19th-century violinist Nicolo Paganini suffered from a medical condition -- likely Marfan Syndrome -- which left him with thin elongated fingers that enabled him to play music that has bedeviled violinists ever since. We're working our way through his set of Caprices, and we'll hear Numbers 6 trough 9 on this week's program.
The cycle of Brahms symphonies continues with the D major Second Symphony. Then we'll hear an early piano sonata by Beethoven, a prelude by Buxtehude, and an early work by contemporary minimalist composer John Adams.