Classical Music Playlist, December 26, 2025
Beethoven's "Late Quartets," No. 12-16 (plus the Große Fuge), were his final major compositions. They were so advanced at the time that they bewildered most and led some to believe the once great composer, now ailing, was losing his mind. While another musician admitted that Beethoven's genius might simply be misunderstood and beyond comprehension: "We know there is something there, but we do not know what it is." By the 20th century, opinions changed. These late quartets are now widely considered among the greatest musical compositions ever created.
Beethoven completed the original version of his String Quartet No. 13 in B♭ major (op130) in November 1825 and premiered it in March 1826. But as the original finale - the famed Große Fuge - was deemed far too long, complex, and bewildering at the time, he composed a new, lighter, final movement in November 1826 which was the final music Beethoven ever composed. He died in March 1827 and the quartet with the new finale was premiered a month later, in April 1827.
Beethoven's String Quartet No. 13, with the substitute final movement, is today's Midday Masterpiece.
6:00 a.m.
Antonio Vivaldi
Bassoon Concerto in G major RV 495
Arion Mathieu Lussier, baroque bassoon
6:09 a.m.
Florence Price
Violin Concerto No. 1 in D major
Philadelphia Orchestra; Yannick Nezet-Seguin, conductor Randall Goosby, violin
6:39 a.m.
Madeleine Dring
Colour Suite: IV. Blue Air
Sarah Cahill, piano
6:42 a.m.
Madeleine Dring
Colour Suite: V. Brown Study
Sarah Cahill, piano
6:45 a.m.
Johan Vanhal
Symphony in D major
Toronto Camerata; Kevin Mallon, conductor
7:00 a.m.
Ottorino Respighi
The Magic Pot: Suite (La pentola magica)
Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra; Adriano, conductor
7:18 a.m.
Franz Joseph Haydn
Symphony No. 60 "The Absent-minded Man" (Il Distratto) in C major
Austro-Hungarian Haydn Orchestra; Adam Fischer, conductor
7:43 a.m.
Hugo Wolf
Italian Serenade in G major
I Solisti Italiani
7:51 a.m.
Scott Joplin
Treemonisha Overture
Houston Grand Opera Orchestra; Gunther Schuller, conductor
8:00 a.m.
Ernest Farrar
Rhapsody No. 1 "The Open Road" Opus 9
Philharmonia Orchestra; Alasdair Mitchell, conductor
8:11 a.m.
Clara Schumann
Piano Concerto in A minor Opus 7
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic; Holly Mathieson, conductor Isata Kanneh-Mason, piano
8:33 a.m.
Gabriela Lena Frank
Leyendas: VI. Coqueteos
Del Sol String Quartet
8:36 a.m.
Antonin Dvorak
Slavonic Dance No. 5 in A major Opus 46
Cleveland Orchestra; Christoph Von Dohnanyi, conductor
8:41 a.m.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Symphony No. 14 in A major K 114
Prague Chamber Orchestra; Charles Mackerras, conductor
9:01 a.m.
Camille Saint-Saens
Carnival of the Animals
London Sinfonietta; Charles Dutoit, conductor Pascal Roge, piano; Cristina Ortiz, piano
9:24 a.m.
Jean-Philippe Rameau
NAIS: Orchestral Suite (1)
Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra; Nicholas McGegan, conductor
9:45 a.m.
Jose Moncayo
Sinfonietta
Mexico National Symphony Orchestra; Enrique Arturo Diemecke, conductor
9:57 a.m.
Frederic Chopin
Minute Waltz in Db major Opus 64/1
Jon Kimura Parker, piano
10:00 a.m.
Arnold Bax
Overture to a Picaresque Comedy
London Philharmonic Orchestra; Bryden Thomson, conductor
10:11 a.m.
Florence Price
Symphony No. 4 in D minor
Philadelphia Orchestra; Yannick Nezet-Seguin, conductor
10:46 a.m.
ANONYMOUS
Folia: Rodrigo Martinez
Jordi Savall, viola da gamba
10:53 a.m.
Henry Purcell
Indian Queen: Symphony
Parley of Instruments
10:59 a.m.
Edvard Grieg
Holberg Suite Opus 40
Orpheus Chamber Orchestra
11:20 a.m.
Arnold Bax
Morning Song (Maytime in Sussex)
London Philharmonic Orchestra; Bryden Thomson, conductor Margaret Fingerhut, piano
11:29 a.m.
Ralph Vaughan Williams
Five Variants of Dives and Lazarus
New Queen's Hall Orchestra; Barry Wordsworth, conductor
11:43 a.m.
