Welcome to Week 63 of The Works! Start with this week's podcast episode.

The pieces for this week are listed below, along with links to scores, opera libretto and synopsis. Here is the Spotify playlist for Week 63.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Cosi fan tutte - score - libretto & synopsis
     recommended audio recording: conducted by Solti
     video recommendation: I will be watching one conducted by Harnoncourt.
Piano Concerto No. 22 - score
     recommended recordings: Schiff with Camerata Salzburg; Zacharias with Chamber Orchestra of Lausanne

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Symphony No. 2 “Antar” - score
      recommended recordings: Rotterdam Philharmonic/Zinman; Pittsburgh Symphony/Maazel [neither of these seems to be available on Spotify]

Witold Lutoslawski
String Quartet - program notes
      recommended recording: Arditti Quartet [this does not seem to be available on Spotify]

The Beatles
Selected non-album songs from 1968: Lady Madonna; The Inner Light; Hey Jude; Revolution
The Beatles (aka The White Album, 1968)
Selected songs from the Yellow Submarine album 1969): Only a Northern Song; All Together Now; Hey Bulldog; It's All Too Much

Welcome to Week 61 of The Works! Start with this week's podcast episode.

The pieces for this week are listed below, along with links to scores where available. Here is the Spotify playlist for Week 61.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Piano Concerto No. 21 - score
     recommended recordings: Casadesus with Cleveland Orchestra/Szell; Perahia with English Chamber Orchestra; many others!

Franz Peter Schubert
Selected Lieder:
     Im Abendrot, D. 799 - score - text and translation
     Der Einsame, D. 800 - score - text and translation
     Dithyrambe, D. 801 - score - text and translation
     Abendstern, D. 806 - score - text and translation
     Auflosung, D. 807 - score - text and translation
     Nacht und Traume, D. 827 - score - text and translation
     Die Junge Nonne, D. 828 - score - text and translation
     Des Sangers Habe, D. 832 - score - text and translation
     Der Blinde Knabe, D. 833 - score - text and translation
     Totengrabers Heimweh, D. 842 - score - text and translation
     Die Allmacht, D. 852 - score - text and translation
     Auf der Bruck, D. 853 - score - text and translation
     Lied der Delphine, D. 857 - score (this song is No. 2 from these “2 Scenes”) - text and translation
     An Mein Herz, D. 860 - score - text and translation
     Der Liebliche Stern, D. 861 - score - text and translation
     Der Wanderer an den Mond, D. 870 - score - text and translation
     Das Zugenglocklein, D. 871 - score - text and translation
(various recordings are recommended)

Vladimir Ussachevsky and Otto Luening
Poem in Cycles and Bells
Rhapsodic Variations

Louis Armstrong
Selected tracks from 1947-1957 as collected in the compilation album, Satchmo: A Musical Autobiography

Welcome to Week 59 of The Works! Start with this week's podcast episode.

The pieces for this week are listed below, along with links to scores and other helpful information. Here is the Spotify playlist for Week 59.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Piano Concerto No. 20 - score
     recommended recordings: Curzon with English Chamber Orchestra/Britten; Uchida with English Chamber Orchestra/Tate

Edvard Grieg
Lyric Pieces:
     Book 5 (Op.  54) - score
     Book 6 (Op.  57) - score
     Book 7 (Op.  62) - score
      recommended recordings: Gieseking; Austbo; Katsaris; Gilels; Andsnes

Wolfgang Rihm
Kein Firmament - score preview
Gesungene Zeit - program notes and score preview

The Beatles
Beatles For Sale (1964 UK album)
Help! (1965 UK album)
Rubber Soul (1965 UK album)
Selected non-album songs from 1964-65: I Feel Fine; She's A Woman; Yes It Is; I'm Down; Day Tripper; We Can Work It Out

Welcome to Week 57 of The Works! Start with this week's podcast episode.

The pieces for this week are listed below, along with links to scores, opera libretto and synopsis, and other helpful information. Here is the Spotify playlist for Week 57.

Hector Berlioz
Les Troyens - score - libretto and synopsis
     recommended audio recording: Covent Garden conducted by Davis with Vickers, Veasey, Lindholm
     video recommendation: Met conducted by Levine with Troyanos, Norman, Domingo

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Piano Concerto No. 19 - score
     recommended recordings: Perahia with English Chamber Orchestra; Bilson with English Baroque/Gardiner

Franz Liszt
Piano Sonata in B minor - score
      recommended recordings: Arrau; Brendel; Richter

Olivier Messiaen
Des Canyons aux Etoiles
      recommended recordings: Loriod with Ensemble Ars Nova/Constant; Hardink with Utah Symphony/Fischer

Louis Armstrong and His Hot Seven (or his Hot Five; or his Orchestra)
Selected 78 rpm singles from 1927-28

Welcome to Week 55 of The Works! Start with this week's podcast episode.

