Works by Brahms and Beethoven performed by Daniel Lebhardt on March 12, 2017.

• Brahms, Johannes: Six Pieces, Op. 118
• Beethoven, Ludwig van: Sonata No. 18 in E-Flat Major, Op. 31, No. 3, "The Hunt"

Hungarian pianist Daniel Lebhardt is one of a long line of Young Concert Artists competition winners to make their Boston debut at the Gardner, and on this podcast, we’ll hear two recordings from the 24-year-old’s recent recital: Brahms’ Six Pieces, opus 118 and Beethoven’s Sonata No. 18 in E-flat Major, sometimes called “The Hunt.”

A student at the Royal Academy in London, the young pianist has swept a number of competitions in recent years, claiming first prizes all across Europe, including in Italy, Slovakia, Romania, and the UK. His 2016 New York debut earned a rave from the Times critic Anthony Tommasini, who wrote that Lebhardt “dispatched the [Beethoven sonata] with scintillating crispness and conveyed its brash humor.”

Works by Schumann performed by Miriam Fried, violin and Jonathan Biss, piano on January 15, 2017.

• Schumann, Robert: Sonata No. 2 in D Minor, Op. 121
• Schumann, Robert: Gesange der Fruhe, Op. 133

For many years, musicologists and music-lovers have tried to understand what it was that led to Robert Schumann’s troubling symptoms and ultimate death at age 46 in a psychiatric hospital. And for years, writers dismissed many of his later works as the incoherent products of a mind in decline.

But, more recently, many have come to appreciate Schumann’s later works—two of which we’ll hear on this podcast: his second violin sonata, in D minor, and “Gesänge der Frühe,” or “Songs of Dawn,” a five-movement work for piano—and one of the last pieces Schumann published before admitting himself to the psychiatric hospital where he ultimately died.

On this recording, we’ll heard pianist Jonathan Biss in both works. In the sonata, he is joined by violinist Miriam Fried.

Works by Webern and Brahms performed by A Far Cry and Stefan Jackiw, violin and Anna Polonsky, piano on December 11, 2016 and October 5, 2014.

• Webern, Anton: Langsamer Satz
• Brahms, Johannes: Sonata No. 1 in G Major, Op. 78

Hope you’re ready for a trip down memory lane: On this podcast, we hear two works tinged with the melancholy sweetness of youthful passion, remembered.

Sweetness and passion aren’t necessarily the words most closely associated with the first composer on the program: Anton Webern, best known for his economical, exacting 12-tone works, written as a student of Schoenberg. Today, we’ll hear the pre-atonal Webern, in his Langsamer Satz (or slow movement) for strings. Webern wrote this piece as a young man falling in love. We’ll hear it played by A Far Cry, the Gardner’s resident ensemble.

Next up: Johannes Brahms’ Violin Sonata No. 1 in G Major, opus 78. Unlike Webern, who wrote his Langsamer Satz in the throes of youth, Brahms composed this violin sonata in middle age, when he was in his 40’s. But it has an unmistakable, naïve sweetness. And, indeed, the piece is sometimes dubbed the “Rain Sonata” because it quotes from a song by Brahms called “Regenlied,” or “Rain Song.” We’ll hear the sonata performed by violinist Stefan Jackiw, and pianist Anna Polonsky.

Work by Korngold performed by Alexi Kenney, violin and Dina Vainshtein, piano on March 6, 2016.

• Korngold, Erich: Sonata for Violin and Piano in G Major, Op. 6

The piece we’ll hear on the podcast today was written when Erich Korngold was in his teens: his Violin Sonata in G Major, Op. 6. Why is this fascinating work, by such a promising composer, so little known today?

In the 1930s, Korngold’s life took a dramatic turn, as the Nazi regime began to rise to power in his native Austria. Korngold was Jewish, and he accepted an invitation to come the United States—a move that would dramatically alter the course of his career. Once here, he quickly achieved success writing scores for Hollywood. Then, as the 20th century moved on musically, his early concert works fell out of favor, seen as too melodic and Romantic.

But it is high time they got another hearing. Today, we’ll hear a recording from the Gardner Museum recital by young violinist Alexi Kenney and pianist Dina Vainshtein, recorded in March 2016—almost 100 years after the piece was written. Take a listen and see what you think: how does it stand the test of time?

Works by Bach and Bartók performed by the Borromeo String Quartet and Yoo Jin Jang, violin and Renana Gutman, piano on August 14, 2016 and March 8, 2015.

• Bach, Johann Sebastian: Preludes and Fugues from Well-Tempered Klavier Book 1 trans. Nicholas Kitchen: C Major, C Minor, E-flat Minor
• Bartók, Béla: Violin Sonata No. 1, Sz. 75

Today’s podcast features two works that present tests of sorts—for the listener, the performer, the composer. Sharpen your ears and let’s get to it.

The Well-Tempered Clavier was likely written to test a few different things: the keyboard player’s technical skills; the advantages of equal temperament tuning, which enabled playing in every key; and also the listener’s ability to pick out the many, interweaving musical lines. Today, we’ll hear three movements from the WTC in a version for string quartet, created by violinist Nicholas Kitchen.

Bartok’s Violin Sonata No. 1, written in 1921, also pushed boundaries. Today, Bartok is perhaps best known for his explorations of Hungarian traditional music and his folk-tinged, dance-infused symphonies. But he also had a period, between the world wars, of audacious musical experimentation, and this work dates from those years. We’ll hear the piece second on the podcast, played by violinist Yoo Jin Jang and pianist Renana Gutman.

Works by Mozart performed by Charlie Albright on February 14, 2016.

• Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus: 12 Variations on “Ah vous dirai-je, Maman”
• Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus: 9 Variations on a Minuet by Duport, K. 575

Many of us think of “improvisation” as a modern concept, usually linked to jazz. But throughout the centuries, so-called “classical” keyboard players were often expected to improvise, whether they were vamping at the organ to fill time during a church service or creating a spontaneous piano version of an opera score for friends and patrons gathered around a salon.

Indeed, there are many accounts that suggest that Mozart—now thought of for his notated scores—relied heavily on improvisation in creating and even performing his own works.

All to say, Mozart was a master of the art of improvised variation. Today, we’ll hear two notated works that hint at the sort of thing we might have heard, had we been so lucky to be in the room when Mozart was improvising at the keyboard. First, we’ll hear his 12 Variations on “Ah, vous dirai-je, Maman.” Next, we’ll hear 9 Variations on a Minuet by Duport, based on a cello sonata theme.

Works by Vivaldi and Beethoven performed by the Gardner Chamber Orchestra and Musicians from Marlboro on September 11, 2004 and October 19, 2014.

• Vivaldi, Antonio: Concerto in C Major for Soprano Recorder and Orchestra
• Beethoven, Ludwig van: String Quintet in C Major, Op. 29

The two pieces on this podcast have many points of difference: different eras (Baroque and Classical), different instrumentation (a recorder concerto and a string quintet), and different performers. The list goes on. But as different as they are, both works share a wonderful commonality at their core: a gorgeous slow movement.

The first slow movement we’ll hear comes right in the middle of Vivaldi’s Concerto in C Major for sopranino recorder and orchestra, played by Aldo Abreu and the Gardner Chamber Orchestra. When the piece begins, the recorder enters on a dazzling, virtuosic note, but it is the middle movement where he truly gets to stretch out and show not just his technical prowess, but his musicality.

After the Vivaldi, we’ll hear Beethoven’s String Quintet in C Major, Opus 29, played by Musicians from Marlboro. Like Vivaldi, Beethoven’s slow movement comes second, after a cheery opening allegro. This slow movement has a lovely, Mozartean quality, tending to the “sweeter” side of “bittersweet.”

Works by Bach and Brahms performed by the Borromeo String Quartet and Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute on August 7, 2016 and April 10, 2016.

• Bach: Preludes and Fugues from Well-Tempered Klavier Book 1 arr. Nicholas Kitchen: F Major, F Minor, B-flat Minor
• Brahms: String Quintet No. 2 in G Major, Op. 111

Both of the works on our podcast this week have a sort of finality, a sense of summing things up, or making a statement that is somehow comprehensive, and that’s saying a lot given the composers in question: Johannes Brahms and Johann Sebastian Bach.

We begin with a novel setting of a familiar work: a selection of preludes and fugues from Bach’s Well-Tempered Klavier, arranged for string quartet by Nicholas Kitchen of the Borromeo Quartet, who we’ll hear playing on the recording. The Well-Tempered Klavier consists of 24 small pieces, one prelude and one fugue in each key, ascending chromatically from C to B.

Then, we’ll hear a piece that Brahms apparently intended to be his last: the String Quintet in G Major, Opus 111. Brahms lovers may already be raising an eyebrow at that last statement, because this was not, in fact, the last piece Brahms wrote—he went on to publish another 11 works, much to the delight of the clarinetists, pianists, and singers who regularly perform these final few works today.

Works for string quartet by Bartók and Webern performed by the Omer Quartet on November 27, 2016.

• Bartók: String Quartet No. 1, Op. 7
• Webern: Six bagatelles for String Quartet, Op. 9

In this podcast, we’ll follow two 20th century composers on their quest for new directions and inspirations, in a musical landscape increasingly reaching beyond traditional ideas about form and tonality.

We begin with Béla Bartók’s First String Quartet, his Opus 7, a three-movement work. It begins quite somber, but the mood gradually brightens, and by the last movement, it has begun to exhibit some of the Hungarian folk color that became such a unique and defining part of Bartók’s voice as a composer.

After the Bartók, we’ll hear a brief work, written around the same time, but by a composer with a very different musical vocabulary. Like the Bartók work, Webern’s Six Bagatelles for String Quartet were a relatively early composition, Webern’s Opus 9, and the composer was still finding his voice, and his way of working within the atonal system that he and his teacher Schoenberg were developing.

We’ll hear both pieces performed by the skilled musicians of the Omer Quartet, an ensemble formed at the Cleveland Institute of Music, and currently in residence at Boston’s New England Conservatory.

Works for clarinet and piano by Berg and Weber performed by Raphaël Sévère, clarinet and Paul Montag, piano on October 23, 2016.

• Berg: Four Pieces, Op. 5
• Weber: Grand Duo Concertant, Op. 48

On this podcast, number 253, we’ve got a couple great pieces that come in smaller packages than you might expect: a set of four miniatures by Berg and a duet masquerading as a concerto, by Carl Maria von Weber. Both pieces are scored for clarinet and piano, performed by clarinetist Raphaël Sévère and pianist Paul Montag.

Berg’s “Four Pieces”, Opus 5 is a petite suite of four movements, each lasting less than two minutes. Though brief, each piece makes an impactful and evocative musical statement. The music is atonal but pleasingly melodic, like much of the composer’s work.

The Berg serves to whet our appetite for a slightly more substantial work: Carl Maria von Weber’s “Grand Duo Concertant,” Opus 48. Weber wrote this virtuosic duet over a couple of years leading up to his 30th birthday. It requires a true partnership between the woodwind and the keyboard, with both taking on critical roles musically.