Thursday, May 17

It's rare you find a piano concerto this topical. John Field subtitled his fifth concerto "L'Incendie par l'orage" - that is, "Fire by Lightning" or "Kindled by the Storm." We hear that work, but in hopes of quelling fire and drought in Georgia, I'm also dousing Field's piece with plenty of soggier pieces. Call today's show the Midday Music rain dance.

(Before we get to the playlist, a notable concert alert. Have you ever seen a double bass concerto? Atlanta Symphony principal bass Ralph Jones is giving his fraction of a world premiere of one tonight. It's John Harbison's Concerto for Bass Viol, commissioned by a consortium of 15 North American orchestras. Over the span of two years, those 15 orchestras are spotlighting their lead double bassists in an ongoing, rolling premiere. This weekend it's Atlanta's turn.)

11 AM
  • Glazunov: Five Novelettes, Op. 15: Nos. 1-2. Fine Arts Quartet (Naxos 8.570256)
  • Beethoven: Symphony No. 6, "Pastoral." Tafelmusik, Weill (Analekta 9831)
  • Debussy: Ancient Epigraph No. 6, Pour remercier la pluie au matin. Michel Beroff (Denon 78848)
12 N
  • Alfven: The Mountain King: Summer Rain. Royal Stockholm Phil, Jarvi (BIS 585)
  • Handel: Water Music, Suite No. 3 in G. Boston Baroque, Pearlman (Telarc 80594)
  • Chopin: Prelude in D-flat, "Raindrop." John O'Conor (Telarc 80313)
  • Field: Piano Concerto No. 5, "L'incendie par l'orage." Benjamin Frith, Northern Sinfonia, David Haslam (Naxos 8.554221)
  • Berlioz: Les Troyens: Royal Hunt and Storm. Royal Phil Orch, Beecham (EMI 47863)
1 PM
  • Brouwer: Cuban Landscape with Rain. Los Angeles Guitar Quartet (Telarc 80593)
  • Klenau: Symphony No. 7, "Storm Symphony." Odense Sym, Wagner (DaCapo 8.224183)
  • Iannaccone: After a Gentle Rain. Clarion Wind Sym, Plank (Albany 280)
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