Classical Music Playlist, December 16, 2025
Since its premiere in May 1824, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 — especially its final “Ode to Joy” choral movement — has become recognized worldwide for its message of brotherhood and unity. The “Ode” has been sung in the streets of countries under dictatorial regimes, within prison camps, and spontaneously by choruses of strangers worldwide from city balconies during the pandemic lockdown. It has become virtually a traditional Christmas carol sung across Japan by citizen choirs every December, and on Christmas Day 1989 Leonard Bernstein conducted the symphony at the Konzerthaus at Gendarmenmarkt square to celebrate the fall of the Berlin Wall.
In that spirit, we offer the complete Symphony No. 9 by Beethoven — filling the entire 2pm hour and beyond — for our Midday MasterPEACE for today, the assumed date of Beethoven’s birth in 1770.
6:00 a.m.
Johann Joachim Quantz
Flute Concerto in C minor
Brandenburg Consort; Roy Goodman, conductor Rachel Brown, flute
6:17 a.m.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Serenade for Winds in C minor K 388
Champs-Elysees Theatre Orchestra; Philippe Herreweghe, conductor Members of...
6:40 a.m.
Fanny Mendelssohn
Melodie (Allegretto) No. 2 in C# minor Opus 4/2
Betty Ann Miller, piano
6:42 a.m.
Felix Mendelssohn
Song Without Words "Spring Song" (Book V, No. 6) in A major Opus 62/6
Andras Schiff, piano
6:46 a.m.
Leos Janacek
Suite (Serenade) Opus 3
Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra; Libor Pesek, conductor
7:00 a.m.
Johann Sebastian Bach
Fantasia and Fugue in A minor in A minor BWV 904
Vikingur Olafsson, piano
7:10 a.m.
Johannes Brahms
Serenade No. 2 in A major Opus 16
Scottish Chamber Orchestra; Charles Mackerras, conductor
7:43 a.m.
Josef Suk
Piano Trio: II. Andante in C minor Opus 2
Neave Trio
7:47 a.m.
Ludwig Van Beethoven
Ruins of Athens: Turkish March Opus 113/4
Boston Pops Orchestra; Arthur Fiedler, conductor
7:50 a.m.
Theodore Dubois
Quintet for piano, oboe and strings: IV. Finale: Allegro con fuoco in F major
Trio Hochelaga Philippe Magnan, oboe; Jean-Luc Plourde, viola
7:59 a.m.
Georg Philipp Telemann
Concerto for Violin and 3 Horns in D major
Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields; Iona Brown, conductor Hermann Baumann, horn; Timothy Brown, horn; Nicholas Hill, horn
8:11 a.m.
Franz Joseph Haydn
Symphony No. 39 in G minor
Heidelberg Symphony; Thomas Fey, conductor
8:31 a.m.
Mikhail Glinka
Spanish Overture No. 2
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra; Vassily Sinaisky, conductor
8:41 a.m.
George Friederich Handel
Music for the Royal Fireworks HWV 351
The English Concert; Trevor Pinnock, conductor
9:00 a.m.
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor Opus 18
Dallas Symphony Orchestra; Andrew Litton, conductor Stephen Hough, piano
9:34 a.m.
TRADITIONAL
Sussex Carol
; John Rutter, conductor Cambridge Singers
9:36 a.m.
Leroy Anderson
Sleigh Ride
Voces8 Foundation Orchestra; Barnaby Smith, conductor
9:40 a.m.
Sergei Prokofiev
Symphony No. 1 "Classical" in D major Opus 25
Chamber Orchestra of Europe; Claudio Abbado, conductor
9:54 a.m.
Giovanni Gabrieli
Canzon in the 1st tone for 8 parts
London Symphony Orchestra Brass; Eric Crees, conductor
10:00 a.m.
Ottorino Respighi
Fountains of Rome
Philadelphia Orchestra; Riccardo Muti, conductor
10:16 a.m.
Aram Khachaturian
Spartacus: Adagio of Spartacus & Phrygia
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra; Aram Khachaturian, conductor
10:26 a.m.
Johann Nepomuk Hummel
Piano Quintet in Eb minor Opus 87
Schubert Ensemble of London
10:49 a.m.
Stanislaw Moniuszko
FLIS (The Raftsman): Overture
Warsaw Philharmonic; Antoni Wit, conductor
11:00 a.m.
Francesco Geminiani
Concerto Grosso "La Follia" in D minor
Boston Baroque; Martin Pearlman, conductor
11:11 a.m.
