performed by the Cleveland Symphony under George Szell (I’m writing on Substack now, where I feature pieces on hypothetical concert programs alongside more obscure or underperformed works. This piece was featured in September 2025’s concert program. Go have a look at the … Continue reading Schumann Symphony No. 2 in C, op. 61
Gonna try to keep this one shorter. The second symphony is believed to have been written between 1757 and 1761. It has the same orchestration as number one from yesterday, and is also in three movements. There’s also something kind of… comforting at the possibility that something this brief (a nine minute symphony!) may have taken him four years to write. Not that he devoted every waking hour (or any regular attention) to the piece, but for any aspiring composer, it’s nice to know that speed isn’t necessarily important. The second is also unique in Haydn’s symphonic repertoire in that … Continue reading Haydn Symphony no. 2
performed by the Vienna Philharmonic under Eugen Jochum, Maurizio Pollini, piano or below, an excellent and entertaining performance with Leonard Bernstein conducting the Vienna Philharmonic from the piano (I’m writing on Substack now, where I feature pieces on hypothetical concert … Continue reading Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 1 in C, op. 15
performed by the Lahti Symphony Orchestra under Osmo Vänskä I cannot think of a better contrast to the previous Mahler symphony as this piece. Do I love it? Yes. Does it make me want to stop everything I’m doing and … Continue reading Sibelius Symphony no 3 in C, op. 52