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Concert Hall Classics

Concert Hall Classics, hosted by Curt Timmons, offers three hours of stunning music, presenting extended selections from the KUCO library and his personal collection. The program allows KUCO listeners to indulge in their favorite masterworks as well as discover more unusual offerings.

Photo of radio host Curt Timmons

A Preview of Upcoming Programs on CHC

Monday, March 16, 2026

3-hour programs 11 am-2 PM & 9 PM-12 am Monday through Thursday

Historic restored organs from the 17th century found in San Pedro Cholula, Puebla, and Tlacochahuaya, Oaxaca, Mexico, played by Francis Chapelet and Dominique Ferran; Recital of 19th century Romantic German and French organ works played by Hans-Christoph Becker-Foss

Part 1: Music of Francisco Soto de Langa (1534-1619); Antonio de Cabazon (1510-1566); Fancesco Correa de Arauxo (1586-1654); Pablo Bruna (1611-1679); Jan Pieterzoon Sweelinck (1562-1621; Samuel Scheidt (1587-1654)

Spanish organ specialist and organist Francis Chapelet plays the organ of San Pedro Cholula

Part 2: Music of Antonio de Cabazon (1510-1566); an anonymous work; Juan Bermudo (1510-1565); another anonymous work; Francisco Andreu, who flourished in the 17th century; Sebastian Aguliera de Heredia (1610-1657); Francisco Correa de Arauxo (1575-1654); Pablo Bruna (1611-1679); Juan Cabanilles (1677-1712)

French organist Dominique Ferran plays the 1678 Baroque Organo Iberico at San Jerónimo Tlacochahuaya, Oaxaca, Mexico.

Part 3: César Franck; Chorale for Organ in E major; Robert Schumann: Six Canons, Op. 56; Camille Saint-Saens: Berceuse in E major, Op. 105

Hans-Christoph Becker-Foss plays the organ at St. Stephani, Bremen, Germany

 

                

                

Tuesday, March 17, 2026

Motets for 2 and 3 voices by Claudio Monteverdi; Cantatas for solo alto voice by Antonio Caldara and George Frederic Handel, performed by Il Seminario Masicale under the direction of Gérard Lesne

Part 1: Claudio Monteverdi: Nigra sum; Surge propera; Ego sum pastor bonus; Laudate Dominum; O bone Jesu, illumine oculos meos; Suregns Jesus; Iusti tulerunt spolia; O quam pulchra es; Spuntava il di

Soloists Gérard Lesne, alto; Brigette Lesne, mezzo soprano; Josep Benet, tenor; Josep Cabré, baritone – Il Seminario Musicale and Tragicomedia led by Gérard Lesne

Part 2: Antonio Caldara: Solo cantatas Medea in Corinto; Soffri, mio caro Alcino; D’improvviso; and Vincino a un rioletto; Sonata da camera in D, Op. 2 no. 1; and Sonata à tre in c minor, Op. 1 No. 5

Alto soloist Gérard Lesne leads Il Seminario Musicale

Part 3: George Frederic Handel: Solo cantatas Splenda l’alba in oriente; La Lucrezia; an instrumental Trio Sontata in G, Op. 5 No. 4; Solo cantatas Mi palpita il cor; Carco sempre di gloria

Alto soloist Gérard Lesne leads Il Seminario Musicale

 

                          Antonio Caldara   

                          Antonio Caldara   

Wednesday, March 18, 2026

Four great recordings of Fourths: Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4; Beethoven’s 4th Symphony (bonus recording of the Leonore Overture No. 3); recent recording of Mendelssohn’s 4th Symphony; Tchaikovsky’s 4th Symphony

Part 1a: Ludwig van Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major, Op. 58

Claudio Arrau, pianist; Dresden Staatskapelle conducted by Sir Colin Davis (1987 Philips/VEB digital)

Part 1b: Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony No. 4 in B-flat, Op. 60

William Steinberg conducting The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (1962 Command Classics analog)

