Classical Music Playlist, December 31, 2025
In Gustav Mahler’s day, audiences didn’t really know what to make of his Symphony No. 1. Was it telling a story? Why is it all over the place? It’s so long; did he not know when to stop composing? Mahler said that its overall narrative describes “a strong, heroic man, his life and sufferings, his battles and defeat at the hands of Fate.”
With that in mind, Mahler described the symphony as: the first three movements with spring, happy dreams, and a wedding procession; the fourth is a funeral march. Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony perform the complete (56 minute) Symphony No. 1 by Gustav Mahler for today's Midday Masterpiece.
6:00 a.m.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Horn Concerto No. 1 in D major K 412
Scottish Chamber Orchestra; Charles Mackerras, conductor Eric Ruske, horn
6:09 a.m.
Juan Arriaga
Symphony in D minor
Le Concert des Nations; Jordi Savall, conductor
6:39 a.m.
Felix Mendelssohn
Octet in E flat: I. Allegro moderato in Eb major Opus 20
Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra; Pinchas Zukerman, conductor
6:54 a.m.
Frederic Chopin
Nocturne No. 2 in Eb major Opus 9/2
Seong-Jin Cho, piano
7:00 a.m.
Ludwig Van Beethoven
Egmont Overture Opus 84
Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra; Riccardo Chailly, conductor
7:09 a.m.
Camille Saint-Saens
Piano Concerto No. 5 in F major Opus 103
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra; Andre Previn, conductor Jean-Philippe Collard, piano
7:40 a.m.
Gentil Montana
Suite Colombiana No. 2: IV. Porro
Jose Antonio Escobar, guitar
7:43 a.m.
Hector Berlioz
Symphonie Fantastique: A Ball Opus 14
Concertgebouw Orchestra; Colin Davis, conductor
7:50 a.m.
Johann Strauss, Jr.
DIE FLEDERMAUS Overture (The Bat)
Berlin Philharmonic; Herbert Von Karajan, conductor
8:00 a.m.
Gioachino Rossini
THE ITALIAN GIRL IN ALGIERS: Overture
Chamber Orchestra of Europe; Claudio Abbado, conductor
8:09 a.m.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Symphony No. 38 "Prague" in D major K 504
Prague Chamber Orchestra; Charles Mackerras, conductor
8:45 a.m.
Antonin Dvorak
Slavonic Dance No. 8 in G minor Opus 46
Cleveland Orchestra; Christoph Von Dohnanyi, conductor
8:50 a.m.
Jean Sibelius
Violin Concerto: III. Allegro, ma non tanto in D minor Opus 47
Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra; Klaus Makela, conductor Janine Jansen, violin
9:00 a.m.
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Piano Concerto No. 1 in Bb minor Opus 23
Chicago Symphony Orchestra; Georg Solti, conductor Andras Schiff, piano
9:35 a.m.
Gustav Holst
The Planets: Venus, Bringer of Peace Opus 32
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra; Andre Previn, conductor
9:45 a.m.
Antonio Vivaldi
Concerto for two violins, Op. 3, No. 5 in A major Opus 3 RV 519
The English Concert; Trevor Pinnock, conductor
9:53 a.m.
Philip Glass
Concerto Fantasy for 2 Timpanists and Orchestra: Movement 1
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic; Gerard Schwarz, conductor Evelyn Glennie, timpani; Jonathan Haas, timpani
10:00 a.m.
Manuel de Falla
Three-Cornered Hat Suite No. 2
Simon Bolivar Orchestra; Eduardo Mata, conductor
10:13 a.m.
Zenobia Powell Perry
Pavane for Piano
Josephine Gandolfi, piano
10:16 a.m.
Johannes Brahms
Piano Sonata No. 1: IV. Finale in C major Opus 1
Norman Krieger, piano
10:25 a.m.
Charles Gounod
Symphony No. 1 in D major
Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra; Christopher Hogwood, conductor
10:53 a.m.
Santiago de Murcia
La Jota
The Harp Consort Paul O'Dette, baroque guitar; Andrew Lawrence-King, harp
11:00 a.m.
Franz Joseph Haydn
Cello Concerto No. 1 in C major HOB VIIb:1
English Chamber Orchestra; Andrew Davis, conductor Matt Haimovitz, cello
11:26 a.m.
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Sleeping Beauty: Polonaise from Act III
London Symphony Orchestra; Andre Previn, conductor
11:32 a.m.
Johann Sebastian Bach
Harpsichord Concerto in D minor BWV 974
Vikingur Olafsson, piano
11:43 a.m.