Bonus playlists mentioned in the podcast: Hip-hop 1979-1992; Hip-hop 1993-2000

The pieces for this week are listed below, along with links to scores, song texts and translations. Here is the Spotify playlist for Week 55.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Piano Concerto No. 18 - score
     recommended recordings: Goode with Orpheus Chamber Orchestra; Andsnes with Norwegian  Chamber Orchestra

Ludwig van Beethoven
Leonore Overture No. 1 - score
Leonore Overture No. 2 - score
Leonore Overture No. 3 - score
Fidelio Overture - score (this is the page for the whole opera)
     recommended recordings: Berlin Philharmonic/Karajan; Cleveland Orchestra/Szell; Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra/Masur

Franz Peter Schubert
Selected Lieder:
     Der Wanderer, D. 489 - score - text and translation
     Ganymed, D. 544 - score - text and translation
     An die Musik, D. 547 - score - text and translation
     Auf der Donau, D. 553 - score - text and translation
     Liebhaber in allen Gestalten, D. 558 - score - text and translation
     Der Strom, D. 565 - score - text and translation
     Gruppe aus dem Tartarus, D. 583 - score - text and translation
     Blondel zu Marien, D. 626 - score - text and translation
     Der Wanderer, D. 649 - score - text and translation
     Abendbilder, D. 650 - score - text and translation
     Nachtstuck, D. 672 - score - text and translation
     Fruhlingsglaube, D. 686 - score - text and translation
     Die Vogel, D. 691 - score - text and translation
     Des Frauleins Liebeslauschen, D. 698 - score - text and translation
     Im Walde, D. 708 - score - text and translation
     Lob der Tranen, D. 711 - score - text and translation
     Versunken, D. 715 - score - text and translation
     Geheimes, D. 719 - score - text and translation
(various recordings are recommended)

Hans Werner Henze
Symphony No. 7
     recommended recordings: City of Birmingham Symphony/Rattle

Louis Armstrong and His Hot Five (or Hot Seven)
Selected 78 rpm singles from 1926-27

Welcome to Week 53 of The Works! Start with this week's podcast episode.

The pieces for this week are listed below, along with links to scores where available. Here is the Spotify playlist for Week 53.

Johann Sebastian Bach
Orchestral Suites Nos. 3 and 4 - score (3) - score (4)
     recommended recordings: Academy of St. Martin in the Fields/Marriner; Academy of Ancient Music/Hogwood; Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra/Koopman

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Piano Concerto No. 17 - score
     recommended recordings: Bilson (fortepiano) with English Baroque/Gardiner; Anda with Camerata Salzburg

John Philip Sousa
Selected Marches - see playlist for the specific marches.
Most scores are available on Sousa's IMSLP page, and there are many free recordings there as well.

Hans Werner Henze
Symphony No. 6

A Tribe Called Quest
People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm
The Low End Theory

Welcome to Week 51 of The Works! Start with this week's podcast episode.

The pieces for this week are listed below, along with links to scores and other helpful information. Here is the Spotify playlist for Week 51.

Johann Sebastian Bach
Orchestral Suites Nos. 1 and 2 - score (1) - score (2)
     recommended recordings: English Concert/Pinnock; Academy of St. Martin in the Fields/Marriner; English Baroque Soloists/Gardiner

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Piano Concerto No. 16 - score
     recommended recordings: Barenboim with Berlin Philharmonic; Uchida with English Chamber Orchestra/Tate

Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov
Scheherazade - score
      recommended recordings: Royal Philharmonic/Beecham; Concertgebouw/Kondrashin; many others!

Hans Werner Henze
El Cimarron - program notes - score (preview version)

Ice-T
O.G. Original Gangster

Dr. Dre
The Chronic

Welcome to Week 49 of The Works! Start with this week's podcast episode.

The pieces for this week are listed below, along with links to scores, opera libretto and synopsis. Here is the Spotify playlist for Week 49.

Giacomo Puccini
La Boheme - score - libretto and synopsis
     recommended audio recording: conducted by Karajan
     video recommendation: Metropolitan Opera, conducted by Levine

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Piano Concerto No. 15 - score
     recommended recordings: Bilson (fortepiano) with English Baroque/Gardiner; Brendel with Academy of St. Martinin the Fields/Marriner

Carl Maria von Weber
Clarinet Quintet - score
      recommended recordings: Brunner/Hagen Quartet; Shifrin/Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center

Olivier Messiaen
Sept haikai
     recommended recordings: Donohoe (piano)/de Leeuw; Loriod (piano)/Boulez
Et exspecto resurrectionem motuorum
     recommended recordings: conducted by de Leeuw; conducted by Boulez

Digital Underground
Sex Packets

LL Cool J
Mama Said Knock You Out

Welcome to Week 47 of The Works! Start with this week's podcast episode.

