SATURDAY 19 DECEMBER 2015

SAT 01:00 Through the Night (b06rlgmk)
Catriona Young presents a concert of Sibelius from the Radio France Philharmonic Orchestra, featuring Alina Pogostkina as the soloist in Sibelius's Violin Concerto.

1:01 AM
Sibelius, Jean [1865-1957]
Nocturne from King Christian II - incidental music, Op.27
Radio France Philharmonic Orchestra, Mikko Franck (conductor)

1:09 AM
Sibelius, Jean [1865-1957]
Concerto in D minor Op.47 for violin and orchestra
Alina Pogostkina (violin), Radio France Philharmonic Orchestra, Mikko Franck (conductor)

1:44 AM
Bach, Johann Sebastian [1685-1750]
Andante (3rd movement) - from Sonata no.2 in A minor, BWV.1003 for violin solo
Alina Pogostkina (violin)

1:47 AM
Sibelius, Jean [1865-1957]
En Saga, Op.9 for orchestra
Radio France Philharmonic Orchestra, Mikko Franck (conductor)

2:08 AM
Sibelius, Jean [1865-1957]
Symphony no.7 in C major, Op.105
Radio France Philharmonic Orchestra, Mikko Franck (conductor)

2:30 AM
Bruckner, Anton [1824-1896]
Ave Maria
Tallinn Boys Choir, Lydia Rahula (conductor)

2:34 AM
Szymanowski, Karol [1822-1937]
Stabat mater, Op.53 for soloists, chorus and orchestra
Iwona Hossa (soprano), Ewa Marciniec (contralto), Jaroslaw Brek (bass-baritone), Warsaw Philharmonic Chorus, Henryk Wojnarowski (director), Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, Antoni Wit (conductor)

3:01 AM
Berlioz, Hector (1803-1869)
Harold en Italie (Op.16) - symphony for viola and orchestra
Milan Telecky (viola), Radio Bratislava Symphony Orchestra, Ondrej Lenard (conductor)

3:46 AM
Schumann, Clara (1819-1896)
4 Pièces fugitives for piano (Op.15)
Angela Cheng (piano)

4:00 AM
Bach, Johann Sebastian [1685-1750]
Sonata for flute and keyboard (BWV.1034) in E minor
Sharon Bezaly (flute), Terence Charlston (harpsichord)

4:13 AM
Anonymous
Alma Redemptoris Mater (Christmas carol)
Zefiro Torna: Cécile Kempenaers & Els Van Laethem (vocals), Liam Fennelly (fiddle), Jowan Merckx (recorder), Frédéric Malempré (percussion), Jurgen De Bruyn (vocals, lute & director)

4:18 AM
Handel, Georg Frideric (1685-1759)
Water Music - suite (HWV.350) in G major
Collegium Aureum

4:29 AM
Weber, Carl Maria von (1786-1826)
Clarinet Concertino in E flat major (Op.26)
Hannes Altrov (clarinet), Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, Paul Mägi (conductor)

4:40 AM
Schubert, Franz [1797-1828], arr. Reger, Max [1873-1916]
Am Tage aller Seelen (D.343), arr. for voice and orchestra
Dietrich Henschel (baritone), National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Jerzy Semkow (conductor)

4:47 AM
Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus [1756-1791]
Quartet for flute and strings (K.298) in A major
Joanna G'froerer (flute), Martin Beaver (violin), Pinchas Zukerman (viola), Amanda Forsyth (cello)

5:01 AM
Elgar, Edward (1857-1934)
Serenade for Strings (Op.20) in E minor
Sofia Soloists Chamber Ensemble, Plamen Djurov (conductor)

5:12 AM
Busoni, Ferruccio (1866-1924)
Sonatina super Carmen (Sonatina No.6) for piano 'Kammerfantasie'
Matti Raekallio (piano)

5:20 AM
Finzi, Gerald (1901-1956)
White-flowering days for chorus (Op.37) [no.8 in 'A Garland for the Queen', 1953]
BBC Singers, Bo Holten (conductor)

5:25 AM
Dela, Maurice (1919-1978)
Sonatine
Peter Oundjian (violin), William Tritt (piano)

5:37 AM
Geminiani, Francesco (1687-1762)
Concerto Grosso No.12 in D minor, 'Folia' (after Corelli's Sonata Op.5 No.12)
Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, Jeanne Lamon (conductor)

5:48 AM
Saint-Saëns, Camille (1835-1921)
Piano Concerto No.2 in G minor (Op.22)
Dubravka Tomsic-Srebotnjak (piano), Slovenian Radio and Television Symphony Orchestra, Samo Hubad (conductor)

6:12 AM
Strauss, Richard [1864-1949]
4 Letzte Lieder for voice and orchestra (AV.150)
Ragnhild Heiland Sørensen (soprano), Norwegian Radio Orchestra, Milan Horvat (conductor)

6:35 AM
Schubert, Franz [1797-1828]
Arpeggione Sonata in A minor (D.821)
Antonio Meneses (cello), Maria Joâo Pires (piano).


SAT 07:00 Breakfast (b06s75n1)
Saturday - Martin Handley

Martin Handley presents Radio 3's classical breakfast show, featuring listener requests and your suggestions for our annual musical Advent Calendar.

Back in August, amateur composers were invited to set a specially commissioned poem by Roger McGough called "Comes the Light". Listeners have been invited to vote for the overall winner and to vote for your favourite carol, go to bbc.co.uk/radio3. Voting closes at 5pm on December 22nd.

Email 3Breakfast@bbc.co.uk.


SAT 09:00 CD Review (b06s75n3)
Building a Library: Nielsen: Symphony No 6 (Sinfonia semplice)

with Andrew McGregor

0930 Building a Library
Stephen Johnson surveys recordings of Nielsen's Symphony No.6, his "Sinfonia semplice", and makes a personal recommendation. The composer himself thought the symphony more 'amiable and smooth' than his others, but because it has a different, more simple structure than his previous symphonic works (hence the subtitle), it was not terribly well received at the premiere and sadly has remained the least performed of his symphonies.

1030
Simon Heighes joins Andrew to discuss recent releases of Baroque repertoire including discs from the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and Max Emanuel Cencic.

1145
Andrew chooses an exceptional new release as his Disc of the Week.


SAT 12:15 Music Matters (b06s75n5)
Northern Lights: Tromso

As part of Radio 3's Northern Lights season, Petroc Trelawny explores musical responses to the dark northern winters in Tromso, the Norwegian 'capital of the Arctic'.


SAT 13:00 Saturday Classics (b06s75n7)
Northern Lights: Hilary Finch

Northern Lights season - music journalist Hilary Finch chooses great Northern performers.


SAT 15:00 Sound of Cinema (b06s75n9)
Star Wars

With the release of "Star Wars - The Force Awakens", Matthew Sweet looks back on John Williams's music for the celebrated movie franchise.


SAT 16:00 Jazz Record Requests (b06s75nc)
Alyn Shipton presents seasonal jazz by Maynard Ferguson and more listener suggestions of the ten essential jazz records.


SAT 17:00 Jazz Line-Up (b06s75nf)
Northern Lights: Tord Gustavsen Quartet

A part of BBC Radio 3's Northern Lights season Julian Joseph presents a special performance from Norwegian pianist Tord Gustavsen and his quartet featuring Tore Brunborg (saxophone) , Mats Ellertsen (double bass) and Jarle Vespestadt on drums. Tord has recorded for the iconic ECM label and worked in a variety of settings including solo, duo, trio and more recently with his large scale ensemble featuring the use of vocals and spoken word. Gustavsen also holds a degree in Psychology and is the recipient of a Norwegian Grammy Award (Spellemannsprisen).


SAT 18:00 Opera on 3 (b06s75nh)
Live from the Met

Rossini's La Donna del Lago

Live from the Metropolitan Opera, New York

Presented by Mary Jo Heath and commentator Ira Siff.

Joyce DiDonato reprises her stunning portrayal of the "lady of the lake" in Rossini's dazzling bel canto showcase set in the medieval Scottish highlands. Tenor Lawrence Brownlee is the king who pursues her. Michele Mariotti conducts the operatic adaptation of Sir Walter Scott's classic.

Elena..... Joyce DiDonato (mezzo-soprano)
Malcolm Groeme..... Daniela Barcellona (mezzo-soprano)
Giacomo V..... Lawrence Brownlee (tenor)
Rodrigo di Dhu..... John Osborn (tenor)
Duglas d'Angus..... Oren Gradus (bass)
Albina..... Olga Makarina (soprano)
Bertram..... Gregory Schmidt (tenor)

The Chorus of the Metropolitan Opera
The Orchestra of the Metropolitan Opera
Michele Mariotti (conductor)

Based on Walter Scott's The Lady of the Lake, Rossini's opera illustrates the Romantic fascination with Scotland as a place of wild emotion and political confrontation.
Elena, the Lady of the Lake, longs to be united with her true love, Malcom. But her father, the rebel Duglas, is determined that she will marry the Highland chief Rodrigo. Torn between love and duty, she finds her plight is made all the more complicated by Uberto, a handsome stranger who nobody seems to know much about.


SAT 21:30 Between the Ears (b06s75pm)
Yuletide in the Land of Ice and Fire

Acclaimed Icelandic poet and author Gerður Kristný journeys into the curious world of Iceland's Christmas myths.

With not one but thirteen Santa Clauses, troll-like figures who sneak down from the mountains to make mischief at Christmas and a 'Yule Cat' who prowls through the snow looking for lazy people to eat, there are myriad fantastical - and sometimes sinister - festive tales indigenous to Iceland.

Creeping down from the mountains one by one over the thirteen nights before Christmas, Iceland's Jólasveinar, or 'Yule Lads' are eccentric characters out to make mischief. From 'Door Slammer' to 'Spoon Licker', 'Sausage Swiper' to 'Meat Hook', the Yule Lads - part of Icelandic folklore stretching back centuries - can be mischievous and menacing, stealing from pantries, playing pranks and scaring children.

These days they are known to leave gifts in children's shoes (or a potato in the case of the badly-behaved) but their parents - evil ogress Grýla and her lazy husband Leppalúði - are still the subject of frightening tales, known to eat naughty children. Even their pet Yule Cat prowls the country's towns and villages looking for lazy people to eat.

With music, sound, poetry and accounts from Icelanders bringing the tales to life, Gerður Kristný guides an atmospheric exploration of Iceland's festive stories, providing insight into unique Icelandic cultural traditions and revealing larger, universal, questions about folklore and why we tell scary stories.

Award-winning poet and author Gerður Kristný won the 2010 Icelandic Literature Prize for her poetry book Blóðhófnir, which is based on an ancient Nordic myth. She has also written award-winning novels and short stories for both children and adults.


SAT 22:00 Hear and Now (b06s762j)
Northern Lights: Emily Hall, John Luther Adams

As part of Radio 3's Northern Lights season, Robert Worby and Sara Mohr-Pietsch present new music by the British composer Emily Hall, inspired by and incorporating recordings from a trip to the most northerly part of the UK, the Shetland isle of Unst.

American composer John Luther Adams talks to Tom McKinney about his recent work Ilimaq, an electro-acoustic collaboration with Wilco drummer Glenn Kotche, evoking the northern territories of Alaska in North America.

And continuing our coverage of this year's Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, the group Apartment House perform John Cage's Hymnkus, whose title combines the words hymn and haikus, reflecting of the work's construction.



SUNDAY 20 DECEMBER 2015

SUN 00:00 Geoffrey Smith's Jazz (b06s7918)
Christmas

Geoffrey Smith's Christmas miscellany includes seasonal frolics by Clarence Williams and Bill Harris, star turns from Lee Konitz, James P. Johnson and Norma Winstone, and a show-stopping finale with Jazz At The Philharmonic featuring Charlie Parker, Roy Eldridge and Lester Young.


SUN 01:00 Through the Night (b06s791b)
Beethoven and Rachmaninov Cello Sonatas

Jonathan Swain presents a concert given by cellist Jean-Guihen Queyras and pianist Alexander Melnikov.

