Classical Balance
Between the exuberance of the Baroque era and the emotional outpouring of Romanticism, 18th-century Classical music strived towards the harmonious, the measured, the ordered and the balanced. At its best, the music of the High Classical period reassures, grounds and delights with its idealized precision and its suggestion that perfection is, in fact, attainable after all.
Read more…- Hoffmeister•Double Bass Quartet No. 3 in D Major•II. Adagio
- Mendelssohn Bartholdy•Lieder ohne Worte (Songs without Words) op. 67 MWV SD 32•1. Andante in E flat major (MWV U 180)
- Mendelssohn Bartholdy•String Quartet No. 4 in E minor op. 44/2 MWV R 26•III. Andante
- Hummel•Concerto for Piano and Orchestra in C major op. 34a•II. Adagio
- Scarlatti•Sonata for Keyboard in G major K 144•Cantabile
- Mozart•Quintet for Oboe, Clarinet, Horn, Bassoon and Piano in E flat major KV 452•I. Largo – Allegro moderato
- Handel•Serse (Xerxes) HWV 40: 'Ombra mai fù' (Serse, Act I)•Ombra mai fù
- Beethoven•Sextet for 2 Clarinets, 2 Horns and 2 Bassoons in E flat major op. 71•II. Adagio
- Mendelssohn Bartholdy•String Quintet No. 1 in A major op. 18 MWV R 21•I. Allegro con moto
- Mozart•Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 9 in E flat major KV 271 “Jeunehomme”•I. Allegro
- Yoshimatsu•While an Angel Falls into a Doze... op. 73•
- Mendelssohn Bartholdy•Lieder ohne Worte (Songs without Words) op. 102 MWV SD 54•2. Adagio in D major (MWV U 192)
- Handel•Giulio Cesare in Egitto HWV 17: 'Cesare, alla tua destra' – 'Va tacito e nascosto' (Tolomeo, Cesare, Achilla, Act I)•Aria 'Va tacito e nascosto'
- Marais•Sarabande from Pieces de viole, Book I: Suite No. 1 in D minor (arr. for harpsichord)•I. Sarabande pour clavecin seul
- Chopin•Nocturnes op. 55 B. 152•1. Nocturne in F minor. Andante
- Spohr•Double Quartet for 4 Violins, 2 Violas and 2 Violoncellos No. 2 in E flat major op. 77•III. Larghetto con moto
- Bizet•Symphony No. 1 in C major WD 33•IV. Allegro vivace
- Shostakovich•Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 2 in F major op. 102•II. Andante
- Grieg•Concerto for Piano and Orchestra in A minor op. 16•II. Adagio
- Beethoven•Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 3 in C minor op. 37•II. Largo
- Mozart•Concerto for Violin and Orchestra No. 4 in D major KV 218•I. Allegro
- Ries•Piano Quartet in E flat major op. 17•III. Rondeau. Allegro moderato
- Mozart•Piano Quartet in E flat major KV 493•I. Allegro
- Mendelssohn Bartholdy•Symphony No. 1 in C minor op. 11 MWV N 13•II. Andante
- Martinů•Sinfonietta for Chamber Orchestra in A major H 328 (1950) “La Jolla”•III. Allegro
- Mozart•Quintet for Clarinet and Strings in A major KV 581•IV. Allegretto con variazioni – Var. I-IV – Adagio – Allegro
- Schubert•Piano Trio No. 1 in B flat major op. posth. 99 D 898•I. Allegro moderato
- Grieg•From Holberg's Time (Suite in Olden Style) op. 40 "Holberg Suite" (Version for String Orchestra)•4. Air. Andante religioso
- Marais•Pièces de viole, Book I: Suite No. 2 in D major•18. Chaconne
- Mozart•Serenade No. 13 in G major KV 525 “Eine kleine Nachtmusik”•II. Romance. Andante
- Haydn•Die Schöpfung (The Creation) Hob. XXI:2•Part II • No. 28 Chorus 'Vollendet ist das große Werk' (Chorus)
Some music by Mozart and his predecessors, contemporaries and successors is said to be more divine than human – to be somehow detached from the everyday. Yet this music's ability to communicate directly to the human soul is never in doubt.
Classical order exerted an influence long beyond its time. Every few generations, composers have been inspired by the Apollonian perfection of the music from eighteenth century Europe and have strived to recapture its sense of balance and distillation.
This playlist – designed to help you find your balance and recalibrate – contains some of the most perfectly tempered music of the Classical era and just before, as well as music from subsequent ages that strived towards the same ideals.