Classical Music Playlist, January 26, 2026
Muzio Clementi (1752-1832)
It's said that if Italian-born British composer and pianist Muzio Clementi hadn't been alive at the same time as Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven, his name would be better known today. In fact, Beethoven admired his music. Clementi was in demand in London as a performer and composer, but he also started a piano building company that produced the most advanced pianos in the first half of the 1800s. A savvy businessman, he also started a music publishing business and, if he couldn't surpass Beethoven in talent, Clementi took advantage of their friendship and became the sole publisher of Beethoven's music in England.
Of an estimated twenty symphonies Clementi composed, he published only two in 1787. Autograph portions of his later unpublished symphonies, which include everything from sketches to complete movements, are in the Library of Congress and the British Library. With these, scholars have been able to reconstruct four. Catalogued without Opus Number as WoO 35, his "Symphony No. 4" in D was compiled from a legible copy of the first movement in England, and the remaining three movements in Washington, D.C. This symphony that is said to be his crowning musical achievement is today's Midday Masterpiece.
6:00 a.m.
Pietro Locatelli
Concerto Grosso No. 11 in C minor Opus 1/11
Raglan Baroque Players; Nicholas Kraemer, conductor
6:11 a.m.
Clara Schumann
Piano Sonata in G minor
Isata Kanneh-Mason, piano
6:33 a.m.
Carl Maria Von Weber
Symphony No. 2 in C major J 51
Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields; Neville Marriner, conductor
6:52 a.m.
Bela Bartok
Romanian Folk Dances SZ 68
Orpheus Chamber Orchestra
7:00 a.m.
Joseph Kraus
Symphony in C major VB 139
Concerto Koln
7:13 a.m.
Joaquin Rodrigo
Concierto Serenata for harp and orchestra
Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra; Ernst Marzendorfer, conductor Nicanor Zabaleta, harp
7:38 a.m.
Frederic Chopin
Waltz No. 1 "Grande Valse Brillante" in Eb major Opus 18
Jean-Yves Thibaudet, piano
7:43 a.m.
Ludwig Van Beethoven
Piano Sonata No. 17 "Tempest": III. Allegretto in D minor Opus 31/2
John O'Conor, piano
7:51 a.m.
Erich Korngold
The Sea Hawk (1940) Suite
Oregon Symphony; James DePreist, conductor
8:00 a.m.
Georg Philipp Telemann
Overture in D major
Berlin Academy of Ancient Music
8:08 a.m.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Piano Concerto No. 25 in C major K 503
English Baroque Soloists; John Eliot Gardiner, conductor Malcolm Bilson, fortepiano
8:39 a.m.
ANONYMOUS
Gallarde Faraboscho
Ensemble Galilei
8:41 a.m.
Isaac Alderson
Waltz No. 1
Ensemble Galilei
8:45 a.m.
Franz Liszt
Hungarian Rhapsody No. 6 "Carnival in Pest" in D major
Budapest Symphony Orchestra; Andras Korodi, conductor
9:00 a.m.
Johannes Brahms
Serenade No. 2 in A major Opus 16
Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra; Leonard Slatkin, conductor
9:34 a.m.
Camille Saint-Saens
Bassoon Sonata Opus 168
David McGill, bassoon; Peter Serkin, piano
9:48 a.m.
Johann Christian Bach
Symphony No. 5 in F major Opus 3
Camerata Budapest; Hanspeter Gmur, conductor
10:00 a.m.
Johann Sebastian Bach
Concerto in G minor BWV 1056
Amsterdam Bach Solisten; Thomas Zehetmair, conductor Thomas Zehetmair, violin
10:10 a.m.
Ottorino Respighi
The Fantastic Toyshop (La Boutique Fantasque): Suite
Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields; Neville Marriner, conductor
10:32 a.m.
Frederic Chopin
Etude No. 23 "Winter Wind" in A minor Opus 25/11
Vladimir Ashkenazy, piano
10:36 a.m.
Astor Piazzolla
Winter in Buenos Aires (Invierno Porteno)
A Far Cry Jason Vieaux, guitar; Julien Labro, bandoneon
10:45 a.m.
Antonin Dvorak
Scherzo capriccioso Opus 66
Czech Philharmonic Orchestra; Charles Mackerras, conductor
11:00 a.m.
E. J. Moeran
Cello Concerto
Ulster Orchestra; JoAnn Falletta, conductor Guy Johnston, cello
11:30 a.m.
Antonio Lauro
Venezuelan Waltz No. 3 "Natalia" (Vals Venezolano)
Xuefei Yang, guitar
11:32 a.m.
Gentil Montana
Suite Colombiana No. 2: IV. Porro
Jose Antonio Escobar, guitar
11:37 a.m.
Franz Joseph Haydn
Piano Sonata No. 48 in C major HOB 16/35
Jeneba Kanneh-Mason, piano
11:51 a.m.
Amy Beach
Gaelic Symphony: II. Alla siciliana - allegro vivace - andante in E minor Opus 32
Detroit Symphony Orchestra; Neeme Jarvi, conductor
12:00 p.m.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Horn Concerto No. 2 in Eb major K 417
Orpheus Chamber Orchestra William Purvis, horn
12:15 p.m.