1:01 AM
Schumann, Robert (1810-1856)
Fünf Stücke im Volkston, Op.102
Jean-Guihen Queyras (cello), Alexander Melnikov (piano)

1:17 AM
Beethoven, Ludwig van (1770-1827)
Cello Sonata No.3 in A major, Op.69
Jean-Guihen Queyras (cello), Alexander Melnikov (piano)

1:44 AM
Beethoven, Ludwig van (1770-1827)
7 Variations on 'Bei Mannern, welche Liebe fuhlen' WoO.46 for cello and piano (from Mozart's "Die Zauberflote")
Jean-Guihen Queyras (cello), Alexander Melnikov (piano)

1:54 AM
Webern, Anton (1883-1945)
Three Little Pieces for cello and piano, Op.11
Jean-Guihen Queyras (cello), Alexander Melnikov (piano)

1:57 AM
Rachmaninov, Sergey (1873-1943)
Sonata in G minor, Op.19 for cello and piano
Jean-Guihen Queyras (cello), Alexander Melnikov (piano)

2:34 AM
Debussy, Claude (1862-1918)
First movement (Prologue) from Cello Sonata in D minor
Jean-Guihen Queyras (cello), Alexander Melnikov (piano)

2:39 AM
Debussy, Claude (1862-1918)
2nd & 3rd movements (Serenade & Finale) from Cello Sonata in D minor
Jean-Guihen Queyras (cello), Alexander Melnikov (piano)

2:47 AM
Saint-Saëns, Camille (1835-1921)
Sonata for bassoon and piano (Op.168) in G major
Jens-Christoph Lemke (bassoon), Mårten Landström (piano)

3:01 AM
Franck, César (1822-1890), text: Sicard & Louis de Fourcaud
Psyché - symphonic poem for chorus and orchestra (M.47) vers. original (1887-88)
The Netherlands Radio Choir, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic, Jean Fournet (conductor)

3:48 AM
Mendelssohn, Felix (1809-1847)
Sonata for organ in A major (Op.65 No.3)
Martti Miettinen (organ)

3:59 AM
Scarlatti, Domenico [1685-1757]
Sonata in D minor Fugue (K.41); Presto (K.18)
Eduardo López Banzo (harpsichord)

4:09 AM
Pez, Johann Christoph (1664-1716)
Passacaglia & Aria (presto) - from Concerto Pastorella in F major for 2 recorders, strings & continuo
Carin van Heerden & Ales Rypan (recorders), L'Orfeo Barockorchester, Michi Gaigg (director)

4:17 AM
Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus [1756-1791]
9 Variations on a minuet by Duport for piano (K.573)
Bart van Oort (piano)

4:27 AM
Sibelius, Jean (1865-1957)
Romance for string orchestra in C major (Op.42)
Danish Radio Concert Orchestra, Hannu Koivula (conductor)

4:32 AM
Brahms, Johannes (1833-1897)
Five Choral Songs, Op.104 (Nachtwache 1; Nachtwache 2; Letztes Glück; Verlorene Jugend; Im Herbst)
Danish National Radio Choir, Stefan Parkman (conductor)

4:46 AM
Schubert, Franz (1797-1828), transcr. Liszt, Franz (1811-1886)
Ständchen arr. for piano - from Schwanengesang (D.957)
Simon Trpceski (piano)

4:53 AM
Handel, Georg Frideric (1685-1759)
Aria: Mi lusinga il dolce affetto (frrom Act 2 Scene 3, 'Alcina')
Graham Pushee (counter-tenor), Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, Paul Dyer (conductor)

5:01 AM
Dvorák, Antonín (1841-1904)
Slavonic Dance No.12 in D flat major (Op.72 No.4)
Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Juanjo Mena (conductor)

5:07 AM
Kodály, Zoltán (1882-1967)
Sonatina for cello & piano
László Mezõ (cello), Lóránt Szücs (piano)

5:16 AM
Jarzebski, Adam (1590-1649)
Corona Aurea: concerto à 2 for cornett and violin
Bruce Dickey (cornett), Lucy van Dael (violin and conductor), Richte van der Meer and Reiner Zipperling (cellos), Jacques Ogg (harpsichord), Anthony Woodrow (double bass)

5:23 AM
Bach, Johann Sebastian (1685-1750)
French Suite No.2 in C minor for keyboard (BWV.813)
Cristian Niculescu (piano)

5:37 AM
Gershwin, George [1898-1937]
Lullaby for string quartet
New Stenhammar String Quartet

5:46 AM
Shearing, George (1919-2011)
Music to Hear (Five Shakespeare Songs)
Vancouver Chamber Choir, Peter Berring (piano), David Brown (double bass), Jon Washburn (director)

5:59 AM
Mendelssohn, Felix (1809-1847)
A Midsummer Night's Dream (Op.61) - incidental music
Danish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Michael Schønwandt (conductor)

6:24 AM
Saint-Saëns, Camille (1835-1921)
Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso (Op.28)
Taik-Ju Lee (male) (violin), Young-Lan Han (female) (piano)

6:34 AM
Beethoven, Ludwig van (1770-1827)
Symphony No.1 in C Major (Op. 21)
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Donald Runnicles (conductor).


SUN 07:00 Breakfast (b06s791d)
Sunday - Martin Handley

Martin Handley presents Radio 3's classical breakfast show, featuring listener requests and your suggestions for our annual musical Advent Calendar.

Back in August, amateur composers were invited to set a specially commissioned poem by Roger McGough called "Comes the Light". Listeners have been invited to vote for the overall winner and to vote for your favourite carol, go to bbc.co.uk/radio3. Voting closes at 5pm on December 22nd.

Email 3Breakfast@bbc.co.uk.


SUN 09:00 Sunday Morning (b06s791g)
Northern Lights

Northern Lights: Rob Cowan presents music from the north including the Estonian composer Eduard Tubin's 2nd Piano Sonata, itself called "Northern Lights", plus music by Atterberg, Grieg, and Hugi Gudmundssen. The current Schoenberg cycle concludes with his orchestration of Brahms's Piano Quartet, Opus 25.


SUN 12:00 Private Passions (b06s791j)
Alan Bennett

Michael Berkeley's guest this week is Alan Bennett. We know him as the much-loved playwright and diarist who's been entertaining and moving us as a writer and performer since Beyond the Fringe in 1960. But there's one aspect of Alan Bennett that's less well-known: the central importance of music in his life, including the extraordinary fact that he once wrote a libretto for William Walton. (Sadly, Lady Walton was not impressed, and shoved it firmly to the bottom of her handbag.)

In a moving and funny programme, Alan Bennett remembers the music that filled his childhood: his father was a gifted violinist, and his aunts played the piano for silent movies. As a teenager, new worlds were opened up by concerts in Leeds Town Hall, where Bennett sat in the cheapest seats behind the musicians, 'like sitting behind the elephants at the circus'. And then came fame, and Hollywood: 'Elizabeth Taylor actually sat on my knee at one point. It was not a pleasant experience'. In a touching conclusion to the programme, Alan Bennett listens to Elgar's Dream of Gerontius and is stirred to think about the boy he used to be, and what that boy might say to him now.

Music choices include a 1939 recording of 'I can give you the starlight' by Ivor Novello; a waltz by Franz Lehar; Brahms's Second Piano Concerto; Bach's St Matthew Passion; Walton's First Symphony; Elgar's Dream of Gerontius; and Ella Fitzgerald singing 'Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered'. This last song inspired The History Boys when Alan Bennett heard it on Private Passions in 2001.

This special programme includes three bonus tracks available online: Alan Bennett chooses two further pieces of music, and talks about the music he hates and never wants to hear again.

Produced by the Loftus Media Private Passions team (Elizabeth Burke, Jane Greenwood, Oliver Soden and Jon Calver).


SUN 13:00 Christmas around Europe (b06s79lc)
Christmas Around Europe (2015)

Episode 1

BBC Radio 3 links up with radio stations around Europe for a festive day of Christmas music.

Presented by Ian Skelly

1pm Live from Kallio Church, Helsinki

Sibelius: Melody for the Bells of Kallio Church
Armas Maasalo (1905-1960): Christmas Bells (Joulun kellot)
Ahti Sonninen (1914-1984): Christmas Hymn (Jouluhymni)
Armas Maasalo (1905-1960): Together with Angels (Mä kanssa enkelten)
Mikko Heiniö (born 1948): Two movements from the Maria Suite
Einojuhani Rautavaara (born 1928): Canticum Mariae virginis; Mary's Christmas Hymn (Majatan jouluvirsi)
Jean Sibelius: Five Christmas Songs, op. 101
Christmas Comes to the Snowy Gate; Yuletide is Coming; It is Getting Darker Outside; Give me No Splendour; The Snow has Fallen Deep and Wide

Päivi Severeide (harp)
Key Ensemble
Helsinki Brass Quartet
Conducted by Teemu Honkanen

2pm from Concert Hall, Danish Radio Concert House, Copenhagen

Rimsky-Korsakov: Christmas Eve - Suite
Tchaikovsky: Nutcracker Suite, op. 71a

Danish National Symphony Orchestra
Conducted by Pavel Baleff

(Christmas Around Europe continues at 4pm).


SUN 15:00 Choral Evensong (b06rwy7p)
Chester Cathedral

Live from Chester Cathedral

Introit: Adam lay ybounden (Howard Skempton)
Responses: Smith
Psalms 82, 83, 84, 85 (MacFarren, Cross, Woods, Hopkins)
First Lesson: Joel 3 vv.9-16
Antiphon: O Sapientia
Canticles: Great Service (Byrd)
Second Lesson: Matthew 24 vv.29-35
Anthem: Ad te levavi (White)
Hymn: Hills of the North, rejoice (Little Cornard)
Organ Voluntary: Cortège et Litanie (Dupré)

Philip Rushforth, Director of Music
Benjamin Chewter, Organist.


SUN 16:00 Christmas around Europe (b06s7bh8)
Christmas Around Europe (2015)

Episode 2

BBC Radio 3 links up with radio stations around Europe for a festive day of Christmas music.

Presented by Ian Skelly

4pm From the German National Museum, Nuremberg

J.S. Bach: Cantatas arranged for instrumental ensemble by Wolfgang Katschner

Sequence 1: Mein gläubiges Herze, frohlocke, sing', scherze
(Aus der Tiefen, sinfonia, BWV 131/1; Verzage nicht, aria, BWV 42/4; Herr, deine Güte, aria, BWV 17/3; Mein gläubiges Herze, aria, BWV 68/2;
Nun verschwinden alle Plagen, aria, BWV 32/5; Sarabande triste, BWV 20/6; Streite, siege, aria, BWV 62/2; Höllische Schlange, aria, BWV 40/4)

Sequence 2: Ich freue mich in dir
(Overture BWV 97/1; Wo gehest du hin, aria, BWV 166/1; Ich will an den Himmel denken, aria, BWV 166/2;
Höchster, was ich habe, ist nur deine Gabe, aria, BWV 39/5; Heil und Segen, concerto, BWV 120/4; Gloria, BWV 191/1;
Sehet in Zufriedenheit tausend helle Wohlfahrtstage, gavotte, BWV 202/9; So schnell ein rauschend Wasser schießt, aria, BWV 26/2;
Ich freue mich in dir, concerto, BWV 133/1)

Lautten Compagney Berlin
Directed by Wolfgang Katschner

5pm From St Michael's Church, Stuttgart

Mendelssohn: Frohlocket, Ihr Völker auf Erden (Rejoice, Ye People of the Earth)

Bruckner: Ave Maria, WAB 6; Os iusti, WAB 30

Jacobus Gallus (1550-1591): Three Motets for men's chorus.
Canite tuba; Natus est nobis; Ante luciferum genitus

Mahler arr. Clytus Gottwald (born 1925): Es sungen drei Engel

Brahms: O Heiland, reiss die Himmel auf, Op. 74/2

Schoenberg: Friede auf Erden, Op.13, a cappella chorus

SWR Vocal Ensemble, Stuttgart
Directed by Florian Helgath

6pm from Studio 1, Czech Radio, Prague

Jakub Jan Ryba (1765-1815) arr. Vojtech Spurný (born 1964): Czech Christmas Mass

Michaela Srumova (soprano)
Markéta Cukrová (mezzo-soprano)
Václav Cižek (tenor)
Jaromír Nosek (bass)
Capella Mariana Vocal Ensemble (directed by Vojyech Semerad)
Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra
Conducted by Vojtech Spurný

(Christmas Around Europe continues at 7.45 pm).


SUN 19:00 Sunday Feature (b06s7drr)
Freeze: Thaw

Geographer Hayden Lorimer explores ice truths and ice dreams with poets, musicians, explorers, doctors, physicists and polar bears.

With location recordings from a petrol station forecourt, the largest ice house in Scotland. and the gathering ice fields of Tromso, north of the Arctic Circle, and contributions from Lavinia Greenlaw (poems of midsummer and midwinter), Jo Shapcott (imagining the afterlife of the ill-fated Franklin expedition), Kathleen Jamie (remembering ice vendors in Pakistan and watching glaciers calve in Greenland), Nick Drake (listening in on the Paris climate summit), Gavin Francis (detailing frostbite's advance through a finger and recalling the smell of grass after a year in Antarctica), Joanna Kavenna (dreaming Ultima Thule), Fiona Sampson (on why skating might be like writing), Karen Powers (recording the ice and making it sing), Jen Hadfield (on a pre-natal polar bear), Kurt Jackson (on painting with ice), Francis Leviston (on the tundra's secrets), Stephen Harrison (on ice cores), and Paul Farley (on the life lessons of Jack Frost).

First broadcast December 2015 as part of Radio 3's Northern Lights season.


SUN 19:45 Christmas around Europe (b06s7drt)
Christmas Around Europe (2015)

Episode 3

BBC Radio 3 links up with radio stations around Europe for a festive day of Christmas music.

