Classical Music Playlist, June 24, 2025
Finnish composer Jean Sibelius circa 1898-1900
As Finnish composer Jean Sibelius was writing his First Symphony in the late 1890s, Russia took steps to limit Finland's autonomy and absorb it into its Empire. Completed in 1899 about the time the Russian Tsar issued a manifesto outlining the Russification of Finland, the symphony opens with a clarinet, like a song of Finland, against the distant and consistent rumbling of the timpani like an approaching enemy. This sets the tone for the entire symphony of themes against competing forces (nearly always present in the timpani), often becoming an impassioned battle. This may or may not have been Sibelius's intent, but he was a fierce Finnish nationalist and the symphony was from the same year he composed his nationalistic "Finlandia." The Symphony No. 1 by Jean Sibelius is today's Midday Masterpiece.
6:00 a.m.
Johann Heinichen
Concerto in F major S 235
Musica Antiqua Koln; Reinhardt Goebel, conductor
6:17 a.m.
Bernhard Crusell
Clarinet Concerto No. 2 in F minor Opus 5
Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra; Okko Kamu, conductor Martin Frost, clarinet
6:40 a.m.
Isaac Albeniz
Iberia: Festival Day in Seville (Fete-Dieu a Seville)
Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra; Jesus Lopez-Cobos, conductor
6:50 a.m.
Amy Beach
Piano Quintet: III. Allegro agitato in F# minor Opus 67
Lark Quartet Joanne Polk, piano
7:00 a.m.
Robert Schumann
Julius Caesar Overture Opus 128
London Symphony Orchestra; Neeme Jarvi, conductor
7:10 a.m.
Franz Krommer
Symphony No. 4 in C minor Opus 102
London Mozart Players; Matthias Bamert, conductor
7:40 a.m.
Valentin Silvestrov
Bagatelle (Op. 1, No. 1) Opus 1/1
Dmytro Choni, piano
7:44 a.m.
Johann Sebastian Bach
Prelude and Fugue (from the Well-Tempered Clavier I:02) in C minor BWV 847
Angela Hewitt, piano
7:48 a.m.
Benjamin Britten
Gloriana: Courtly Dances
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra; Andre Previn, conductor
8:00 a.m.
Ludwig Van Beethoven
Piano Concerto No. 1 in C major Opus 15
Netherlands Radio Philharmonic; Karina Canellakis, conductor Alice Sara Ott, piano
8:09 a.m.
Johannes Brahms
Serenade No. 2 in A major Opus 16
Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra; Leonard Slatkin, conductor
8:43 a.m.
Philip Glass
String Quartet No. 3 "Mishima": VI. Mishima Closing
Attacca Quartet
8:46 a.m.
Bear McCreary
Battlestar Galactica: The Shape of Things to Come
studio ensemble; Bear McCreary, conductor
8:50 a.m.
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Symphony No. 6 "Pathetique": III. Molto Vivace in B minor Opus 74
Philharmonia Orchestra; Riccardo Muti, conductor
9:00 a.m.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Symphony No. 38 "Prague" in D major K 504
English Baroque Soloists; John Eliot Gardiner, conductor
9:39 a.m.
Joan Ambrosio Dalza
Saltarello
Calliope
9:42 a.m.
George Friederich Handel
Water Music Suite No. 1: Alla Hornpipe in F major Water Music Suite in F
Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra; Nicholas McGegan, conductor
9:48 a.m.
Amilcare Ponchielli
LA GIOCONDA: Dance of the Hours
Philadelphia Orchestra; Eugene Ormandy, conductor
10:00 a.m.
Arnold Bax
Overture to a Picaresque Comedy
London Philharmonic Orchestra; Bryden Thomson, conductor
10:11 a.m.
Frederic Chopin
Waltz No. 1 "Grande Valse Brillante" in Eb major Opus 18
Stephen Kovacevich, piano
10:16 a.m.
Dobrinka Tabakova
Suite in Old Style: III. Riddle of the barrel-organ player
Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra; Maxim Rysanov, conductor Maxim Rysanov, viola
10:23 a.m.
Franz Joseph Haydn
Symphony No. 96 "Miracle" in D major HOB I:96
Heidelberg Symphony Orchestra; Thomas Fey, conductor
10:49 a.m.
Jean Sibelius
The Oceanides Opus 73
Helsinki Philharmonic; Paavo Berglund, conductor
10:59 a.m.
Franz Berwald
Play of the Elves (Elfenspiel)
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra; Ulf Bjorlin, conductor
11:08 a.m.
Aram Khachaturian
Spartacus: Adagio of Spartacus & Phrygia
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra; Aram Khachaturian, conductor
11:19 a.m.
Ludwig Van Beethoven
Symphony No. 2 in D major Opus 36
German Chamber Philharmonic; Paavo Jarvi, conductor
11:52 a.m.
Henry Litolff
Concerto Symphonique No. 4: II. Scherzo Opus 102
San Francisco Symphony; Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor Yuja Wang, piano
12:00 p.m.
