Classical Music Playlist, May 7, 2024A symphony of contrasts of light and dark, lyrical and dramatic, extroverted and introspective, the Brahms Symphony No. 2 is today’s Midday Masterpiece as we celebrate his birth on this date in 1833. (And Tchaikovsky in 1840!)
Classical Music Playlist, May 6, 2024Czech composer Bedřich Smetana titled his String Quartet No. 1 “From My Life” as its four movements are autobiographical chapters of his life and loves up to age 52 when he composed the work in 1876. It's today's Midday Masterpiece.
Classical Music Playlist, May 3, 2024Using the Hebrew name for King Solomon, “Schelomo, Hebraic Rhapsody for Cello and Orchestra,” by Swiss-born composer Ernest Bloch, premiered at Carnegie Hall in New York City on this date, May 3rd, in 1917. It’s today’s Midday Masterpiece.
Classical Music Playlist, May 2, 2024Beethoven premiered his Symphony No. 7 as a benefit for wounded soldiers fighting against Napoleon. With altruism and philanthropy in the air on this Big Day of Giving, Beethoven’s Symphony #7 is today's Midday Masterpiece.
Classical Music Playlist, May 1, 2024Though it was not his first symphony composed in the US, the Symphony No. 2, titled "In The Spring," from 1879 by American composer John Knowles Paine was the first full symphony ever PUBLISHED in America. It's today's Midday Masterpiece.
Classical Music Playlist, April 30, 2024Mozart’s 1787 String Quintet No. 3 (with a second viola) is today's Midday Masterpiece.
Classical Music Playlist, April 29, 2024Inspired by tales of the Arabian Nights, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s entire 45-minute “Scheherazade” is today’s colorful Midday Masterpiece.
Classical Music Playlist, April 26, 2024Begun as music for a new ballet that was abandoned and reworked as a symphonic suite, the “Symphonic Metamorphosis on Themes of Carl Maria von Weber" by Paul Hindemith is today's Midday Masterpiece.
Classical Music Playlist, April 25, 2024As one of Sweden’s greatest pianists, Wilhelm Stenhammar performed his own Piano Concerto No. 1 for about 15 years with great success. It’s today's Midday Masterpiece.
Classical Music Playlist, April 24, 2024With passages reflecting the pastoral Bohemian countryside and Czech folk dances, Antonín Dvořák’s Symphony No. 8 is today’s Midday Masterpiece.