Part 1c: Ludwig van Beethoven: Leonore Overture No. 3, Op. 72b (1962 Command Classics analog)

William Steinberg conducting The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra

Part 2: Felix Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 4 in a minor, Op. post. 90 “Italian”

Paavo Järvi conducts the Tonhalle Orchester Zürich (2021 Alpha digital)

Part 3: Peter Ilylich Tchaikovsky: Symphony No 4 in f minor, Op. 36

Eugene Ormandy conducting The Philadelphia Orchestra (1973 RCA Red Seal analog)

 

                

                

Thursday, March 19, 2026

The Borealis Wind Quintet in a collection of gems for wind quintet; Complete music for brass quintet by American composer Kevin McKee; The American Hoen Quartet joined with the Horns of the New York Philharmonic in concert; Music of Sain-Saens and Peter Meechan with the Chicago Gargoyle Brass and Organ Ensemble

Part 1: Nino Rota: Petite Offrande Musicale; Ferenc Farkas: Early 17th Century Hungarian Dances; Amy Beach: Pastorale for Wind Quintet; Gunther Schuller: Suite for Wind Quintet; Percy Grainger: Walking Tune; Joseph Turrin: Three Summer Dances; Vincent Persichetti: Pastoral for Wind Quintet; Darius Milhaud: La Cheminee du Roi Rene; Giulio Briccialdi: Potpourri Fantastico on Rossini’s Barber of Seville

The Borealis Wind Quintet: Katherine Fink, Flute; Tamar Beach Wells, Oboe; Kathryn Taylor, Clarinet; Dan Culpepper, Horn; Wayne Hileman, Bassoon

Part 2: Kevin McKee: Escape (2007); Iron Horse (2019); Vuelta Del Fuego (2008); Galleons and Cutlasses (2013); Semper Gratus (2021)

Jason Bergman and Sevetta Hall, trumpets; Lawrence Lowe, horn; Will Kimball, trombone; Dan Brice, tuba

Part 3: Kerry Turner: Take Nine Antiphonal Fanfare; Farewell to Red Castle; Barbara Allen; and Ghosts of Dublin; Eria Ewasen: Grand Canyon Suite; Leonard Bernstein: Overture to Candide; Johannes Brahms: Hungarian Dance No. 5; Paul Desmond: Take Five; George Gershwin: I Got Rhythm

The American Horn Quartet and the horn section of The New York Philharmonic

 

                   Borealis Wind Quintet                

                   Borealis Wind Quintet                

Previous Programs on CHC

Monday, March 9, 2026

3-hour programs 11 am-2 PM & 9 PM-12 am Monday through Thursday

Keyboard artistry of English organist Ralph Downes and American organist Michael Farris

Part 1: Johann Sebastian Bach: Eleven variations on “Sei gegrüset, Jesu gütig:” Fugue in G; Toccata and Fugue in F; Charles-Marie Widor: Toccata in F from the Organ Symphony No. 5

Ralph Downes plays the organ at the Royal Festival Hall, London (1959 Pye analog stereo, restored LP)

Part 2: Charles-Marie Widor: Allegro from the Organ Symphony No. 6; Cesar Franck: Fantasie in A; Jehan Alain: 20th Fantasie; Louis Vierne: Finale of Organ Symphony No. 6; Maurice Durufle: Scherzo, Op.2 and Prelude and Fugue on the name Alain; Marcel Dupre: Variation on a Noel, Op. 20

Michael Farris plays the Casavant Organ in the Cathedral of Saint Peter, Erie, Pennsylvania

Part 3: Johann Sebastian Bach: Toccata, Adagio and Fugue in C, BWV 564; Arvo Pärt: Annum per annum (Year by Year); Dietrich Buxtehude: Prelude in g minor; Robert Schumann: Sketches, op. 58

Michael Farris plays the C.B. Fisk organ, opus 101 in the Caruth Auditorium at Southern Methodist University, Dallas Texas