Presented by Ian Skelly

7.45pm From the Scala Theatre, Stockholm

Jul i Folkton, a band featuring some of Sweden's leading folk musicians, offer us 'a concert that smells of straw and spruce'

Ale Möller, Lena Willemark, Lisa Rydberg, Esbjörn Hazelius, Roger Tallroth, Olle Linder

8.15 pm From the Frauenkirche, Dresden

Franz Biebl (1906-2001): Ave Maria (Angelus Domini)

John Rutter (born 1945): Born in a Stable so Bare

Joseph Gabriel Rheinberger (1839-1901) Gloria, from 'Mass in A, op. 126

Trad: God rest you merry gentlemen

Brahms: Es ist das Heil uns kommen her, op. 29 no 1

Gustaf Nordqvist (1886-1949: Jul, Jul, stralande Jul, (Swedish Christmas Carol)

Poulenc: Quatre Motets pour le temps de Noël

Gustav Holst: In the Bleak Midwinter

Morten Lauridsen (born 1943): O magnum mysterium

Michael Praetorius: Det är en ros utsprungen

MDR Leipzig Childrens' Chorus
Directed by Ullrich Kaiser

MDR Leipzig Radio Chorus
Directed by Philipp Ahmann

(Christmas Around Europe concludes at 11 pm).


SUN 21:00 Drama on 3 (b015ygzz)
Brand

Brand, the hero of Henrik Ibsen's epic drama, is a religious zealot who refuses all compromise. But faced with the possible loss of his loved ones, can he persist in his absolutism?

Music composed and performed by Nicolai Abrahamsen.

Directed by Peter Kavanagh.


SUN 23:00 Christmas around Europe (b06s7dtq)
Christmas Around Europe (2015)

Episode 4

Ian Skelly with the final part of this year's day of live and specially recorded Christmas concerts from around Europe.

11pm A performance from Sofia of Duke Ellington's 'Sacred Concert', which he described as "the most important thing I have ever done". Ellington composed three Sacred Concerts between 1965 and 1973, and this version, edited by John Høybye and Peder Pedersen, brings together the best of them.

Duke Ellington: Sacred Concert

Praise God
Heaven
Freedom-suite
The Shepherd
The Majesty of God
Come Sunday
David danced before the Lord
Almighty God
T.G.T.T
Praise God and Dance - Finale

Lilly Ilieva (vocals)
New Music Vocal Group
Director Adelina Koleva
Bulgarian National Radio Big Band
Conducted by Antoni Donchev.



MONDAY 21 DECEMBER 2015

MON 00:30 Through the Night (b06s90wc)
Haydn's The Creation

Jonathan Swain presents a performance of Haydn's Creation in the English version from Poland with the Gabrieli Players and Paul McCreesh.

12:31 AM
Haydn, Joseph [1732-1809] [text anonymous revised in 2006 by Paul McCreesh]
The Creation H.21.2 - Part 1
Sophie Bevan (soprano - Gabriel, Eve), Robert Murray (tenor - Uriel), David Wilson-Johnson (baritone - Raphael, Adam), Ewa Pieronkiewicz (contralto), National Forum of Music Chorus, Agnieszka Franków-?elazny (director), Gabrieli Players, Paul McCreesh (conductor)

1:08 AM
Haydn, Joseph [1732-1809] [text anonymous revised in 2006 by Paul McCreesh]
The Creation H.21.2 - Part 2
Performers as listed above

1:45 AM
Haydn, Joseph [1732-1809] [text anonymous revised in 2006 by Paul McCreesh]
The Creation H.21.2 - Part 3
Performers as listed above

2:15 AM
Haydn, Joseph (1732-1809)
Sonata in E minor (Hob.XVI.34)
Andreas Staier (fortepiano)

2:31 AM
Svendsen, Johan (1840 -1911)
Symphony No. 2 in B flat major (Op.15)
Stavanger Symphony Orchestra, Susanna Mälkki (conductor)

3:06 AM
Stenhammar, Wilhelm (1871-1927)
Quartet for strings no.4 (Op.25) in A minor
Oslo String Quartet: Geir Inge Lotsberg and Per Kristian Skalstad (violins), Are Sandbakken (viola), Øystein Sonstad (cello)

3:42 AM
Dvorák, Antonín (1841-1904)
Slavonic Dance (Op.72 No.2)
James Anagnoson and Leslie Kinton (piano)

3:48 AM
Stradella, Alessandro [1639-1682]
Fulmini quanto sa for voice and accompaniment
Emma Kirkby (soprano), David Thomas (bass), Alan Wilson (harpsichord), Jakob Lindberg (lute), Anthony Rooley (lute)

3:54 AM
Gluck, Christoph Willibald (1714-1787)
Ballet music: 'Dances of the Blessed Spirits' - from 'Orphée et Euridice'
Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, Paul Dyer (conductor)

4:01 AM
Bernat Vivancos [b.1973]
Nigra sum
Latvian Radio Choir, Sigvards Klava (conductor)

4:10 AM
Foulds, John [1880-1939]
Sicilian Aubade
Cynthia Fleming (violin), BBC Concert Orchestra, Ronald Corp (conductor)

4:16 AM
Scarlatti, Domenico [1685-1757]
Sonata (Kk. 87) in B minor
Eduard Kunz (piano)

4:21 AM
Arnold, Malcolm (1921-2006), arr. John P. Paynter
Little Suite for brass band No.1 (Op.80)
Edmonton Wind Ensemble, Harry Pinchin (conductor)

4:31 AM
Schumann, Robert (1810-1856)
Overture to Genoveva, Op.81
Orchestre Nationale de France, Heinz Wallberg (Conductor)

4:41 AM
Hamelin, Marc-Andre (1961-)
Variations on a Theme by Paganini
Marc-André Hamelin (Piano)

4:51 AM
Sweelinck, Jan Pieterszoon (1562-1621)
O Domine Jesu Christe
Netherlands Chamber Choir and instrumental ensemble of three sackbutts and tenor shawm, Paul van Nevel (conductor)

4:59 AM
Viotti, Giovanni Battista (1755-1824)
Duo concertante in B flat major
Alexandar Avramov (Violin), Ivan Peev (Violin)

5:06 AM
Geminiani, Francesco (1687-1762)
Concerto Grosso No.3 in B minor
Concertino: Barbara Jane Gilbey, Peter Edwards (violins) Sue-Ellen Paulsen (cello), Geoffrey Lancaster (harpsichord), Tasmanian Symphony Chamber Players

5:14 AM
Farkas, Ferenc [1905-2000]
5 Ancient Hungarian Dances for wind quintet
Tae-Won Kim (flute), Hyong-Sup Kim (oboe), Pil-Kwan Sung (oboe), Hyon-Kon Kim (clarinet), Sang-Won Yoon (bassoon)

5:24 AM
Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus (1756-1791) arr. Danzi, Franz (1763-1826)
Extracts from 'Die Zauberflöte' arranged for 2 cellos
Duo Fouquet

5:35 AM
Rubbra, Edmund (1901-1986)
Trio in one movement, Op.68
The Hertz Trio

5:55 AM
Rachmaninov, Sergey (1873-1943)
Variations on a Theme of Corelli (Op.42)
Duncan Gifford (piano)

6:16 AM
Durante, Francesco (1684-1755)
Concerto for strings no.1 in F minor
Concerto Köln.


MON 06:30 Breakfast (b06s92bp)
Monday - Petroc Trelawny

Petroc Trelawny presents Radio 3's classical breakfast show, featuring listener requests and your suggestions for our annual musical Advent Calendar.

Back in August, amateur composers were invited to set a specially commissioned poem by Roger McGough called "Comes the Light". Listeners have been invited to vote for the overall winner and to vote for your favourite carol, go to bbc.co.uk/radio3. Voting closes at 5pm on December 22nd.

Email 3Breakfast@bbc.co.uk.


MON 09:00 Essential Classics (b06sfggs)
Monday - Rob Cowan with John Craven

9am
As part of Radio 3's Northern Lights season Rob has chosen a singer who was known as the 'Swedish Caruso", Jussi Björling. Rob serves up a feast of songs including works by Verdi, Beethoven, Puccini and Grieg. Along the way he showcases Björling's versatility, his dramatic sensibility and his deep connection with Scandinavia.

9.30am
Take part in our daily musical challenge: identify a piece of music played backwards.

10am
Rob's guest is the original Newsround anchor and Countryfile veteran John Craven. John is remembered by generations of children for his afternoon news bulletins and jazzy jumpers, and nowadays brings his unique brand of welly-wearing journalism to an audience of millions as he chronicles modern rural life in Countryfile. John will be sharing some of his favourite classical music, including wintery scenes from Sibelius and Vivaldi, a very merry rendition of O Come all ye Faithful courtesy of the American tenor and Hollywood star Mario Lanza, and Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto.

10.30am
Rob places Music in Time. He shares a Modern work - John Cage's simple and humorous Suite for Toy Piano.

11am
Rob features the Building a Library recommendation from last Saturday's CD Review

Nielsen
Symphony No. 6 'Sinfonia semplice'.


MON 12:00 Composer of the Week (b06sq1x2)
Franz Berwald (1796-1868)

Little Berwald

Donald Macleod explores Franz Berwald's early years, from his violin recital aged 9 in front of the Swedish Royal Court to his first compositions and his ever-robust response to reviewers.

It was only after his death that Franz Berwald acquired his reputation as Sweden's great symphonist. During his lifetime his music was largely dismissed or ignored. To make ends meet he pursued several other careers alongside composition and proved to have a sharp business mind. He made a living as an early physiotherapist, dabbled in publishing and ran a saw-mill and a glass works. Once, when he was asked if he was a composer his reply was "No, I'm a glassblower".

Both the man and his music were often misunderstood. We now appreciate his musical legacy, particularly his symphonies and opera overtures, his tone poems and his music for violin. But relatively little of his music was performed in his own lifetime - and that which was performed was sometimes badly received and reviewed. A reputation for arrogance and reserve probably didn't help either and he was outspoken in his criticism of the Swedish musical establishment. Yet he was also capable of great generosity to friends, students, and even to complete strangers. Donald Macleod tells the story of a composer whose work was too often neglected in his own lifetime but who was eventually hailed in Sweden as "our most original and modern orchestral composer".

Today Donald Macleod explores Berwald's early years. Born in Stockholm into a family of musicians who hailed from Germany, he was soon encouraged to develop his own musical talents. He took up the violin and made his public debut at the age of 9. Soon after that "Little Berwald", as he was known, played before the Court in Stockholm. As a young man his skills on the violin earned him a place in the Opera Orchestra in Stockholm but he soon put that aside to concentrate on composing and, in an early indication of his business acumen, to run a publishing venture. There's also Berwald's stinging retort to an early bad review and the origins of his life-long rivalry with his cousin Johann Frederik.

Symphony Singuliere (No. 3 in C Major) - I. Allegro fuocoso
Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra
Roy Goodman, conductor

Violin Concerto in C Sharp minor, Op. 2
Tobias Ringborg, violin
Swedish Chamber Orchestra
Niklas Willén, conductor

String Quartet No. 1 in G minor - IV. Allegretto
The Yggdrasil Quartet

Elfenspiel - Tone Painting for Large Orchestra
Danish National Radio Symphony Orchestra
Thomas Dausgaard, conductor.


MON 13:00 Radio 3 Lunchtime Concert (b06c9nwj)
Wigmore Hall Mondays: Kathryn Stott

Pianist Kathryn Stott plays Fauré, Franck, Ravel and Fitkin at Wigmore Hall in London.

Presented by Fiona Talkington

Fauré: Nocturne No.4 in E flat, Op. 36
Franck: Prelude, Chorale and Fugue
Ravel: Sonatine
Fitkin: Relent

Kathryn Stott (piano).


MON 14:00 Afternoon Concert (b06s92dp)
Nordic Ensembles and Festivals

Episode 1

With Penny Gore. All this week's programmes feature recordings from Nordic festivals and ensembles, for the Northern Lights season. First today the BBC Singers in concert perform all the shortlisted carols in the Radio 3 Carol Competition, presented by Ian Skelly.

Then the spotlight is on the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra under their prestigious Honorary Conductor, Herbert Blomstedt, plus the Lapland Chamber Orchestra performs music from Finland by Sibelius and Kalevi Aho.

14:00
Presented by Ian Skelly
BBC Radio 3 Carol Competition finalists
BBC Singers

Followed by music for the Northern Lights season, with Penny Gore
14:45
Sibelius: Rakastava
Lapland Chamber Orchestra
Carolina Eyck (conductor)

15:00
Kalevi Aho: Theremin Concerto
Lapland Chamber Orchestra
Carolina Eyck (theremin/conductor)

15:30
Ingvar Lidholm: Laudi
Swedish Radio Chorus

15:40
Beethoven: Symphony no.2
Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra
Herbert Blomstedt (conductor).


MON 16:30 Words and Music (b01nwc9y)
Retail Therapy

Poetry and prose exploring all aspects of shopping and trade, read by Phil Davis and Raquel Cassidy. From Madame Bovary's compulsive spending and The Mayor of Casterbridge selling his wife to the betrayal of Christ for thirty pieces of silver and Charlie Bucket's life-changing purchase of that golden ticket-lined Whipple-Scrumptious Fudge-Mallow Delight.


