Classical Music Playlist, June 1, 2026
Richard Strauss, wife Pauline and son Franz (1909)
In 1903 Richard Strauss looked to his own family as inspiration for his tone poem "Sinfonia domestica." Despite the mundanity of the day-to-day life of a father, wife and child, he said "Marriage is the most profound event in life, and the spiritual joy of such a union is heightened by the arrival of a child. Married life naturally has its humor, which I also injected into this work in order to enliven it.” Humor aside, he so revered domestic life that he wanted the Sinfonia Domestica to be welcomed seriously.
Depicted are such scenes as the baby crying while being bathed, the lullaby sung to him at 7pm (a glockenspiel is heard to chime 7pm), the father at work in his study in the evening, then even a nighttime interlude of the parents followed by their dreams. Again with the glockenspiel now at 7am, the next morning arrives with a quarrel, making up, and a happy ending. The Sinfonia Domestica is today’s Midday Masterpiece.
6:00 a.m.
Georg Philipp Telemann
Suite "Alster" in D major
Berlin Academy of Ancient Music
6:31 a.m.
Etienne Solere
Sinfonie Concertante for two clarinets in F major
English Chamber Orchestra; Andrew Litton, conductor Thea King, clarinet; Georgina Dobree, clarinet
6:50 a.m.
Florence Price
String Quartet in G major: II. Andante moderato - Allegretto in G major
Pacifica Quartet
6:59 a.m.
Leon Minkus
Don Quixote: Grand pas de deux
Cincinnati Pops; Erich Kunzel, conductor
7:06 a.m.
Ludwig Van Beethoven
Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major Opus 58
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra; Zubin Mehta, conductor Vladimir Ashkenazy, piano
7:44 a.m.
Elena Kats-Chernin
Something like this
Sally Walker, flute; Emily Granger, harp
7:47 a.m.
Isaac Albeniz
The Crimson Tower (Torre Bermeja) Opus 92/12
Raphael Feuillatre, guitar
7:52 a.m.
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Symphony No. 1 "Winter Daydreams": III. Scherzo in G minor Opus 13
Seattle Symphony; Gerard Schwarz, conductor
8:00 a.m.
Johannes Brahms
Symphony No. 4: I. Allegro non troppo in E minor Opus 98
Chicago Symphony Orchestra; Georg Solti, conductor
8:14 a.m.
Antonin Dvorak
American Suite in A major Opus 98
Prague Philharmonia; Jakub Hrusa, conductor
8:38 a.m.
Johann Sebastian Bach
Keyboard Concerto No. 4 in A major BWV 1055
Chamber Orchestra of Europe Andras Schiff, piano
8:52 a.m.
Reinhold Gliere
Ballad Opus 4
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra; Vassily Sinaisky, conductor Peter Dixon, cello
8:59 a.m.
Modest Mussorgsky
Pictures at an Exhibition
Philadelphia Orchestra; Riccardo Muti, conductor
9:32 a.m.
Federico Moreno Torroba
Castillos de Espana: Torija/Alcaniz (Elegia/Festival)
Andres Segovia, guitar
9:36 a.m.
Gerardo Matos Rodriguez
La Cumparsita (Tango)
Xuefei Yang, guitar
9:40 a.m.
Leonardo Leo
Concerto in D major
Musica Antiqua Koln; Reinhardt Goebel, conductor
9:54 a.m.
Franz Liszt
Liebestraume: Nocturne No. 3 in Ab major S 541
Evgeny Kissin, piano
10:00 a.m.
George Friederich Handel
Concerto Grosso No. 3 in E minor Opus 6/3 HWV 321
Handel & Haydn Society; Christopher Hogwood, conductor
10:12 a.m.
Fanny Mendelssohn
Das Jahr (The Year): 6. June: Serenade
Anna Shelest, piano
10:18 a.m.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Flute & Harp Concerto in C major K 299
Berlin Philharmonic; Ernst Marzendorfer, conductor Nicanor Zabaleta, harp; Karlheinz Zoeller, flute
10:48 a.m.
Ernest Farrar
Rhapsody No. 1 "The Open Road" Opus 9
Philharmonia Orchestra; Alasdair Mitchell, conductor
11:00 a.m.
Edvard Grieg
String Quartet No. 1 in G minor Opus 27
Guarneri Quartet
11:34 a.m.
Frederic Chopin
Waltz No. 1 "Grande Valse Brillante" in Eb major Opus 18
Ingrid Fliter, piano
11:41 a.m.
Antonio Vivaldi
Oboe Concerto No. 12 in C major RV 449
The English Concert; Trevor Pinnock, conductor Paul Goodwin, oboe
11:51 a.m.
Rachel Portman
Apple Tree
Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra; Irene Delgado-Jimenez, conductor Esther Abrami, violin
11:53 a.m.
Hector Berlioz
Symphonie Fantastique: A Ball Opus 14
Concertgebouw Orchestra; Colin Davis, conductor
12:00 p.m.
