Classical Music Playlist, April 15, 2026
When he completed his String Quartet No. 16 in 1826 (about 2-½ years after the premiere of his Symphony No. 9), upon submitting it to his publisher Beethoven included a note that he didn’t want to compose its final movement. He knew it would be his final string quartet of a form he enjoyed composing and didn’t want to acknowledge the end of his string quartet writing. Indeed, it was the last major full work he completed before passing away about 5 months later. The Quartet premiered in March 1828, one year after his death. It’s today’s Midday Masterpiece.
6:00 a.m.
Antonio Vivaldi
Concerto for diverse instruments in C major RV 558
Academy of Ancient Music; Andrew Manze, conductor
6:11 a.m.
Robert Schumann
Piano Quintet in Eb major Opus 44
Emerson String Quartet Menahem Pressler, piano
6:42 a.m.
Peter Philips
Bassano Pavan and Galliard
Parley of Instruments
6:45 a.m.
Joan Ambrosio Dalza
Saltarello
Calliope
6:49 a.m.
Friedrich Kuhlau
Elf-Mound Overture Opus 100
Odense Symphony Orchestra; Othmar Maga, conductor
7:01 a.m.
Georg Philipp Telemann
Overture in D major
Berlin Academy of Ancient Music
7:09 a.m.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Symphony No. 38 "Prague" in D major K 504
Prague Chamber Orchestra; Charles Mackerras, conductor
7:45 a.m.
H. T. Burleigh
Deep River
PubliQuartet Lara Downes, piano
7:47 a.m.
Fanny Mendelssohn
Das Jahr (The Year): 9. September: At the River
Anna Shelest, piano
7:52 a.m.
Jacques Ibert
Three Brief Pieces (Trois Pieces Breves)
Reykjavik Wind Quintet
8:00 a.m.
Johannes Brahms
Academic Festival Overture Opus 80
Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra; Leonard Slatkin, conductor
8:11 a.m.
Edvard Grieg
Symphonic Dances Opus 64
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra; Paavo Berglund, conductor
8:42 a.m.
Jean-Philippe Rameau
Les Cyclopes ("Cyclops")
Bremen German Chamber Philharmonic Raphael Feuillatre, guitar
8:45 a.m.
Dmitri Shostakovich
Suite for Variety Orchestra: Waltz No. 2
Concertgebouw Orchestra; Riccardo Chailly, conductor
8:49 a.m.
George Friederich Handel
Concerto Grosso No. 6 in D major Opus 3/6 HWV 317
The English Concert; Trevor Pinnock, conductor
8:58 a.m.
Antonin Dvorak
Symphony No. 7 in D minor Opus 70
Scottish National Orchestra; Neeme Jarvi, conductor
9:36 a.m.
Franz Schubert
Impromptu No. 3 in Gb major Opus 90/3 D 899
John O'Conor, piano
9:42 a.m.
Ethel Smyth
Piano Trio: III. Scherzo. Presto con brio in D minor
Neave Trio
9:47 a.m.
Arcangelo Corelli
Concerto Grosso No. 6 in F major Opus 6
Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra; Nicholas McGegan, conductor
10:00 a.m.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Serenade No. 6 "Serenata Notturna" in D major K 239
Prague Chamber Orchestra; Charles Mackerras, conductor
10:13 a.m.
Alexander Scriabin
Etude No. 5 in C# minor Opus 42
Gabriela Montero, piano
10:16 a.m.
Arthur Foote
Serenade: Gavotte Opus 25
Seattle Symphony; Gerard Schwarz, conductor
10:21 a.m.
Ferdinand Ries
Piano Concerto No. 4 in C minor Opus 115
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra; Uwe Grodd, conductor Christopher Hinterhuber, piano
10:48 a.m.
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Marche Slav Opus 31
Russian Symphony Orchestra; Valery Poliansky, conductor
10:58 a.m.
Carl Nielsen
Symphony No. 2 "The Four Temperaments" Opus 16
San Francisco Symphony; Herbert Blomstedt, conductor
11:32 a.m.
Giuseppe Verdi
LA FORZA DEL DESTINO Overture
Philharmonic of La Scala; Riccardo Muti, conductor
11:39 a.m.
Mahito Yokota
SUPER MARIO GALAXY: Gusty Garden Galaxy
London Philharmonic Orchestra
11:44 a.m.
Johann Sebastian Bach
Violin Concerto No. 2 in E major BWV 1042
Gli Incogniti; Amandine Beyer, conductor Amandine Beyer, violin
12:00 p.m.
