Mozart Clarinet Concerto

It took a lot to make the composer and critic Virgil Thomson happy. He was famous for savaging new works he didn't like, and the truth is, he didn't like very many new works at all. One exception was Bohuslav Martinů's very first symphony, written in 1942. Thomson said this: "The ...  Show more

Thence the universe resounds With a joyful cry I AM. These are the final lines of Alexander Scriabin's epic Poem of Ecstasy, a 300-line poem that takes nearly 10 minutes to read aloud and is one of the most surreal texts in the world. Scriabin wrote a Poem of Ecstasy in text and ...  Show more

Works include: Schumann's Violin Sonata #1, Bach's Brandenburg Concerto #2, Brahms' Horn Trio, Vivaldi's Cello Sonata #1 and Varese's Ionization. 

When we listen closely to the Fifth, we hear a testament to self-expression and determination. Which means that we get to decide how to honor this symphony today, whether that means taking a break from Beethoven to commission new works from underrepresented composers, bringing ne ...  Show more

Works include: Waltzes #3 &6, The Revolutionary Etude, Prelude #17, Scherzo #1, Nocturne #13 and Mazurka # 26. Pianists include: Alfred Cortot, Arthur Rubinstein, Sviatoslav Richter, Claudio Arrau, Dinu Lipatti and Wilhelm Backhaus. 

When the urge to compose finally struck again, Rachmaninoff took a little theme by Nicolo Paganini and turned it into a tour de force for the piano and orchestra, called Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. In this final episode of the Great Composers series on Rachmaninoff, we also ...  Show more