MON 17:45 New Generation Artists (b06s93qb)
Kathryn Rudge, Zhang Zuo, Narek Hakhnazaryan

Clemency Burton-Hill celebrates the music making of the BBC New Generation Artists. Here is the chance to hear a starry line-up of young musicians caught by the BBC microphones when they are on the brink of glittering international careers. In this first programme of the Christmas series, the British mezzo soprano Kathryn Rudge explores the moonlit world of Schubert, the Chinese-born pianist Zhang Zuo tackles Haydn's grandest keyboard compostion and the Armenian cellist Narek Hakhnazaryan delights in one of Beethoven's sunniest creations.

Francesco Tosti: L'alba sepàra dalla luce l'ombra
Kathryn Rudge (mezzo soprano), James Baillieu (piano)

Haydn: Sonata in E flat Major Hob XVI/52
Zhang Zuo (piano)

Beethoven: Cello Sonata No. 3 in A major, Op. 69
Narek Hakhnazaryan (cello), Marianna Shirinyan (piano)

Schubert: Nachtstück, D.672
Kathryn Rudge (mezzo soprano), James Baillieu (piano)

Bach: Partita No.1 in B flat major, BWV.825
Zhang Zuo (piano).


MON 19:00 BBC Proms 2015 (b06s96d2)
Prom 57: Chamber Orchestra of Europe and Bernard Haitink

BBC Proms 2015: The Chamber Orchestra of Europe conducted by Bernard Haitink with soloist Maria João Pires in a programme of Mozart and Schubert.

From the Royal Albert Hall, London
Presented by Martin Handley

Schubert: Overture in C major 'In the Italian Style', D 591
Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 23 in A major, K488
Schubert: Symphony No. 9 in C major 'Great', D 944

Maria João Pires (piano)
Chamber Orchestra of Europe
Bernard Haitink (conductor)

Refined but also profoundly expressive, Maria João Pires is one of the great Mozart interpreters of her generation. She returned to the Proms with Mozart's Piano Concerto Number 23, in A major, which boasts quasi-operatic melodies and deft woodwind colouring. It took musicians and audiences a long time to come to terms with Schubert's 'unplayable' Ninth Symphony, but now - like that other great unplayable, Beethoven's Ninth - it has won an unquestioned place in the repertoire.


MON 21:25 BBC Proms 2015 (b06s96l2)
Prom 19: Alina Ibragimova plays Bach

BBC Proms 2015: the first of two late-night concerts in which Alina Ibragimova performs all six of Bach's Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin.

From the Royal Albert Hall, London
Presented by Sara Mohr-Pietsch

Bach: Sonata No. 1 in G minor for solo violin, BWV 1001
Bach: Partita No. 1 in B minor for solo violin, BWV 1002
Bach: Sonata No. 2 in A minor for solo violin, BWV 1003

Alina Ibragimova (violin)

When you place a single, solo instrumentalist in the Royal Albert Hall, a peculiar alchemy occurs.
Suddenly the huge space becomes charged with a collective energy, a concentration that amplifies the emotions and gestures of the music performed. When that happens at a Late Night Prom, it's particularly magical. Violinist Alina Ibragimova takes us back to what can seem like the purest expression of music, performing Bach's complete Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin, split across two concerts, the second of which can be heard tomorrow evening at 9.20pm.


MON 22:45 The Essay (b06s96l4)
Religion in the North

Winter Solstice: Hanne Orstavik

Novelist Hanne Orstavik on her childhood memories of Sami Winter Solstice legends. She lived in Finnmark, the northernmost part of continental Europe and recalls how she was told that the Northern Lights were the spirits of the dead who'd steal children away if they were offended.

Producer: Phil Pegum. Translated by Deborah Dawkin.


MON 23:00 Jazz on 3 (b06s96l6)
Sidsel Endresen and Stian Westerhus

Norwegian improvising vocalist Sidsel Endresen renews her partnership with guitarist Stian Westerhus in this concert as part of Northern Lights season on BBC Radio 3.

Since the 1980s, Endresen has been in the vanguard of European singers seeking to move away from the traditional jazz-singer mould. There's a recognisable folk quality to her voice, but her improvisations tear up the rule book, using fragments of words and isolated syllables, rearranged at will to form her own nonsensical but eerily familiar-sounding language. Westerhus takes a similarly radical approach to the guitar and his abstract blend of bleeps, bloops, and ominous soundscapes is the perfect foil.

Also in the programme, British singer Juliet Kelly joins Jez Nelson in the studio to discuss the ways in which younger singers from the UK - several of whom cite Endresen as a key influence - are changing the sound of British vocal jazz.

Presenter: Jez Nelson
Producer: Chris Elcombe.



TUESDAY 22 DECEMBER 2015

TUE 00:30 Through the Night (b06s97gk)
Mozart from the Danish Radio Chamber Orchestra

Jonathan Swain presents an all-Mozart programme with the Danish Radio Chamber Orchestra conducted by Adam Fischer and with soloist Nikolaj Znaider in Mozart's third violin concerto.

12:31 AM
Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus [1756-1791]
Symphony no. 40 in G minor K.550
Danish Radio Chamber Orchestra, Adám Fischer (conductor)

12:59 AM
Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus [1756-1791]
Concerto no. 3 in G major K.216 for violin and orchestra
Nikolaj Znaider (violin), Danish Radio Chamber Orchestra, Adám Fischer (conductor)

1:23 AM
Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus [1756-1791]
Symphony no. 41 in C major K.551 (Jupiter)
Danish Radio Chamber Orchestra, Adám Fischer (conductor)

1:58 AM
Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus [1756-1791]
Marriage of Figaro - overture
Danish Radio Chamber Orchestra, Adám Fischer (conductor)

2:03 AM
Jenner, Gustav Uwe (1865-1920)
Trio in E flat for Clarinet, Horn and Piano (1900)
James Campbell (clarinet), Martin Hackleman (horn), Jane Coop (piano)

2:31 AM
Zelenka, Jan Dismas [1679-1745]
Missa Nativitatis Domini, ZWV.8
Barbora Sojková (soprano), Stanislava Mihalcová (soprano), Marta Fadljevicová (mezzo-soprano), Markéta Cukrová (contralto), Sylva Cmugrová (contralto), Daniela Cermáková (contralto), Jarosla Brezina (tenor), Cenek Svoboda (tenor), Tomás Král (baritone), Jaromír Nosek (bass), Musica Florea, Marek Stryncl (director)

3:05 AM
Schubert, Franz [1797-1828]
Quintet for piano, violin, viola, cello & double bass (D.667) in A major "Trout"
Aronowitz Ensemble

3:40 AM
Beethoven, Ludwig van [1770 -1827]
Coriolan - overture Op.62
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Donald Runnicles (conductor)

3:48 AM
Scriabin, Alexander [1872-1915]
Piano Sonata no. 4 in F sharp major Op.30
Jayson Gillham (piano)

3:57 AM
Corelli, Arcangelo (1653-1713)
Trio Sonata in D minor (Op.1 No.11)
London Baroque

4:03 AM
Strauss, Richard [1864-1949]
Variations on "Deandl is arb auf mi'" for string trio
Leopold String Trio

4:09 AM
Förster, Kaspar Jr (1616-1673)
Dialogus a 5 'Quid faciam misera?'
Olga Pasiecznik & Marta Boberska (sopranos), Dirk Snellings (bass), Il Tempo Baroque Ensemble - Wim Maseele (theorbo), Anna Sliwa (viola), Lilianna Stawarz (chamber organ), Marcin Zalewski (bass viol), Agata Sapiecha (violin & director)

4:17 AM
Paderewski, Ignacy Jan (1860-1941)
Nocturne in B flat, Op.16 No.4
Ignacy Jan Paderewski (piano)

4:22 AM
Albinoni, Tomaso [1671-1750]
Adagio in G minor (arr. for organ and trumpet)
Blagoj Angelovski (trumpet), Velin Iliev (organ)

4:31 AM
Bach, Johann Sebastian (1685-1750)
Harpsichord Concerto No.5 in F minor (BWV.1056)
Lembit Orgse (harpsichord), Estonian Radio Chamber Orchestra, Paul Mägi (conductor)

4:41 AM
Zelenka, Jan Dismas (1679-1745)
De profundis (Psalm 129) in D minor
Virtuosi di Praga, Czech Chamber Choir, Petr Chromcak (conductor)

4:50 AM
Chopin, Frédéric (1810-1849)
Nocturne in D flat major (Op.27 No.2)
Jane Coop (piano)

4:57 AM
Grieg, Edvard (1843-1907)
Symphonic dance no.2 (Allegro grazioso) (Op.64 No.2)
Norwegian Radio Orchestra, Ingar Bergby (conductor)

5:04 AM
Rodrigo, Joaquin [1901-1999]
Invocacion y danza (Homenaje a Manuel de Falla) for guitar
Sean Shibe (guitar)

5:12 AM
Falla, Manuel de [1876-1946]
7 Canciones populares espanolas arr. for trumpet and piano
Alison Balsom (trumpet), Alasdair Beatson (piano)

5:24 AM
Crusell, Bernhard Henrik (1775-1838)
The Little Slave Girl - Concert Suite for orchestra
Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Osmo Vänskä (conductor)

5:43 AM
Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus (1756-1791)
Divertimento in B flat major (K.439b'2) originally for 2 basset hn/cl & bn/bst hn (KA.229'2)
Bratislava Wind Trio: Jozef Durdina (oboe), Gabriel Koncar (clarinet), Jozef Rotter (bassoon)

5:59 AM
Bruch, Max (1838-1920)
Fantasy for Violin and Orchestra with Harp, freely using Scottish Folk Melodies (Op.46)
James Ehnes (violin), Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, Mario Bernardi (conductor).


TUE 06:30 Breakfast (b06sfr5m)
Tuesday - Petroc Trelawny

Petroc Trelawny presents Radio 3's classical breakfast show, featuring listener requests and your suggestions for our annual musical Advent Calendar.

Back in August, amateur composers were invited to set a specially commissioned poem by Roger McGough called "Comes the Light". Listeners have been invited to vote for the overall winner and to vote for your favourite carol, go to bbc.co.uk/radio3. Voting closes today at 5pm.

Email 3Breakfast@bbc.co.uk.


TUE 09:00 Essential Classics (b06sfmcm)
Tuesday - Rob Cowan with John Craven

9am
As part of Radio 3's Northern Lights season Rob has chosen a singer who was known as the 'Swedish Caruso", Jussi Björling. Rob serves up a feast of songs including works by Verdi, Beethoven, Puccini and Grieg. Along the way he showcases Björling's versatility, his dramatic sensibility and his deep connection with Scandinavia.

9.30am
Take part in our daily music-related challenge: listen to the clues and identify the mystery person.

10am
Rob's guest is the original Newsround anchor and Countryfile veteran John Craven. John is remembered by generations of children for his afternoon news bulletins and jazzy jumpers, and nowadays brings his unique brand of welly-wearing journalism to an audience of millions as he chronicles modern rural life in Countryfile. John will be sharing some of his favourite classical music, including wintery scenes from Sibelius and Vivaldi, a very merry rendition of O Come all ye Faithful courtesy of the American tenor and Hollywood star Mario Lanza, and Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto.

10.30am
Rob places Music in Time. He takes a trip to the Medieval period to hear the interweaving vocal lines of the three texts of Machaut's polytextual motet Quant en moy.

11am
As part of Radio 3's Northern Lights season, Rob features recordings of major works by leading Nordic composers. Throughout the week Rob explores music from the frozen North, showcasing composers including Stenhammar, Grieg, Kraus and Alfven.

Kraus
Symphony in F major VB130
Swedish Chamber Orchestra
Petter Sundkvist (conductor).


TUE 12:00 Composer of the Week (b06sq1wy)
Franz Berwald (1796-1868)

A New Career

Seeking escape from Sweden, Franz Berwald flees to Germany. Donald Macleod recalls the composer's encounter with Mendelssohn and his new career in Berlin - as a physiotherapist

It was only after his death that Franz Berwald acquired his reputation as Sweden's great symphonist. During his lifetime his music was largely dismissed or ignored. To make ends meet he pursued several other careers alongside composition and proved to have a sharp business mind. He made a living as an early physiotherapist, dabbled in publishing and ran a saw-mill and a glass works. Once, when he was asked if he was a composer his reply was "No, I'm a glassblower".

Both the man and his music were often misunderstood. We now appreciate his musical legacy, particularly his symphonies and opera overtures, his tone poems and his music for violin. But relatively little of his music was performed in his own lifetime - and that which was performed was sometimes badly received and reviewed. A reputation for arrogance and reserve probably didn't help either and he was outspoken in his criticism of the Swedish musical establishment. Yet he was also capable of great generosity to friends, students, and even to complete strangers. Donald Macleod tells the story of a composer whose work was too often neglected in his own lifetime but who was eventually hailed in Sweden as "our most original and modern orchestral composer".

In 1829 Berwald had pulled together enough money to leave Sweden for Germany where, perhaps, he felt his music would be better appreciated. As Donald Macleod recalls, once in Berlin he struck up a friendship with another young Swede, Henric Munktell, who introduced him to Felix Mendelssohn. Unfortunately, the two composers didn't hit it off: Mendelssohn wasn't too impressed by Berwald's music and thought the young man arrogant. Soon after - and for the rest of the twelve years he spent in Berlin - Berwald abandoned music and embarked on a surprising new career in the emerging field of orthopaedics. He turned out to be a skilled practitioner and particularly successful working with children with spinal deformities.