Johannes Brahms
Symphony No. 1: IV. Finale in C minor Opus 68
Chicago Symphony Orchestra; Georg Solti, conductor
12:19 p.m.
Joe Hisaishi
Merry-Go-Round of Life (from Howl's Moving Castle)
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra; Joe Hisaishi, conductor Yuja Wang, piano
12:24 p.m.
Fanny Mendelssohn
Song Without Words Opus 8/1
Tzimon Barto, piano
12:31 p.m.
Johann Nepomuk Hummel
Trumpet Concerto in Eb major
National Philharmonic Orchestra; Raymond Leppard, conductor Wynton Marsalis, trumpet
12:50 p.m.
Jean Sibelius
Karelia Overture Opus 10
Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra; Jukka-Pekka Saraste, conductor
12:59 p.m.
Emanuele Barbella
Concerto for Mandolin in D major
Il Giardino Armonico; Giovanni Antonini, conductor Avi Avital, mandolin
1:08 p.m.
Zenobia Powell Perry
Rhapsody
Sarah Cahill, piano
1:14 p.m.
Felix Mendelssohn
Symphony No. 4 "Italian" in A major Opus 90
London Symphony Orchestra; Claudio Abbado, conductor
1:44 p.m.
Richard Wagner
TANNHAUSER Overture
Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra; Jesus Lopez-Cobos, conductor
2:00 p.m.
Ludwig Van Beethoven
String Quartet No. 16 in F major Opus 135
Emerson String Quartet
2:24 p.m.
Dmitri Shostakovich
Piano Concerto No. 2 in F major Opus 102
Los Angeles Philharmonic; Esa-Pekka Salonen, conductor Yefim Bronfman, piano
2:45 p.m.
Arnold Bax
Tintagel
London Philharmonic Orchestra; Osmo Vanska, conductor
3:00 p.m.
Georg Philipp Telemann
Orchestral Suite (�La Changeante�) in G minor TWV 55:g2
Collegium Musicum 90; Simon Standage, conductor
3:21 p.m.
Gioachino Rossini
WILLIAM TELL: Overture (GUILLAUME TELL)
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra; Yoel Levi, conductor
3:33 p.m.
Ferde Grofe
Grand Canyon Suite: On the trail
Detroit Symphony Orchestra; Antal Dorati, conductor
3:41 p.m.
Elmer Bernstein
The Magnificent Seven
Cincinnati Pops; Erich Kunzel, conductor
3:48 p.m.
Ignacy Jan Paderewski
Overture
Polish National Radio Orchestra; Antoni Wit, conductor
3:59 p.m.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Piano Concerto No. 21 in C major K 467 (FROM THE RUSSELL KLETZING COLLECTION)
Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields; Neville Marriner, conductor Alfred Brendel, piano
4:26 p.m.
Agustin Barrios
Danzas Paraguayas
David Russell, guitar
4:32 p.m.
Edward Elgar
Coronation March Opus 65
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra; Yondani Butt, conductor
4:44 p.m.
Zoltan Kodaly
Marosszek Dances
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra; Yan Pascal Tortelier, conductor
4:59 p.m.
Antonio Vivaldi
Concerto No. 1 for four violins and orchestra in D major Opus 3 RV 549
Tafelmusik; Jeanne Lamon, conductor Members of...
5:07 p.m.
William Dawson
Negro Folk Symphony
Philadelphia Orchestra; Yannick Nezet-Seguin, conductor
5:44 p.m.
Frederic Chopin
Piano Sonata No. 2: III. Marche fun�bre (Funeral March) in Bb minor Opus 35
Jeneba Kanneh-Mason, piano
5:54 p.m.
Henry Purcell
Indian Queen: Symphony
Parley of Instruments
6:00 p.m.
Alexander Glazunov
Piano Concerto No. 1 in F minor Opus 92
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra; Martyn Brabbins, conductor Stephen Coombs, piano
6:32 p.m.
William Grant Still
Panamanian Dances (Danzas de Panama)
Berlin Symphony Orchestra; Isaiah Jackson, conductor
6:47 p.m.
Myroslav Skoryk
Three Extravagant Dances: II. Blues: Almost American
Anna Shelest, piano; Dmitri Shelest, piano
6:55 p.m.
Gabriel Olafs
Islandus: Flora II "The Lily"
Reykjavik Orchestra; Viktor Orri Arnason, conductor Gabriel Olafs, piano
