After many trial runs, I've published a twentieth-century playlist on iTunes. It's not a "top twenty" or "greatest hits" kind of thing, rather a sampler of various pieces I talk about in my book. I required pieces with a clean beginning and end; hence, no "Augurs" from the Rite, Création du monde, or Appalachian Spring. Many readers will already know this music backwards and forwards, but I'm hoping that some will happen upon new areas of interest and dig deeper. Anyway, here's the list:
— Mahler, "Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen" from Rückert Lieder; Kathleen Ferrier, Bruno Walter conducting the Vienna Philharmonic (Decca)
— "Ah! Ich habe deinen Mund geküsst, Jochanaan" from Salome; Hildegard Behrens, Herbert von Karajan conducting the Vienna Philharmonic (EMI)
— Schoenberg, Six Little Pieces Op. 19: II; Mitsuko Uchida (Philips)
— Webern, Six Pieces for Orchestra Op. 6: IV; James Levine conducting the Berlin Philharmonic (DG)
— Stravinsky, "Danse sacrale" from The Rite of Spring; Stravinsky conducting the Columbia Symphony (Sony)
— Bartók, String Quartet No. 4: III; Takács Quartet (Decca)
— Stravinsky, "Marche du Soldat" from Histoire du Soldat; Stravinsky conducting the Columbia Symphony (Sony)
— Ives, "The 'St. Gaudens' in Boston Common" from Three Places in New England; Michael Tilson Thomas conducting the San Francisco Symphony (RCA)
— Sibelius, Symphony No. 5: III; Osmo Vänskä conducting the Lahti Symphony (BIS)
— Weill, "Alabama Song"; Lotta Lenya (Sony)
— Shostakovich, Symphony No. 5: IV; Leonard Bernstein conducting the New York Philharmonic (Sony)
— Copland, Quiet City; Copland conducting the London Symphony (Sony)
— Messiaen, "Louange à l'éternité de Jésus" from Quartet for the End of Time; Ensemble Walter Boeykens (Harmonia Mundi)
— Xenakis, Metastaseis; Michael Gielen conducting the SWR Symphony (col legno)
— Cage, Sonatas and Interludes: Sonata No. 5; Herbert Henck (ECM)
— Feldman, Madame Press Died Last Week At Ninety; John Adams conducting the Orchestra of St. Luke's (Nonesuch)
— Britten, "On the ground, sleep sound" from A Midsummer Night's Dream; Britten conducting (Decca)
— Ligeti, "Lacrimosa" from Requiem; Jonathan Nott conducting the Berlin Philharmonic and London Voices (Teldec)
— Reich, Drumming: IV; Steve Reich and Musicians (Nonesuch)
— Adams, "I am old and cannot sleep" from Nixon in China; Sanford Sylvan, Edo de Waart conducting the Orchestra of St. Luke's (Nonesuch)
