane for Piano
Josephine Gandolfi, piano
6:32 p.m.
Amy Beach
Scottish Legend Opus 54/1
Alan Feinberg, piano
6:36 p.m.
Grace Williams
Trumpet Concerto
London Symphony Orchestra; Sir Charles Groves, conductor Howard Snell, trumpet
6:50 p.m.
Marcel Grandjany
Rhapsodie for Harp Opus 10
Yolanda Kondonassis, harp
