Classical Music Playlist, June 11, 2025
In early 1945, Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich announced that he was working on "a symphony of victory with a song of praise" featuring chorus that would glorify the Red Army and Stalin who looked forward to the tribute to himself. But Shostakovich said "I simply couldn't" compose a work that elevated Stalin and he wrote what was one of his shortest symphonies with humor instead of heroism. The hammer soon fell. The following year the Chief Soviet propagandist effectively condemned the Symphony in his oppressive doctrine of 1946 that pressured artists to conform to the Soviet party line. The Symphony was banned outright in 1948. Shostakovich didn't compose another Symphony until the death of Stalin in 1953. The charmingly subversive Symphony No. 9 by Shostakovich is today's Midday Masterpiece.
6:00 a.m.
Muzio Clementi
Symphony in Bb major Opus 18/1
London Mozart Players; Matthias Bamert, conductor
6:17 a.m.
Johann Sebastian Bach
Orchestral Suite No. 2 in B minor
American Bach Soloists; Jeffrey Thomas, conductor
6:38 a.m.
Ethel Smyth
String Quartet: II. Allegro molto leggiero in E minor
Mannheim String Quartet
6:45 a.m.
Jean-Michel Damase
Seventeen Variations for wind quintet
Reykjavik Wind Quintet
7:00 a.m.
Felix Mendelssohn
Piano Concerto No. 2 in D minor Opus 40
Quebec Symphony Orchestra; Louis Lortie, conductor Louis Lortie, piano
7:21 a.m.
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Capriccio Italien Opus 45
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra; Vladimir Ashkenazy, conductor
7:38 a.m.
Xavier Dubois Foley
Shelter Island
Randall Goosby, violin; Xavier Dubois Foley, double bass
7:44 a.m.
Johan Wagenaar
Cyrano de Bergerac Overture Opus 23
Concertgebouw Orchestra; Riccardo Chailly, conductor
7:59 a.m.
Edvard Grieg
Holberg Suite Opus 40
Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields; Neville Marriner, conductor
8:21 a.m.
George Friederich Handel
Music for the Royal Fireworks HWV 351
English Baroque Soloists; John Eliot Gardiner, conductor
8:39 a.m.
Florence Price
Fantasie Negre (No. 1) in E minor
Jeneba Kanneh-Mason, piano
8:48 a.m.
Johannes Brahms
Academic Festival Overture Opus 80
Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra; Leonard Slatkin, conductor
9:00 a.m.
Alberic Magnard
Symphony No. 3 in Bb minor Opus 11
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra; Jean-Yves Ossonce, conductor
9:39 a.m.
ANONYMOUS
Dance
The Dufay Collective
9:44 a.m.
Johann Sebastian Bach
Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring
Voces8; Eric Whitacre, conductor Nelson Freire, piano
9:47 a.m.
Philip Glass
Etude 6
Vikingur Olafsson, piano
9:53 a.m.
Antonin Dvorak
Slavonic Dance No. 12 in Db major Opus 72
Cleveland Orchestra; Christoph Von Dohnanyi, conductor
10:00 a.m.
Georg Philipp Telemann
Concerto for trumpets, oboes, strings and timpani in D major TWV 54:D3
English Chamber Orchestra; Simon Preston, conductor Hannes Laubin, trumpet; Wolfgang Laubin, trumpet; Bernhard Laubin, trumpet
10:10 a.m.
Samuel Wesley
Symphony in Bb major
Milton Keynes Chamber Orchestra; Hilary Davan Wetton, conductor
10:32 a.m.
Kurt Atterberg
Symphony No. 3 "West Coast Pictures": II. Storm in D Opus 10
Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra; Sixten Ehrling, conductor
10:44 a.m.
Ralph Vaughan Williams
In the Fen Country
New Queen's Hall Orchestra; Barry Wordsworth, conductor
10:59 a.m.
Igor Stravinsky
The Fairy's Kiss: Divertimento
Chicago Symphony Orchestra; Fritz Reiner, conductor
11:25 a.m.
Esther Abrami
Transmissions
Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra; Irene Delgado-Jimenez, conductor Esther Abrami, violin
11:30 a.m.
Cecile Chaminade
Concertpiece (Concertstuck) in C# minor Opus 40
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra; Rebecca Miller, conductor Danny Driver, piano
11:46 a.m.
Percy Grainger
Children's March "Over the Hills and Far Away"
Dallas Wind Symphony; Jerry Junkin, conductor Arts District Chorale
11:53 a.m.
Antonin Dvorak
RUSALKA: Polonaise in Eb major
Czech Philharmonic Orchestra; Vaclav Neumann, conductor
11:59 a.m.