The pieces for this week are listed below, along with links to scores, opera libretto and synopsis, and other helpful information. Here is the Spotify playlist for Week 47.

Georges Bizet
Carmen - score - libretto & synopsis
     recommended audio recording: conducted by Abbado
     video recommendations: conducted by Levine; Rosi film

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Piano Concerto No. 14 - score
     recommended recording: Bilson (fortepiano) with English Baroque/Gardiner

Camille Saint-Saens
Piano Quartet, Op. 41 - score

Charles Ives
Three Places in New England - score
     recommended recordings: Boston Symphony/Tilson Thomas; Cleveland Orchestra/Dohnanyi
Central Park in the Dark - score
     recommended recording: New York Philharmonic/Bernstein
The Unanswered Question - score
     recommended recordings: New York Philharmonic/Bernstein; Chicago Symphony/Tilson Thomas

Miles Davis
E.S.P.
Miles Smiles
Nefertiti

Welcome to Week 44 of The Works! Start with this week's podcast episode.

The pieces for this week are listed below, along with links to scores, opera libretto and synopsis, and other helpful information. Here is the Spotify playlist for Week 44.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Le Nozze di Figaro - score - libretto and synopsis
     recommended audio recording: conducted by Giulini
     video recommendations: conducted by Haitink; conducted by Gardiner (with authentic instruments)

Ludwig van Beethoven
String Quartet No. 8 (Op. 59 No. 2) - score
     recommended recordings: The Lindsays; Guarneri Quartet

Edouard Lalo
Symphonie espagnole - score
      recommended recordings: Mutter; Heifetz

Heitor Villa-Lobos
Bachianas Brasileiras No. 9 - score
     note: Villa-Lobos' works are not in the public domain in all countries, so please follow your own country's laws when deciding whether to download the scores.

Public Enemy
It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back
Fear of a Black Planet

Welcome to Week 25 of The Works! There may or may not be a podcast episode this week.

Here is the Spotify playlist for Week 25.

Here are this week's pieces:

Giuseppe Verdi
Don Carlo [aka Don Carlos] - score - synopsis, libretto and translation

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Piano Concerto No. 13 - score

Gabriel Faure
Elegie for Cello and Piano - score
Sonata No. 1 for Cello and Piano - score
Sonata No. 2 for Cello and Piano - score

Erik Satie
Vexations - score (not in the public domain in the US)

Duke Ellington
The Afro-Eurasian Eclipse
This One's for Blanton

Welcome to Week 21 of The Works! Start with this week's podcast episode.

The pieces for this week are listed below, along with links to scores, opera libretto and synopsis, and other helpful information. Here is the Spotify playlist for Week 21.

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Eugene Onegin - score - libretto & synopsis
     recommended audio recording: conducted by Levine
     video recommendation: Kirov Opera 1950

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Piano Concerto No. 12 - score
     recommended recordings: Bilson (fortepiano) with English Baroque/Gardiner; Kocsis with Liszt Chamber Orchestra/Rolla

Frederyk Chopin
Ballade No. 1 - score
      recommended recordings: Egorov; Pollini
Ballade No. 2 - score
     recommended recordings: Cortot; Rubinstein

Gunther Schuller
Suite for Wind Quintet
Concertino for Jazz Quartet and Orchestra

Duke Ellington
Ellington at Newport (1956) - the complete concert is on the playlist.
Such Sweet Thunder - the tracks of the original LP are on the playlist first; bonus tracks are found after the extra recordings of Mozart and Chopin.
Money Jungle - same as with Such Sweet Thunder.

Welcome to Week 16 of The Works! Start with this week's podcast episode in which we briefly review last week's works and look ahead to this week's playlist.

Here is the Spotify playlist for week 16.

Here are this week's pieces, along with links to the scores where available, and album information:

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Piano Concerto No. 11

Gustav Mahler
Symphony No. 6

Pierre Boulez
Piano Sonata No. 1
Piano Sonata No. 2
Piano Sonata No. 3
This Wikipedia page has information on these pieces.

Duke Ellington
Fargo, ND, Nov. 7, 1940 - YouTube link - album info

Welcome to Week 14 of The Works! Start with this week's podcast episode. We review last week's works, talk about which composers will be most often found throughout this project, and look ahead to this week's playlist.

Here is the Spotify playlist for week 14.

Here are this week's pieces, along with links to the scores where available, and album information:

Giacomo Carissimi
Jephte
   text and translation here

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Don Giovanni
   synopsis, libretto and translation here
   If you don't listen to the whole opera, at least listen to “Là ci darem la mano” and maybe some of the other tracks from the highlights album.

