Classical Music Playlist, April 23, 2026
Beethoven and Nature by N.C. Wyeth (1919)
Though Beethoven didn’t give the title “Spring” to his Violin Sonata No. 5, virtually no one has ever disagreed that it’s an apt title. The work is as relaxed and refreshing as a beautiful day spent outdoors in Springtime, though Beethoven wrote no notes suggesting such scenarios. From the opening soft breeze of a melody that seems to evoke blossoms and birdsong, to a restful pause under a tree or moment of romance in the slow adagio second movement, into a brief playful chase through a meadow in the scherzo, through to the final movement’s contented walk home after a cheerful day, the Sonata feels like the celebration of a joyful day in the countryside. Beethoven’s Violin Sonata No. 5, “Spring,” is today’s Midday Masterpiece.
6:00 a.m.
Jean-Philippe Rameau
LE TEMPLE DE LA GLOIRE: Suite I The Temple of Glory
Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra; Nicholas McGegan, conductor
6:19 a.m.
Ernst Eichner
Harp Concerto No. 1 in C major Opus 6
Kurpfalz Chamber Orchestra; Stefan Fraas, conductor Silke Aichhorn, harp
6:43 a.m.
George Walker
Lyric for Strings
Chicago Sinfonietta; Paul Freeman, conductor
6:50 a.m.
Ernest Farrar
Rhapsody No. 1 "The Open Road" Opus 9
Philharmonia Orchestra; Alasdair Mitchell, conductor
7:01 a.m.
Hamilton Harty
Comedy Overture
Ulster Orchestra; Takuo Yuasa, conductor
7:15 a.m.
Giovanni Paisiello
Piano Concerto No. 1 in C major
Saint Cecilia Chamber Orchestra; Pietro Spada, conductor Pietro Spada, piano
7:40 a.m.
Xavier Dubois Foley
Shelter Island
Randall Goosby, violin; Xavier Dubois Foley, double bass
7:45 a.m.
George Friederich Handel
XERXES: Largo: "Ombra mai fu"
Guildhall String Ensemble
7:49 a.m.
Michael Torke
Bright Blue Music
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra; David Zinman, conductor
8:00 a.m.
Felix Mendelssohn
A Midsummer Night's Dream: Overture
London Symphony Orchestra; Claudio Abbado, conductor
8:13 a.m.
Franz Joseph Haydn
Cello Concerto No. 1 in C major HOB VIIb:1
Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields; Neville Marriner, conductor Heinrich Schiff, cello
8:38 a.m.
Agustin Barrios
Vals de Primavera
David Russell, guitar
8:42 a.m.
Max Richter
Spring 1
Zurich Chamber Orchestra Daniel Hope, violin
8:46 a.m.
Reinhold Gliere
Concert Waltz Opus 90
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra; Vassily Sinaisky, conductor
8:52 a.m.
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor
African Suite: African Dance Opus 35/4
Chicago Sinfonietta; Paul Freeman, conductor
9:00 a.m.
Bernhard Crusell
Sinfonia Concertante for clarinet, horn, bassoon and orchestra Opus 3
Tapiola Sinfonietta; Osmo Vanska, conductor Anna-Marja Korsimaa, clarinet; Laszlo Hara, bassoon; Ib Lanzky-Otto, horn
9:30 a.m.
Astor Piazzolla
Tango Ballet
Apollo Chamber Players Hector del Curto, bandoneon
9:43 a.m.
Jan Dismas Zelenka
Concerto a 8 in G major Z 186
Il Fondamento; Paul Dombrecht, conductor
10:00 a.m.
Emmanuel Chabrier
Festive Polonaise (Le Roi Malgre Lui: Fete Polonaise)
Monte Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra; Herve Niquet, conductor
10:08 a.m.
Federico Moreno Torroba
Madro�os
David Russell, guitar
10:11 a.m.
Johann Sebastian Bach
Prelude and Fugue (from the Well-Tempered Clavier I:02) in C minor BWV 847
Vladimir Ashkenazy, piano
10:16 a.m.
Pavel Vranicky
Symphony in D major Opus 52
Dvorak Chamber Orchestra; Bohumil Gregor, conductor
10:51 a.m.
Ricardo Castro
Piano Concerto: III. Polonaise in A minor Opus 22
Orquesta Sinf�nica de Miner�a (OSM); Carlos Miguel Prieto, conductor Jorge Federico Osorio, piano
11:00 a.m.
Jean Sibelius
Symphony No. 6 in D minor Opus 104
Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra; Neeme Jarvi, conductor
11:29 a.m.
Edward K. (Duke) Ellington
In a sentimental mood
Jason Vieaux, guitar
11:32 a.m.
Astor Piazzolla
Baires Promenade
Cortango
11:36 a.m.
Arcangelo Corelli
Concerto Grosso No. 9 in F major Opus 6
The English Concert; Trevor Pinnock, conductor
11:46 a.m.
