Classical Music Playlist, May 8, 2026
Tamara Karsavina as the Firebird and Michel Fokine as Prince Ivan in the 1910 Ballets Russes production
Igor Stravinsky's 1910 ballet "The Firebird" was his first international success. It's based on a Russian folk tale about a magical bird that helps a Prince defeat an evil sorcerer. Stravinsky later made concert suites of the music in 1911, 1919 and in 1945 with revisions to the orchestration to recopyright the music in the U.S. where he was now living and the war had stopped his European royalty payments. He was granted American citizenship in 1945. The 1945 Firebird Suite is today's Midday Masterpiece.
6:00 a.m.
Andrea Zani
Cello Concerto No. 10 in F major
Cologne Academy; Michael Alexander Willens, conductor Martin Rummel, cello
6:13 a.m.
Franz Joseph Haydn
Symphony No. 63 "Le Roxelane" in C major
Orpheus Chamber Orchestra
6:34 a.m.
John Williams
STAR WARS - ATTACK OF THE CLONES: Across the Stars (Love Theme)
London Symphony Orchestra; John Williams, conductor
6:41 a.m.
Carl Maria Von Weber
Concertpiece for piano and orchestra in F minor Opus 79 (Konzertstuck)
Staatskapelle Dresden; Herbert Blomstedt, conductor Peter Rosel, piano
6:59 a.m.
Antonio Vivaldi
Concerto for 2 trumpets in C major RV 537
English Chamber Orchestra; Simon Preston, conductor Hannes Laubin, trumpet; Wolfgang Laubin, trumpet
7:08 a.m.
Felix Mendelssohn
Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor Opus 49
Claremont Trio
7:37 a.m.
Andrew York
Sunburst
Jason Vieaux, guitar
7:41 a.m.
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
THE SNOW MAIDEN: Dance of the Tumblers
Seattle Symphony; Gerard Schwarz, conductor
7:46 a.m.
Franz Liszt
Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 in D minor
Chicago Symphony Orchestra; Georg Solti, conductor
7:58 a.m.
Aram Khachaturian
Gayne Ballet Suite
Boston Pops Orchestra; John Williams, conductor
8:09 a.m.
Alessandro Scarlatti
Concerto Grosso No. 4 in G minor
Europa Galante; Fabio Biondi, conductor
8:15 a.m.
Franz Schubert
Piano Quintet "Trout" in A major Opus 114 D 667
Emanuel Ax, piano; Pamela Frank, violin; Rebecca Young, viola; Yo Yo Ma, cello; Edgar Meyer, bass
8:54 a.m.
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Scherzo in D minor
Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra; Paavo Jarvi, conductor
9:01 a.m.
Reinhold Gliere
The Red Poppy [ballet]: Suite
New Jersey Symphony; Zdenek Macal, conductor
9:29 a.m.
Johann Sebastian Bach
Prelude and Fugue (from the Well-Tempered Clavier I:11) in F major BWV 856
David Korevaar, piano
9:31 a.m.
Johann Sebastian Bach
Prelude and Fugue (from the Well-Tempered Clavier II:19) in A major BWV 888
Angela Hewitt, piano
9:36 a.m.
Leos Janacek
Mladi (Youth) for wind Sextet
Oslo Wind Soloists
9:54 a.m.
George Enescu
Romanian Rhapsody No. 1 in A major Opus 11
National Orchestra of France; Cristian Macelaru, conductor Yuja Wang, piano
10:00 a.m.
Arcangelo Corelli
Concerto Grosso No. 8 "Christmas Concerto" in G minor Opus 6
Tafelmusik; Jeanne Lamon, conductor
10:14 a.m.
Johann Strauss, Jr.
Morning Papers Opus 279 (Morgenblatter)
Vienna State Opera Orchestra; Franz Bauer-Theussl, conductor
10:26 a.m.
Antonin Dvorak
The Hero's Song Opus 111
Scottish National Orchestra; Neeme Jarvi, conductor
10:49 a.m.
Carl Maria Von Weber
Concertino for Clarinet and Orchestra in Eb major Opus 26
Staatskapelle Dresden; Herbert Blomstedt, conductor Sabine Meyer, clarinet
10:59 a.m.
Mikhail Glinka
Spanish Overture No. 2
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra; Vassily Sinaisky, conductor
11:09 a.m.
Joaquin Rodrigo
Fantasy for a Gentleman
Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields; Neville Marriner, conductor Pepe Romero, guitar
11:33 a.m.
Frederic Chopin
Prelude No. 15 "Raindrop" in Db major Opus 28
Vladimir Ashkenazy, piano
11:39 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
11:51 a.m.
Gioachino Rossini
THE ITALIAN GIRL IN ALGIERS: Overture
Chamber Orchestra of Europe; Claudio Abbado, conductor
12:00 p.m.
