Classical Music Playlist, December 2, 2025
Beethoven had originally intended to dedicate his “Eroica” Symphony No. 3 to the great man that Napoleon had shown promise to become. But when Napoleon turned out to be more of a tyrant, Beethoven changed the Symphony’s dedication to "Heroic Symphony, composed to celebrate the memory of a great man." And that leaves it ambiguous enough to include the memory of any heroic person. Beethoven's “Eroica” Symphony No. 3 is today’s Midday Masterpiece.
6:00 a.m.
Johann Graun
Sinfonia Grosso in D major
Vienna Academy; Martin Haselbock, conductor
6:11 a.m.
Felix Mendelssohn
Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor Opus 49
Claremont Trio
6:40 a.m.
Franz Joseph Haydn
Divertimento in Bb major HOB 1146
Vienna Quintet
6:52 a.m.
Paul Dukas
Villanelle for horn and orchestra
Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra; Kurt Masur, conductor Hermann Baumann, horn
6:59 a.m.
Claude Debussy
Petite suite
Ulster Orchestra; Yan Pascal Tortelier, conductor
7:14 a.m.
Georges Bizet
Symphony No. 1 in C major
New York Philharmonic; Leonard Bernstein, conductor
7:43 a.m.
Erik Satie
Gymnopedie No. 1
Helene Grimaud, piano
7:46 a.m.
Philip Glass
String Quartet No. 3 "Mishima": VI. Mishima Closing
Attacca Quartet
7:51 a.m.
Mauro Giuliani
Guitar Concerto No. 3: III. Polonaise. Allegretto in F major Opus 70
Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields; Neville Marriner, conductor Pepe Romero, guitar
8:00 a.m.
Gioachino Rossini
The Thieving Magpie (LA GAZZA LADRA): Overture
London Symphony Orchestra; Claudio Abbado, conductor
8:12 a.m.
Franz Liszt
Piano Concerto No. 1 in Eb major
Budapest Festival Orchestra; Ivan Fischer, conductor Zoltan Kocsis, piano
8:33 a.m.
Johann Sebastian Bach
Concerto for two violins (Double Concerto) in D minor BWV 1043
Academy of Ancient Music; Andrew Manze, conductor Andrew Manze, violin; Rachel Podger, violin
8:50 a.m.
Gustav Holst
The Planets: Jupiter, the Bringer of Jolity Opus 32
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra; Yoel Levi, conductor
9:00 a.m.
Victor Ewald
Quintet No. 1 in Bb minor Opus 5
Center City Brass Quintet
9:16 a.m.
Ludwig Van Beethoven
Symphony No. 8 in F major Opus 93
Orchestre Revolutionnaire et Romantique; John Eliot Gardiner, conductor
9:43 a.m.
Camilla de Rossi
Sinfonia from "Il Sacrifizio de Abramo"
Bay Area Women's Philharmonic; JoAnn Falletta, conductor JoAnn Falletta, lute
9:54 a.m.
Antonin Dvorak
Slavonic Dance No. 9 in B major Opus 72
Cleveland Orchestra; Christoph Von Dohnanyi, conductor
10:00 a.m.
Felix Mendelssohn
Piano Concerto No. 1 in G minor Opus 25
London Mozart Players; Jonathan Bloxham, conductor Isata Kanneh-Mason, piano
10:22 a.m.
Bedrich Smetana
Ma Vlast: II. The Moldau (Vltava)
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic; Libor Pesek, conductor
10:37 a.m.
Johann Pachelbel
Canon in D major
Orpheus Chamber Orchestra
10:41 a.m.
Henry Litolff
Concerto Symphonique No. 4: II. Scherzo Opus 102
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra; Moshe Atzmon, conductor Cristina Ortiz, piano
10:52 a.m.
Johannes Brahms
Symphony No. 4: III. Allegro giocoso in E minor Opus 98
Berlin Philharmonic; Herbert von Karajan, conductor
11:00 a.m.
Luigi Boccherini
Quintet for guitar and strings No. 3 in Bb major G 447
Artaria Quartet Richard Savino, guitar
11:25 a.m.
Bela Bartok
Romanian Folk Dances SZ 68
Orpheus Chamber Orchestra
11:33 a.m.
Johann Sebastian Bach
Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 in D major BWV 1050
Berlin Academy of Ancient Music
11:53 a.m.