Cecile Chaminade
Etude Pathetique Opus 124
Joanne Polk, piano
11:50 a.m.
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
The Tsar's Bride overture
Seattle Symphony; Gerard Schwarz, conductor
11:58 a.m.
Florence Price
Piano Concerto in One Movement
Chineke! Orchestra; Leslie Suganandarajah, conductor Jeneba Kanneh-Mason, piano
12:17 p.m.
Antonio Lauro
Venezuelan Waltzes (Valses Venezolanos)
Pepe Romero, guitar
12:27 p.m.
Franz Joseph Haydn
Symphony No. 93 in D major HOB I:93
Philharmonia Orchestra; Leonard Slatkin, conductor
12:50 p.m.
Hector Berlioz
Roman Carnival Overture Opus 9
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra; David Zinman, conductor
1:00 p.m.
Johannes Brahms
Piano Concerto No. 2: II. Allegro appassionato in Bb major Opus 83
Cleveland Orchestra; George Szell, conductor Leon Fleisher, piano
1:09 p.m.
Gabriel Faure
PELLEAS ET MELISANDE: Sicilienne Opus 80
Orpheus Chamber Orchestra
1:13 p.m.
Felix Mendelssohn
Athalia: March of the Priests Opus 74
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra; Christoph Von Dohnanyi, conductor
1:20 p.m.
William Grant Still
Symphony No. 1 "Afro-American"
Detroit Symphony Orchestra; Neeme Jarvi, conductor
1:45 p.m.
Johann Fischer
THE JOURNAL OF SPRING: Suite No. 8
L'Orfeo Barokorkester; Michi Gaigg, conductor
2:00 p.m.
Ludwig Van Beethoven
Violin Sonata No. 5 "Spring" in F major Opus 24
Leonidas Kavakos, violin; Enrico Pace, piano
2:25 p.m.
Edvard Grieg
Norwegian Dances Opus 35
Estonian National Symphony Orchestra; Paavo Jarvi, conductor
2:44 p.m.
Antonin Dvorak
Symphony No. 6: III. Scherzo (Furiant) in D major Opus 60
Cleveland Orchestra; Christoph Von Dohnanyi, conductor
2:54 p.m.
Andrew York
Sunburst
Jason Vieaux, guitar
2:59 p.m.
Alessandro Scarlatti
Concerto Grosso No. 2 in C minor
Europa Galante; Fabio Biondi, conductor
3:09 p.m.
Ignaz Moscheles
Piano Concerto No. 3 in G minor Opus 58
Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra; Howard Shelley, conductor Howard Shelley, piano
3:39 p.m.
Josquin des Pres
Kyrie (from Missa L'homme arme sexti toni)
The Tallis Scholars; Peter Phillips, conductor
3:44 p.m.
Maurice Ravel
Bolero
Concertgebouw Orchestra; Riccardo Chailly, conductor
4:00 p.m.
Wilhelm Peterson-Berger
Earina Suite
Norrkoping Symphony Orchestra; Michail Jurowski, conductor
4:22 p.m.
William Grant Still
Summerland
Alexa Still, flute; Susan DeWitt Smith, piano
4:25 p.m.
Frederic Chopin
Waltz No. 1 "Grande Valse Brillante" in Eb major Opus 18
Daniil Trifonov, piano
4:31 p.m.
Alfredo Catalani
Ero e Leandro (Hero and Leander) - Symphonic Poem
Rome Symphony Orchestra; Francesco La Vecchia, conductor
4:50 p.m.
Engelbert Humperdinck
HANSEL UND GRETEL Overture
London Symphony Orchestra; Andre Previn, conductor
4:59 p.m.
Arcangelo Corelli
Concerto Grosso No. 12 in F major Opus 6
Musica Amphion; Pieter-Jan Belder, conductor
5:10 p.m.
Antonio Rosetti
Concerto for Horn No. 2 in Eb major C 49
Prague Chamber Orchestra Radek Baborak, horn
5:31 p.m.
Fanny Mendelssohn
Piano Sonata in G minor in G minor (1843) H395
Anna Shelest, piano
5:48 p.m.
Mikhail Glinka
Spanish Overture No. 2
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra; Vassily Sinaisky, conductor
5:59 p.m.
Hubert Parry
Symphony No. 3 "English" in C major
London Philharmonic Orchestra; Matthias Bamert, conductor
6:34 p.m.
Percy Grainger
Mock Morris
Dallas Wind Symphony; Jerry Junkin, conductor
6:38 p.m.
Frederick Delius
Hassan: Intermezzo and Serenade
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra; Christopher Seaman, conductor
6:43 p.m.
Steven Stucky
Funeral Music for Queen Mary (after Henry Purcell)
"The President's Own" United States Marine Band; Timothy Foley, conductor
6:52 p.m.
Lili Boulanger
Nocturne
Jacques Israelevich, violin; Stephanie Sebastian, piano
6:55 p.m.
Chilly Gonzales
Contretemps
Alice Sara Ott, piano
