Classical Music Playlist, September 11, 2025
Florence Price (1887-1953)
After having moved from Arkansas to Chicago in 1927 as part of The Great Northward Migration, composer Florence Price found inspiration, opportunities and success within the Chicago Black Renaissance. Her first symphony won first prize in a composition competition and was performed by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. During the Great Depression of the 1930s, the Works Progress Administration’s (WPA) Federal Music Project — a New Deal initiative to support struggling professional musicians and provide communities with concerts — commissioned a new symphony from Price. The result was her Symphony No. 3 which was premiered by a WPA orchestra in 1940.
September is Classical Music Month and today is our second “Thematic Thursday” when each week we’ll feature great composers programmed around a theme. Today is “American Composers” with ALL American composers from 6am to 7pm, including Aaron Copland, George Gershwin, Leonard Bernstein as well as the Florence Price Symphony No. 3.
6:00 a.m.
Aaron Copland
Our Town
Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra; Leonard Slatkin, conductor
6:10 a.m.
Amy Beach
Piano Concerto in C# minor Opus 45
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra; Rebecca Miller, conductor Danny Driver, piano
6:46 a.m.
Andrew York
Sunburst
Jason Vieaux, guitar
6:52 a.m.
Karen LeFrak
Miami Concerto: I. Bailamos
Orchestra of St. Luke's; Enrico Lopez-Ya�ez, conductor Sharon Isbin, guitar
6:58 a.m.
Arthur Foote
Suite for Strings in E major Opus 63
Seattle Symphony; Gerard Schwarz, conductor
7:16 a.m.
William Grant Still
Symphony No. 4 "Autochthonous"
Philadelphia Orchestra; Yannick Nezet-Seguin, conductor
7:44 a.m.
Philip Glass
Violin Concerto No. 1: Movement 1
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra; Christoph Von Dohnanyi, conductor Gidon Kremer, violin
7:52 a.m.
Ron Nelson
Rocky Point Holiday
Dallas Wind Symphony; Jerry Junkin, conductor
7:58 a.m.
George Gershwin
An American in Paris
Boston Pops Orchestra; Arthur Fiedler, conductor
8:18 a.m.
Florence Price
Piano Concerto in One Movement
Chineke! Orchestra; Leslie Suganandarajah, conductor Jeneba Kanneh-Mason, piano
8:39 a.m.
Bear McCreary
Battlestar Galactica: The Shape of Things to Come
studio ensemble; Bear McCreary, conductor
8:42 a.m.
John Williams
Themes from Jurassic Park
Boston Pops Orchestra; John Williams, conductor
8:50 a.m.
Leonard Bernstein
CANDIDE: Overture
New York Philharmonic; Leonard Bernstein, conductor
8:54 a.m.
Aaron Copland
Rodeo: Hoe-Down
Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra; Leonard Slatkin, conductor
9:00 a.m.
John Knowles Paine
Overture to Shakespeare's "As You Like It" Opus 28
Ulster Orchestra; JoAnn Falletta, conductor
9:14 a.m.
Randall Thompson
Symphony No. 2 in E minor
New York Philharmonic; Leonard Bernstein, conductor
9:44 a.m.
James Horner
THE ROCKETEER: Rocketeer to the Rescue/End Title
Studio Orchestra
9:54 a.m.
Scott Joplin
Solace
Tzimon Barto, piano
10:00 a.m.
Samuel Barber
Violin Concerto Opus 14
Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra; Hugh Wolff, conductor Hilary Hahn, violin
10:26 a.m.
Gian Carlo Menotti
AMELIA GOES TO THE BALL Overture
Columbia Symphony Orchestra; Thomas Schippers, conductor
10:33 a.m.
Franz Waxman
Rhapsody for piano and orchestra
New Zealand Symphony Orchestra; James Sedares, conductor David Buechner, piano
10:48 a.m.
Aaron Copland
Outdoor Overture
Auburn Symphony Orchestra; Michael Goodwin, conductor
10:59 a.m.
Amy Beach
Gaelic Symphony in E minor Opus 32
Detroit Symphony Orchestra; Neeme Jarvi, conductor
11:41 a.m.
Margaret Bonds
Spiritual Suite: III. Troubled Water
Michelle Cann, piano
11:48 a.m.
Morten Lauridsen
Les Chansons des Roses: Dirait-on
Los Angeles Guitar Quartet
11:54 a.m.
John Adams
Short Ride in a Fast Machine
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra; Simon Rattle, conductor
12:00 p.m.
