Classical Music Playlist, July 13, 2026
Beethoven composed his Second Symphony during a time of great despair that his hearing loss would be permanent and incurable. As he was completing the symphony in the quiet Vienna suburb of Heiligenstadt, he noted in a famous letter (the Heiligenstadt Testament of October 1802, written to his brothers but only discovered among his papers after his death in 1827) that he had dismissed suicide as an option, noting that "it was only my art that held me back. Ah, it seemed to me impossible to leave the world until I had brought forth all that I felt was within me.” So he trod on for the sake of his art. And perhaps intentionally to combat his despair, he produced a sunny symphony of high spirits and humor mixed with passages of tranquility he likely felt in rural Heiligenstadt. Beethoven’s Symphony No. 2 stands as a testament to his determination to give the world what he felt called upon to give, and his refusal to surrender to the most cruel fate of a composer going deaf. It’s today’s Midday Masterpiece.
6:00 a.m.
Antonio Vivaldi
Bassoon Concerto in G major RV 495
Arion Mathieu Lussier, baroque bassoon
6:09 a.m.
Alfredo Casella
Suite for Orchestra in C major Opus 13
Rome Symphony Orchestra; Francesco La Vecchia, conductor
6:36 a.m.
Arthur Foote
Piano Trio No. 2 in Bb major Opus 65
Neave Trio
6:59 a.m.
Wilhelm van Wassenaer
Concerto Armonico No. 4 in G major
Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra; Ton Koopman, conductor
7:10 a.m.
Jan Kalliwoda
Symphony No. 2 in Eb major Opus 17
Cologne Academy; Michael Alexander Willens, conductor
7:38 a.m.
Paquito D'Rivera
Aires Tropicales: I & II. Alborada & Son
Imani Winds
7:44 a.m.
George Friederich Handel
Solomon: Arrival of the Queen of Sheba
Los Angeles Guitar Quartet
7:49 a.m.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
LUCIO SILLA Overture K 135
Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields; Neville Marriner, conductor
7:59 a.m.
Johann Sebastian Bach
Brandenburg Concerto No. 6 in Bb major BWV 1051
Boston Baroque; Martin Pearlman, conductor
8:16 a.m.
Franz Schubert
Symphony No. 8 "Unfinished" in B minor D 759
Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra; David Zinman, conductor
8:39 a.m.
Giovanni Palestrina
Tu es Petrus
; Dennis Keene, conductor Voices of Ascension
8:41 a.m.
Camille Saint-Saens
Romance Opus 36
Hermann Baumann, horn; Reiko Honsho, piano
8:46 a.m.
Arcangelo Corelli
Concerto Grosso No. 1 in D major Opus 6
The English Concert; Trevor Pinnock, conductor
8:59 a.m.
Franz Joseph Haydn
Cello Concerto No. 1 in C major HOB VIIb:1
Chamber Orchestra of Europe Mischa Maisky, cello
9:23 a.m.
Gentil Montana
Suite Colombiana No. 2: II. Guabina Viajera (Traveller Guabina)
Jose Antonio Escobar, guitar
9:29 a.m.
Scott Joplin
Treemonisha: Prelude Act III
Houston Grand Opera Orchestra; Gunther Schuller, conductor
9:34 a.m.
Alan Hovhaness
Symphony No. 2 "Mysterious Mountain" Opus 132
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic; Gerard Schwarz, conductor
9:55 a.m.
Florence Price
Symphony No. 1: III. Juba Dance in E minor
Philadelphia Orchestra; Yannick Nezet-Seguin, conductor
10:00 a.m.
Arthur Foote
Suite for Strings in E major Opus 63
do.gma chamber orchestra; Mikhail Gurewitsch, conductor
10:17 a.m.
Charles Gounod
Symphony No. 2 in Eb major
Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields; Neville Marriner, conductor
10:49 a.m.
Engelbert Humperdinck
HANSEL UND GRETEL Overture
Bavarian Radio Symphony; Jeffrey Tate, conductor
10:59 a.m.
Dmitri Shostakovich
Piano Concerto No. 2 in F major Opus 102
Boston Symphony Orchestra; Andris Nelsons, conductor Yuja Wang, piano
11:19 a.m.
George Friederich Handel
XERXES: Largo: "Ombra mai fu"
Guildhall String Ensemble
11:21 a.m.
Tan Dun
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: The Eternal Vow
Shanghai Symphony Orchestra; Tan Dun, conductor Yo Yo Ma, cello
11:26 a.m.
Antonin Dvorak
Slavonic Dance No. 16 in Ab major Opus 72
Cleveland Orchestra; Christoph Von Dohnanyi, conductor
11:34 a.m.
