Playlist for Monday, June 30

Seas and oceans wash over the noon hour, with just a sampling of the sea of ocean-related music that's out there. For those of us landlubbers who are wishing we were closer to a coast, and for those lucky and deserving individuals who have already embarked on their Indpendence Day vacations.

11 AM

  • Purcell: Sonatas of Three Parts: No. 6 in C. Purcell Quartet. Chandos 0572/3.
  • Dvorak: String Quartet No. 10 in E-flat, Op. 51. Alban Berg Quartet. EMI 57013.
  • Serra: Rural Impressions [of Catalonia]. El Valles Sym, Brotons. Naxos 8.555871.
12 N
  • Kanengiser: Turn to the Sea. Los Angeles Guitar Quartet. Telarc 80647.
  • Hiscott: Blue Ocean for clarinet, accordion, cello and piano. Freedman, Hiscott, Marleyn, Kehler-Siebert. CBC 1166.
  • Vaughan Williams: Sea Songs, Quick March. US Air Force Band, Graham. Klavier 11159.
  • Debussy: La Mer. Cleveland Orch, Boulez. DG 439 896.
  • Elgar: Sea Pictures: Where Corals Lie. Sarah Connolly, Bournemouth Sym, Wright. Naxos 8.557710.
1 PM
  • Traditional: Scotch Cap. Baltimore Consort. Dorian 90601.
  • Granados: Candlelight Fandango, from Goyescas: Young Men in Love. Eric Parkin. Chandos 9412.
  • Castelnuovo-Tedesco: Concertino for harp, string quartet and three clarinets. Ann Mason Stockton et al. Crystal 171.
  • Mozart: Violin Concerto No. 4. Andrew Manze, English Consort. Harmonia Mundi 907385.

Playlist for Thursday, June 26

11 AM

  • Mendelssohn: Fantasy in F-sharp minor, "Sonata ecossaise." Lydia Artimiw. Chandos 8326.
  • Telemann: Oboe Sonata in G, Op. 13/6. Han de Vries, Bob van Asperen, Wouter Moeller. Virgin 61878.
  • Schumann: Märchenbilder (Fairy Tale Pictures). Nobuko Imai, Martha Argerich. EMI 55484.
  • Liszt: Piano Concerto No. 3 in E-flat, Op. posth. Louis Lortie, Residentie Orch, Pehlivanian. Chandos 10371.
12 N
  • Corelli: Concerto Grosso in D, Op. 6/1. Europa Galante, Biondi. Naive 20012.
  • Strauss: Don Juan. Vienna Phil, Dohnanyi. London 430 508.
  • Wang Luobin/Garcia: A La Mu Han (arr. guitar). Xuefei Yang. EMI 06322.
  • Haydn: Symphony No. 90. Berlin Phil, Rattle. EMI 94237.
1 PM
  • Gottschalk: Tremolo. Cecile Licad. Naxos 8.559145.
  • Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 2, "Little Russian" ("Ukrainian"). Gewandhaus Orch, Masur. Teldec 44943.
  • Huang Zi: Plum Blossoms in the Snow. Xuefei Yang. EMI 06322.

Playlist for Wednesday, June 25

11 AM

  • Hovhaness: Fanfare for the New Atlantis. Royal Scottish National Orch, Robertson. Naxos 8.559336.
  • Brahms: Serenade No. 1 in D major. London Sym Orch, Thomas. Sony 45932.
12 N
  • Villoldo: El Choclo. Ricardo Cobo. Naxos 8.557329.
  • Hovhaness: Guitar Concerto No. 2. Javier Calderon, Royal Scottish National Orch, Robertson. Naxos 8.559336.
  • Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Cleveland Orch, Ashkenazy. London 440 653.
1 PM
  • Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 3. Swiss Baroque Soloists, Gabetta.
  • Beethoven: String Quartet Op. 59/2 in E minor. Tokyo String Quartet. Harmonia Mundi 907423.

