The Roman Carnival Overture originally opened the second act of Hector Berlioz’s opera Benvenuto Cellini, a vivacious comedy about a true Renaissance man. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Piano Concerto No.23 belongs to the composer’s mature period, with lyrical melodies, expressive warmth and honest sentiments. Richard Wagner composed Siegfried Idyll as a special birthday gift for his beloved wife Cosima, with materials that would later appear in the Ring Cycle’s Die Walküre and Siegfried. Tod und Verklärung includes neither protagonists nor drama, according to Richard Strauss, yet the composer’s message is prescient. Although the piece lacks programmatic narrative, there is much to inspire listeners’ imagination.