Concert Piece for bassoon and orchestra
Academy of St. Martin in the Fields
Sir Neville Mariner, conductor

Reminiscences from the Norwegian Mountains
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Ulf Björlin, conductor

Grand Septet B flat major - I. Introduzione: Adagio - Allegro Molto
Berlinner Oktett

The Battle of Leipzig - Tone Painting
Malmö Opera Orchestra
Niklas Willén, conductor.


TUE 13:00 Radio 3 Lunchtime Concert (b06s98sp)
Danish String Quartet in Scotland

Episode 1

The Danish String quartet begin the first of four concerts in Scotland celebrating the 150th anniversary of composer Carl Nielsen. Recorded live at Perth Concert Hall, the concert begins with music by one of Nielsen's great musical heroes. Haydn's Op. 54 string quartets were written for Johann Tost, then concertmaster of Haydn's Esterházy orchestra. Nielsen himself would go on to be a successful violinist in the Royal Danish Orchestra. His String Quartet No 3 was started in the summer of 1891 and dedicated to his friend Edward Grieg.

Haydn: String Quartet in C Major Op. 54 No.2
Nielsen: String Quartet No 3 in E flat major Op.14

Danish String Quartet
Frederik Øland - violin
Rune Tonsgaard Sørensen - violin
Asbjørn Nørgaard - viola
Fredrik Sjölin - cello

Presenter - Kate Molleson.


TUE 14:00 Afternoon Concert (b06s9csp)
Nordic Ensembles and Festivals

Episode 2

Penny Gore presents a selection of recordings for Northern Lights, with Nordic ensembles performing works from Northern countries. The Lahti Symphony Orchestra perform works by Sibelius including his evocative Symphony no.5, and orchestras from Norway, Sweden and Iceland peform works by the current generation of composers, including a world premiere.

14.00
Sibelius: The Bard
Lahti Symphony Orchestra
Conductor Jukka-Pekka Saraste

14.10
Esa-Pekka Salonen: Karawane
Swedish Radio Chorus
Mikaeli Chamber Chorus
Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra
Conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen

14.45
Ludvig Norman: Symphony No. 3 in D minor, Op. 58
Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra
Conductor Philipp von Steinaecker

15.15
Per Nørgård: Double Concerto for violin, cello and orchestra
Peter Herresthal (violin)
Jakob Kullberg (cello)
Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra
Conductor Andrew Litton

15.40
Magnus Lindburg: EXPO
Iceland Symphony Orchestra
Conductor Anna-Maria Helsing

15.50
Sibelius: Symphony No.5
Lahti Symphony Orchestra
Conductor Jukka-Pekka Saraste.


TUE 16:30 Words and Music (b01s5mb0)
Ave Maria

Ave Maria: Music and texts inspired by the Blessed Virgin Mary with Jenny Agutter and Andrew Buchan.

Jenny Agutter can currently be seen starring as Sister Julienne in the hit BBC TV series "Call the Midwife", and Andrew Buchan is currently playing the part of the father of a murdered boy in the ITV drama "Broadchurch".

The Virgin Mary has inspired perhaps more writing and music than any other historical or Biblical figure and this edition of Words and Music attempts to dip a small toe in the ocean of material available. Following the Biblical narrative from the Annunciation, the birth and life of her son Jesus Christ and his death on the cross, the story goes beyond the New Testament into Catholic traditions concerning the Assumption of Mary into Heaven, her crowning and, back on earth, the numerous visions and miracles that have been reported in her name over the centuries.

The programme includes poems, prose and texts by a wide variety of authors including Thomas Hardy, Rupert Brooke, Dorothy Parker, W.B. Yeats, Marina Warner and Carol Ann Duffy, as well as extracts from the Gospels.

An eclectic selection of music includes works by Bach, Messiaen, Rautavaara, Robert Parsons, James MacMillan, Massenet and Jacqui Dankworth.

Producer
Helen Garrison.


TUE 17:45 New Generation Artists (b06s9dmz)
Louis Schwizgebel, Kathryn Rudge, Lise Berthaud, Armida Quartet

Clemency Burton-Hill celebrates the music making of the current complement of BBC New Generation Artists. Today the British mezzo soprano, Kathryn Rudge sings Roger Quilter's 1908 settings of Elizabethan poetry, the Swiss-Chinese pianist Louis Schwizgebel plays a virtuosic set of variations by Beethoven and the French viola player Lise Berthaud explores some seldom heard works by Frank Bridge. Also today, the Armida Quartet from Berlin are heard in the second of Mozart's Prussian Quartets.

Liszt: Valse Impromptu, S.213
Louis Schwizgebel (piano)

Quilter: Seven Elizabethan Lyrics, Op. 12
Kathryn Rudge (mezzo soprano), James Baillieu (piano)

Bridge: Four Pieces for viola and piano (transcribed from cello)
Lise Berthaud (viola), Xenia Maliarevitch (piano)

Mozart: String Quartet No. 22 in B flat, K.589
Armida Quartet

Beethoven: Ich liebe dich (Herrosse) WoO.123 1'58
Benjamin Appl (baritone), Graham Johnson (piano)

Beethoven: 32 Variations in C minor WoO 80
Louis Schwizgebel (piano).


TUE 19:00 BBC Proms 2015 (b06s9dqc)
Prom 60: Mahler - Symphony No 1

BBC Proms 2015: San Francisco Symphony with Music Director Michael Tilson Thomas and pianist Jeremy Denk play music by Mahler, Schoenberg and American maverick Henry Cowell

From the Royal Albert Hall, London
Presented by Petroc Trelawny

Schoenberg: Theme and Variations, Op. 43b
Cowell: Piano Concerto
Mahler: Symphony No. 1 in D major

Jeremy Denk (piano)
San Francisco Symphony
Michael Tilson Thomas (conductor)

It has been almost a decade since the San Francisco Symphony visited the Proms. The orchestra is joined by its Music Director of more than 20 years, Michael Tilson Thomas, and by American pianist Jeremy Denk in the latter's second concert of the season. Here Denk tackles an American rarity - Henry Cowell's extraordinary Piano Concerto, whose primitive textures require the soloist to pound the piano with fists and forearms. It is paired with Mahler's First Symphony, an ebullient youthful work filled with hints of the mature composer to come, and Schoenberg's imaginative Theme and Variations, heard in the composer's own orchestral arrangement.


TUE 21:20 BBC Proms 2015 (b06s9dqy)
Prom 21: Alina Ibragimova plays Bach

Russian-born Alina Ibragimova gives the second of her two Late Night recitals of solo Bach, at the Royal Albert Hall, London.

Presented by Sara Mohr-Pietsch

Bach: Partita No. 2 in D minor for solo violin, BWV 1004
Bach: Sonata No. 3 in C major for solo violin, BWV 1005
Bach: Partita No. 3 in E major for solo violin, BWV 1006

Alina Ibragimova (violin)

Alina's natural tendency towards a historically informed style of playing these works was formed while she was a teenager at the Yehudi Menuhin School. Her teachers at the time called for more vibrato, bigger gestures. 'I wanted something more direct,' she recalls. 'Less about me.'.


TUE 22:45 The Essay (b06s9dh1)
Religion in the North

Forests and Faith under the Northern Lights

Per Rosenberg takes us on a journey in to the heart of the vast forests of Sweden to explore their symbolic importance and as Christmas approaches he visits the atmospheric and candlelit wooden churches of Scandinavia. The medieval wooden churches, date to the very earliest days of Christianity in Scandinavia and tell the story of the meeting of the Norse and Christian cultures. Producer: Phil Pegum.


TUE 23:00 Late Junction (b06s9f2r)
Tuesday - Mara Carlyle

Mara Carlyle presents a mix of alternative festive fare including ice music from Terje Isungset, a Christmas song from John Jacob Niles, Edmund Finnis' Colour Field Painting and Delia Derbyshire's take on Bach.



WEDNESDAY 23 DECEMBER 2015

WED 00:30 Through the Night (b06s97gp)
Strauss from the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra

Jonathan Swain presents the Swedish RSO in a programme of Strauss waltzes and polkas conducted by Daniel Harding.

12:31 AM
Strauss, Johann II (1825-1899)
Overture to 'Die Fledermaus'
Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Daniel Harding (conductor)

12:40 AM
Strauss, Johann I (1804-1849)
Huldigung der Königin Victoria von Grossbritannien (Homage to Queen Victoria of Great Britain), Op.103
Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Daniel Harding (conductor)

12:48 AM
Strauss, Josef (1827-1870)
Die Libelle (The Dragonfly) - polka mazurka, Op.204
Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Daniel Harding (conductor)

12:54 AM
Strauss, Johann II (1825-1899)
Künstlerleben ('Artists' Life') - waltz, Op.316
Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Daniel Harding (conductor)

1:04 AM
Strauss, Johann II (1825-1899)
Csárdás - from the operetta 'Ritter Pasman'
Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Daniel Harding (conductor)

1:08 AM
Strauss, Johann II (1825-1899)
Unter Donner und Blitz (Thunder and lightning) - polka, Op.324
Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Daniel Harding (conductor)

1:12 AM
Strauss, Johann II (1825-1899)
Kaiser-Walzer, Op.437 ('Emperor Waltz')
Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Daniel Harding (conductor)

1:25 AM
Strauss, Johann I (1804-1849)
Radetzky March, Op.228
Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Daniel Harding (conductor)

1:29 AM
Chopin, Frédéric (1810-1849)
Sonata in G minor for cello and piano (Op.65)
Claes Gunnarsson (cello), Roland Pöntinen (piano)

2:00 AM
Grieg, Edvard (1843-1907)
Concerto for piano and orchestra (Op.16) in A minor
Rian de Waal (piano), Anima Eterna, Jos van Immerseel (conductor)

2:31 AM
Bruckner, Anton (1824-1896)
Mass No 3 in F minor 'Great'
Luba Orgonasova (soprano), Nathalie Stutzmann (alto), Hans Peter Blochwitz (tenor), Kurt Moll (bass), Netherlands Radio Choir, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Riccardo Chailly (conductor)

3:33 AM
Bach, Johann Sebastian (1685-1750)
Prelude & Fugue in B flat minor, BWV.867 (from Das Wohltemperierte Clavier)
Edwin Fischer (piano)

3:41 AM
Rosenmuller, Johann (c.1619-1684)
Sinfonia à 4
Tafelmusik Baroque Soloists

3:48 AM
Sor, Fernando [1778-1839]
Introduction, Theme and Variations on Marlborough s'en va-t-en guerre (Op. 28)
Xavier Diaz-Latorre (guitar by Josef Pagés, Cádiz 1806)

3:58 AM
Debussy, Claude (1862-1918) orch. Brewaeys, Luc (b.1959)
La Cathédrale engloutie - from Preludes Book 1 No.10
Royal Flemish Philharmonic, Daniele Callegari (conductor)

4:04 AM
Debussy, Claude (1862-1918)
Des pas sur la neige - from Preludes Book 1 No.6
Danae O'Callaghan (piano)

4:10 AM
Martland, Steve (1959-2013) [text: medieval]
Three Carols (From lands that see the sun arise; Make we joy; There is no Rose of such Virtue)
BBC Singers, Stephen Cleobury (conductor)

4:21 AM
Trad. arr. Danish String Quartet
Nordic Folk Music
Danish String Quartet: Rune Tonsgaard Sørensen (violin), Frederik Øland (violin), Asbjørn Nørgaard (viola), Fredrik Schøyen Sjölln (cello)

4:31 AM
Scarlatti, Alessandro (1660-1725)
Concerto Grosso no.1 in F minor
Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, Jeanne Lamon (conductor)

4:39 AM
Mendelssohn, Felix [1809-1847]
Prelude and Fugue No.1 in E minor (Op.35)
Shura Cherkassky (piano)

4:48 AM
Finger, Gottfried (c.1660-1730)
Sonata for recorder and harpsichord in G major
Antoni Sawicz (recorder), Robert Grac (harpsichord)

4:53 AM
Arriaga, Juan Crisostomo (1806-1826)
Erminia, scène lyrique-dramatique
Rosamind Illing (soprano), Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Heribert Esser (conductor)

5:08 AM
Chopin, Fryderyk [1810-1849]
Krakowiak - rondo for piano and orchestra (Op.14) in F major
Nelson Goerner (Erard piano of 1849), Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century, Frans Brüggen (conductor)

5:23 AM
Bach, Johann Sebastian (1685-1750)
Jesu, meine Freude - motet (BWV.227)
Danish National Radio Choir, Stefan Parkman (conductor)

5:44 AM
Schubert, Franz (1797-1828)
Sonata for arpeggione (or viola or cello) and piano (D.821) in A minor
Arto Noras (cello), Konstantin Bogino (piano)

6:08 AM
Suolahti, Heikki (1920-1936)
Sinfonia Piccola (1935)
The Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Kari Tikka (conductor).


WED 06:30 Breakfast (b06sfr5p)
Wednesday - Petroc Trelawny

Breakfast with Petroc Trelawny.