Oskar Bohme
Sextet for brass Opus 30
Atlantic Brass Quintet
12:00 p.m.
Karl Goldmark
In Italy Overture Opus 49
Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra; Andras Korodi, conductor
12:14 p.m.
Bela Bartok
Concerto for Orchestra: IV. Interrupted Intermezzo
Helsinki Philharmonic; Susanna Malkki, conductor
12:18 p.m.
Johann Nepomuk Hummel
Concerto for Mandolin: III. Rondo in G major
Il Giardino Armonico; Giovanni Antonini, conductor Avi Avital, mandolin
12:24 p.m.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Flute & Harp Concerto in C major K 299
Berlin Philharmonic; Claudio Abbado, conductor Emmanuel Pahud, flute; Marie-Pierre Langlamet, harp
12:53 p.m.
Alexander Glazunov
Symphony No. 4: II. Scherzo in Eb major Opus 48
BBC Welsh Symphony Orchestra; Tadaaki Otaka, conductor
1:00 p.m.
Felix Mendelssohn
Trumpet Overture Opus 101
London Symphony Orchestra; Claudio Abbado, conductor
1:10 p.m.
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
The Tsar's Bride overture
Russian National Orchestra; Mikhail Pletnev, conductor
1:18 p.m.
Antonin Dvorak
Piano Quartet No. 2 in Eb major Opus 87
Emanuel Ax, piano; Isaac Stern, violin; Jaime Laredo, viola; Yo Yo Ma, cello
1:52 p.m.
Reinhold Gliere
Concert Waltz Opus 90
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra; Vassily Sinaisky, conductor
2:00 p.m.
Gustav Mahler
Symphony No. 1 in D major
San Francisco Symphony; Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor
2:57 p.m.
Claude Debussy
The Girl with the Flaxen Hair (from Preludes, Book I: No. 8)
Jeneba Kanneh-Mason, piano
3:01 p.m.
George Friederich Handel
Concerto Grosso No. 1 in Bb major Opus 3/1 HWV 312
The English Concert; Trevor Pinnock, conductor
3:10 p.m.
Joe Hisaishi
Merry-Go-Round of Life (from Howl's Moving Castle)
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra; Joe Hisaishi, conductor Yuja Wang, piano
3:15 p.m.
Sergei Prokofiev
Piano Sonata No. 7: III. Precipitato in Bb major Opus 83
Wei Luo, piano
3:20 p.m.
Johann Sebastian Bach
Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 in D major BWV 1050
Boston Baroque; Martin Pearlman, conductor
3:41 p.m.
Johannes Brahms
St. Anthony Variations in Bb major Opus 56
Scottish Chamber Orchestra; Charles Mackerras, conductor
3:59 p.m.
Camille Saint-Saens
SAMSON ET DELILA: Bacchanale Opus 47
Minnesota Orchestra; Eiji Oue, conductor
4:08 p.m.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Piano Concerto No. 22 in Eb major K 482
English Baroque Soloists; John Eliot Gardiner, conductor Malcolm Bilson, fortepiano
4:43 p.m.
Hans Zimmer
The Frozen Planet
BBC National Orchestra of Wales
4:49 p.m.
Johann Strauss, Jr.
Morning Papers Opus 279 (Morgenblatter)
Vienna State Opera Orchestra; Jascha Horenstein, conductor
5:00 p.m.
Carl Maria Von Weber
Clarinet Concerto No. 2 in Eb major Opus 74
Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields; Neville Marriner, conductor Andrew Marriner, clarinet
5:22 p.m.
Antonin Dvorak
Symphony No. 5: III. Scherzo in F major Opus 76
Czech Philharmonic Orchestra; Vaclav Neumann, conductor
5:31 p.m.
Franz Joseph Haydn
String Quartet in B minor Opus 33/1 HOB 3/37
Quatuor Mosaiques
5:55 p.m.
Johann Strauss, Sr.
Radetzky March Opus 228
Berlin Philharmonic; Herbert Von Karajan, conductor
5:59 p.m.
Carl Reinecke
Trio piano, oboe and horn in A minor Opus 188
Ingo Goritzki, oboe; Barry Tuckwell, horn; Ricardo Requejo, piano
6:28 p.m.
Ernst von Dohnanyi
Symphonic Minutes Opus 36
Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra; JoAnn Falletta, conductor
6:44 p.m.
Agustin Barrios
Danzas Paraguayas
David Russell, guitar
6:50 p.m.
Frederic Chopin
Nocturne No. 17 in B major Opus 62/1
Stephen Kovacevich, piano
