Classical Music Playlist, June 19, 2026With "Autochthonous" defined as ”indigenous rather than descended from migrants or colonists,” the “Autochthonous” Symphony No. 4 by William Grant Still that depicts the American people and our fusion of musical cultures is today's Midday Masterpiece
Classical Music Playlist, November 21, 2025Enduring frustrations of going deaf, unrequited love and strife with patrons, Beethoven was in a dark and stormy personal space when he composed his Piano Sonata No. 23, “Appassionata,” today’s Midday Masterpiece.
Classical Music Playlist, November 20, 2025Tchaikovsky said that a recurring theme in each movement of his Symphony No. 5 represents fate. In the symphony's first notes it sounds funereal; in the final movement it emerges triumphant. Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5 is today's Midday Masterpiece.
Classical Music Playlist, November 19, 2025The final orchestral composition, and the only symphony, by French composer Édouard Lalo is today’s Midday Masterpiece.
Classical Music Playlist, November 18, 2025Vincent d’Indy composed his “Symphony on a French Mountain Air” from 1886 around a folk song he heard in the mountains of Southwestern France. It’s today's Midday Masterpiece.
Classical Music Playlist, November 17, 2025Perhaps intending them as a unified set, Mozart completed his final three symphonies within two months. The middle of those, the tuneful Symphony No. 40 in G-minor, is today's Midday Masterpiece.
Classical Music Playlist, November 14, 2025Trees located at four historic locations throughout Rome inspired the musical atmospheres in "The Pines of Rome" by Ottorino Respighi, today's Midday Masterpiece.
Classical Music Playlist, November 13, 2025Danish composer Carl Nielsen played among the second violins for the premiere of his own Symphony No. 1. It’s today’s Midday Masterpiece.
Classical Music Playlist, November 12, 2025Inspired by the landscape and folksongs of Ukraine where he composed the work, Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 2 is today's Midday Masterpiece.
Classical Music Playlist, November 11, 2025For Veterans Day, and including his 1942 “Fanfare for the Common Man,” Aaron Copland’s stirring and heroic Symphony No. 3 that he wrote to reflect the euphoric mood of the country at the end of WW2 is today’s Midday Masterpiece.
Classical Music Playlist, November 10, 2025Sergei Rachmaninoff's final composition, his somewhat autobiographical "Symphonic Dances" that looks back on his older works, is today's Midday Masterpiece.