Petroc Trelawny announces the winner of Radio 3's Breakfast Carol Competition.

Back in August, Breakfast listeners were challenged to compose a choral setting of a specially commissioned poem by Roger McGough, "Comes the Light." After a great response from very many talented people, the time has now arrived for the result of the voting on the six shortlisted finalists. The winning entry will be performed live by the BBC Singers.

The six carols were shortlisted by a panel including Judith Weir, Master of the Queen's Music, and David Hill, Chief Conductor of the BBC Singers.

Email 3breakfast@bbc.co.uk.


WED 09:00 Essential Classics (b06sfmcp)
Wednesday - Rob Cowan with John Craven

9am
As part of Radio 3's Northern Lights season Rob has chosen a singer who was known as the 'Swedish Caruso", Jussi Björling. Rob serves up a feast of songs including works by Verdi, Beethoven, Puccini and Grieg. Along the way he showcases Björling's versatility, his dramatic sensibility and his deep connection with Scandinavia.

9.30am
Take part in today's music-related challenge and identify the place associated with a work.

10am
Rob's guest is the original Newsround anchor and Countryfile veteran John Craven. John is remembered by generations of children for his afternoon news bulletins and jazzy jumpers, and nowadays brings his unique brand of welly-wearing journalism to an audience of millions as he chronicles modern rural life in Countryfile. John will be sharing some of his favourite classical music, including wintery scenes from Sibelius and Vivaldi, a very merry rendition of O Come all ye Faithful courtesy of the American tenor and Hollywood star Mario Lanza, and Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto.

10.30am
Rob places Music in Time. The spotlight is on the Baroque with John Blow's Chaconne in G in which a repeated bass line gives the opportunity for the creation of colour and variety.

11am
As part of Radio 3's Northern Lights season, Rob features recordings of major works by leading Nordic composers. Throughout the week Rob explores music from the frozen North, showcasing composers including Stenhammar, Kraus and Alfven.

Stenhammar
Symphony No. 2
Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra
Stig Westerberg (conductor).


WED 12:00 Composer of the Week (b06sq2pm)
Franz Berwald (1796-1868)

Serious and Joyful Fancies

Donald Macleod considers the most creative period of Franz Berwald's life, during which he composed the symphonies which are his lasting legacy.

It was only after his death that Franz Berwald acquired his reputation as Sweden's great symphonist. During his lifetime his music was largely dismissed or ignored. To make ends meet he pursued several other careers alongside composition and proved to have a sharp business mind. He made a living as an early physiotherapist, dabbled in publishing and ran a saw-mill and a glass works. Once, when he was asked if he was a composer his reply was "No, I'm a glassblower".

Both the man and his music were often misunderstood. We now appreciate his musical legacy, particularly his symphonies and opera overtures, his tone poems and his music for violin. But relatively little of his music was performed in his own lifetime - and that which was performed was sometimes badly received and reviewed. A reputation for arrogance and reserve probably didn't help either and he was outspoken in his criticism of the Swedish musical establishment. Yet he was also capable of great generosity to friends, students, and even to complete strangers. Donald Macleod tells the story of a composer whose work was too often neglected in his own lifetime but who was eventually hailed in Sweden as "our most original and modern orchestral composer".

By the late 1830s, Franz Berwald had made a name for himself in Berlin - but not as a composer. Soon after he wrote his tone poem Serious and Joyful Fancies he had put aside his music to establish a very successful orthopaedic institute - a treatment at which he proved to be a skilled practitioner. However, by 1841 he was ready to embark on a new lease of life. He married Mathilde Scherer, who at 24 was nearly half Berwald's age, and the couple moved to Vienna where Franz once again took up music. Donald Macleod recounts the most creative period of Berwald's life, the years in which he composed his four symphonies - only one of which he would actually hear in his lifetime.

Serious and Joyful Fancies - Symphonic Tone Poem
Gavle Symphony Orchestra
Petri Sakari, conductor

Symphony Serieuse (No. 1 in G minor) - I. Allegro con energia
Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra
Neeme Järvi, conductor

String Quartet in E flat major
The Frydén String Quartet

Symphony Capricieuse (No. 2) - III. Finale: Allegro assai
Malmö Symphony Orchestra
Sixten Ehrling, conductor.


WED 13:00 Radio 3 Lunchtime Concert (b06s98sr)
Danish String Quartet in Scotland

Episode 2

New Generation Artists, the members of the Danish String Quartet continue the lunchtime concert series this week from St Andrews in Fife. Recorded live, the quartet perform Nielsen's String Quartet No 2 in F minor, written whilst on sabbatical from his post at the Danish Royal Chapel Orchestra. It's followed by the music Nielsen would have been steeped in as a child - traditional Nordic folk music. Many of these arrangements were made by members of the Danish String Quartet, themselves folk musicians from an early age.

Nielsen: String Quartet No 2 in F minor Op.5

Nordic Folk Tune selection:
Danish trad. arr. Danish String Quartet: 'Sekstur from Vendsyssel: 'The Topped Hen / The Peat Dance'
Poul Bjerager/Trad. arr Danish String Quartet: 'Easter Sunday/Polsk after Rasmus Storm'
Swedish trad. arr. Danish String Quartet: 'Jasspodspolska'
Johannes Rusten arr. Danish String Quartet: 'O Fredrik, O Fredrik'
Norwegian trad. arr. Danish String Quartet: 'Old Reinlender from Sonndala'
Danish trad. arr. Nikolaj Busk: Sonderho Bridal Trilogy - Part III "Brudestyke"

Danish String Quartet
Frederik Øland - violin
Rune Tonsgaard Sørensen - violin
Asbjørn Nørgaard - viola
Fredrik Sjölin - cello

Presenter - Kate Molleson.


WED 14:00 Afternoon Concert (b06s9csw)
Nordic Ensembles and Festivals

Episode 3

Penny Gore presents performances from Nordic ensembles for Northern Lights. The Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra performs Beethoven conducted by Herbert Blomstedt and the Danish National Symphony Orchestra and Chorus perform Nielsen.

14.00
Nielsen: Hymnus Amoris, Op.12
David Danholt (tenor)
Adam Riis (baritone)
Klara Ek (soprano)
Johan Karlstrom (bass)
Torsten Nielsen (baritone)
Men's voices of the Danish National Concert Chorus
Danish National Symphony Orchestra
Conductor Juanjo Mena

14.20
Staffan Bjorkland: Moonscapes (premiere)
Susanne Francett (soprano)
Ladies voices from the Swedish Radio Choir
Lisa Viguier Vallgarda (harp)
Mats Wallin (bass clarinet)
Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra
conductor Daniel Harding

14.40
Beethoven: Symphony no.7
Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra
conductor Herbert Blomstedt.


WED 15:30 Choral Evensong (b008jyxt)
Archive - St Thomas Church, Fifth Avenue, New York City

An Archive service from St Thomas Church, Fifth Avenue, New York City in December 2007.

Introit: Unto us is born a Son (John Tavener)
Responses: Holmes
Psalm: 8 (Corfe)
First Lesson: Zechariah 2 vv10-13
Carol: All my heart this night rejoices (Ebeling)
Canticles: Latin Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis (Tallis)
Second Lesson: Matthew 1 vv18-25
Homily: The Revd Andrew Mead
Anthem: Verbum caro factum est (Sheppard)
Hymn: See amid the winter's snow (Goss)
Organ Voluntary: Toccata - Prelude on Vom Himmel hoch (Garth Edmundson)

Organist and Director of Music: John Scott
Associate Organist: Jeremy S Bruns.


WED 16:30 Words and Music (b03wppty)
The Servant Problem

Adrian Scarborough and Sophie Thompson read prose and poetry on the often uneasy relationship between domestic servants and their employers. From St Zita, patron saint of servants, to Mrs Danvers and Jeeves, the put-upon "odd man", the awkwardly placed governess, and the exhausted servants to the Bennets at Longbourn, it's a story of hard work, a battle of wills, and a striving to make sense of status. Music includes Haydn's "Farewell Symphony", written to make a point to his employer, Richard Strauss's affectionate portrayal of knight and servant in Don Quixote, and Johnny Mercer's party with The Waiter and the Porter and the Upstairs Maid.

Producer: Elizabeth Funning.


WED 17:45 New Generation Artists (b06s9fcz)
Benjamin Appl, Danish String Quartet, Esther Yoo

Clemency Burton-Hill celebrates the music making of the BBC New Generation Artists. Today, the German baritone, Benjamin Appl sings an imaginative selection of songs for Christmas and the Danish Quartet tackle one of the peaks of the entire string quartet repertoire. Also today, Esther Yoo plays Max Bruch's most famous violin concerto.

Humperdinck: Weihnachten ("Leise weht's durch alle Lande")
Benjamin Appl (baritone), James Baillieu (piano)

Beethoven: Der Mann von Wort, Op. 99
Benjamin Appl (baritone), Graham Johnson (piano)

Beethoven: Quartet No. 16 in F, Op. 135
Danish String Quartet

Bruch: Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor, Op. 26
Esther Yoo (violin),
BBC Philharmonic, Michael Seal (conductor)

Nordqvist: Jul, jul, strålande jul (Evers)
Benjamin Appl (baritone), James Baillieu (piano)

Adolf Straus: Ich weiss bestimmt, ich werd Dich wiedersehen!
Benjamin Appl (baritone), James Baillieu (piano).


WED 19:00 BBC Proms 2015 (b06s9fd1)
Prom 61: San Francisco Symphony and Michael Tilson Thomas

BBC Proms 2015: the San Francisco Symphony with their Music Director Michael Tilson Thomas and pianist Yuja Wang play music by Ives and Bartok and Beethoven's Third Symphony.

From the Royal Albert Hall, London
Presented by Petroc Trelawny

Ives: Decoration Day (New England Holidays Symphony)
Bartók: Piano Concerto No. 2
Beethoven: Symphony No. 3 in E flat major, 'Eroica'

Yuja Wang (piano)
San Francisco Symphony
Michael Tilson Thomas (conductor)

Chinese virtuoso Yuja Wang is the soloist in Bartók's Second Piano Concerto - a work the composer intended to pose 'fewer difficulties for the orchestra' and to be 'more pleasing in its thematic material' than his First. Beethoven's emotionally charged 'Eroica' Symphony forms the second half - the ground-breaking symphony that would pave the way for the mighty Romantic works of Mahler and Bruckner. The concert opens with Charles Ives's atmospheric Decoration Day, inspired by his father's marching band.


WED 21:25 BBC Proms 2015 (b06s9fzs)
Prom 50: Bach - Goldberg Variations

András Schiff performs JS Bach's Goldberg Variations, live at the BBC Proms

From the Royal Albert Hall, London
Presented by Sara Mohr-Pietsch

Bach: 'Goldberg' Variations, BWV 988

András Schiff, piano

Grammy Award-winning pianist Sir András Schiff is a titan of the keyboard, bringing his distinctive blend of clarity and authority to repertoire from Bach to Bartók. Tonight he continues his long association with Bach's music in a performance of the composer's 'Goldberg' Variations - a monumental work composed, according to its title-page, 'for the refreshment of the spirits'. The resulting Aria and variations are a compositional wonder, a sequence of musical miniatures unequalled in all Bach's output.


WED 22:45 The Essay (b06s9dh6)
Religion in the North

Norse Mythology: Karl Seigfried

Dr Karl Seigfried explores the Nordic Yule myths and why Norse mythology still speaks to people, a thousand years after the Christian conversion of Scandinavia. Producer: Phil Pegum.


WED 23:00 Late Junction (b06s9g17)
Wednesday - Mara Carlyle

Mara Carlyle presents an alternative festive mix, including Georgian choral music from Gori Women's Choir, a boombox sound sculpture from Phil Kline and Lhasa de Sela singing a Spanish Christmas carol.



THURSDAY 24 DECEMBER 2015

THU 00:30 Through the Night (b06s97gt)
Puer Natus in Bethleem

Jonathan Swain presents a concert entitled 'Puer Natus in Bethleem' with Vox Luminis, from The Temple Church in London.