Playlist for Tuesday, June 24

11 AM

  • Wagner: Good Friday Music, from Parsifal. New York Phil, Mehta. Sony 45749.
  • Prokofiev: Symphony No. 5. Cincinnati Sym, Jarvi. Telarc 80683.
12 N
  • Purcell: Three Parts upon a Ground in D major. Purcell Quartet. Chandos 0572/3.
  • Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 16 in G major, Op. 31/1. Garrick Ohlsson. Bridge 9262.
  • Elgar: Three Bavarian Dances, Op. 27. New Zealand Sym, Judd. Naxos 8.557577.
  • Pasculli: Fantasia after Meyerbeer's The Huguenots. Ivan Paison, Natalia Shcherbakova. Naxos 8.570567.
1 PM
  • Granados: El Pelele. Eric Parkin. Chandos 9412.
  • Berlioz: Harold in Italy. Gerard Causse, Revolutionary and Romantic Orch, Gardiner. Philips 446 676.

Playlist for Monday, June 23

No special Georgia connections today, but we hear new recordings by two of today's finest pianists: Olli Mustonen (in Beethoven) and Wu Han (in Rachmaninoff).

11 AM

  • Stenhammar: Symphony No. 1 in F major. Gothenburg Sym, Jarvi. DG 445 857.
  • Debussy: Reverie. Minnesota Orch, Oue. Reference 99.
12 N
  • Buchner: Sonata in C for two bassoons, from Plectrum Musicum. Parnassi Musici. CPO 777 132.
  • Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor. Olli Mustonen, Tapiola Sinfonietta. Ondine 1123.
  • Debussy: Pour le Piano. Boris Berman. Chandos 9294.
1 PM
  • Borodin: Polovetsian Dances, from Prince Igor. Cincinnati Pops Orch, Kunzel. Telarc 60657.
  • Rachmaninoff: Preludes from Op. 23 & Op. 32. Wu Han. Artist Led 10701.
  • Kreisler/Rachmaninoff: Liebesfreud (Love's Joy). Wu Han. Artist Led 10701.
  • Philidor l'ainee: Musiques de Louis XIII. Le Concert des Nations, Kraemer, Savall. Alia Vox 9842.

Playlist for Thursday, June 19

Tonight at 8:00 tune in for The ASO on GPB - it's Schumann and Shostakovich with the Atlanta Symphony, Hugh Wolff and Nicholas Angelich. Angelich also plays Brahms to wrap up today's Midday Music. Friday at 11:00 join host Alan Cooke for Midday Music Requests. And finally, have a great midsummer weekend. (What's the magic word?) Please.

Here's the Midday Music playlist du jour:

11 AM

  • Nielsen: Helios Overture. New York Scandia Sym, Matson. Centaur 2780
  • Beethoven: "Gassenhauer" Trio (Piano Trio in B-flat, Op. 11). Ashkenazy, Perlman, Harrell. EMI 47455.
  • Mozart: Symphony No. 17 in G major, K. 129. Prague Chamber Orch, Mackerras. Telarc 80242.
  • Berwald: Theme and Variations in G minor. Greta Erikson. Genesis 111.
12 N
  • Mendelssohn: Ruy Blas Overture. New Philharmonia Orch, Atzmon. EMI 81788.
  • Bohme: Brass Sextet in E-flat, Op. 30. Adolph Herseth, Asbury Brass Quintet. Albany 273.
  • Schoenfield: Four Souvenirs. William Terwilliger, Andrew Cooperstock. Azica 71241.
  • O'Connor: Fiddle Concerto: first mvt. Mark O'Connor, Concordia Orch, Alsop. Warner 45846.
1 PM
  • Elgar: Imperial March. Denver Brass, Galema, Graham. Klavier 1165.
  • Respighi: The Birds (Gli Uccelli). Orpheus Chamber Orch. DG 437 533.
  • Brahms: Fantasies, Op. 116. Nicholas Angelich. Virgin 379302.