Arcangelo Corelli
Concerto Grosso No. 11 in Bb major Opus 6
Musica Amphion; Pieter-Jan Belder, conductor
12:11 p.m.
Erik Satie
Gnossienne No. 1
Pascal Roge, piano
12:16 p.m.
Ludwig Van Beethoven
Symphony No. 5 in C minor Opus 67
Minnesota Orchestra; Osmo Vanska, conductor
12:50 p.m.
Scott Joplin
Solace
Tzimon Barto, piano
12:54 p.m.
Andrew York
Sunburst
Jason Vieaux, guitar
1:00 p.m.
Gabriel Faure
Dolly Suite Opus 56
Boston Symphony Orchestra; Seiji Ozawa, conductor
1:19 p.m.
Robert de Visee
Suite No. 11 for Guitar in B minor
Manuel Barrueco, guitar
1:31 p.m.
Florence Price
Piano Concerto in One Movement
Chineke! Orchestra; Leslie Suganandarajah, conductor Jeneba Kanneh-Mason, piano
1:50 p.m.
George W. Chadwick
Symphonic Sketches: Jubilee
Cincinnati Pops; Erich Kunzel, conductor
2:00 p.m.
Richard Strauss
Symphonia Domestica Opus 53
Staatskapelle Dresden; Rudolph Kempe, conductor
2:45 p.m.
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
The Seasons: June "Barcarolle" Opus 37
Bruce Liu, piano
2:51 p.m.
Antonio Vivaldi
Mandolin Concerto in C major RV 425
Parley of Instruments; Roy Goodman, conductor Paul O'Dette, mandolin
3:00 p.m.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Serenade for Winds in C minor K 388
Winds of the Chamber Orchestra of Europe; Alexander Schneider, conductor
3:24 p.m.
George Gershwin
Three Preludes: 1 & 2
Sharon Isbin, guitar
3:30 p.m.
Richard Wagner
LOHENGRIN: Prelude to Act III
New York Philharmonic; Giuseppi Sinopoli, conductor
3:34 p.m.
Johann Sebastian Bach
Aria Variata in A minor BWV 989
Vikingur Olafsson, piano
3:50 p.m.
Johannes Brahms
Violin Concerto: III. Allegro Giocoso (Finale) in D major Opus 77
Concertgebouw Orchestra; Bernard Haitink, conductor Henryk Szeryng, violin
4:00 p.m.
Franz Joseph Haydn
Symphony No. 97 in C major HOB I:97
Heidelberg Symphony Orchestra; Thomas Fey, conductor
4:25 p.m.
Felix Mendelssohn
Song without Words for cello and piano Opus 109
Haruma Sato, cello; Wataru Hisasue, piano
4:30 p.m.
Mel Bonis
Flute Sonata: IV. Finale: Moderato in C# minor Opus 64
Maria Cecilia Munoz, flute; Tiffany Butt, piano
4:35 p.m.
Gian Carlo Menotti
AMELIA GOES TO THE BALL Overture
Columbia Symphony Orchestra; Thomas Schippers, conductor
4:40 p.m.
Mikhail Glinka
RUSLAN AND LUDMILA: Overture
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra; Vassily Sinaisky, conductor
4:46 p.m.
George Friederich Handel
Concerto No. 3 "a due cori" in F major HWV 334
English Baroque Soloists; John Eliot Gardiner, conductor
5:00 p.m.
Arnold Bax
Tintagel
Ulster Orchestra; Bryden Thomson, conductor
5:16 p.m.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Violin Concerto No. 3 in G major K 216
Netherlands Chamber Orchestra; Yakov Kreizberg, conductor Julia Fischer, violin
5:41 p.m.
Agustin Barrios
Vals (Waltz) No. 4 in G major Opus 8/4
Pepe Romero, guitar
5:48 p.m.
Fanny Mendelssohn
Overture in C major
The Women's Philharmonic; JoAnn Falletta, conductor
5:59 p.m.
Dmitri Shostakovich
Piano Concerto No. 2 in F major Opus 102
Los Angeles Philharmonic; Esa-Pekka Salonen, conductor Yefim Bronfman, piano
6:19 p.m.
Johann Heinichen
Sonata in A major S 208
Musica Antiqua Koln; Reinhardt Goebel, conductor
6:23 p.m.
Fernande Decruck
Sonata in C-sharp for alto saxophone: I. Tr�s mod�r� in C# minor
Jackson Symphony Orchestra; Matthew Aubin, conductor Carrie Koffman, alto saxophone
6:29 p.m.
Alexander MacKenzie
Coriolanus Opus 61
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra; Martyn Brabbins, conductor
6:49 p.m.
Cecile Chaminade
Etude Pathetique Opus 124
Joanne Polk, piano
6:53 p.m.
Julie Cooper
Firedove
The Chapel Choir of Pembroke College, Cambridge Anna Lapwood, organ; Elena Urioste, violin