Local Artist Feature: Parker Van Ostrand, piano
Jennifer Reason, host
12:25 p.m.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Eine Kleine Nachtmusik in G major K 525 (FROM THE RUSSELL KLETZING COLLECTION)
Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields; Neville Marriner, conductor
12:43 p.m.
Gyorgy Ligeti
Bagatelle No. 3 (from Six Bagatelles for Wind Quintet)
Albert Schweitzer Quintet
12:46 p.m.
Samuel Scheidt
Canzona Bergamasca
The Paramount Brass
12:51 p.m.
Johann Strauss, Jr.
DIE FLEDERMAUS Overture (The Bat)
Vienna State Opera Orchestra; Jascha Horenstein, conductor
1:00 p.m.
Paul Hindemith
Symphony "Mathis der Maler" (Matthias the Painter): I. Engelkonzert Angel concert
San Francisco Symphony; Herbert Blomstedt, conductor
1:10 p.m.
Jean-Baptiste Lully
Le Divertissement Royal Suite
Le Concert des Nations; Jordi Savall, conductor
1:33 p.m.
Cesar Franck
Symphony: II. Allegretto in D minor
Chicago Symphony Orchestra; Pierre Monteux, conductor
1:45 p.m.
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Piano Concerto in C# minor Opus 30
Bergen Philharmonic; Dmitri Kitayenko, conductor Geoffrey Tozer, piano
2:00 p.m.
Igor Stravinsky
The Firebird: Ballet Suite (1945)
London Symphony Orchestra; Neeme Jarvi, conductor
2:32 p.m.
Agustin Barrios
La Catedral
Raphael Feuillatre, guitar
2:40 p.m.
Johann Sebastian Bach
Keyboard Concerto No. 4 in A major BWV 1055
Chamber Orchestra of Europe Andras Schiff, piano
2:55 p.m.
Claude Debussy
Reverie
Minnesota Orchestra; Eiji Oue, conductor
3:01 p.m.
Hugo Alfven
Swedish Rhapsody No. 1 "Midsummer Night Vigil" Opus 19
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra; Paavo Berglund, conductor
3:14 p.m.
Edvard Grieg
Lyric Pieces: Wedding Day at Troldhaugen Opus 65
Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields; Neville Marriner, conductor
3:21 p.m.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Piano Quartet No. 1 in G minor K 478
Emanuel Ax, piano; Isaac Stern, violin; Jaime Laredo, viola; Yo Yo Ma, cello
3:48 p.m.
Felix Mendelssohn
Hebrides Overture in B minor Opus 26
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra; Christoph Von Dohnanyi, conductor
4:00 p.m.
Franz Krommer
Oboe Concerto No. 2 in F major Opus 52
Czech National Symphony Orchestra; Paul Freeman, conductor Alex Klein, oboe
4:20 p.m.
Florence Price
Symphony No. 1: I. Allegro ma non troppo in E minor
Philadelphia Orchestra; Yannick Nezet-Seguin, conductor
4:40 p.m.
Johann Sebastian Bach
Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring
Voces8; Eric Whitacre, conductor Nelson Freire, piano
4:43 p.m.
Adolfo Mejia
Bambuco en mi in E minor Bambuco in e minor
Jose Antonio Escobar, guitar
4:47 p.m.
Camille Saint-Saens
Rhapsodie d'Auvergne Opus 73
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra; Andre Previn, conductor Jean-Philippe Collard, piano
4:59 p.m.
Ludwig Van Beethoven
Symphony No. 6 "Pastoral": I. Allegro ma non troppo in F major Opus 68
Orchestre Revolutionnaire et Romantique; John Eliot Gardiner, conductor
5:11 p.m.
Howard Shore
The Forest: 3rd movement
National Arts Centre Orchestra; Alexander Shelley, conductor Milos Karadaglic, guitar
5:18 p.m.
Franz Berwald
Symphony No. 3 "Sinfonie singuliere" in C major
Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra; Neeme Jarvi, conductor
5:47 p.m.
George Friederich Handel
Concerto Grosso No. 2 in Bb major Opus 3/2 HWV 313
Musicians of the Louvre; Marc Minkowski, conductor
6:00 p.m.
Local Artist Feature: Parker Van Ostrand, piano
Jennifer Reason, host
6:24 p.m.
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Hamlet Fantasy Overture Opus 67
Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra; Leonard Slatkin, conductor
6:42 p.m.
Einojuhani Rautavaara
Anadyomene for Orchestra Opus 33
Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra; Leif Segerstam, conductor
6:54 p.m.
Simon Jeffes
"Still Life" at the Penguin Cafe: Air a Danser
BBC Concert Orchestra; Barry Wordsworth, conductor