Johann Sebastian Bach
Concerto No. 1 (originally for violin) in A minor BWV 1041
Elias String Quartet Xuefei Yang, guitar
11:59 a.m.
Carl Maria Von Weber
Symphony No. 1 in C major Opus 19
Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields; Neville Marriner, conductor
12:25 p.m.
Edward Elgar
Salut d'amour (Love's Greeting) Opus 12
Guildhall String Ensemble
12:28 p.m.
John Rutter
Lullaby for Ana Gwen
Sinfonia Cymru; John Rutter, conductor Catrin Finch, harp
12:33 p.m.
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Variations on a Rococo Theme Opus 33
Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra; Mariss Jansons, conductor Truls Mork, cello
12:53 p.m.
Jean Sibelius
Overture in A minor
Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra; Neeme Jarvi, conductor
1:01 p.m.
Antonio Vivaldi
Flute Concerto No. 6 in G major Opus 10 RV 437
Australian Chamber Orchestra; Richard Tognetti, conductor Emmanuel Pahud, flute
1:10 p.m.
J. P. E. Hartmann
Symphony No. 1 in G minor Opus 17
Danish National Symphony Orchestra; Thomas Dausgaard, conductor
1:42 p.m.
Teresa Carreno
Elegy No. 6 Opus 22 graveside lamentations
Alexandra Oehler, piano
1:53 p.m.
Maurice Greene
Overture No. 2 in G major
Baroque Band; Garry Clarke, conductor
2:00 p.m.
Ludwig Van Beethoven
String Quartet No. 13 in Bb major Opus 130
Takacs Quartet
2:43 p.m.
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
THE SNOW MAIDEN: Dance of the Tumblers
Boston Pops Orchestra; John Williams, conductor
2:48 p.m.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Rondo for piano & orchestra in D major K 382 (FROM THE RUSSELL KLETZING COLLECTION)
Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields; Neville Marriner, conductor Alfred Brendel, piano
2:59 p.m.
Johann Christian Bach
Sinfonia No. 4 in D major Opus 18/4
Academy of Ancient Music; Simon Standage, conductor
3:11 p.m.
Edvard Grieg
Symphony in C minor
Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra; Neeme Jarvi, conductor
3:44 p.m.
George Friederich Handel
Suite for Harpsichord: Sarabande in D minor HWV 437
Daniel Hope, violin; and friends
3:47 p.m.
Sonny Kompanek
Killer Tango
Canadian Brass
3:52 p.m.
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor
African Suite: African Dance Opus 35/4
Chicago Sinfonietta; Paul Freeman, conductor
4:00 p.m.
Carl Maria Von Weber
Oberon Overture J 306
Philharmonia Orchestra; Neeme Jarvi, conductor
4:10 p.m.
Johan Svendsen
Norwegian Rhapsody No. 3 (Norsk Rapsodi No. 3) Opus 21
South Jutland Symphony Orchestra; Bjarte Engeset, conductor
4:21 p.m.
Jean-Baptiste Lully
ARMIDE: Passacaille
La Petite Bande; Sigiswald Kuijken, conductor
4:24 p.m.
Jessie Montgomery
Strum
Catalyst Quartet
4:32 p.m.
Florence Price
Piano Quintet in A minor
Takacs Quartet Marc-Andre Hamelin, piano
5:00 p.m.
Marianna Martines
Sinfonia in C major
La Floridiana; Nicoleta Paraschivescu, conductor
5:12 p.m.
Federico Moreno Torroba
Castillos de Espana: Torija/Alcaniz (Elegia/Festival)
Andres Segovia, guitar
5:16 p.m.
Steve Reich
Electric Counterpoint: Third Movement
Valerie Milot, harp
5:22 p.m.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Sinfonia Concertante for winds and orchestra in Eb major K 297b (FROM THE RUSSELL KLETZING COLLECTION)
Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields; Neville Marriner, conductor Neil Black, oboe; Jack Brymer, clarinet; Alan Civil, horn; Michael Chapman, bassoon
5:53 p.m.
Ethel Smyth
String Quintet in E major: III. Scherzo - Allegro Vivace in E major Opus 1
Mannheim String Quartet
6:00 p.m.
Holiday Programming
The Sounds of Kwanzaa PART 1
Garrett McQueen, host
6:28 p.m.
Holiday Programming
The Sounds of Kwanzaa PART 2
Garrett McQueen, host
6:38 p.m.
Holiday Programming
The Sounds of Kwanzaa PART 3
Garrett McQueen, host
