Classical Music Playlist, May 17, 2024Wind music by Mozart inspired Antonín Dvořák to compose his own tuneful “Serenade for Winds.” Dvořák’s “Serenade” is today’s Midday Masterpiece.
Classical Music Playlist, May 16, 2024Written in a single movement, the 1916 Frederick Delius Violin Concerto fluidly unfolds and changes like a dreamscape. It’s today's Midday Masterpiece.
Classical Music Playlist, May 15, 2024Enduring frustrations of going deaf, unrequited loves and strife with patrons, Beethoven was in a dark and stormy personal space when he composed his Piano Sonata No. 23, “Appassionata,” today’s Midday Masterpiece.
Classical Music Playlist, May 14, 2024The 1915 Symphony No. 2 by Swedish composer Wilhelm Stenhammar, recorded in 1983 by the orchestra to whom he dedicated it, is today's Midday Masterpiece.
Classical Music Playlist, May 13, 2024An expanded string orchestra version of a string sextet that Tchaikovsky wrote and dedicated to the St Petersburg Chamber Music Society for making him an honorary member is today's Midday Masterpiece.
Classical Music Playlist, May 10, 2024Dmitri Shostakovich wrote much of his anxiety and conflict-filled music while under scrutiny of Soviet authorities. But he turned lighthearted with his Piano Concerto No. 2 that he wrote for his son to perform. It’s today's Midday Masterpiece.
Classical Music Playlist, May 9, 2024After double tragedies in his life, WW I and getting older, Czech composer Josef Suk arrived at a more comfortable and accepting place as expressed in his 1917 tone poem “Ripening,” today's Midday Masterpiece.
Classical Music Playlist, May 8, 2024Unlike most French composers in the late 1800s who were focused almost exclusively on opera, Camille Saint-Saëns composed a good amount of chamber music including a Piano Quartet in B-Flat major. It’s today's Midday Masterpiece.
Classical Music Playlist, May 7, 2024A symphony of contrasts of light and dark, lyrical and dramatic, extroverted and introspective, the Brahms Symphony No. 2 is today’s Midday Masterpiece as we celebrate his birth on this date in 1833. (And Tchaikovsky in 1840!)
Classical Music Playlist, May 6, 2024Czech composer Bedřich Smetana titled his String Quartet No. 1 “From My Life” as its four movements are autobiographical chapters of his life and loves up to age 52 when he composed the work in 1876. It's today's Midday Masterpiece.