Florence Price
Symphony No. 4: III. Juba Dance in D minor
Philadelphia Orchestra; Yannick Nezet-Seguin, conductor Raphael Feuillatre, guitar
11:15 a.m.
Ludwig Van Beethoven
Triple Concerto for piano, violin, cello & orchestra in C major Opus 56
Philharmonia Orchestra; Santtu-Matias Rouvali, conductor Nicola Benedetti, violin; Sheku Kanneh-Mason, cello; Benjamin Grosvenor, piano
11:50 a.m.
Dag Wiren
Concert Overture No. 1 Opus 2
Norrkoping Symphony Orchestra; Thomas Dausgaard, conductor
11:59 a.m.
Gabriel Faure
Masques and Bergamasques Opus 112
Lyon National Orchestra; Emmanuel Krivine, conductor
12:14 p.m.
Antonio Vivaldi
Concerto for two violins, Op. 3, No. 8 in A minor Opus 3 RV 522
Tafelmusik; Jeanne Lamon, conductor Jeanne Lamon, violin; Genevieve Gilardeau, violin
12:25 p.m.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Symphony No. 29 in A major K 201
Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields; Neville Marriner, conductor
12:51 p.m.
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Nutcracker: Waltz of the Flowers Opus 71
London Symphony Orchestra; Charles Mackerras, conductor
12:59 p.m.
Lars-Erik Larsson
The Winter's Tale Opus 18
New York Scandia Symphony; Dorrit Matson, conductor
1:11 p.m.
Felix Mendelssohn
Piano Trio No. 2 in C minor Opus 66
Claremont Trio
1:41 p.m.
George Friederich Handel
Passacaille, Gigue, and Minuet
The English Concert; Trevor Pinnock, conductor
1:49 p.m.
Arvo Part
Mirror in the Mirror (Spiegel im Spiegel)
Dietmar Schwalke, cello; Alexander Malter, piano
2:00 p.m.
Ludwig Van Beethoven
Symphony No. 9 in D minor Opus 125
Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra; Riccardo Chailly, conductor Katerina Beranova, soprano; Lilli Paasikivi, mezzo-soprano; Robert Dean Smith, tenor; Hanno Muller-Brachmann, bss-baritone; Gewandhaus Chorus
3:04 p.m.
Arcangelo Corelli
Concerto Grosso No. 1 in D major Opus 6
Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra; Nicholas McGegan, conductor
3:16 p.m.
Enrique Granados
La Maja de Goya
Eduardo Fernandez, guitar
3:22 p.m.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Piano Concerto No. 26 "Coronation" in D major K 537 (FROM THE RUSSELL KLETZING COLLECTION)
Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields; Neville Marriner, conductor Alfred Brendel, piano
3:53 p.m.
Hector Berlioz
Damnation of Faust: Hungarian March Opus 24
Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra; Leonard Slatkin, conductor
4:00 p.m.
Edvard Grieg
Symphonic Dances Opus 64
Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra; Neeme Jarvi, conductor
4:32 p.m.
TRADITIONAL
Greensleeves
Ronn McFarlane, lute
4:32 p.m.
TRADITIONAL
God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen
Canadian Brass Eric Robertson, organ
4:36 p.m.
Johann Sebastian Bach
Keyboard Concerto No. 4 in A major BWV 1055
Chamber Orchestra of Europe Andras Schiff, piano
4:50 p.m.
Johan Svendsen
Festival Polonaise (Festpolonese) Opus 12
Latvian National Symphony; Terje Mikkelsen, conductor
5:00 p.m.
Florence Price
Symphony No. 1: I. Allegro ma non troppo in E minor
Chineke! Orchestra; Roderick Cox, conductor
5:19 p.m.
George Friederich Handel
Concerto Grosso No. 6 in G minor Opus 6/6 HWV 324
Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra; Ton Koopman, conductor
5:35 p.m.
Carl Maria Von Weber
Concertino for Clarinet and Orchestra in Eb major Opus 26
Staatskapelle Dresden; Herbert Blomstedt, conductor Sabine Meyer, clarinet
5:45 p.m.
Camille Saint-Saens
Concert Piece for harp & orchestra (Concertstucke) in G major Opus 154
Rhenish Philharmonic Orchestra; Shao-Chia Lu, conductor Xavier de Maistre, harp
6:00 p.m.
Holiday Programming
The Sound of Cinnamon PART 1
Jake Armerding, host
6:22 p.m.
Holiday Programming
The Sound of Cinnamon PART 2
Jake Armerding, host
