Classical Music Playlist, June 18, 2026
Mozart moved to Vienna in 1781. His father, Leopold, arrived for a ten-week visit on 11 February 1785. On 12 February, Leopold attended the first performance of new string quartets that Wolfgang dedicated to Haydn who was at that performance and told Leopold, “Before God and as an honest man I tell you that your son is the greatest composer known to me either in person or by name; he has taste, and, furthermore, the most profound knowledge of composition.” On top of that compliment, the next day, 13 February 1785, Mozart premiered his new Piano Concerto No. 18 and Leopold witnessed yet another flattering reaction, as he wrote to his daughter: “When your brother left the stage, the emperor tipped his hat and called out ‘Bravo Mozart!’”
Mozart was clearly at the height of his popularity and creativity. From that period of great success, Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 18 is today’s Midday Masterpiece.
6:00 a.m.
Johann Sebastian Bach
Keyboard Concerto No. 6 in F major BWV 1057
Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields; Murray Perahia, conductor Murray Perahia, piano
6:16 a.m.
Muzio Clementi
Symphony No. 4 in D major WoO 35
Philharmonia Orchestra; Francesco d'Avalos, conductor
6:44 a.m.
Clara Schumann
Three Romances for Piano: I. Andante Opus 11
Lara Downes, piano
6:46 a.m.
Francesco Tristano
On John Bull's Galliard In D
Basel Chamber Orchestra; Irene Delgado-Jimenez, conductor Francesco Tristano, piano
6:51 a.m.
Pietro Locatelli
Concerto Grosso No. 5 in D major Opus 1/5
Europa Galante; Fabio Biondi, conductor
7:00 a.m.
Georges Bizet
Carmen Suite No. 1
Cincinnati Pops; Erich Kunzel, conductor
7:13 a.m.
Franz Joseph Haydn
Symphony No. 95 in C minor
Austro-Hungarian Haydn Orchestra; Adam Fischer, conductor
7:36 a.m.
TRADITIONAL
The Londonderry Air (Danny Boy)
Nicola Benedetti, violin; Sheku Kanneh-Mason, cello; Benjamin Grosvenor, piano
7:40 a.m.
Edward Elgar
Pomp & Circumstance March No. 4 in G major Opus 39/4
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra; Andre Previn, conductor
7:46 a.m.
Ludwig Van Beethoven
Leonore Overture No. 3 Opus 72
Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra; Riccardo Chailly, conductor
8:00 a.m.
Franz Von Suppe
Light Cavalry Overture
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra; Gustav Kuhn, conductor
8:09 a.m.
Edward MacDowell
Piano Concerto No. 2 in D minor Opus 23
Chicago Symphony Orchestra; Walter Hendl, conductor Van Cliburn, piano
8:37 a.m.
Johann Sebastian Bach
Prelude & Fugue No. 2 in C Minor (from the Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1) in C minor BWV 847
Mahan Esfahani, harpsichord
8:41 a.m.
Elena Kats-Chernin
Fast Blue Village 2
Del Sol String Quartet
8:48 a.m.
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Nutcracker: Waltz of the Snowflakes Opus 71
National Philharmonic Orchestra; Richard Bonynge, conductor Finchley Children's Music Group
8:59 a.m.
Antonin Dvorak
The Golden Spinning Wheel Opus 109
Berlin Philharmonic; Simon Rattle, conductor John Ogdon, piano
9:29 a.m.
Johann Christoph Pezel
Sonata Ciacona in Bb major
Musica Antiqua Koln; Reinhardt Goebel, conductor
9:46 a.m.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Horn Concerto No. 2 in Eb major K 417
Scottish Chamber Orchestra; Charles Mackerras, conductor Eric Ruske, horn
10:00 a.m.
Johannes Brahms
String Quintet No. 1: I. Allegro non troppo ma con brio in F major Opus 88
Takacs Quartet Lawrence Power, viola
10:11 a.m.
Philip Glass
The Truman Show: Truman Sleeps
Valentina Lisitsa, piano
10:14 a.m.
Lucas Saboya
Zamba Negra (from Suite Ernestina)
Jose Antonio Escobar, guitar
10:19 a.m.
William Grant Still
Symphony No. 1 "Afro-American"
Detroit Symphony Orchestra; Neeme Jarvi, conductor
10:44 a.m.
Dorothy Howell
Lamia
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra; Rumon Gamba, conductor Sophie Langdon, violin; Richard Watkins, horn
11:00 a.m.
Giovanni Paisiello
Piano Concerto No. 4 in G minor
Saint Cecilia Chamber Orchestra; Pietro Spada, conductor Pietro Spada, piano
11:27 a.m.
Sergio Assad
Farewell
Los Angeles Guitar Quartet
11:30 a.m.
Jessie Montgomery
Voodoo Dolls
Apollo Chamber Players Hector del Curto, bandoneon
11:36 a.m.
