Suggested Classical Musicians & Composers

Alfred Brendel, piano:

Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” from the film “Immortal Beloved”:

Heather Schmidt, Piano:

Oscar-nominated animated film about the music of Erik Satie:

Satie’s best-known composition performed by Anne Queffélec:

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Mitsuko Uchida plays Mozart’s Piano Sonatas 545, 570, 576, 533/494:

Order of performance on above video: 1.Allegro 0:00 2.Andante 4:37 3.Rondo: Allegretto 11:38 Piano Sonata No.17 in Bb, K.570 1.Allegro 13:48 2.Adagio 19:31 3.Allegretto 28:34 Piano Sonata No.18 in D, K.576 (‘Hunt’) 1.Allegro 32:13 2.Adagio 37:19 3.Allegretto assai 42:37 Piano Sonata No.15 in F, K.533/494 1.Allegro 47:00 2.Andante 54:36 3.Rondo: Allegretto 1:04:08

Playlist of the complete piano sonatas of Mozart as performed by Mitsuko Uchida:

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“Cantus in Memoriam Benjamin Britten” by Arvo Pärt:

Performed by Jürgen Kruse (Piano) and Benjamin Hudson (viola). Suggested by Linda Hess:

“Salve Regina” by Arvo Pärt. Performed by The Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir. Conducted by Paul Hillier.

Composer: Arvo Pärt; Conductor: Kristjan Järvi; Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin; RIAS Kammerchor:

Composer: Arvo Pärt; David James (countertenor); Christopher Bowers-Broadbent (organ); Author of text: Robert Burns (1759-1796):

“In the first tintinnabuli pieces, Pärt was not thinking about performances, and (as with medieval music) his notation was sparse. He stepped out publicly in 1977 with “Tabula Rasa.” His friend, the conductor Eri Klas, was looking for a work to accompany a performance of Alfred Schnittke’s First Concerto Grosso, which was written for two violins, harpsichord, prepared piano and string orchestra. He asked Pärt if he could deliver a piece in three months with the same orchestration. The composer complied (eliminating the harpsichord). When the new piece arrived, the orchestra players and the violin soloists, Gidon Kremer and Tatjana Grindenko, were bewildered. “We were all a bit surprised by the empty picture of the score,” Kremer told me. “It was all tonal and so transparent. There were so few notes.” The night of the concert, the auditorium in Tallinn was full. Having had only two days of rehearsal, the musicians were filled with apprehension. “They came to the concert expecting a catastrophe, even Gidon Kremer and Tatjana Grindenko, who put all their talent on every note, especially the second part, the slow part,” Pärt said. “And it was a magnet for the orchestra, and they took over this articulation. And it was wonderful. It was so still that the people could not breathe or cough, it would disrupt. It was with me the same feeling. My heartbeat was so noisy that I thought everyone could hear.” The composer Tuur, who was still a teenager, was in the audience that night. “I was carried beyond,” he told me. “I had the feeling that eternity was touching me through this music.” In the score, Pärt wrote an exceptionally long four measures of rest at the end of the piece, but the silence went on even longer. “Nobody wanted to start clapping,” Tuur said.”–New York Times

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A documentary suggested by Neal Rosen:

Above piece sung by the famous Welsh boy treble (now baritone) Aled Jones. The song “Silent Worship” is a 1928 adaptation by Sir Arthur Somervell of the aria “Non lo dirò col labbro” (I will not say it with my lips, they do not have the courage) from Handel’s 1728 opera Tolomeo (Ptolemy). Somervell’s English-language adaptation is for voice and piano, and it has remained a popular classic in song recitals and home music-making. Other arrangements of Somervell’s translation include voice accompanied by a modern symphony orchestra (as here), and male choir.

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Recommended by Gil Levine. Playlist of John-Henry Crawford’s album “Corazon”:

Andrew Chislett, organ:

Hopkinson Smith, baroque lute:

Performed by Dale Warland Singers:

Written in 1941 in a German prisoner-of-war camp:

Played by The Borodin Quartet With Alexander Buzlov (cello):

Had the great thrill of hearing this phenomenal pianist play solo in Vienna on June 13, 2018, when he had just turned 16:

More recent performance. Lukas goes on at 6 min., 20 sec.:

Performing “Sonate Nr.2 b-Moll op.36” by Sergej Rachmaninoff:

Slovenian pianist was protegee of Artur Rubinstein:

“Lo How a Rose Ere Blooming” by Michael Praetorius (1571 – 1621) and sung by men’s choral group Chanticleer:

“This is My Song” a hymn from Sibelius’ “Finlandia” with words by Lloyd Stone:

Recommended by Gil Levine (guitarist is Roxane Elfasci):

Here’s another one by her:

From the Boston Guitar Fest 2017:

Virtuoso John Williams performs playlist of El Diablo Suelito: Guitar Music of Venezuela:

Jordi Savall (viola da gamba built by Barak Norman, Londen 1697, Italian viole body from 1500) & Xavier Díaz-Latorre (theorbo, baroque guitar). Recorded and broadcasted live by MAX Avondconcert Radio 4 In Het Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ, Amsterdam, 13 May 2015:

John Field, composer; playlist of his complete nocturnes:

Playlist of 19 Chopin nocturnes performed by Artur Rubinstein:

Playlist of 157 Rubenstein performances of Chopin piano ballades, nocturnes, preludes, concertos, scherzos, polonaises, mazurkas, impromptus, sonatas, waltzes & more:

SSAA Choir, Piano, and String Orchestra.
Performed by the Women of Westminster Symphonic Choir; Ola Gjeilo, piano; Dr. Amanda Quist, conductor; Lyrics by Walt Whitman