Classical Music Playlist, June 8, 2026
Photo credit to user #512893 on Pixabay
Robert Schumann wrote that the opening fanfare of his Symphony No. 1 "Spring" should be played to “sound as if it came from on high, like a summons to awakening.” And from that, the earth awakens as Springtime (and the music) blooms forth. Schumann's inspiration for the symphony was two poems by Adolf Boettger and early in writing the music he gave titles to the movements from passages in the poems that described "Spring's Awakening," "Evening," "Joyful Playing," and finally "Spring's Farewell." These probably guided the spirit of his composition but he removed these descriptions before publishing the symphony. As you listen to that opening fanfare, you'll notice it to be a rhythmical match to the words of one of Boettger's poems (just remember that the "e" at the end of a word in German has its own syllable):
O wende, wende deinen Lauf—
Im Thale blüht der Frühling auf!
O turn, O turn and change your course—
In the valley spring blooms forth!
To celebrate his 1810 birthday today, Robert Schumann’s “Spring” Symphony is today’s Midday Masterpiece.
6:00 a.m.
Johann Georg Knechtl
Horn Concerto in D major
Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields; Iona Brown, conductor Barry Tuckwell, horn
6:08 a.m.
Ludwig Van Beethoven
Piano Concerto No. 1 in C major Opus 15
Netherlands Radio Philharmonic; Karina Canellakis, conductor Alice Sara Ott, piano
6:42 a.m.
Arturo Sandoval
Wildflower (Yolanda's Song)
Catalyst Quartet Yolanda Kondonassis, harp
6:50 a.m.
Claude Debussy
La Mer: I. From Dawn Till Noon on the Sea
Concertgebouw Orchestra; Bernard Haitink, conductor
7:01 a.m.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Symphony No. 1 in Eb major K 16
Salzburg Mozarteum Orchestra; Hans Graf, conductor
7:12 a.m.
George Friederich Handel
Saul: Sinfonia HWV 53
The English Concert; Trevor Pinnock, conductor Trevor Pinnock, organ
7:31 a.m.
Robert Schumann
Concertpiece for 4 horns & orchestra in F major Opus 86
Orchestre Revolutionnaire et Romantique; John Eliot Gardiner, conductor Members of...
7:50 a.m.
Antonin Dvorak
Symphony No. 6: III. Scherzo (Furiant) in D major Opus 60
Cleveland Orchestra; Christoph Von Dohnanyi, conductor
7:59 a.m.
Johann Sebastian Bach
Prelude, Fugue and Allegro in Eb major BWV 998
Eduardo Fernandez, guitar
8:12 a.m.
Florence Price
String Quartet No. 2: III. Juba in A minor
Catalyst Quartet
8:16 a.m.
Elena Kats-Chernin
Re-Inventions: Re-Invention No. 1
La Pieta; Angele Dubeau, conductor
8:22 a.m.
Robert Schumann
Piano Concerto in A minor Opus 54
Berlin Philharmonic; Claudio Abbado, conductor Murray Perahia, piano
8:54 a.m.
Jean-Baptiste Lully
Chaconne in G major
Musica Antiqua Koln; Reinhardt Goebel, conductor
9:00 a.m.
Franz Joseph Haydn
Symphony No. 101 "Clock" in D major
Orchestra of St. Luke's; Charles Mackerras, conductor
9:28 a.m.
Alexander Scriabin
Piano Sonata No. 2 "Sonata Fantasy" in G# minor Opus 19
Jeneba Kanneh-Mason, piano
9:41 a.m.
Johannes Brahms
Symphony No. 1: IV. Finale in C minor Opus 68
Chicago Symphony Orchestra; Georg Solti, conductor
10:00 a.m.
Louis Theodore Gouvy
Symphonie breve in G minor Opus 58
Saarbrucken Radio Philharmonic Orchestra; Jacques Mercier, conductor
10:14 a.m.
Agustin Barrios
Vals de Primavera
David Russell, guitar
10:19 a.m.
Teresa Carreno
Elegy No. 1 Opus 17
Clara Rodriguez, piano
10:24 a.m.
Robert Schumann
Cello Concerto in A minor Opus 129
Radio Philharmonic Orchestra of France; Paavo Jarvi, conductor Truls Mork, cello
10:50 a.m.
Isaac Albeniz
Iberia: Festival Day in Seville (Fete-Dieu a Seville)
Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra; Jesus Lopez-Cobos, conductor
11:00 a.m.
Johan Halvorsen
Symphony No. 2 "Fate" (Fatum) in D minor
Bergen Philharmonic; Neeme Jarvi, conductor
11:29 a.m.
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor
Five Negro Melodies: 2. I was way down a-yonder
Neave Trio
11:33 a.m.
Margaret Bonds
Hold On
PubliQuartet Musicality Vocal Ensemble; Lara Downes, piano
11:38 a.m.
Antonin Dvorak
In Nature's Realm Overture Opus 91
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra; John Farrer, conductor
11:52 a.m.
Ludwig Van Beethoven
Ruins of Athens Overture Opus 113
Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra; Riccardo Chailly, conductor
11:57 a.m.