Maurice Ravel
Daphnis et Chloe: Suite No. 2
Concertgebouw Orchestra; Bernard Haitink, conductor
11:53 a.m.
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Prelude in C-sharp minor in C# minor Opus 3/2
Vladimir Ashkenazy, piano
11:59 a.m.
Gioachino Rossini
The Thieving Magpie (LA GAZZA LADRA): Overture
Chamber Orchestra of Europe; Claudio Abbado, conductor
12:10 p.m.
Alessandro Scarlatti
Concerto Grosso No. 4 in G minor
Europa Galante; Fabio Biondi, conductor
12:16 p.m.
Camille Saint-Saens
Symphony No. 3 "Organ" in C minor Opus 78
London Philharmonic Orchestra; Yannick Nezet-Seguin, conductor James O'Donnell, organ
12:52 p.m.
Frederic Chopin
Nocturne No. 8 in Db major Opus 27/2
Jeneba Kanneh-Mason, piano
12:59 p.m.
Alexander Borodin
PRINCE IGOR: Polovetsian Dances
Bavarian Radio Symphony & Chorus; Esa-Pekka Salonen, conductor
1:14 p.m.
Joaquin Turina
Bullfighter's Prayer (Oracion del Torero) Opus 34
Pacifica Quartet Sharon Isbin, guitar
1:23 p.m.
Antonin Dvorak
American Suite in A major Opus 98
Prague Philharmonia; Jakub Hrusa, conductor
1:47 p.m.
Johann Sebastian Bach
Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 in F major BWV 1047
European Brandenburg Ensemble; Trevor Pinnock, conductor
2:00 p.m.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Piano Concerto No. 18 in Bb major K 456
English Chamber Orchestra; Jeffrey Tate, conductor Mitsuko Uchida, piano
2:30 p.m.
Heitor Villa-Lobos
Bachianas Brasileiras No. 4: I. Preludio W284
Plinio Fernandes, guitar
2:35 p.m.
Anton Bruckner
Symphony No. 6: I. Majestoso in A major
Concertgebouw Orchestra; Riccardo Chailly, conductor
2:53 p.m.
Alexander Glazunov
Symphony No. 5: II. Scherzo in Bb major Opus 55
BBC Welsh Symphony Orchestra; Tadaaki Otaka, conductor
3:00 p.m.
Carl Maria Von Weber
Invitation to the Dance Opus 65
Chicago Symphony Orchestra; Fritz Reiner, conductor
3:10 p.m.
Tomaso Albinoni
Concerto a cinque for oboe and strings in D minor Opus 9/2
Collegium Musicum 90; Simon Standage, conductor Anthony Robson, oboe
3:23 p.m.
Franz Joseph Haydn
Symphony No. 103 "Drum Roll" in Eb major
Orchestra of St. Luke's; Charles Mackerras, conductor
3:53 p.m.
Frederic Chopin
Nocturne No. 13 in C minor Opus 48/1
Hayato Sumino, piano
4:00 p.m.
Georg Philipp Telemann
Tafelmusik II: Concerto for 3 violins in F major
Musica Antiqua Koln; Reinhardt Goebel, conductor Members of...
4:15 p.m.
Grace Williams
Hiraeth for Harp
Sandrine Chatron, harp
4:17 p.m.
Isaac Albeniz
Espana: No. 5 "Capriccio Catalan" Opus 165
Raphael Feuillatre, guitar
4:22 p.m.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Serenade for Winds in Eb major K 375
Winds of the Chamber Orchestra of Europe
4:46 p.m.
John Field
Piano Concerto No. 3: III. Rondo - Tempo di Polacca in Eb major
Concerto Koln; David Stern, conductor Andreas Staier, fortepiano
4:59 p.m.
Robert Schumann
Carnaval Opus 9
Minnesota Orchestra; Eiji Oue, conductor
5:10 p.m.
Johann Sebastian Bach
Concerto in G minor BWV 1056
Potsdam Chamber Acadamy Avi Avital, mandolin
5:21 p.m.
Charles Gounod
Symphony No. 1 in D major
Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra; Christopher Hogwood, conductor
5:49 p.m.
Claude Debussy
Rhapsody for Saxophone and Orchestra
Lyon National Orchestra; Jun Markl, conductor Alexander Doisy, saxophone
6:00 p.m.
Amy Beach
Piano Quintet in F# minor Opus 67
Takacs Quartet Garrick Ohlsson, piano
6:29 p.m.
Georg Philipp Telemann
Trumpet Concerto in D major
Musica Antiqua Koln; Reinhardt Goebel, conductor Friedemann Immer, trumpet
6:37 p.m.
Paul Dukas
Polyeucte Overture
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra; Yan Pascal Tortelier, conductor
6:53 p.m.
Agustin Barrios
Maxixe
Xuefei Yang, guitar
6:55 p.m.
Georges Bizet
CARMEN: Intermezzo, Act III
Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra; Jesus Lopez-Cobos, conductor