Paul Hindemith
Symphonic Metamorphosis: IV. March
San Francisco Symphony; Herbert Blomstedt, conductor Randall Goosby, violin
12:00 p.m.
Antonin Dvorak
Scherzo capriccioso Opus 66
Czech Philharmonic Orchestra; Charles Mackerras, conductor
12:17 p.m.
Franz Joseph Haydn
Piano Concerto No. 11 in D major HOB 18:11
Norwegian Chamber Orchestra Leif Ove Andsnes, piano
12:39 p.m.
Leon Minkus
Don Quixote: Grand pas de deux
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra; Robert Irving, conductor
12:50 p.m.
Johan Halvorsen
Entry March of the Boyars
Bergen Philharmonic; Neeme Jarvi, conductor
12:54 p.m.
Johannes Hanssen
Valdres March
Boston Pops Orchestra; Arthur Fiedler, conductor
12:59 p.m.
Mikhail Glinka
RUSLAN AND LUDMILA: Overture
Chicago Symphony Orchestra; Fritz Reiner, conductor
1:08 p.m.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Clarinet Concerto in A major K 622
Staatskapelle Dresden; Hans Vonk, conductor Sabine Meyer, basset clarinet
1:38 p.m.
Wilhelm Peterson-Berger
Symphony No. 4 "Stockholm" (Holmia): I. Allegro moderato in A major
Norrkoping Symphony Orchestra; Michail Jurowski, conductor
1:49 p.m.
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Symphony No. 4: IV. Finale. Allegro con fuoco in F minor Opus 36
Philadelphia Orchestra; Riccardo Muti, conductor
2:00 p.m.
Ludwig Van Beethoven
Symphony No. 3 "Eroica" in Eb major Opus 55
German Chamber Philharmonic; Paavo Jarvi, conductor
2:47 p.m.
Connor Chee
Navajo Vocable No. 9
Emanuele Arciuli, piano
2:54 p.m.
Felix Mendelssohn
Symphony No. 4 "Italian": IV. Saltarello (Presto) in A major Opus 90
San Francisco Symphony; Herbert Blomstedt, conductor
3:03 p.m.
Gioachino Rossini
TANCREDI: Overture
Orpheus Chamber Orchestra
3:12 p.m.
William Grant Still
Symphony No. 2 in G minor
Philadelphia Orchestra; Yannick Nezet-Seguin, conductor
3:46 p.m.
Mel Bonis
Soir et Matin: I. Soir (Evening) Opus 76
Neave Trio
3:54 p.m.
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
March from Tsar Saltan Suite Opus 57
Seattle Symphony; Gerard Schwarz, conductor
4:00 p.m.
Antonio Vivaldi
Concerto for 2 horns in F major RV 539
Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields; Neville Marriner, conductor Timothy Brown, horn; Nicholas Hill, horn
4:12 p.m.
Camille Saint-Saens
Piano Concerto No. 5 in F major Opus 103
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra; Andre Previn, conductor Jean-Philippe Collard, piano
4:44 p.m.
John Williams
Themes from Jurassic Park
Boston Pops Orchestra; John Williams, conductor
4:53 p.m.
Reinhold Gliere
Concert Waltz Opus 90
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra; Vassily Sinaisky, conductor
5:01 p.m.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Symphony No. 38 "Prague" in D major K 504
Scottish Chamber Orchestra; Charles Mackerras, conductor
5:39 p.m.
Heitor Villa-Lobos
Prelude No. 1
Xuefei Yang, guitar
5:46 p.m.
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Scherzo in D minor
Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra; Paavo Jarvi, conductor
5:52 p.m.
Jan Kalliwoda
Overture No. 17 in F minor Opus 242
Cologne Academy; Michael Alexander Willens, conductor
6:01 p.m.
Albert Roussel
The Spider's Feast Opus 17 Le Festin de l'araign�e
Royal Scottish National Orchestra; Stephane Deneve, conductor
6:35 p.m.
Reinhold Gliere
Symphony No. 3 "Ilya Muromets": III. At the Court of Vladimir the Mighty Sun in B minor Opus 42
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra; Edward Downes, conductor
6:44 p.m.
William Grant Still
Africa: II. Land of Romance
Lara Downes, piano
6:52 p.m.
Clarice Assad
Bohemian Queen: III. Hyde Park Jam
Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra; Allen Tinkham, conductor Mary Elizabeth Bowden, trumpet
