Essential Classics Weekend: Labor Day 2016

Photo collage: CPR/Brad Turner

Labor Day Weekend is just around the corner, and CPR Classical is gearing up to share three days' worth of some of the most beloved music ever written.

Essential Classics Weekend starts at 3 p.m. Friday and continues through Labor Day on Monday. We've rounded up our favorite recordings of pieces by some of the most towering names in classical music.

Bach. Mozart. Beethoven. Brahms. Debussy. Haydn. Mendelssohn. Tchaikovsky. The list goes on.

This year, we dive a little deeper into the stories behind the music with insights from Scott O'Neil, a former conductor with the Colorado Symphony.

If you've heard Scott talk about music on the podium, you know he has a knack for using storytelling to make great music feel even more powerful. He'll walk listeners through pieces like Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, Debussy's "Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun" and Bach's "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring."

Looking for more Labor Day Weekend listening? Check out The Beethoven 9 @ 9 Podcast, CPR Classical's look at Beethoven's life through his nine incredible symphonies.

Check these Colorado musicians in the CPR Performance Studio playing music by some of the essential composers we'll feature this weekend. 

Cellist David Requiro plays music by Brahms:

Pianist Katie Mahan plays music by Debussy:

Electric violinist Zachary Carretttin plays music by Bach:

Hear the Essential Classics Weekend online anywhere at CPRClassical.org.