Classical Music Playlist, April 30, 2026
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, 1880. Source: Library of Congress
Tchaikovsky opens his 1877 Symphony No. 4 with a fanfare that he pessimistically described in a letter as representing "the fatal power which prevents one from attaining the goal of happiness... There is nothing to be done but to submit to it and lament in vain [and] drift upon that sea until it engulfs and submerges you in its depths." But fortunately, in the final movement that same fanfare is transformed and escapes those depths and the symphony ends triumphantly. The Symphony No. 4 by Tchaikovsky is today’s Midday Masterpiece.
6:00 a.m.
Antonio Vivaldi
Violin Concerto "with echo in the distance" in A major RV 552
Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra; Nicholas McGegan, conductor Katherine Kyme, violin; Lisa Weiss, violin
6:16 a.m.
Ottorino Respighi
The Birds (Gli Uccelli)
Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra; Hugh Wolff, conductor
6:36 a.m.
Edvard Grieg
Lyric Suite Opus 54
Seattle Symphony; Gerard Schwarz, conductor
6:52 a.m.
Louis Spohr
Concerto for String Quartet and Orchestra: Rondo in A minor Opus 131
San Francisco Ballet Orchestra; Jean-Louis LeRoux, conductor The Lark Quartet
7:01 a.m.
Wilhelm Peterson-Berger
Frosoblomster, Suite No. 1 (The Flowers of Froso) op. 16
Norrkoping Symphony Orchestra; Michail Jurowski, conductor
7:19 a.m.
Ludwig Van Beethoven
Symphony No. 8 in F major Opus 93
Orchestre Revolutionnaire et Romantique; John Eliot Gardiner, conductor
7:45 a.m.
Johann Sebastian Bach
Partita No. 3 for Solo Violin: Gavotte en Rondeau in E major BWV 1006
Raphael Feuillatre, guitar
7:48 a.m.
George Friederich Handel
Solomon: Arrival of the Queen of Sheba
The English Concert; Trevor Pinnock, conductor
7:52 a.m.
Johannes Brahms
Symphony No. 4: III. Allegro giocoso in E minor Opus 98
Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra; Riccardo Chailly, conductor
7:59 a.m.
Gustav Holst
The Planets: Jupiter, the Bringer of Jolity Opus 32
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra; Andre Previn, conductor
8:08 a.m.
George Gershwin
Piano Concerto in F major
Philadelphia Orchestra; Yannick Nezet-Seguin, conductor Daniil Trifonov, piano
8:41 a.m.
Jean-Baptiste Lully
ARMIDE: Passacaille
La Petite Bande; Sigiswald Kuijken, conductor
8:45 a.m.
Antonin Dvorak
Slavonic Dance No. 9 in B major Opus 72
Cleveland Orchestra; Christoph Von Dohnanyi, conductor
8:50 a.m.
Felix Mendelssohn
A Midsummer Night's Dream: Scherzo
London Symphony Orchestra; Barry Wordsworth, conductor
8:57 a.m.
Florence Price
Symphony No. 4 in D minor
Philadelphia Orchestra; Yannick Nezet-Seguin, conductor
9:32 a.m.
Johann Sebastian Bach
Concerto for flute, violin and continuo in A minor BWV 1044
Musica Antiqua Koln; Reinhardt Goebel, conductor
9:53 a.m.
Elena Kats-Chernin
Bach Study
Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra Tamara-Anna Cislowska, piano
10:00 a.m.
Ludwig Van Beethoven
Symphony No. 3 "Eroica": I. Allegro con brio in Eb major Opus 55
Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra; Riccardo Chailly, conductor
10:16 a.m.
Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges
Violin Concerto in A major Opus 5/2
Encore Chamber Orchestra; Daniel Hege, conductor Rachel Barton Pine, violin
10:41 a.m.
Pietro Locatelli
Concerto Grosso No. 5 in D major Opus 1/5
Raglan Baroque Players; Nicholas Kraemer, conductor
10:50 a.m.
Gentil Montana
Suite Colombiana No. 2: I. El Margariteno (pasillo) The Song of the Dreamer
Jose Antonio Escobar, guitar
10:54 a.m.
Grace Williams
Penillion: IV. Allegro agitato
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra; Sir Charles Groves, conductor
10:59 a.m.
Antonin Dvorak
Czech Suite in D Opus 39
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra; Jose Serebrier, conductor
11:24 a.m.
Isaac Albeniz
Espana: No. 2 Tango Opus 165/2
Jason Vieaux, guitar
11:27 a.m.
Mel Bonis
Les Gitanos (Valse espagnole) Opus 15 Gitanos = Spanish Roma
WDR Symphony Orchestra; Joseph Bastian, conductor
11:32 a.m.
Manuel de Falla
Three-Cornered Hat Suite
Philharmonia Orchestra; Carlo Maria Giulini, conductor
11:51 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
11:59 a.m.
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Russian Easter Festival Overture Opus 36
Seattle Symphony; Gerard Schwarz, conductor
12:15 p.m.