                

                

Tuesday, March 10, 2026

The Extraordinary Music of the Spanish Baroque

Part 1a: Selections from a CD entitled “Mas no puede ser” (No more can be): Cancion and pasacalles of several anonymous composers; cantada of Antono Literes (1673 to 1747); villancico and an instrumental work by Cristobal Galan (1630 to 1684); cantada and villancico of Jose de Torres (1670 to 1738); cantada of Francisco Valls (1665 to 1747); villancico and an instrumental work by Juan Frances de Iribarren (1698 to 1767)

Vocal soloists and the ensemble Al Arye Español led by Eduardo Lopez Banzo

Part 2: Selection of works from a CD entitled Ay Amor (Yes, My Love): Several anonymous vocal and instrumental works; zarzuelas “Azis y Galatea,” “Los Elementos’” and El estragon en la fineza o Jupiter y Semele’” of Anton Literes (1673 to 1747); zarzuelas “El impossible mayor en amor le venza Amor” and “Veneno es de amor la envida” of Sebastian Duron (1660 to 1716)

Vocal soloists and the ensemble Al Arye Español are led by Eduardo Lopez Banzo

Part 3: Selections from the CD “Quando muere el sol,” (When the sun dies): “Miserere” of Jose de Torres (1670 to 1738); Tono de Miserere of Juan de Navas (first quarter of the 17th century to the 1st quarter of the 18th century); Lamentation Segundo, del Jueves Santo, of Jose de Torres

Vocal soloists and the ensemble Al Arye Español led by Eduardo Lopez Banzo.

 

                

                

Wednesday, March 11, 2026

Rare early stereo recordings of conductor Leopold Stokowski – Works by Respighi, Khachaturian and Shostakovich

Part 1a: Ottorino Respighi: The Pines of Rome (1958 UA analog stereo)

Part 1b: Aram Khachaturian: Symphony No. 2 in E minor “The Bell” (1958 UA analog stereo)

Part 2: Dmitri Shostakovich: Symphony No. 1 in F, Op. 10 (1958 UA analog stereo)

Symphony of the Air conducted by Leopold Stokowski

Part 3: Dmitri Shostakovich: Symphony No. 11 in g minor, Op. 103 (1958 Capitol analog stereo)

Leopold Stokowski conducts the Houston Symphony Orchestra

 

                

                

Thursday, March 12, 2026

Renaissance and 20th Century Music for Brass Ensemble

Part 1: Andrea Gabrieli: Aria della Battaglia; Two sonatas and three canzons of Giovanni Gabrieli

Members of the Eastman Wind Ensemble conducted by Frederick Fennell (1961 Mercury analog stereo, restored LP)

Part 2a: Sonatas and Canzons of Giovanni Gabrieli

Brass ensembles of the Philadelphia Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra and Chicago Symphony Orchestra (1968 Columbia analog stereo)

Part 2b: Girolamo Frescobaldi: Canzons arranged for brass and organ

E. Power Biggs playing the Flentrop Organ in the Busch-Reisinger Museum, at Harvard University with the New England Brass Ensemble conducted by Richard Burgin (1959 Columbia analog stereo)

Part 3: Contemporary Masterpieces for Brass: Dallas Brass in music of Gershwin and Copland; Canadian Brass in music of Purcell and Jelly Roll Morton; Mixed ensemble Rythym and Brass in music of Scheidt and David Gluck; Bass Trombonist Douglas Yeo accompanied by the Black Dyke Mills Band in music of Grieg, Joy Webb and Stephen Bulla; Atlantic Brass Quintet in music of Anthony Holborn and Michael Praetorius (1998 digital)

 

                

                

Previous Programs on CHC

Monday, March 2, 2026

3-hour programs 11 am-2 PM & 9 PM-12 am Monday through Thursday

Murray/Lohuis Duo in music for solo violin and organ; Suite in G for organ and string orchestra by Ottorino Respighi; Three major works for organ by Max Reger