Antonio Vivaldi
Violin Concerto, Op. 3, No. 6 in A minor Opus 3/6 RV 356
The English Concert; Trevor Pinnock, conductor Simon Standage, violin
12:09 p.m.
Clara Schumann
Soirees Musicales: II. Notturno Opus 6/2
Leanne Rees, piano
12:14 p.m.
Johannes Brahms
Rhapsody in G minor Opus 79/2
Emanuel Ax, piano
12:21 p.m.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Symphony No. 29 in A major K 201
Prague Chamber Orchestra; Charles Mackerras, conductor
12:51 p.m.
Gioachino Rossini
LA CENERENTOLA: Overture "Cinderella"
Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields; Neville Marriner, conductor
1:00 p.m.
Hamilton Harty
Fantasy Scenes
Ulster Orchestra; Takuo Yuasa, conductor
1:13 p.m.
Ludwig Van Beethoven
Piano Trio "Archduke": II. Scherzo in Bb major Opus 97
Esther Abrami Quintet Emanuel Ax, piano; Leonidas Kavakos, violin; Yo Yo Ma, cello
1:16 p.m.
Esther Abrami
Transmissions
Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra; Irene Delgado-Jimenez, conductor Esther Abrami, violin
1:21 p.m.
Dmitri Shostakovich
Piano Concerto No. 2 in F major Opus 102
Los Angeles Philharmonic; Esa-Pekka Salonen, conductor Yefim Bronfman, piano
1:41 p.m.
Franz Liszt
Les Preludes (Symphonic Poem #3) S 97
Philadelphia Orchestra; Riccardo Muti, conductor
2:00 p.m.
Jean Sibelius
Symphony No. 1 in E minor Opus 39
Philharmonia Orchestra; Vladimir Ashkenazy, conductor
2:40 p.m.
Jean-Baptiste Lully
ARMIDE: Passacaille
La Petite Bande; Sigiswald Kuijken, conductor
2:45 p.m.
Samuel Barber
Violin Concerto: II. Andante Opus 14
London Symphony Orchestra; Leonard Slatkin, conductor Anne Akiko Meyers, violin
2:55 p.m.
Johannes Hanssen
Valdres March
Boston Pops Orchestra; Arthur Fiedler, conductor
3:00 p.m.
Zoltan Kodaly
Concerto for Orchestra
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra; Yan Pascal Tortelier, conductor
3:17 p.m.
John Field
Nocturne No. 2 in C minor H 25
Alice Sara Ott, piano
3:20 p.m.
Frederic Chopin
Polonaise No. 6 "Heroic" in Ab major Opus 53
Olga Kern, piano
3:28 p.m.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Symphony No. 33 in Bb major K 319
Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields; Neville Marriner, conductor
3:51 p.m.
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Symphony No. 4: IV. Finale. Allegro con fuoco in F minor Opus 36
Philadelphia Orchestra; Riccardo Muti, conductor
4:01 p.m.
Michael Torke
Bright Blue Music
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra; David Zinman, conductor
4:11 p.m.
Alexander Borodin
Symphony No. 2 in B minor
Seattle Symphony; Gerard Schwarz, conductor
4:39 p.m.
Franz Schubert
Impromptu No. 2 in Eb major Opus 90/2 D 899
Krystian Zimerman, piano
4:43 p.m.
Antonin Dvorak
Slavonic Dance No. 7 in C minor Opus 46
Cleveland Orchestra; Christoph Von Dohnanyi, conductor
4:49 p.m.
Ludwig Van Beethoven
Violin Concerto: III. Rondo - Allegro in D major Opus 61
Bremen German Chamber Philharmonic; Paavo Jarvi, conductor Janine Jansen, violin
4:59 p.m.
Camille Saint-Saens
Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor Opus 22
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Pascal Roge, piano
5:24 p.m.
Agustin Barrios
Aire de Zamba
Angel Romero, guitar
5:27 p.m.
Sonny Kompanek
Killer Tango
Canadian Brass
5:32 p.m.
Georges Bizet
L'Arlesienne Suite No. 1
Montreal Symphony Orchestra; Charles Dutoit, conductor
5:51 p.m.
Adolphe Adam
SI J'ETAIS ROI (If I were King) Overture
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra; Yan Pascal Tortelier, conductor
5:59 p.m.
Franz Joseph Haydn
String Quartet "Emperor" in C major Opus 76/3
Takacs Quartet
6:28 p.m.
Leos Janacek
Mladi (Youth) for wind Sextet
Carol Wincenc, flute; Allan Vogel, oboe; Anthony McGill, clarinet; Richard Todd, horn; Frank Morelli, bassoon
6:46 p.m.
Carlos Salzedo
Tango
Yolanda Kondonassis, harp
6:49 p.m.
Manuel de Falla
EL AMOR BRUJO: Ritual Fire Dance
Philadelphia Orchestra; Eugene Ormandy, conductor
6:54 p.m.
Ellen Taaffe Zwilich
Quintet for Alto Saxophone and String Quartet: II. Quarter Note = 132
Pacifica Quartet Otis Murphy, alto saxophone