Johann Sebastian Bach
Brandenburg Concerto No. 6 in Bb major BWV 1051
Tafelmusik; Jeanne Lamon, conductor
12:16 p.m.
Fanny Mendelssohn
Notturno in G minor H337
Isata Kanneh-Mason, piano
12:20 p.m.
Gerardo Matos Rodriguez
La Cumparsita (Tango)
Xuefei Yang, guitar
12:24 p.m.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Clarinet Concerto in A major K 622
Berlin Philharmonic; Claudio Abbado, conductor Sabine Meyer, basset clarinet
12:52 p.m.
John Williams
Themes from Jurassic Park
Boston Pops Orchestra; John Williams, conductor
12:59 p.m.
George Enescu
Romanian Rhapsody No. 1 in A major Opus 11
National Orchestra of France; Cristian Macelaru, conductor Yuja Wang, piano
1:16 p.m.
Franz Joseph Haydn
String Quartet "The Rider" in G minor Opus 74/3
Kodaly Quartet
1:38 p.m.
George Enescu
Romanian Rhapsody No. 2 in D major Opus 11
Vancouver Symphony Orchestra; Sergiu Commissiona, conductor
1:52 p.m.
Ludwig Van Beethoven
Piano Sonata No. 17 "Tempest": III. Allegretto in D minor Opus 31/2
John O'Conor, piano
2:00 p.m.
Dmitri Shostakovich
Symphony No. 9 in Eb major Opus 70
Scottish National Orchestra; Neeme Jarvi, conductor
2:26 p.m.
Frederic Chopin
Nocturne No. 7 in C# minor Opus 27/1
Jeneba Kanneh-Mason, piano
2:32 p.m.
Franz Schubert
String Quartet No. 12 (Quartet Movement) in C minor D 703
Emerson String Quartet
2:43 p.m.
Grace Williams
Penillion
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra; Sir Charles Groves, conductor
3:00 p.m.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Horn Concerto No. 4 in Eb major K 495
Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra; Nicholas McGegan, conductor Lowell Greer, natural horn
3:17 p.m.
Max Richter
Mercy
Hilary Hahn, violin; Cory Smythe, piano
3:24 p.m.
Wilhelm Peterson-Berger
Orchestral Suite: The Story of Sleeping Beauty (Tornrossagan)
Norrkoping Symphony Orchestra; Michail Jurowski, conductor
3:50 p.m.
Jean Sibelius
Karelia Overture Opus 10
Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra; Neeme Jarvi, conductor
3:59 p.m.
Johann Sebastian Bach
Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G major BWV 1048
European Brandenburg Ensemble; Trevor Pinnock, conductor
4:12 p.m.
Felix Mendelssohn
Piano Concerto No. 1 in G minor Opus 25
London Mozart Players; Jonathan Bloxham, conductor Isata Kanneh-Mason, piano
4:33 p.m.
Sebastian Iradier
La Paloma the dove
Pepe Romero, guitar
4:36 p.m.
Henriette Renie
Dance of the Elves (Danse des Lutins)
Xavier de Maistre, harp
4:41 p.m.
Anton Bruckner
Symphony No. 6: I. Majestoso in A major
Concertgebouw Orchestra; Riccardo Chailly, conductor
4:59 p.m.
Antonin Dvorak
Scherzo capriccioso Opus 66
Czech Philharmonic Orchestra; Charles Mackerras, conductor
5:14 p.m.
Johann Strauss, Jr.
Blue Danube Waltz Opus 314
Chicago Symphony Orchestra; Fritz Reiner, conductor
5:24 p.m.
Ralph Vaughan Williams
The Lark Ascending
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra; Simon Rattle, conductor Nigel Kennedy, violin
5:42 p.m.
Ignaz Moscheles
Piano Concerto No. 6 "Fantastique" in Bb major Opus 90
Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra; Howard Shelley, conductor Howard Shelley, piano
6:00 p.m.
Anton Reicha
Wind Quintet No. 2 in Eb major Opus 88/2
Albert Schweitzer Quintet
6:26 p.m.
Alexander von Zemlinsky
Symphony No. 2: IV. Moderato (Finale) in Bb major
Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra; Riccardo Chailly, conductor
6:39 p.m.
Aldemaro Romero
Fuga con Pajarillo
Sphinx Virtuosi; Cristian Macelaru, conductor Daniel Hope, violin; Alexey Botvinov, piano
6:48 p.m.
John Williams
STAR WARS - THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK: The Asteroid Field
London Symphony Orchestra; John Williams, conductor
6:52 p.m.
Philip Glass
Powaqqatsi (Film Score): Anthem 1
Philip Glass Ensemble; MIchael Reisman, conductor