Ludwig Van Beethoven
Ruins of Athens: Turkish March Opus 113/4
Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra; Leonard Slatkin, conductor
12:00 p.m.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Symphony No. 40: I. Molto Allegro in G minor K 550
Bremen German Chamber Philharmonic; Tarmo Peltokoski, conductor
12:08 p.m.
Antonio Vivaldi
Concerto for 2 trumpets in C major RV 537
English Chamber Orchestra; Raymond Leppard, conductor Wynton Marsalis, trumpet
12:17 p.m.
Robert Schumann
Symphony No. 4 in D minor Opus 120
Cleveland Orchestra; Christoph Von Dohnanyi, conductor
12:45 p.m.
Johann Sebastian Bach
Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G major BWV 1048
European Brandenburg Ensemble; Trevor Pinnock, conductor
12:58 p.m.
Johannes Brahms
Tragic Overture Opus 81
Chicago Symphony Orchestra; Fritz Reiner, conductor
1:11 p.m.
Astor Piazzolla
Decarissimo
Gidon Kremer, violin; Vadim Sakharov, piano; Alois Posch, double-bass; Per Arne Glorvigen, bandoneon
1:15 p.m.
Ariel Ramirez
MISA CRIOLLA: II. Gloria
Zurich Chamber Orchestra; Daniel Hope, conductor Daniel Hope, violin; Palau de la Musica vocal quartet
1:22 p.m.
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini in G minor Opus 43
San Francisco Symphony; Edo de Waart, conductor Zoltan Kocsis, piano
1:45 p.m.
Ralph Vaughan Williams
Five Variants of Dives and Lazarus
Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields; Neville Marriner, conductor
2:00 p.m.
Robert Schumann
Symphony No. 1 "Spring" in Bb major Opus 38
Staatskapelle Dresden; Wolfgang Sawallisch, conductor
2:33 p.m.
Clara Schumann
Variations on a theme by Robert Schumann Opus 20
Benjamin Grosvenor, piano
2:46 p.m.
Isolina Carrillo
Dos Gardenias
Havana Lyceum Orchestra; Jose Antonio Mendez Padron, conductor Sarah Willis, horn; Harold Madrigal Frias, trumpet
2:51 p.m.
Francesco Mancini
THE GENEROUS LOVERS: Sinfonia
Parley of Instruments Stephen Keavy, trumpet
2:56 p.m.
Edward Elgar
Salut d'amour (Love's Greeting) Opus 12
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra; David Zinman, conductor
3:00 p.m.
Francesco Geminiani
Concerto Grosso "La Follia" in D minor
Les Violons du Roy; Bernard Labadie, conductor
3:12 p.m.
Adolfo Mejia
Bambuco en mi in E minor Bambuco in e minor
Jose Antonio Escobar, guitar
3:15 p.m.
Pierre Attaignant
Renaissance Dances for Lute
Ronn McFarlane, lute
3:24 p.m.
Ottorino Respighi
The Birds (Gli Uccelli)
Orpheus Chamber Orchestra
3:43 p.m.
Charles Stanford
Irish Rhapsody No. 5
Ulster Orchestra; Vernon Handley, conductor
3:59 p.m.
Robert Schumann
Piano Quintet in Eb major Opus 44
Artemis Quartet Leif Ove Andsnes, piano
4:28 p.m.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
ABDUCTION FROM THE SERAGLIO Overture K 384
Tafelmusik; Bruno Weil, conductor
4:32 p.m.
Mahito Yokota
SUPER MARIO GALAXY: Gusty Garden Galaxy
London Philharmonic Orchestra
4:38 p.m.
Fanny Mendelssohn
Notturno in G minor H337
Isata Kanneh-Mason, piano
4:42 p.m.
Sonny Kompanek
Killer Tango
Canadian Brass
4:47 p.m.
Michel Mazuel
Orchestral Suite in G major
Le Concert des Nations; Jordi Savall, conductor
5:00 p.m.
Joaquin Rodrigo
Concierto Andaluz for 4 guitars
Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields; Neville Marriner, conductor Los Romeros
5:25 p.m.
Johannes Brahms
Symphony No. 4: III. Allegro giocoso in E minor Opus 98
Berlin Philharmonic; Herbert von Karajan, conductor
5:32 p.m.
Cesar Franck
Variations Symphoniques
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra; Claus Peter Flor, conductor Rudolf Firkusny, piano
5:48 p.m.
Elena Kats-Chernin
WILD SWANS: Eliza Aria
Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra; Ola Rudner, conductor Jane Sheldon, soprano
5:51 p.m.
James Horner
THE ROCKETEER: Rocketeer to the Rescue/End Title
Studio Orchestra
5:59 p.m.
Robert Schumann
String Quartet No. 3 in A major Opus 41/3
Zehetmair Quartet
6:26 p.m.
Pieter Hellendaal
Concerto Grosso in Eb major Opus 3/4
Combattimento Consort; Jan Willem de Vriend, conductor
6:40 p.m.
Ludwig Van Beethoven
Piano Sonata No. 27 in E minor Opus 90
John O'Conor, piano
6:53 p.m.
Cecil Burleigh
At Sunset, from Rocky Mountain Sketches
Lansdowne Symphony Orchestra; Reuben Blundell, conductor
6:56 p.m.
George Gershwin
PORGY AND BESS: It Ain't Necessarily So
Duo Sonidos
