Radio special

In my second week substituting for Mark Lederway on Tuesday Classics, an end-of-the-year special: An all-Beethoven, all-Past Masters program of exceptional recordings, made between 1926 and 1985.

The featured artists: the duo of violinist Fritz Kreisler and pianist Sergei Rachmaninoff; the Budapest String Quartet; pianists Claudio Arrau and Walter Gieseking; and, in three of the most compelling Beethoven symphony performances ever recorded, conductors George Szell (No. 5), Franz Konwitschny (No. 7) and Klaus Tennstedt (No. 9).

Dec. 30
noon-4 p.m. EST
1700-2100 UTC/GMT
WDCE, University of Richmond
90.1 FM
www.wdce.org

all-Beethoven program:

Symphony No. 5 in C minor
Concertgebouw Orchestra, Amsterdam/
George Szell (Philips)
(recorded 1966)

Sonata in G major, Op. 30, No. 3
Fritz Kreisler, violin; Sergei Rachmaninoff, piano (Biddulph)
(recorded 1926)

“The Ruins of Athens” – “Turkish March”
Concertgebouw Orchestra, Amsterdam/
Willem Mengelberg (Grammofono 2000)
(recorded 1930)

Piano Concerto
No. 4 in G major
Claudio Arrau, piano
Staatskapelle Dresden/
Colin Davis
(Philips)
(recorded 1984)

Quartet in C minor, Op. 18, No. 4
Budapest String Quartet (Sony Classical)
(recorded 1941)

Symphony No. 7 in A major
Gewandhaus Orchestra, Leipzig/
Franz Konwitschny (Berlin Classics)
(recorded 1960)

Sonata in C major, Op. 53 (“Waldstein”)
Walter Gieseking, piano (Andromedia)
(recorded 1938)

Symphony No. 9 in D minor (“Choral”)
Mari Anne Häggander, soprano; Alfreda Hodgson, contralto; Robert Tear, tenor; Gwynne Howell, bass
London Philharmonic Choir
London Philharmonic/Klaus Tennstedt (BBC Music)
(recorded 1985)