Classical Music Playlist, April 1, 2026
Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943)
Young Sergei Rachmaninoff had a nervous breakdown after scathing reviews of his Symphony No. 1 in 1897. He was so shaken that he couldn’t compose for three years and eventually sought treatment, including hypnosis, from Dr. Nicolai Dahl, a Russian physician of neurology and psychiatry. After more than three months of hypnotherapy and psychotherapy, Rachmaninoff was again able to compose and wrote his Piano Concerto No. 2 which he dedicated to Dr. Dahl. Premiered in 1901 with the composer as soloist, the work was a smashing success and assured Rachmaninoff’s fame as a composer and the Concerto remains an enduring favorite today. (In 1975, pop singer Eric Carmen wrote his hit “All By Myself” based on a theme in the Concerto’s 2nd movement and Céline Dion had a hit with her cover of that song in 1996).
We celebrate Sergei Rachmaninoff’s 1873 birthday with his music throughout the day including his ever-popular Piano Concerto No. 2 for today’s Midday Masterpiece.
6:00 a.m.
Ludwig Van Beethoven
Piano Sonata No. 13 in Eb major Opus 27/1
Maurizio Pollini, piano
6:16 a.m.
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Symphonic Dances Opus 45
Detroit Symphony Orchestra; Leonard Slatkin, conductor
6:51 a.m.
Antonin Dvorak
Symphony No. 5: III. Scherzo in F major Opus 76
Czech Philharmonic Orchestra; Vaclav Neumann, conductor
7:00 a.m.
Antonio Vivaldi
Guitar (or Mandolin) Concerto in D major RV 93
Lausanne Chamber Orchestra; Lawrence Foster, conductor Sharon Isbin, guitar
7:13 a.m.
Fanny Mendelssohn
Piano Trio in D minor Opus 11
Nash Ensemble
7:39 a.m.
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Vocalise Opus 34/14
San Francisco Symphony; Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor
7:45 a.m.
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Aleko: Men's Dance
Moscow Chamber Orchestra; Constantine Orbelian, conductor
7:50 a.m.
Elena Kats-Chernin
Ancient Letters: I. Tiger Cub
Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra; Johannes Fritzsch, conductor Tamara-Anna Cislowska, piano
7:59 a.m.
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Symphony No. 2: IV. Finale: Allegro vivace in E minor Opus 27
Detroit Symphony Orchestra; Leonard Slatkin, conductor
8:13 a.m.
Joaquin Rodrigo
Concierto Madrigal
Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields; Neville Marriner, conductor Pepe Romero, guitar; Angel Romero, guitar
8:44 a.m.
ANONYMOUS
Fool's Entr'acte
Convivium Musicum
8:45 a.m.
Josquin des Pres
Ave Maria
Capella Alamire Julia Doyle, soprano
8:52 a.m.
Ethel Smyth
Serenade in D: II. Scherzo. Allegro vivace in D major
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra; Odaline de la Martinez, conductor Tasmin Little, violin; John Lenehan, piano
8:59 a.m.
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Symphony No. 1 in D minor Opus 13
Concertgebouw Orchestra; Vladimir Ashkenazy, conductor
9:43 a.m.
Antonin Dvorak
Humoresque No. 7 in Gb major Opus 101/7
Orion Weiss, piano
9:48 a.m.
Ludwig Van Beethoven
Piano Concerto No. 4: III. Rondo: Vivace in G major Opus 58
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra; Zubin Mehta, conductor Vladimir Ashkenazy, piano
10:00 a.m.
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach
Symphony in Eb major Wq 179
Les Violons du Roy; Bernard Labadie, conductor
10:13 a.m.
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Sonata for Cello and Piano in G minor Opus 19
Yo Yo Ma, cello; Emanuel Ax, piano
10:53 a.m.
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Sleeping Beauty: Waltz from Act I
Philadelphia Orchestra; Riccardo Muti, conductor
10:59 a.m.
Josef Suk
Fantastic Scherzo Opus 25
Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra; JoAnn Falletta, conductor
11:15 a.m.
Georg Philipp Telemann
Alster Overture
Tafelmusik; Jeanne Lamon, conductor
11:22 a.m.
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Piano Concerto No. 1 in F# minor Opus 1
Los Angeles Philharmonic; Gustavo Dudamel, conductor Yuja Wang, piano
11:49 a.m.
Johann Strauss, Jr.
Artist's Life Opus 316 Kunstlerleben
Vienna State Opera Orchestra; Franz Bauer-Theussl, conductor
11:59 a.m.
George Friederich Handel
Water Music Suite No. 2 in D major HWV 349
Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra; Nicholas McGegan, conductor
12:10 p.m.