Playlist for Wednesday, June 18

At noon it's a new violin concerto with an eyebrow-raising title: Taliban Dances. The outer sections of Robert Ian Winstin's virtuosic concerto are called "Call to Prayer." Between those come two lullabies ("Life" and "Death") and a "Baghdad bossa nova" that Winstin calls "an artistic statement on the absurdity of war."

Earlier, pianist Nicholas Angelich anchors a Schumann chamber work. To hear MORE Angelich in BIGGER Schumann, tune in for The ASO on GPB, this Thursday evening at 8 and Sunday at 10. He'll shine in Schumann's Piano Concerto with the Atlanta Symphony.


11 AM

  • Telemann: Recorder Concerto in C major. Michael Schneider, La Stagione Frankfurt. CPO 777 267.
  • Schumann: Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor. Angelich, Capucon, Capucon. EMI 89241.
  • Smetana: The Moldau (Vltava). Vienna Phil, Harnoncourt. RCA 54331.
12 N
  • Winstin: Taliban Dances, Concerto for Violin and Orchestra. Galyna Hornostai, Kiev Philharmonic, Winstin. ERM 5555.
  • Saint-Saens: Samson and Delilah: "My heart opens at your voice" arr. flute, oboe and piano. Zuckerman, Vogel, Helmrich. Delos 3209.
  • Nelson: Danza Capriccio. Keith Young, Keystone Wind Ens, Stamp. Klavier 11168.
1 PM
  • Pasculli: Ricordo di Napoli, scherzo brillante. Ivan Paisov, Natalia Shcherbakova. Naxos 8.570567.
  • Prokofiev: Lieutenant Kije, Suite. Cincinnati Sym, Jarvi. Telarc 80683.
  • Alfven: Swedish Rhapsody No. 1, "Midsummer Vigil." Iceland Sym, Sakari. Chandos 9313.
  • Gounod: Romeo and Juliet: "Je veux vivre" arr. flute, oboe and piano. Zuckerman, Vogel, Helmrich. Delos 3209.

Playlist for Tuesday, June 17

Coming to Columbus this weekend: the Michael O'Neal Singers with their program "We Remember Them: Songs of Hope and Freedom." The Michael O'Neal singers are based in Roswell, Ga. In July they'll perform at the Amalfi Coast Music Festival in Italy. Catch them closer to home at Columbus's RiverCenter, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, June 21.

On the first half of the concert: The Holocaust Cantata: Songs from the Camps, which weaves together musical fragments composer Donald McCullough found in the archives of the U.S. Holocaust Museum in Washington. (Soloists are soprano Debbie Rostad, bass-baritone John LaForge and cellist Daniel Laufer.) On the second half: American spirituals.

11 AM

  • Handel: "Ombra mai fu" from Serse, arr. organ. Luc Beausejour. Analekta 9812.
  • Debussy: Sonata for Flute, Viola and Harp. Davies, Chase, Robles. Virgin 91148.
  • Gershwin: Concerto in F. Andrew Litton, Bournemouth Sym. Virgin 90780.
12 N
  • Rota: Improvviso (Un diavolo sentimentale). Gidon Kremer, Oleg Maisenberg. Teldec 17222.
  • Bach: Sinfonias from Cantatas nos. 29, 156 & 31. Taverner Players Parrott. Virgin 391340.
  • Brahms: Clarinet Sonata in E-flat, Op. 120/2. Jon Manasse, Jon Nakamatsu. Harmonia Mundi 907430.
  • Byrd/Jacob: William Byrd Suite. Eastman Wind Ens, Fennell. Mercury 432 009.
1 PM
  • Ibert: Entr'acte. Gary Schocker, Jason Vieaux. Azica 71215.
  • Röntgen: Symphony No. 3 in C minor. Rheinland-Pfalz State Phil, Porcelijn. CPO 777 119.
  • Guatelli: Ancient & Modern Oriental National Airs & Popular Songs. Prague Sym, Araci. Brilliant 93613.