Florence Price
Dances in the Canebrakes
Chicago Sinfonietta; Mei-Ann Chen, conductor
12:12 p.m.
Arthur Foote
Piano Trio No. 2 in Bb major Opus 65
Neave Trio
12:37 p.m.
George W. Chadwick
Symphonic Sketches: Jubilee
Cincinnati Pops; Erich Kunzel, conductor
12:48 p.m.
Kevin Puts
Home
Conspirare; Craig Hella Johnson, conductor Mir� Quartet
12:54 p.m.
Aaron Copland
Fanfare for the Common Man
New York Philharmonic; Leonard Bernstein, conductor
1:00 p.m.
Michael Torke
Sky: I. Lively
Albany Symphony Orchestra; David Alan Miller, conductor Tessa Lark, violin
1:12 p.m.
William Grant Still
Symphony No. 1 "Afro-American"
Detroit Symphony Orchestra; Neeme Jarvi, conductor
1:39 p.m.
Samuel Barber
Adagio for Strings Opus 11
Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra; Leonard Slatkin, conductor
1:50 p.m.
Philip Glass
Piano Concerto No. 3: I.
A Far Cry Simone Dinnerstein, piano
2:00 p.m.
Florence Price
Symphony No. 3
Philadelphia Orchestra; Yannick Nezet-Seguin, conductor
2:33 p.m.
Amy Beach
Scottish Legend Opus 54/1
Alan Feinberg, piano
2:39 p.m.
John Knowles Paine
Symphony No. 2 "In the Spring": II. Scherzo (May-Night Fantasy) in A major Opus 34
Ulster Orchestra; JoAnn Falletta, conductor
2:52 p.m.
John Williams
Summon the Heroes
Boston Pops Orchestra; John Williams, conductor
3:01 p.m.
Aaron Copland
Appalachian Spring
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra; Robert Spano, conductor
3:27 p.m.
Paul Hindemith
Symphonic Metamorphosis: IV. March
San Francisco Symphony; Herbert Blomstedt, conductor Randall Goosby, violin
3:33 p.m.
Harry Thacker Burleigh
From the Southland: IV. A Jubilee
Jeni Slotchiver, piano
3:37 p.m.
Gabriela Lena Frank
Leyendas: VI. Coqueteos
Del Sol String Quartet
3:43 p.m.
Virgil Thomson
Louisiana Story: Acadian Songs and Dances
New London Orchestra; Ronald Corp, conductor
4:00 p.m.
Scott Joplin
Treemonisha Overture
Houston Grand Opera Orchestra; Gunther Schuller, conductor
4:10 p.m.
George Gershwin
Rhapsody in Blue
Boston Pops Orchestra; Arthur Fiedler, conductor Earl Wild, piano
4:29 p.m.
Leonard Bernstein
West Side Story: Symphonic Dances
New York Philharmonic; Leonard Bernstein, conductor
4:53 p.m.
Elmer Bernstein
The Magnificent Seven
Cincinnati Pops; Erich Kunzel, conductor
5:01 p.m.
George Frederick Bristow
Symphony No. 3 in F# minor Opus 26
Detroit Symphony Orchestra; Neeme Jarvi, conductor
5:37 p.m.
Amy Beach
Romance (1893) in D major Opus 23
Kristin Lee, violin; Jun Cho, piano
5:44 p.m.
Gordon Getty
Raise the Colors
Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields; Neville Marriner, conductor
5:47 p.m.
Joseph Curiale
Awakening: Joy
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra; Joseph Curiale, conductor
5:52 p.m.
Howard Shore
The Forest: 3rd movement
National Arts Centre Orchestra; Alexander Shelley, conductor Milos Karadaglic, guitar
5:59 p.m.
Florence Price
Piano Quintet in A minor
Takacs Quartet Marc-Andre Hamelin, piano
6:27 p.m.
William Schuman
New England Triptych: Chester
The President's Own U.S. Marine Band; Lt. Col. Jason K. Fettig, conductor
6:34 p.m.
Samuel Barber
Night Flight Opus 19 A
London Symphony Orchestra; David Measham, conductor
6:45 p.m.
Arthur Foote
Serenade: Gavotte Opus 25
Seattle Symphony; Gerard Schwarz, conductor
6:49 p.m.
George Walker
Lyric for Strings
Chicago Sinfonietta; Paul Freeman, conductor
6:54 p.m.
Edgar Meyer & Chris Thile
Look Away
Joshua Bell, violin; Chris Thile, mandolin; Edgar Meyer, bass