Part 1: Joseph Rheinberger: Overture from Sech Stücke, Op. 150, No. 6; John Stanley: Solo II, Op. 1 from 8 Solos for German Flute, Violin or Harpsichord; Leo Sowerby: Poem for Violin and Organ; Joachim Raff: Cavatina, Op. 85, No. 3; Stanley Weiner: Largo and Hallelujah for Violin and Organ, Op. 76; Max Reger: Largo from Suite im Alten Stil, Op. 93

Robert Murray, violinist and Ardyth Lohuis playing the 1951/1968 Aeolian-Skinner Op. 1110 organ at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, Richmond, Virginia

Part 2: Ottorino Respighi:  Suite in G for Organ and String Orchestra

Leslie Pearson, organist; Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Geoffery Simon

Part 3: Max Reger: Introduction, Passacaglia and Fugue in E minor, Op. 127; Organ Sonata No. 1 in f-sharp minor, Op. 33: The Organ Sonata No. 2 in D minor, Op. 60

Heinz Wunderlich, organist, playing the 1960/1970 Kemper Organ in the St. Jacobi Church, Hamburg

                

                

Tuesday, March, 2026

Choral/Orchestral music of Sir Edward Elgar: symphony/cantata The Black Knight; Excerpts from The Saga of King Olaf; New recording of the two-part oratorio The Dream of Gerontius

Part 1a: Sir Edward Elgar: The Black Knight, Op. 25

London Philharmonic Choir and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Sir Charles Groves

Part 1b: Sir Edward Elgar: The Saga of King Olaf (selections)

Teresa Cahill, soprano; Philip Langridge, tenor; Brian Raynor Cook, bass; The London Philharmonic Choir and The London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Vernon Handley

Part 2: Sir Edward Elgar: “The Dream of Gerontius,” Op. 38 (Part One)

Part 3: Sir Edward Elgar: “The Dream of Gerontius,” Op. 38 (Part Two)

David Butt Philip as Gerontius; Karen Cargill as The Angel; Roland Wood as The Priest and The Angel of Agony; The Huddersfield Choral Society, the RNC Chamber Choir and the Orchestra of Opera North conducted by Martyn Brabbins

 

                

                

Wednesday, March 4, 2026

Four great recordings of Thirds from my collection: Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3; Beethoven’s 3rd Symphony; Mendelssohn’s 3rd Symphony; Ralph Vaughan Williams’ A Pastoral Symphony (3rd Symphony)

Part 1a: Ludwig van Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 3 in c minor, Op. 37

Claudio Arrau, piano; Dresden Staatskapelle conducted by Sir Colin Davis

Part 1b: Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony No. 3 in E-flat, Op. 55 “Eroica”

William Steinberg conducting The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra

Part 2: Felix Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 3 in a minor, Op. 56 “Scottish”

Paavo Järvi conducts the Tonhalle Orchester Zürich

Part 3: Ralph Vaughan Williams: A Pastoral Symphony (Symphony No. 3)

Sir Adrian Boult conducting The New Philharmonia Orchestra

 

                

                

Thursday, March 5, 2026

The Vanderbilt University Wind Symphony in French and American compositions; The Cincinnati C-CM Wind Symphony in American classics arranged for winds; The US Air Force Band in original compositions for wind ensemble

Part 1: Serge Lancen: Rapsodie symphonique; Eugène Bozza: Ballade (arranged for Trombone & Wind Ensemble); Fisher Tull: Reflections on Paris; Florent Schmitt: Dionysiaques, Op. 62; Gabriel Fauré: Chant funéraire (aaranged for Wind Ensemble); Donald Grantham: J’ai été au bal

The Vanderbilt Wind Symphony conducted by Thomas E. Verrier

Part 2: Leonard Bernstein: Overture to Candide; William Schuman: George Washington Bridge; Aaron Copland: An Outdoor Overture and El Salon Mexico; William Schuman: Chester; H. Owen Reed: La Fiesta Mexicana