Playlist for Monday, June 16

Our first hour ties into the Madison Chamber Music Festival, now underway in Georgia.

Tonight at the Madison-Morgan Cultural Center acclaimed pianist Andreas Haefliger does Brahms' Piano Quintet and more; on Midday Music we hear him play Schumann. Tuesday at the festival the American String Quartet and Trio RPM play Ravel and Debussy; on GPB we sample the quartet by Ravel. And Wednesday in Madison it's the fantastic Octet by Mendelssohn played by the Parker String Quartet and friends; on Midday Music festival director Christopher Rex et al. tear through that masterpiece.

Whet your appetite for live chamber music? Madison is off I-20 south of Athens. Here's the festival's website.

11 AM

  • Mendelssohn: Octet. Georgian Chamber Players and friends, including William Preucil, violin I. ACA 20102.
  • Schumann: Davidsbundler Dances, Book 1. Andreas Haefliger. Sony 48036.
  • Ravel: String Quartet: mvt 2 (Assez vif). Casals Quartet. HMI 987072.
12 N
  • Saint-Saens: Piano Concerto No. 1 in D major. Stephen Hough, City of Birmingham Sym, Oramo. Hyperion 67331.
  • Salgan/Morel: Don Agustin Bardi. Ricardo Cobo. Naxos 8.557329.
  • Mozart: Quintet for Piano and Winds in E-flat, K. 452. Uchida, Black, King, Lloyd, O'Neill. Philips 422 592.
1 PM
  • Brahms: Symphony No. 3.
  • Sammartini

Playlist for Thursday, June 12

You won't find many happy faces at U.S. gas stations these days. But back in the 1930s, Virgil Thomson thought a gas station would make a great setting for his new ballet Filling Station, about one evening's dramas large and small. Filling Station was the first all-American ballet: American music, design, choreography, setting - the works. And it was influential. Thomson's success emboldened another composer to try a ballet with an American theme, and Aaron Copland's Billy the Kid would be on stage by later that year. We hear Filling Station in the noon hour on GPB. No prices per gallon are specified.

11 AM

  • Schubert/Primrose: Litany for All Soul's Day: Adagio. Roberto Diaz, Robert Koenig. Naxos 8.557391.
  • Arensky: Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor. Cardenes, Solow, Golabek. Delos 3056.
  • Debussy: Toccata from Pour le piano. Boris Berman. Chandos 9294.
  • Berlioz: Love Scene from Romeo and Juliet. Baltimore Sym, Zinman. Telarc 80606.
12 N
  • Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 2. Niklas Eklund, Swiss Baroque Soloists, Gabetta. Naxos 8.557755-56.
  • Respighi: The Pines of Rome. Berlin Phil, Karajan. DG 449 724.
  • Thomson: Filling Station (1938 ballet set at a gas station). Albany [NY] Sym, Miller. Albany 591.
1 PM
  • Mozart: Flute Concerto No. 2 in D, K. 314. Emanuel Pahud, Berlin Phil, Abbado. EMI 56365.
  • Zimbalist: Sarasateana. Roberto Diaz, Robert Koenig. Naxos 8.557391.
  • Enescu: Rumanian Rhapsody No. 1. Cincinnati Pops, Kunzel. Telarc 80606.

Playlist for Wednesday, June 11

11 AM

  • Mozart: "Gran Partita," Serenade in B-flat, K. 361. Moonwinds, Lluna. HMI 987071.
  • DiLiberto: Fantasia on Mascagni's La Cavalleria Rusticana. Jon Kimura Parker. HPR00613.
12 N
  • Arnold: Overture (1940). East Winds. Naxos 8.570294.
  • Glazunov: Overture No. 2 on Three Greek Themes. USSR Sym Orch, Svetlanov. Melodiya 164.
  • Schubert: Piano Trio No. 1 in B-flat, Op. 99. Donald Runnicles, Beth Newdome, Christopher Rex (Georgian Chamber Players). ACA 20102.
1 PM
  • Stravinsky: Firebird, complete ballet (1910). London Sym, Nagano. Virgin 45032.