Jacques Offenbach
ORPHEUS IN THE UNDERWORLD: Overture
New York Philharmonic; Leonard Bernstein, conductor
12:26 p.m.
Manuel Ponce
Piano Concerto No. 1 "Romantico" in A minor Opus 22
Orquesta Sinf�nica de Miner�a (OSM); Carlos Miguel Prieto, conductor Jorge Federico Osorio, piano
12:50 p.m.
Edward Elgar
Pomp & Circumstance March No. 2 in A minor Opus 39/2
Royal Scottish National Orchestra; Alexander Gibson, conductor
12:55 p.m.
John Williams
STAR WARS - THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK: Imperial March
London Symphony Orchestra; John Williams, conductor
1:00 p.m.
Georges Bizet
L'Arlesienne Suite No. 2
Ulster Orchestra; Yan Pascal Tortelier, conductor
1:17 p.m.
Ludwig Van Beethoven
Symphony No. 8 in F major Opus 93
Orchestre Revolutionnaire et Romantique; John Eliot Gardiner, conductor
1:43 p.m.
Frederic Chopin
Barcarolle in F# major Opus 60
Richard Goode, piano
1:52 p.m.
Turlough O�Carolan/TRADITIONAL/Isaac Alderson
Planxty Hewlett/The Dusty Miller/The Last Minute
Ensemble Galilei
2:00 p.m.
Muzio Clementi
Symphony No. 4 in D major WoO 35
Philharmonia Orchestra; Francesco d'Avalos, conductor
2:27 p.m.
Henry Purcell
The Fairy Queen: Symphony (The 4th Act Suite) Z 629
Le Concert des Nations; Jordi Savall, conductor
2:34 p.m.
Dmitri Shostakovich
Jazz Suite No. 1
Concertgebouw Orchestra; Riccardo Chailly, conductor
2:44 p.m.
Johann Sebastian Bach
Keyboard Concerto No. 4 in A major BWV 1055
Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields; Neville Marriner, conductor Andrei Gavrilov, piano
3:00 p.m.
Wilhelm Stenhammar
Excelsior! Opus 13
Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra; Neeme Jarvi, conductor
3:14 p.m.
John Dowland
Suzanna Galliard
Ronn McFarlane, lute
3:15 p.m.
John Playford
A Ground by Mr. Finger
Hesperus
3:19 p.m.
Clara Schumann
Piano Trio in G minor Opus 17
Nash Ensemble
3:48 p.m.
Gioachino Rossini
The Thieving Magpie (LA GAZZA LADRA): Overture
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra; Yoel Levi, conductor
3:59 p.m.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Flute & Harp Concerto in C major K 299
Berlin Philharmonic; Claudio Abbado, conductor Emmanuel Pahud, flute; Marie-Pierre Langlamet, harp
4:28 p.m.
Johann Christian Bach
Sinfonia No. 4 in D major Opus 18/4
Netherlands Chamber Orchestra; David Zinman, conductor
4:40 p.m.
Amilcare Ponchielli
LA GIOCONDA: Dance of the Hours
Philadelphia Orchestra; Eugene Ormandy, conductor
4:51 p.m.
ANONYMOUS
Saltarello
Calliope
4:55 p.m.
Giovanni Gabrieli
Canzon Septimi Toni No. 2
Canadian Brass
4:59 p.m.
Friedrich Kuhlau
Elf-Mound Overture Opus 100
Odense Symphony Orchestra; Othmar Maga, conductor
5:11 p.m.
Joaquin Rodrigo
Fantasy for a Gentleman
Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields; Neville Marriner, conductor Pepe Romero, guitar
5:34 p.m.
Lili Boulanger
Prelude in D Flat Major in Db major
Anna Shelest, piano
5:38 p.m.
Grace Williams
Ballads: II. Alla marcia solenne
BBC Welsh Symphony Orchestra; Vernon Handley, conductor
5:43 p.m.
Frederic Chopin
Fantasy on Polish Airs in A major Opus 13
Warsaw Philharmonic; Kazimierz Kord, conductor Garrick Ohlsson, piano
5:59 p.m.
Jan Kalliwoda
Symphony No. 2 in Eb major Opus 17
Cologne Academy; Michael Alexander Willens, conductor
6:27 p.m.
Arnold Bax
Roscatha
Ulster Orchestra; Bryden Thomson, conductor
6:39 p.m.
Henri Tomasi
Trumpet Concerto: II. Nocturne
Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra; Edward Gardner, conductor Alison Balsom, trumpet
6:44 p.m.
Lou Harrison
Suite for Violin with American Gamelan: II. Estampie
Boston Modern Orchestra Project; Gil Rose, conductor Gabriela Diaz, violin
6:50 p.m.
Missy Mazzoli
Impromptu (Thomas's Piece)
The Kapralova Orchestra Joshua Bell, violin
6:53 p.m.
Olivia Belli
Limina Luminis Threshold of Light
Anna Lapwood, organ