Eugene Corporon conducts The Cincinnati C-CM Wind Symphony

Part 3: Christopher Caliendo: Ender’s Game: The Concert Band Suite; Malcolm Arnold: Four Scottish Dances, Op. 59; Julie Giroux: Riften Wed; Ron Nelson: Savannah River Holiday

The United States Air Force Band conducted by Col. Larry H. Lang

 

                

                

Previous Programs on CHC

Monday, February 23, 2026

3-hour programs 11 am-2 PM & 9 PM-12 am Monday through Thursday

Organ Symphonies of Guilmant, Widor & Jongen

Part 1: Alexandre Guilmant: Symphonie for organ and orchestra in d minor, Op. 42; Marche Elegiaque in c minor, Op. 74 for Organ, two oboes and string orchestra; Symphonie No. 2 for Organ and Orchestra in A, Op. 91

Paul Wißkirchen playing the organ at the Altenberg Cathedral in Altenberg, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany – Gürzenich Orchestra of Cologne conducted by Volker Hempfling.

Part 2: Charles-Marie-Jean-Albert Widor: Symphonie No. 3, Op. 69

Paul Wißkirchen playing the organ at the Altenberg Cathedral – Philharmonia Hungarica conducted by Volker Hempfling

Sinfonia Sacra

Paul Wißkirchen playing the organ at the Altenberg Cathedral – Gürzenich Orchestra of Cologne conducted by Volker Hempfling

Part 3: Joseph Jongen: Symphonie Concertante, op. 81

Ulrich Meldau playing the organ of the church in Enge, Zurich, Switzerland – Symphony Orchestra of Zurich conducted by Daniel Schweitzer

Toccata, Op. 104

Ulrich Meldau playing the organ of the church in Enge, Zurich, Switzerland

                

                

Tuesday, March 3, 2026

Choral/Orchestral music of Sir Edward Elgar: symphony/cantata The Black Knight; Excerpts from The Saga of King Olaf; New recording of the two-part oratorio The Dream of Gerontius

Part 1a: Sir Edward Elgar: The Black Knight, Op. 25

London Philharmonic Choir and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Sir Charles Groves

Part 1b: Sir Edward Elgar: The Saga of King Olaf (selections)

Teresa Cahill, soprano; Philip Langridge, tenor; Brian Raynor Cook, bass; The London Philharmonic Choir and The London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Vernon Handley

Part 2: Sir Edward Elgar: “The Dream of Gerontius,” Op. 38 (Part One)

Part 3: Sir Edward Elgar: “The Dream of Gerontius,” Op. 38 (Part Two)

David Butt Philip as Gerontius; Karen Cargill as The Angel; Roland Wood as The Priest and The Angel of Agony; The Huddersfield Choral Society, the RNC Chamber Choir and the Orchestra of Opera North conducted by Martyn Brabbins

 

                

                

Wednesday, February 25, 2026

Arturo Toscanini conducts Wagner; Hans Rosbaud conducts Schubert; Hermann Scherchen conducts Mahler

Part 1: Arturo Toscanini: Final Concert April 4, 1954 (in stereo) – Richard Wagner; Prelude to Act 1 of Lohengrin; Dawn and Siegfried’s Rhine Journey from Götterdämmerung; Overture and Bacchanale from Tannhäuser; Prelude to Act 1 of Die Meistersinger von Nürnburg

Arturo Toscanini conducts the NBC Symphony Orchestra (1954 stereo)

Part 2: Franz Schubert: Symphony No. 4 in c minor, D. 417

Hans Rosbaud conducts the Concertgebouw Orchestra in concert (1961 mono)

Part 3: Gustav Mahler: Adagio from Symphony No. 10

Hermann Scherchen conducts the Vienna State Opera Orchestra (1952 mono)

Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 1 in D

Hermann Scherchen conducts the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (1954 mono)