Playlist for Tuesday, June 10

Concert listings are here (including details on the final weekend of the Amelia Island Chamber Music Festival, where our featured violinist in today's 1 o'clock hour, Rachel Barton Pine, performs). Details on the weekly broadcast of The ASO on GPB are here. And today's Midday Music playlist is here:

11 AM

  • Piazzolla: Escualo; Concerto for Quintet. Gidon Kremer et al. Nonesuch 79407.
  • Haydn: Symphony No. 54. Austro-Hungarian Haydn Orch, Fischer. Nimbus 5530/4.
  • Albeniz: Sevilla; Cordoba; Castilla. Xuefei Yang. EMI 06322.
12 N
  • Fasch: Andante in D. Tempesta di Mare. Chandos 0751.
  • Schumann: Kreisleriana. Jonathan Biss. EMI 65391.
  • Milhaud: The Bull on the Roof. National Orch of Lille. Naxos 8.557287.
1 PM
  • Brahms: Violin Concerto in D major. Rachel Barton, Chicago Sym, Kalmar. Cedille 068.
  • Schumann: Arabeske in C. Jonathan Biss. EMI 65391.

Select Classical Concerts, June 10-July 3

Summertime and the livin' is slower, concert-wise, but not at a standstill. Looky here:

  • Amelia Island Chamber Music Festival: Concerts with acclaimed musicians through June 15 on Amelia Island, Florida, the first barrier island past the Georgia-Florida border. Christopher Rex, director.
  • Saturday, June 14 the Rome Symphony presents the award-winning Georgia Brass Band with the Roman Festival Brass and guest conductor Jerry Pollard. Hoagy Carmichael, Gustav Holst and more. Huffman Center, Rome, 7 p.m.; bring a picnic.
  • The Albany Chorale presents its annual fundraiser show, Saturday, June 14, 7 p.m. at Theatre Albany. "The Big Band Sound" features music from the 1940s and 50s.
  • Madison Chamber Music Festival: Concerts through July 3 at the Madison-Morgan Cultural Center, Madison, Ga., off I-20. Christopher Rex directs this fine festival too.
  • Atlanta Symphony: The final classical concerts of the ASO's 2007-2008 season, June 12-14. Robert Spano conducts Stravinsky's Firebird and two works by Osvaldo Golijov. Symphony Hall, Atlanta.
  • Saturday, June 14 the Rome Symphony presents the award-winning Georgia Brass Band with the Roman Festival Brass and guest conductor Jerry Pollard. Hoagy Carmichael, Gustav Holst and more. Huffman Center, Rome, 7 p.m.; bring a picnic.
  • The Albany Chorale presents its annual fundraiser show, Saturday, June 14, 7 p.m. at Theatre Albany. "The Big Band Sound" features music from the 1940s and 50s.
  • The Atlanta Concert Band performs Sunday, June 29 at 3 p.m. at the Falany Performing Arts Center, Reinhardt College, Waleska.

Playlist for Monday, June 9

11 AM

  • Lurano: La Favola di Orfeo: Intermezzo. Huelgas Ensemble. Sony 60095.
  • Beethoven: Symphony No. 8. Cleveland Orch, Szell. Sony 46328.
  • Medtner: Skazki, Op. 51. Hamish Milne. Hyperion 67491.
  • Debussy: The Little Shepherd. Yolanda Kondonassis. Telarc 80622.
12 N
  • Villa-Lobos: Bachianas Brasileiras No. 1. Cellists of the Sao Paolo Symphony, Antonio Meneses, Minczuk. BIS 1410.
  • Bach, J.C.F.: Cello Sonata in G major. London Baroque. Harmonia Mundi 901587.
  • Meyer, Edgar: Double Bass Concerto in D. Edgar Meyer, Saint Paul Chamber Orch, Wolff. Sony 60956.
1 PM
  • Rodrigo: Concierto Andaluz for four guitars and orchestra. EntreQuartre Guitar Quartet, Asturias Sym, Valdes. Naxos 555841.
  • Weber: Konzertstuck in F minor, Op. 79. Claudio Arrau, Philharmonia Orch, Galliera. EMI 62885.
  • Rhene-Baton: Passacaille for flute and piano. Jan Vinci, Hugh Sung. Albany 947.