12:31 AM
Puer Natus in Bethleem - Part 1 - Advent:
Scheidt, Samuel [1587-1654] Das alte Jahr vergangen ist
Bach, Johann Michael [1648-1694] Sei, lieber Tag, wilkommen
Vox Luminis, Lionel Meunier (director), Anthony Romaniuk (organ)

12:43 AM
Puer Natus in Bethleem - Part 2 - Annunciation:
Schütz, Heinrich [1585-1672] Deutsches Magnificat
Schein, Johann Hermann [1586-1630] Nun komm der Heiden Heiland
Schütz, Heinrich [1585-1672] O lieber Herre Gott
Bach, Johann Michael [1648-1694] Fürchtet euch nicht
Schein, Johann Hermann [1586-1630] Von Himmel hoch
Praetorius, Michael [c.1571-1621] Wie Schön leuchtet der Morgenstern
Vox Luminis, Lionel Meunier (director), Anthony Romaniuk (organ)

1:09 AM
Puer Natus in Bethleem - Part 3 - Nativity:
Scheidt, Samuel [1587-1654] Puer natus in Bethleem
Schütz, Heinrich [1585-1672] Hodie Christus natus est
Scheidt, Samuel [1587-1654] Jauchzet Gott alle Land
Schütz, Heinrich [1585-1672] Ein Kind ist uns geboren
Vox Luminis, Lionel Meunier (director), Anthony Romaniuk (organ)

1:30 AM
Puer Natus in Bethleem - Part 4 - Adoration:
Pachelbel, Johann [1653-1706] Singet dem Herrn
Praetorius, Michael [c.1571-1621] Angelus ad pastores ait
Praetorius, Hieronymus [1560-1629] In dulci jubilo
Schein, Johann Hermann [1586-1630] Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ
Scheidt, Samuel [1587-1654] Ach mein herzliebes Jesulein; O Jesulein süss, O Jesulein mild
Vox Luminis, Lionel Meunier (director), Anthony Romaniuk (organ)

1:53 AM
Schubert, Franz (1797-1828)
Piano Sonata in A minor (Op.42) (D.845)
Alfred Brendel (piano)

2:31 AM
Foulds, John [1880-1939]
Holiday Sketches (Op.16)
Cynthia Fleming (violin), Katharine Wood (cello) BBC Concert Orchestra, Ronald Corp (conductor)

2:46 AM
Debussy, Claude (1862-1918)
Children's Corner
Roger Woodward (piano)

3:04 AM
Rameau, Jean-Philippe (1683-1764) compiled Marc Minkowski
L'Apothéose de la Dance - orchestral suite of dance music by Rameau compiled by Marc Minkowski
Les Musiciens du Louvre, Marc Minkowski (conductor)

3:42 AM
Dupré, Marcel (1886-1971)
Variations on 'Adeste Fideles'
Tong-Soon Kwak (Rieger organ at the Torch Centre for World Missions in Seoul, Korea)

3:51 AM
Tchaikovsky, Pyotr Il'yich (1840-1893)
Introduction and waltz from 'Eugene Onegin' - lyric scenes in 3 acts (Op.24)
BBC Philharmonic, Vassily Sinaisky (conductor)

3:59 AM
Saint-Saëns, Camille (1835-1921)
Le carnaval des animaux (for flute, clarinet, glockenspiel, xylophone, 2 pianos, string quartet & double bass)
The Festival Ensemble of the Festival of the Sound, James Campbell (director)

4:23 AM
Tormé, Mel (1925-1999) / Berlin, Irving (1888-1989) / Martin, Hugh (b.19??) arr. Cable, Howard (b.1920)
Christmas Medley - The Christmas Song (Mel Tormé & Robert Wells) / White Christmas (Irving Berlin) / Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas (Hugh Martin & Ralph Blaine)
Louis Quilico & Gino Quilico (baritones), Toronto Children's Chorus, Judy Loman (harp), Members of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Jean Ashworth Bartle (conductor)

4:31 AM
Bach, Johann Sebastian (1685-1750)
Brandenburg Concerto no.2 (BWV.1047) in F major
Alexis Kossenko (recorder), Erik Niord Larsen (oboe), Ole Edvard Antonsen (trumpet), Elise Båtnes (violin), Risör Festival Strings, Knut Johannessen (harpsichord)

4:43 AM
Adam, Adolphe (1803-1856) arr. Howard Cable
Cantique de Noël
Gino Quilico (baritone), Judy Loman (harp), Toronto Children's Chorus, Members of the Toronto Symphony, Jean Ashworth Bartle (conductor)

4:47 AM
Reger, Max (1873-1916)
Maria Wiegenlied (Op.76 No.52)
The Toronto Children's Chorus, Judy Loman (harp), Jean Ashworth Bartle (conductor)

4:49 AM
Yon, Pietro Alessandro (1886-1943)
Gesù Bambino
Louis Quilico (baritone), Toronto Children's Chorus, Judy Loman (harp), Members of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Jean Ashworth Bartle (conductor)

4:53 AM
Grieg, Edvard (Hagerup) (1843-1907)
Andante con moto for piano trio in C minor
Kungsbacka Piano Trio

5:04 AM
Horovitz, Joseph (b. 1926)
Music Hall Suite
The Slovene Brass Quintet

5:14 AM
Strauss (ii), Johann [1825-1899]
An der schonen, blauen Donau (The Blue Danube) - waltz Op.314
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Donald Runnicles (conductor)

5:26 AM
Britten, Benjamin [1913-1976]
A Ceremony of Carols (Op.28)
Polyphonia, with soloists Katya Dimanova, Evguenia Tasseva, Penka Kazandzhieva, Ivelina Ivancheva (piano), Ivelin Dimitrov (conductor)

5:50 AM
Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus [1756-1791]
Sonata for piano (K.309) in C major
Anna Vinnitskaya (piano)

6:07 AM
Palmgren, Selim (1878-1951)
Cinderella Suite (1902-3)
Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, George de Godzinsky (conductor).


THU 06:30 Breakfast (b06sfr5r)
Thursday - Petroc Trelawny

Christmas Eve Breakfast with Petroc Trelawny. Petroc presents a musical Christmas feast, including listener requests, and opens the last window in our musical Advent Calendar.

Email 3Breakfast@bbc.co.uk.


THU 09:00 Essential Classics (b06sfmcr)
Thursday - Rob Cowan with John Craven

9am
As part of Radio 3's Northern Lights season Rob has chosen a singer who was known as the 'Swedish Caruso", Jussi Björling. Rob serves up a feast of songs including works by Verdi, Beethoven, Puccini and Grieg. Along the way he showcases Björling's versatility, his dramatic sensibility and his deep connection with Scandinavia.

9.30am
Take part in today's challenge: listen to the clues and identify the mystery music-related place.

10am
Rob's guest is the original Newsround anchor and Countryfile veteran John Craven. John is remembered by generations of children for his afternoon news bulletins and jazzy jumpers, and nowadays brings his unique brand of welly-wearing journalism to an audience of millions as he chronicles modern rural life in Countryfile. John will be sharing some of his favourite classical music, including wintery scenes from Sibelius and Vivaldi, a very merry rendition of O Come all ye Faithful courtesy of the American tenor and Hollywood star Mario Lanza, and Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto.

10.30am
Rob places Music in Time. The arch-Romantic Schubert incorporates an almost operatic narrative with just a singer and a piano in a selection of melodies from his song cycle Die schöne Müllerin.

11am
As part of Radio 3's Northern Lights season, Rob features recordings of major works by leading Nordic composers. Throughout the week Rob explores music from the frozen North, showcasing composers including Stenhammar, Grieg, Kraus and Alfven.

Alfven
Swedish Rhapsody No. 3 Op. 47 (Dalarapsodi)
Icelandic Symphony Orchestra
Petri Sakari (conductor).


THU 12:00 Composer of the Week (b06sq1x7)
Franz Berwald (1796-1868)

I'm a Glassblower

Donald Macleod focuses on Franz Berwald's operas, the young musicians he nurtured and, beyond music, the business acumen which saw him managing a glassworks and later a saw-mill.

It was only after his death that Franz Berwald acquired his reputation as Sweden's great symphonist. During his lifetime his music was largely dismissed or ignored. To make ends meet he pursued several other careers alongside composition and proved to have a sharp business mind. He made a living as an early physiotherapist, dabbled in publishing and ran a saw-mill and a glass works. Once, when he was asked if he was a composer his reply was "No, I'm a glassblower".

Both the man and his music were often misunderstood. We now appreciate his musical legacy, particularly his symphonies and opera overtures, his tone poems and his music for violin. But relatively little of his music was performed in his own lifetime - and that which was performed was sometimes badly received and reviewed. A reputation for arrogance and reserve probably didn't help either and he was outspoken in his criticism of the Swedish musical establishment. Yet he was also capable of great generosity to friends, students, and even to complete strangers. Donald Macleod tells the story of a composer whose work was too often neglected in his own lifetime but who was eventually hailed in Sweden as "our most original and modern orchestral composer".

By 1849 Berwald was struggling financially. A second journey abroad to develop his music and build an audience had achieved little and he returned home to Stockholm, disheartened and disappointed. The Swedish musical establishment once again turned its back on him and he was overlooked for two key musical posts which might have brought him financial security. He had to look elsewhere for employment and found himself managing the Sandö glassworks in the north-east of Sweden. He was very successful in the role and was soon offered partnership in the firm. He later diversified into running a saw-mill. Donald Macleod also recalls how Berwald supported and nurtured the careers of young musicians, including the pianist Hilda Thegerström and the soprano Christina Nilsson.

Den 4 Juli 1844 (Konung Oscar)
Anne Sofie von Otter, mezzo-soprano
Bengt Forsburg, piano

'By Dark Thoughts Eternally Tormented' - Aria from Estrella di Soria
Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra
Lena Nordin, soprano
Stig Westerberg, conductor

Piano Trio No.1 in E flat major
Bernt Lysell, violin
Ola Karlsson, cello
Lucia Negra, piano

Piano Quintet No.1 in C minor - III. Allegro assai e con spirito
The Gaudier Ensemble
Susan Tomes, piano

'Queen of Golconda' - Overture
Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra
Roy Goodman, conductor.


THU 13:00 Radio 3 Lunchtime Concert (b06s98st)
Danish String Quartet in Scotland

Episode 3

The Danish String Quartet recorded live at the Citadel in Aberdeen, celebrating the 150th anniversary of Danish composer Carl Nielsen. In this third concert from the Scottish tour the Danish String Quartet play an energetic early Quartet by Nielsen and one of the first quartets by his musical idol, Beethoven.

Beethoven: String Quartet No. 1 in F major, Op. 18
Nielsen: String Quartet No. 1 in G minor Op.13

Danish String Quartet
Frederik Øland - violin
Rune Tonsgaard Sørensen - violin
Asbjørn Nørgaard - viola
Fredrik Sjölin - cello

Presenter - Kate Molleson.


THU 14:00 Afternoon Concert (b06s9csy)
Thursday Opera Matinee

Tchaikovsky - The Tsarina's Slippers

With Ian Skelly.

A second chance to hear Tchaikovsky's rarely performed only comic opera, his Christmas story The Tsarina's Slippers (Cherevichki), which was produced at London's Royal Opera House in 2009.

Inspired by one of Nikolai Gogol's most famous short tales, Christmas Eve, the opera is a mix of village comedy and fairy-tale fantasy. The beautiful Oxana will only marry her besotted blacksmith Vakula if he finds the Tsarina's little leather slippers for her. The desperate Vakula finally uses the Devil to help him fulfil his beloved's wish. There is much devilry, mistaken identity, hiding of lovers and drunken villagers along the way. The music ranges from popular dances and Christmas carols to deeply moving lyrical scenes such as Vakula's despairing monologue in Act 3.

14.00
Tchaikovsky: The Tsarina's Slippers (Cherevichki)

Solokha (a witch) ...... Larissa Diadkova (mezzo-soprano)
The Devil ...... Maxim Mikhailov (bass)
Chub (an elderly Cossack) ...... Vladimir Matorin (bass)
Panas (Chub's friend) ...... John Upperton (tenor)
Oxana ...... Olga Guryakova (soprano)
Vakula ...... Vsevolod Grivnov (tenor)
Pan Golova (The Mayor) ...... Alexander Vassiliev (baritone)
The Schoolmaster ...... Vyacheslav Voynarovskiy (tenor)
Wood Goblin ...... Changhan Lim (baritone)
Echo ...... Andrew Macnair (tenor)
His Highness ...... Sergei Leiferkus (bass)
Master of Ceremonies ...... Jeremy White (bass)
Royal Opera Chorus
Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
Alexander Polianichko (conductor).


THU 16:30 Words and Music (b04b2373)
The Kiss

Pippa Nixon and Jonathan Cullen read poems and prose about kisses, from Shakespeare's famous scene in Romeo and Juliet to Fleur Adcock's poem on 'Kissing', and from Herrick's romantic kisses to Sylvia Plath's warning, 'Never try to trick me with a kiss'. There are many types of kisses: the innocent first kisses of a baby, kisses of affection, the first romantic kiss, ritual kisses and the kisses of betrayal.

Music includes Stravinsky's 'The Fairy's Kiss' and Irving Berlin's 'Kiss me Honey'.


THU 17:45 New Generation Artists (b06s9gjt)
Benjamin Appl, Pavel Kolesnikov, Laura Jurd

Clemency Burton-Hill celebrates the music making of the current roster of BBC New Generation Artists. Today, the jazz trumpeter Laura Jurd plays with her band Dinosaur. Also today, the Siberian pianist, Pavel Kolesnikov plays a typically quixotic sonata by CPE Bach and joins the BBC Symphony Orchestra for one of the most famous concertos in the piano repertoire.

Michael Head: The Three Mummers
Benjamin Appl (baritone), James Baillieu (piano)

CPE Bach: Sonata A minor Wq 57/2
Pavel Kolesnikov (piano)

Peter Cornelius: 3 Weihnachtslieder, Op.8
Benjamin Appl (baritone), James Baillieu (piano)

Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No 1 in B flat minor, Op.23
Pavel Kolesnikov (piano), BBC Symphony Orchestra, Giancarlo Guerrero (condcutor)

Laura Jurd: Hardanger
Laura Jurd (trumpet) with Dinosaur.