Fernando Sor
Etude No. 17 in E minor Opus 6/11
Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra; Irene Delgado-Jimenez, conductor Pablo Sainz Villegas, guitar
12:20 p.m.
John Field
Piano Concerto No. 2 in Ab major
Scottish Chamber Orchestra; Charles Mackerras, conductor John O'Conor, piano
12:53 p.m.
Frederick Delius
KOANGA: La Calinda
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra; Christopher Seaman, conductor
12:59 p.m.
Cecile Chaminade
Concertino Opus 107
Residentie Orkest Den Haag; Neeme Jarvi, conductor Sharon Bezaly, flute
1:07 p.m.
Huang Tzu
Plum blossoms in the snow
Xuefei Yang, guitar
1:09 p.m.
Johannes Brahms
Piano Sonata No. 1: IV. Finale in C major Opus 1
Norman Krieger, piano
1:18 p.m.
Max Bruch
Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor, Op. 26 in G minor Opus 26
Czech Philharmonic Orchestra; Jakub Hrusa, conductor Nicola Benedetti, violin
1:44 p.m.
Frederic Chopin
Concert Rondo "Krakowiak" in F major Opus 14
Warsaw Philharmonic; Kazimierz Kord, conductor Garrick Ohlsson, piano
2:00 p.m.
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Symphony No. 4 in F minor Opus 36
London Symphony Orchestra; Igor Markevitch, conductor
2:43 p.m.
Johannes Brahms
Rhapsody in B minor Opus 79/1
Murray Perahia, piano
2:53 p.m.
George Friederich Handel
Water Music Suite No. 1: Alla Hornpipe in F major Water Music Suite in F
Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra; Nicholas McGegan, conductor
2:59 p.m.
Georges Bizet
L'Arlesienne Suite No. 2
Ulster Orchestra; Yan Pascal Tortelier, conductor
3:17 p.m.
Cecile Chaminade
Les Sylvains (The Fauns) in D major Opus 60
Anna Shelest, piano
3:22 p.m.
Luigi Boccherini
Quintet for guitar and strings No. 3 in Bb major G 447
Artaria Quartet Richard Savino, guitar
3:47 p.m.
Felix Mendelssohn
Fair Melusina Overture Opus 32
London Symphony Orchestra; Claudio Abbado, conductor
3:59 p.m.
Franz Joseph Haydn
Trumpet Concerto in Eb major
German Chamber Philharmonic; Thomas Klug, conductor Alison Balsom, trumpet
4:15 p.m.
Jean-Baptiste Lully
March for the Turkish Ceremony
Le Concert des Nations; Jordi Savall, conductor
4:17 p.m.
Alexander Glazunov
Symphony No. 5: II. Scherzo in Bb major Opus 55
BBC Welsh Symphony Orchestra; Tadaaki Otaka, conductor
4:24 p.m.
Manuel Ponce
Piano Concerto No. 1 "Romantico" in A minor Opus 22
Orquesta Sinf�nica de Miner�a (OSM); Carlos Miguel Prieto, conductor Jorge Federico Osorio, piano
4:47 p.m.
Johann Strauss, Jr.
Tales From The Vienna Woods Opus 325 (Geschichten aus dem Wienerwald)
Vienna State Opera Orchestra; Jascha Horenstein, conductor
4:59 p.m.
Friedrich Kuhlau
Elf-Mound Overture Opus 100
Odense Symphony Orchestra; Othmar Maga, conductor
5:11 p.m.
Elena Kats-Chernin
Ancient Letters: I. Tiger Cub
Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra; Johannes Fritzsch, conductor Tamara-Anna Cislowska, piano
5:20 p.m.
Louise Farrenc
Symphony No. 3 in G minor Opus 36
North German Radio Symphony; Johannes Goritzki, conductor
5:51 p.m.
Felix Mendelssohn
Octet for Strings: IV. Presto (last mvmt.) in Eb major Opus 20
I Solisti Italiani
5:59 p.m.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Symphony No. 36 "Linz" in C major K 425
Bremen German Chamber Philharmonic; Tarmo Peltokoski, conductor
6:28 p.m.
Jean Sibelius
Cassazione Opus 6
Tapiola Sinfonietta; Tuomas Ollila, conductor
6:39 p.m.
Teresa Carreno
Priere Opus 12 Prayer
Alexandra Oehler, piano
6:42 p.m.
Luigi Perrachio
Piano Quintet: IV. Finale: Presto vigoroso
Carpe Diem String Quartet David Korevaar, piano
6:50 p.m.
Astor Piazzolla
Decarissimo
Gidon Kremer, violin; Vadim Sakharov, piano; Alois Posch, double-bass; Per Arne Glorvigen, bandoneon
6:54 p.m.
Ludwig Van Beethoven
Piano Trio "Archduke": II. Scherzo in Bb major Opus 97
Esther Abrami Quintet Emanuel Ax, piano; Leonidas Kavakos, violin; Yo Yo Ma, cello
