Classical Music Playlist, February 3, 2026
Eileen Donan Castle in Scotland | Photo by Nicholas Beel on Unsplash
At age 20 in 1829 Felix Mendelssohn wandered around Scotland. He visited castle ruins, hiked through villages, explored the coast, wrote letters back home and even sketched what he saw. Absorbing all this inspired him later to compose his Symphony No. 3, the "Scottish" Symphony, which uses old folk tunes in the 2nd and 4th movements. It's today's Midday Masterpiece as we celebrate Mendelssohn’s 1809 birthday today!
6:00 a.m.
George Friederich Handel
Suite in D major
Trompeten Consort; Friedemann Immer, conductor
6:09 a.m.
Ignaz Moscheles
Piano Concerto No. 3 in G minor Opus 58
Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra; Howard Shelley, conductor Howard Shelley, piano
6:39 a.m.
Charles Stanford
Irish Rhapsody No. 4 in A minor Opus 141
Ulster Orchestra; Vernon Handley, conductor
7:00 a.m.
Richard Strauss
Serenade in Eb major Opus 7
Seattle Symphony; Gerard Schwarz, conductor
7:10 a.m.
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Sleeping Beauty Suite Opus 66
Philadelphia Orchestra; Riccardo Muti, conductor
7:32 a.m.
Felix Mendelssohn
A Midsummer Night's Dream: Nocturne
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra; Yoel Levi, conductor
7:38 a.m.
Felix Mendelssohn
A Midsummer Night's Dream: Scherzo
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra; Yoel Levi, conductor
7:44 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
7:59 a.m.
Johannes Brahms
Academic Festival Overture Opus 80
Scottish Chamber Orchestra; Charles Mackerras, conductor
8:10 a.m.
Felix Mendelssohn
Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor Opus 49
Claremont Trio
8:39 a.m.
Marin Marais
Contradance (Les Contrefaiseurs)
Musica Pacifica
8:41 a.m.
ANONYMOUS
Dance of the Swans (Ballo de Cigni)
New London Consort; Philip Pickett, conductor
8:44 a.m.
ANONYMOUS
Propinan de Melyor
Piffaro Renaissance Band
8:47 a.m.
Alexander Glazunov
The Seasons: Autumn Opus 67
Minnesota Orchestra; Edo de Waart, conductor
9:00 a.m.
Franz Schubert
Symphony No. 9 "The Great C major" in C major D 944
Cleveland Orchestra; George Szell, conductor
9:49 a.m.
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor
Five Negro Melodies: 4. They will not lend me a child
Neave Trio
9:55 a.m.
Jean-Baptiste Lully
ARMIDE: Passacaille
La Petite Bande; Sigiswald Kuijken, conductor
10:00 a.m.
Maurice Ravel
Daphnis et Chloe: Suite No. 2
Chicago Symphony Orchestra; Daniel Barenboim, conductor
10:17 a.m.
Cecile Chaminade
Etude Symphonique Opus 28
Joanne Polk, piano
10:24 a.m.
Felix Mendelssohn
Violin Concerto in E minor Opus 64
Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields; Neville Marriner, conductor Viktoria Mullova, violin
10:53 a.m.
Ludwig Van Beethoven
FIDELIO Overture Opus 72
Scottish Chamber Orchestra; Charles Mackerras, conductor
11:00 a.m.
George Friederich Handel
Concerto No. 2 "a due cori" in F major HWV 333
Tafelmusik; Jeanne Lamon, conductor
11:17 a.m.
Heitor Villa-Lobos
Bachianas Brasileiras No. 4: I. Preludio W284
Plinio Fernandes, guitar
11:22 a.m.
Robert Schumann
Symphony No. 1 "Spring" in Bb major Opus 38
Concertgebouw Orchestra; Riccardo Chailly, conductor
11:55 a.m.
Florence Price
Piano Concerto in One Movement: III. Allegretto
Chineke! Orchestra; Leslie Suganandarajah, conductor Jeneba Kanneh-Mason, piano
12:00 p.m.
Edvard Grieg
Norwegian Dances Opus 35
Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra; Neeme Jarvi, conductor
12:19 p.m.
Johann Sebastian Bach
Prelude in C Major (from the Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1) in C major BWV 846
Mahan Esfahani, harpsichord
12:21 p.m.
Johann Sebastian Bach
Cantata No. 29: Sinfonia BWV 29
Brandenburg Consort; Roy Goodman, conductor Paul Nicholson, organ
12:25 p.m.