Felix Mendelssohn
A Midsummer Night's Dream: Scherzo
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra; Yoel Levi, conductor
12:14 p.m.
Alexander Glazunov
Symphony No. 5: II. Scherzo in Bb major Opus 55
BBC Welsh Symphony Orchestra; Tadaaki Otaka, conductor
12:21 p.m.
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini in G minor Opus 43
San Francisco Symphony; Edo de Waart, conductor Zoltan Kocsis, piano
12:45 p.m.
Johan Wagenaar
Cyrano de Bergerac Overture Opus 23
Concertgebouw Orchestra; Riccardo Chailly, conductor
1:00 p.m.
Antonin Dvorak
The Wood Dove (Die Waldtaube) Opus 110
Scottish National Orchestra; Neeme Jarvi, conductor
1:21 p.m.
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Scherzo in D minor
Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra; Paavo Jarvi, conductor
1:27 p.m.
Reinhold Gliere
Horn Concerto in Bb major Opus 91
Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra; Kurt Masur, conductor Hermann Baumann, horn
1:51 p.m.
Giuseppe Verdi
NABUCCO Overture (Sinfonia)
Philharmonic of La Scala; Riccardo Muti, conductor
2:00 p.m.
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor Opus 18
Dallas Symphony Orchestra; Andrew Litton, conductor Stephen Hough, piano
2:33 p.m.
Johann Sebastian Bach
Praeludio in E minor BWV 996
Sharon Isbin, guitar
2:36 p.m.
Antonio Lauro
Venezuelan Waltz No. 3 "Natalia" (Vals Venezolano)
Xuefei Yang, guitar
2:39 p.m.
Ottorino Respighi
Fountains of Rome
Philadelphia Orchestra; Riccardo Muti, conductor
2:55 p.m.
Johannes Brahms
Hungarian Dance No. 6 in D major
Staatskapelle Berlin; Otmar Suitner, conductor
3:00 p.m.
Antonio Vivaldi
Concerto for four violins in B minor Opus 3/10 RV 580
The English Concert; Trevor Pinnock, conductor Simon Standage, violin; Elizabeth Wilcock, violin; Micaela Comberti, violin; Miles Golding, violin
3:11 p.m.
Sergei Rachmaninoff
The Isle of the Dead Opus 29
St. Petersburg Philharmonic; Mariss Jansons, conductor
3:31 p.m.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Symphony No. 25 in G minor K 183
Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields; Neville Marriner, conductor
3:53 p.m.
Ralph Vaughan Williams
The Running Set
Bournemouth Sinfonietta; George Hurst, conductor
3:59 p.m.
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Symphony No. 6 "Pathetique": III. Molto Vivace in B minor Opus 74
Philharmonia Orchestra; Riccardo Muti, conductor
4:09 p.m.
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Prelude in C-sharp minor in C# minor Opus 3/2
Sergei Rachmaninoff, piano
4:13 p.m.
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Prelude in G minor in G minor Opus 23
Yuja Wang, piano
4:18 p.m.
Ludwig Van Beethoven
Symphony No. 5 in C minor Opus 67
Orchestre Revolutionnaire et Romantique; John Eliot Gardiner, conductor
4:51 p.m.
Antonin Dvorak
Slavonic Dance No. 4 in F major Opus 46
Cleveland Orchestra; Christoph Von Dohnanyi, conductor
4:59 p.m.
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Symphony No. 3: III. Allegro in A minor Opus 44
Detroit Symphony Orchestra; Leonard Slatkin, conductor
5:13 p.m.
Frederic Chopin
Mazurka No. 3 in F# minor Opus 59
Bela Fleck, banjo; John Williams, guitar
5:18 p.m.
Johann Sebastian Bach
Concerto for two violins (Double Concerto) in D minor BWV 1043
Freiburg Baroque Orchestra Petra Mullejans, violin; Gottfried von der Goltz, violin
5:34 p.m.
Richard Strauss
DER ROSENKAVALIER: Concert Suite
Scottish National Orchestra; Neeme Jarvi, conductor
6:00 p.m.
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor Opus 30
Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra; Riccardo Chailly, conductor Martha Argerich, piano
6:41 p.m.
Florence Price
String Quartet in G major: II. Andante moderato - Allegretto in G major
Pacifica Quartet
6:49 p.m.
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
The Seasons: April "Snowdrop" Opus 37
Detroit Symphony Orchestra; Neeme Jarvi, conductor
6:54 p.m.
Hania Rani; Dobrawa Czocher
There Will Be Hope
Hania Rani, piano; Dobrawa Czocher, cello