Playlist for Tuesday, June 3

The place violinist Cecylia Arzewski would most like to be stranded is Venice. The actress she imagines playing her in a biopic is Greta Garbo. Please join me this Thursday and Sunday evening for The ASO on GPB (details), as long-time Atlanta Symphony concertmaster Cecylia Arzewski gives her final solo performance with her orchestra before retiring: the Violin Concerto by Aram Khatchaturian. Also on the broadcast, Roberto Minczuk conducts Russian favorites, and I speak with both violinist and conductor. In preparation for that show, we hear Cecylia Arzewski and her violin on disc on Midday Music, "playing" the part of the heroine in Rimsky-Korsakov's Sheherazade, today at noon. (By the way, her name is pronounced Cecelia Ahr-ZHEFF-skee.)

Note: Wednesday through Friday, June 4-6, Midday Music will be hosted by Eric Nauert and Russell Wells of GPB member station WSVH Savannah (playlists). See you Monday. - Sarah

11 AM

  • Three tunes from Renaissance Italy. Instruments of the Baltimore Consort. Dorian 90601. (The title of this new CD alludes both to the materials of early classical instruments and to more recent music: "Gut, Wind & Wire.")
  • Handel: Concerto a Due Cori No. 2 in F major. Tafelmusik, Lamon. Sony 63073.
  • Strauss: Violin Sonata in E-flat. Gil Shaham, Rohan de Silva. DG 427 659.
  • Three tunes from Scotland. Instruments of the Baltimore Consort. Dorian 90601.
12 N
  • Russian folk music: Kamarinskaya. Atlanta Balalaika Society.
  • Glinka: Kamarinskaya. Detroit Sym, Jarvi. Chandos 9227.
  • Rimsky-Korsakov: Sheherazade, Symphonic Suite after The Thousand and One Nights. Atlanta Sym Orch, Cecylia Arzewski, Robert Spano.
1 PM
  • Rosetti: Horn Concerto in F major. Zdenek Divoky, Czech Chamber Orch, Kukal. Hanssler 98.383.
  • Vaughan Williams: Suite de Ballet for flute and piano. Jan Vinci, Hugh Sung. Albany 947.
  • Schubert: "Unfinished" Symphony (No. 8 in B minor). Vienna Phil, Kleiber. DG 449 745.

Playlist for Monday, June 2

11 AM

  • Rameau: Castor and Pollux, Ballet Suite. SWR Sym Orch, Cambreling. Hanssler 93.018.
  • Thuille: Cello Sonata in D minor. Marcy Rosen, Lydia Artimiw. Bridge 9264.
  • Bax: Overture to a Picaresque Comedy. Royal Scottish National Orch, Lloyd-Jones. Naxos 555343.
12 N
  • Chopin: Mazurka in F-sharp minor, Op. 59/3; Piano Sonata No. 3 in B minor, Op. 58. Ingrid Fliter. EMI 148992.
  • Saint-Saens: Bacchanale from Samson and Delilah. Philadelphia Orch, Ormandy. CBS 74277.
  • Varied music from the Mediterranean (from a Turkish manuscript, a medieval Spanish court, and Jews of Sarajevo). Hesperion XXI, Savall. Alia Vox 9848.
1 PM
  • Mozart: Clarinet Quintet, K. 581. Consortium Classicum. CPO 999 802.
  • Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue. Wayne Marshall, Aalborg Sym. Virgin 61347.