Felix Mendelssohn
Piano Concerto No. 1 in G minor Opus 25
London Mozart Players; Jonathan Bloxham, conductor Isata Kanneh-Mason, piano
12:47 p.m.
Bedrich Smetana
Ma Vlast: IV. From Bohemia's Woods and Meadows
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic; Libor Pesek, conductor
1:00 p.m.
Carl Maria Von Weber
Clarinet Concerto No. 2 in Eb major Opus 74
Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields; Neville Marriner, conductor Andrew Marriner, clarinet
1:23 p.m.
Isaac Albeniz
La Vega
London Symphony Orchestra; Elmer Bernstein, conductor Christopher Parkening, guitar
1:38 p.m.
Tielmann Susato
Rondes
New London Consort; Philip Pickett, conductor
1:51 p.m.
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Prelude in G minor in G minor Opus 23
Yuja Wang, piano
1:55 p.m.
George Friederich Handel
Solomon: Arrival of the Queen of Sheba
The English Concert; Trevor Pinnock, conductor
2:00 p.m.
Felix Mendelssohn
Symphony No. 3 "Scottish" in A minor Opus 56
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra; Christoph Von Dohnanyi, conductor
2:37 p.m.
Amy Beach
Scottish Legend Opus 54/1
Alan Feinberg, piano
2:42 p.m.
Zoltan Kodaly
Dances of Galanta
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra; Yoel Levi, conductor
3:00 p.m.
Jose Moncayo
Sinfonietta
Mexico National Symphony Orchestra; Enrique Arturo Diemecke, conductor
3:12 p.m.
Andre Cardinal Destouches
Les Elements (1721)
Academy of Ancient Music; Christopher Hogwood, conductor
3:33 p.m.
Franz Joseph Haydn
Piano Concerto No. 11 in D major HOB 18:11
Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra Emanuel Ax, piano
3:52 p.m.
Johann Strauss, Jr.
Artist's Life Opus 316 Kunstlerleben
Chicago Symphony Orchestra; Fritz Reiner, conductor
4:00 p.m.
Modest Mussorgsky
Pictures at an Exhibition
Philadelphia Orchestra; Riccardo Muti, conductor
4:32 p.m.
Fanny Mendelssohn
Sonata Movement (Sonatensatz) in E in E major (1822, age 16) H44
Leanne Rees, piano
4:40 p.m.
Felix Mendelssohn
Hebrides Overture in B minor Opus 26
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra; Christoph Von Dohnanyi, conductor
4:52 p.m.
Max Bruch
Scottish Fantasy: IV. Finale Opus 46
New Symphony Orchestra of London; Malcolm Sargent, conductor Jascha Heifetz, violin; Osian Ellis, harp
5:00 p.m.
Alberic Magnard
Symphony No. 3 in Bb minor Opus 11
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra; Jean-Yves Ossonce, conductor
5:38 p.m.
Felix Mendelssohn
Song Without Words "Spring Song" (Book V, No. 6) in A major Opus 62/6
Andras Schiff, piano
5:42 p.m.
Antonio Vivaldi
Flute Concerto No. 2 "The Night" (La Notte) in G minor Opus 10 RV 439
The English Concert; Trevor Pinnock, conductor Lisa Beznosiuk, flute
5:52 p.m.
Emmanuel Chabrier
Espana (Spanish Rhapsodie)
Minnesota Orchestra; Eiji Oue, conductor
6:00 p.m.
Felix Mendelssohn
Piano Trio No. 2 in C minor Opus 66
Claremont Trio
6:29 p.m.
Antonin Dvorak
In Nature's Realm Overture Opus 91
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra; John Farrer, conductor
6:43 p.m.
Alfonso Montes
Milonga in the Style of Piazzolla (Milonga a Piazzolla)
Castellani Andriaccio Duo
6:46 p.m.
Felipe Villanueva
Poetic Waltz (Vals Poetico)
State of Mexico Symphony; Enrique Batiz, conductor
6:50 p.m.
Samuel Akpabot
Pastorale from "Scenes from Nigeria"
Marcus Eley, clarinet; Lucerne DeSa, piano
6:54 p.m.
R. Carlos Nakai
Passages: I. The Sun
R. Carlos Nakai, Native American flute; Luis Engelke, trumpet; William Eaton, harp guitar; Will Clipman, percussion