Edvard Grieg
Sonata for Cello and Piano

Pierre Boulez
Répons

Roy Orbison
selected songs

Ricky Nelson
selected songs

Jerry Lee Lewis
Live at the Star Club, Hamburg (1964) - only part of the album is available on Spotify. Also listen to the original studio versions of a few of his most important songs.

Welcome to Week 8 of The Works! Start with this week's episode of the Listening to the Works podcast, then find the pieces for this week on the Spotify playlist.

Here are the pieces for this week, including links to the scores, texts, and alternate recordings.

Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
Magnificats (these are 3 of Palestrina's 35 settings of this text):
Magnificat primi toni a 8 (recorded by the Westminster Cathedral Choir)
Magnificat primi toni from Book 3 (recorded by the Westminster Cathedral Choir)
Magnificat septimi toni from Book 3 (recorded by Camerata Nova. NOTE: this doesn't seem to be titled correctly. Details in podcast episode 9)

Georges Bizet
Suite 1 and Suite 2 from L'Arlésienne (recommended recording: London Symphony/Abbado; alternates: New Philharmonia/Munch; Royal Philharmonic/Beecham)

Karlheinz Stockhausen
Stimmung (recorded by Singcircle and Theater of Voices)

Jelly Roll Morton
Listen to selections from the following:
- Complete Victor Recordings
- Complete Library of Congress Recordings (not available on Spotify; link is to a playlist of 8 YouTube videos)

It's Week 7 of The Works! Start with episode 7 of the Listening to the Works podcast, including a review of the pieces from Week 6 and a discussion of musicality.

Here's the Spotify playlist for the coming week.

Here are the works on the list for Week 7, along with links to scores where available and texts for vocal works:

Jelly Roll Morton
Selected recordings from 1923-1927 with Morton on solo piano and leading a trio and the Red Hot Peppers
A few piano scores of Morton's compositions are available here. Don't forget to check in the “collections” tab.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Piano Concerto No. 10 (for two pianos)
(recommended recordings: Argerich/Rabinovitch; Labèque Sisters; Emil and Elena Gilels)

Gustav Mahler
Symphony No. 3
This symphony includes vocal parts. Here is the text and translation.
(recommended recordings: Berlin Philharmonic/Abbado; New York Philharmonic/Bernstein)

Maurice Ravel
Works for solo piano (note: You have to click on the “arrangements and transcriptions” tab to find the scores of the orchestrated versions, even though they are Ravel's own orchestrations.)
 - Menuet antique (also an orchestral version)
 - Pavane pour une infante défunte (also an orchestral version)
 - Jeux d'eau
 - Sonatine
 - Alborada del gracioso (No. 4 from Miroirs; also an orchestral version)
(recommended piano recordings: Robert Casadesus; Alexandre Tharaud; orchestral recordings: Cleveland Orchestra/Boulez; Montréal Symphony/Dutoit)

Week 3 of The Works begins with the new podcast episode, in which I review last week's pieces, share a little bit about my experience with opera as a non-opera-buff, and preview the works coming up this week.

Here is the Spotify playlist containing the recordings for Week 3.

Here are pieces on this week's list, including some links to the scores where available:

Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
Missa Papae Marcelli
Missa Inviolata - this video is the only performance I could find.

Franz Liszt
Transcendental Études

Aaron Copland
Dance Symphony
Short Symphony

Giuseppe Verdi
Rigoletto - here is the libretto with an English translation, and here is a synopsis of the opera.

Week 2 of The Works begins with the new podcast episode, in which I review last week's pieces, discuss Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, and preview the works coming up this week.

Here is the Spotify playlist containing the recordings for Week 2.

Here are pieces on this week's list, including some links to the scores where available:

György Ligeti
Cello Concerto

Franz Schubert
Die Schöne Müllerin (find the song texts and translations here)

Agustín Barrios
Guitar Works (see Spotify playlist for specific pieces)

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Piano Concerto No. 9

Big Joe Turner
This link shows the compilation album Big, Bad, and Blue as a 3-CD set with 61 tracks, but on Spotify it only has 28 tracks, so I have included all of those plus 6 more of his most important singles.

Eubie Blake
This link shows an LP of piano rolls made from Blake's playing between 1917-1921, recorded in 1973 under Blake's supervision. My Spotify list includes all of these songs, but I can't be sure they're the same recordings. A few other Blake pieces, played by himself, are also on the list. Most of his scores are not yet public domain, but this one is (in the US only).

Other Ragtime Composers
James Scott: Grace and Beauty and Ragtime Oriole
Tom Turpin: Saint Louis Rag
Joseph Lamb: American Beauty and Nightingale Rag