The Nickname Connection

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The “Moonlight” Sonata. The “Jupiter” Symphony. The “Air on the G String”

All have one thing in common: their composers did not give them the names we know them by.

So . . . who did? And why?

In this hour, we’ll explore the often surprising stories behind these and other musical nicknames.

FEATURED RECORDINGS

Title	Group/Artist	Catalog #	UPC
Beethoven: The Piano Sonatas, Vol. 4 [for the “Moonlight” Sonata]	Andras Schiff	ECM 1944	028947658757
Bach Orchestral Suites [for Air on the G string”]	Freiburg Baroque Orchestra	Harmonia Mundi HMC 902113.14	3149020211328
Handel: Organ Concertos [for “The Cuckoo & the Nightengale”]	Simon Preston; English Concert, Trevor Pinnock	Archiv Produktion D 150066	034571120522
Haydn String Quartets [for “The Joke”]	Angeles String Tro	Philips 464 650-2	028946465028
Haydn Symphonies [for the “Surprise” Symphony	Austro-Hungarian Haydn Orchestra, Adam Fischer	Brilliant Classics 99925	842977099256
Mozart Symphony No. 40 & 41 [for the “Jupiter” Symphony]	Prague Chamber Orchestra, Charles Mackerras	Telarc CD-80139	089408013928
Mendelssohn Symphonies 3 & 4 [for “Scottish” Symphony]	Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, Pablo Heras-Casado	Harmonia Mundi HMC 902228	3149020222829
Chopin - Complete Works [for the “Military” Polonaise]	Garrick Ohlsson	Hyperion CDS44351/66	034571143514
Tchaikovsky Symphonies 1, 2 and 5 [for “Little Russian” Symphony]	Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Vasily Petrenko	Onyx ONYX4150	880040415022
Mozart: The Piano Concertos [for “Elvira Madigan” Concerto]	Geza Anda, Camerata Academica of the Salzburg Mozarteum	Deutsche Grammophon 469 510-2	028946951026