Anton Bruckner
Symphony No. 8: IV. Finale in C minor ed. Haas
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra; Herbert Von Karajan, conductor
12:00 p.m.
Claudio Monteverdi
Vespers of the Blessed Virgin: Deus in adiutorium SV 206
La Cetra Baroque Orchestra Basel; La Cetra Vocal Ensemble Basel; Andrea Marcon, conductor Yuja Wang, piano
12:16 p.m.
Emilio Pujol
Guajira
Julian Bream, guitar
12:20 p.m.
Alma Deutscher
The Chase (Impromptu in C minor)
Alma Deutscher, piano
12:25 p.m.
Franz Joseph Haydn
Symphony No. 94 "Surprise" in G major
Austro-Hungarian Haydn Orchestra; Adam Fischer, conductor
12:51 p.m.
Giuseppe Verdi
LA FORZA DEL DESTINO Overture
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra; Edward Downes, conductor
1:00 p.m.
Charles Avison
Concerto Grosso No. 9 (after Scarlatti) in C major
The English Concert; Trevor Pinnock, conductor
1:13 p.m.
Carl Nielsen
Masquerade Overture
Aarhus Symphony Orchestra; Lance Friedel, conductor
1:18 p.m.
John Williams
Superman: Main Title
London Symphony Orchestra; John Williams, conductor
1:24 p.m.
Franz Krommer
Clarinet Concerto in Eb major Opus 36
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra; Gunther Herbig, conductor Emma Johnson, clarinet
1:47 p.m.
Maurice Ravel
Sonatine
Jean-Yves Thibaudet, piano
2:00 p.m.
Ludwig Van Beethoven
Symphony No. 2 in D major Opus 36
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic; Charles Mackerras, conductor
2:32 p.m.
Johann Sebastian Bach
Violin Concerto No. 2 in E major BWV 1042
Amsterdam Bach Solisten; Thomas Zehetmair, conductor Thomas Zehetmair, violin
2:50 p.m.
Modest Mussorgsky
KHOVANSHCHINA: Persian Dance
Minnesota Orchestra; Eiji Oue, conductor
2:59 p.m.
Franz Liszt
Hungarian Fantasy
London Symphony Orchestra; Jun'ichi Hirokami, conductor Barry Douglas, piano
3:14 p.m.
ANONYMOUS
Saltarello
Calliope
3:18 p.m.
Antonin Dvorak
Slavonic Dance No. 1 in C major Opus 46
Cleveland Orchestra; Christoph Von Dohnanyi, conductor
3:23 p.m.
Francesco Molino
Guitar Concerto in E minor Opus 56
Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields; Iona Brown, conductor Pepe Romero, guitar
3:49 p.m.
Hector Berlioz
Symphonie Fantastique: V. Witches' Sabbath Opus 14
BBC Symphony Orchestra; Andrew Davis, conductor
3:59 p.m.
Wilhelm Peterson-Berger
Frosoblomster, Suite No. 1 (The Flowers of Froso) op. 16
Norrkoping Symphony Orchestra; Michail Jurowski, conductor
4:18 p.m.
Franz Schubert
Impromptu No. 2 in Eb major Opus 90/2 D 899
Krystian Zimerman, piano
4:23 p.m.
Gerardo Matos Rodriguez
La Cumparsita (Tango)
Canadian Brass
4:27 p.m.
Franz Joseph Haydn
Piano Concerto No. 11 in D major HOB 18:11
Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra Emanuel Ax, piano
4:46 p.m.
Gioachino Rossini
SEMIRAMIDE: Overture
Chamber Orchestra of Europe; Claudio Abbado, conductor
5:00 p.m.
Antonio Vivaldi
Oboe Concerto No. 12 in C major RV 449
The English Concert; Trevor Pinnock, conductor Paul Goodwin, oboe
5:10 p.m.
Robert Schumann
Piano Quartet: IV. Finale in Eb major Opus 47
Emerson String Quartet Menahem Pressler, piano
5:19 p.m.
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Sleeping Beauty Suite Opus 66
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra; Herbert Von Karajan, conductor
5:41 p.m.
Zoltan Kodaly
Dances of Galanta
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra; Yoel Levi, conductor
5:59 p.m.
Frederic Chopin
Piano Sonata No. 3 in B minor Opus 58
Benjamin Grosvenor, piano
6:26 p.m.
Charles Avison
Concerto No. 5 in Bb major Opus 4/5
Avison Ensemble; Pavlo Beznosiuk, conductor
6:37 p.m.
Bela Bartok
Hungarian Sketches SZ 97
Chicago Symphony Orchestra; Georg Solti, conductor
6:49 p.m.
Amy Beach
Piano Quintet: II. Adagio espressivo in F# minor Opus 67
Lark Quartet Joanne Polk, piano