THU 19:00 BBC Proms 2015 (b06s9glb)
Prom 14: Prokofiev - The piano concertos

The pianists Daniil Trifonov, Sergei Babayan and Alexei Volodin join the LSO and Valery Gergiev to perform the complete Prokofiev Piano Concertos at the BBC Proms.

From the Royal Albert Hall, London
Presented by Tom Service

Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 1 in D flat major
Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor Concerto
Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 3 in C major
Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 4 in B flat major
Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 5 in G major

Daniil Trifonov (piano) (Concertos 1 & 3)
Sergei Babayan (piano) (Concertos 2 & 5)
Alexei Volodin (piano) (Concerto 4)
London Symphony Orchestra
Valery Gergiev conductor

All five Prokofiev piano concertos in one concert - it's a feat conductor Valery Gergiev achieved in 2012 at the Mariinsky and now brings to the Proms, along with three of his original pianists. It's a rare opportunity to hear three international soloists back-to-back, to compare styles and approaches, as well as to explore the composer's later, lesser-known concertos with their newly expressive tenderness. Daniil Trifonov, the prodigious young winner of the Tchaikovsky and Chopin Competitions, shares the bill with his teacher Sergei Babayan, while Alexei Volodin tackles the rarely heard Fourth, commissioned, like Ravel's Piano Concerto for the Left Hand, by the one-armed pianist Paul Wittgenstein.


THU 21:40 BBC Proms 2015 (b06s9hvq)
Prom 68: Bach - Six Cello Suites, Nos 1, 2, 3

Yo-Yo Ma performs the complete solo cello suites by JS Bach at the BBC Proms (Part I)

From the Royal Albert Hall, London
Presented by Tom Service

Bach: Suite No. 1 in G major for solo cello, BWV 1007
Bach: Suite No. 2 in D minor for solo cello, BWV 1008
Bach: Suite No. 3 in C major for solo cello, BWV 1009

Yo-Yo Ma, cello

American cellist Yo-Yo Ma has been a regular Proms soloist for almost 40 years, now tackling perhaps his boldest performance to date. He performed the complete Bach solo cello suites - over two hours of music - in a single concert: a feat as challenging intellectually as it is physically. Though neglected until the 20th century, the suites represent some of Bach's greatest musical achievements - music at its purest and most profound. Ma's relationship with them extends back over many decades and multiple recordings, generating expressive performances distinguished by their depth of emotion. The second part of the concert can be heard tomorrow evening at 9.10pm.


THU 22:45 The Essay (b06s9dh9)
Religion in the North

Christmas Father: Lars Petter Sveen

Lars Petter Sveen Christmas memories of a Christian child growing up in an atheist family. His father wouldn't even allow a star on their Christmas tree, so coming out as a Christian was going to be difficult. Producer: Phil Pegum. Translated by Deborah Dawkin.


THU 23:00 Late Junction (b06s9hvs)
Thursday - Mara Carlyle

Mara Carlyle presents an alternative soundtrack to Christmas Eve, including new music from Anna Meredith, Vic Chesnutt's White Christmas, Weddell Seals recorded by Chris Watson and Icelandic choral music.



FRIDAY 25 DECEMBER 2015

FRI 00:30 Through the Night (b06s97gy)
Christmas carols from Denmark, Romania, Belarus and the UK

Jonathan Swain presents Christmas Carols from Denmark, Romania, Belarus and the UK.

12:31 AM
Warlock, Peter, Carter, Andrew
3 pieces
Polyphony, Stephen Layton

12:41 AM
Nielsen, Carl, arr. Dyrst
Christmas at home; The sky is vast and grim
Fionian Chamber Choir, Alice Granum

12:47 AM
Bartók, Béla)
Romanian Christmas Carols
Wilhem Latchoumia (Piano)

12:58 AM
Trad. Romanian
Three Magi from the East; Down there in Bethlehem; Trei cantece de stea din Dobrogea
Angela Gheorghiu (Soprano), Romanian Madrigal Choir, Romanian National Radio Orchestra, Tiberiu Soare

1:08 AM
Kalistratov, Valery
Szel proszel mesyats
Belarusian Radio Academic Choir, Tatiana Loisha (piano), Pavel Shepelev (Piano)

1:10 AM
Trad. Russian/Trad. Belarusian/Kalistratov, Valery/Kulikovic, Nikola
A uczora z viaczora/Belarusian Christmas Song/Christmas/My Cold Winter
Belarusian Radio Academic Choir, Pavel Shepelev

1:16 AM
Ireland, John
The Holy boy
BBC Concert Orchestra, David Hill

1:19 AM
Byrt, John/Howells, Herbert/Warlock, Peter
All and some (Nowell sing ye)/3 pieces for Christmas/3 Christmas pieces
Polyphony, Stephen Layton

1:45 AM
Leighton, Kenneth
Fantasy on "Veni Emmanuel"
Greg Morris (Organ)

1:51 AM
Samuel-Rosseau, Marcel
Variations Pastorales sur un vieux Noel
Erica Goodman (Harp), Amadeus Ensemble

2:00 AM
Anon. / Praetorius, Michael
I saw a rose spring forth; Resonet in laudibus
Paul Hoxbro (Recorder), Fionian Chamber Choir, Alice Granum

2:07 AM
Hartmann, Johan Peter Emilius/La Cour, Niels/Rung, Henrik
Blooming like a rose garden/Hodie Christus natus est/Chime, you bells
Fionian Chamber Choir, Alice Granum

2:17 AM
Rathbone, Jonathan/Wishart, Peter
Oxen/Alleluya, a new work is come on hand
Polyphony, Stephen Layton

2:23 AM
Leontovych, Mykola/Trad. Belarusian/Atrashkevich, Yelena
Carol of the bells/Heaven and Earth (Belarussin Christmas Song)/O you Winter!/Juraczka
Belarusian Radio Academic Choir, Pavel Shepelev

2:31 AM
Tchaikovsky, Peter Ilyich
Act II of The Nutcracker: ballet
BBC Philharmonic, Vassily Sinaisky

3:13 AM
Kverno, Trond H. F.
Corpus Christi Carol: Missa Fidei Mysterii
Norwegian Soloists' Choir, Grete Helgerod

3:31 AM
Vaughan Williams, Ralph
Fantasia on Christmas Carols
Edward Price (Baritone), BBC Singers, BBC Concert Orchestra, David Hill

3:43 AM
Esterhazy, Pal
Ave, dulcis Virgo
Maria Zadori (Soprano), Capella Savaria, Pal Nemeth

3:47 AM
Chedeville (Le Cadet), Nicolas
Les Saisons Amusantes Part IV (L'Hiver)
Ensemble 1700, Dorothee Oberlinger (Director)

3:56 AM
Berlioz, Hector
Trio des Ismaelites from L'enfance du Christ
Nora Shulman, Virginia Markson (Flutes), Judy Loman (Harp)

4:03 AM
Bach, Johann Sebastian
Sinfonia from Christmas Oratorio (BWV.248)
Norwegian Radio Orchestra, Kjetil Haugsand

4:09 AM
Liszt, Franz
Christus - Pastorale and Herald Angels Sing (extract)
Walter Coppola (Tenor), Franko Tunde (Bass), Hungarian Radio Choir, Hungarian Radio & Television SO, Pesko Zoltan

4:15 AM
Torelli, Giuseppe
Concerto a quattro in forma Pastorale per il Santo Natale (Op.8 No.6)
Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, Jeanne Lamon

4:22 AM
Gesualdo, Carlo
Ave, dulcissima Maria
BBC Singers, Bo Holten

4:26 AM
Praetorius, Michael
In dulci jubilo
Paul Hoxbro (Recorder), Fionian Chamber Choir, Alice Granum

4:31 AM
Bridge, Frank
Sir Roger de Coverley - Christmas dance
BBC Concert Orchestra, David Hill

4:36 AM
Corelli, Arcangelo
Concerto grosso (Op.6 No.8) in G minor 'per la notte di Natale'
Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Roy Goodman)

4:51 AM
Haydn, Michael
Run ye shepherds, to the light
Wolfgang Brunner, Salzburger Hofmusik

5:01 AM
Rachmaninov, Sergei
Bogoroditse Devo
Polyphonia, Ivelin Dimitrov

5:04 AM
Stravinsky, Igor
Ave Maria
Tallinn Boys Choir, Lydia Rahula

5:07 AM
Tchaikovsky, Peter Ilyich
Swan Lake
RTV Slovenia SO, Marko Munih

5:28 AM
Poulenc, Francis
Quatre motets pour le temps de Noel
Talinn Music High School Chamber Choir, Evi Eespere

5:39 AM
Salzedo, Carlos
Concert Variations on "O Tannenbaum"
Judy Loman (Harp)

5:43 AM
Gruber, Franz/Wade, John Francis, arr. Willcocks
Silent Night/O come all ye faithful
Belarusian Radio Academic Choir, Pavel Shepelev

5:49 AM
Braunfels, Walter
The Glass Mountain: suite
BBC Concert Orchestra, Johannes Wildner

6:14 AM
Bach, Johann Sebastian
Gloria in Excelsis Deo (BWV.191)
Ann Monoyios (Soprano), Colin Ainsworth (Tenor), Tafelmusik Chamber Choir, Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, Ivars Taurins.


FRI 06:30 Breakfast (b06sfr5t)
Friday - Petroc Trelawny

Christmas Day Breakfast with Petroc Trelawny, including the winning entry in the Breakfast Carol Competition. Plus your musical requests and suggestions.

Email 3breakfast@bbc.co.uk.


FRI 09:00 Essential Classics (b06sfmct)
Friday - Rob Cowan with John Craven

9am
As part of Radio 3's Northern Lights season Rob has chosen a singer who was known as the 'Swedish Caruso", Jussi Björling. Rob serves up a feast of songs including works by Verdi, Beethoven, Puccini and Grieg. Along the way he showcases Björling's versatility, his dramatic sensibility and his deep connection with Scandinavia.

9.30am
Take part in today's challenge. Two pieces of music are played together - can you work out what they are?

10am
Rob's guest is the original Newsround anchor and Countryfile veteran John Craven. John is remembered by generations of children for his afternoon news bulletins and jazzy jumpers, and nowadays brings his unique brand of welly-wearing journalism to an audience of millions as he chronicles modern rural life in Countryfile. John will be sharing some of his favourite classical music, including wintery scenes from Sibelius and Vivaldi, a very merry rendition of O Come all ye Faithful courtesy of the American tenor and Hollywood star Mario Lanza, and Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto.

10.30am
Rob places Music in Time with Mozart's early Divertimento in E flat K166 - Classical wind music that would have formed the background for an aristocratic soirée.

11am
As part of Radio 3's Northern Lights season, Rob features recordings of major works by leading Nordic composers. Throughout the week Rob explores music from the frozen North, showcasing composers including Stenhammar, Grieg, Kraus and Alfven.

Grieg
Holberg Suite
Academy of St Martin in the Fields
Neville Marriner (conductor).


FRI 12:00 Composer of the Week (b06sq1xc)
Franz Berwald (1796-1868)

Feeling and Reason

Donald Macleod explores Franz Berwald's last years, in which he sees his opera Estrella de Soria staged and is finally admitted as a Fellow of the Swedish Royal Academy of Music.

It was only after his death that Franz Berwald acquired his reputation as Sweden's great symphonist. During his lifetime his music was largely dismissed or ignored. To make ends meet he pursued several other careers alongside composition and proved to have a sharp business mind. He made a living as an early physiotherapist, dabbled in publishing and ran a saw-mill and a glass works. Once, when he was asked if he was a composer his reply was "No, I'm a glassblower".

Both the man and his music were often misunderstood. We now appreciate his musical legacy, particularly his symphonies and opera overtures, his tone poems and his music for violin. But relatively little of his music was performed in his own lifetime - and that which was performed was sometimes badly received and reviewed. Donald Macleod tells the story of a composer whose work was too often neglected in his own lifetime but who was eventually hailed in Sweden as "our most original and modern orchestral composer".

Today Donald explores Berwald's lifelong love of opera. Sadly, it was a largely unrequited love: it took over twenty years for his romantic grand opera Estrella di Soria to be performed. At the time Berwald was running a brick-making factory. He wrote his last opera, the Queen of Golconda with his talented pupil Christina Nilsson in mind for the title role of the beautiful, widowed queen. Sadly, Berwald never saw Nilsson - or indeed anybody else - playing the queen - the opera was never performed in his lifetime.

Although Berwald stuck his contemporaries as arrogant and reserved, underneath the forbidding, haughty exterior there was actually a man of compassion, generosity, even humour. He once said, "Art may be coupled only with a cheerful frame of mind. The weak-willed should have nothing to do with it. Even if interesting for a moment, in the end every sighing artist will bore listeners to death. Therefore: liveliness and energy - feeling and reason"

Overture to Estrella de Soria
Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra
Sten Broman, conductor

Du hatar ej den sorg (You hate not the grief) - Aria from Queen of Golconda
Royal Orchestra Stockholm
Elizabeth Söderström, soprano
Stig Westerberg, conductor

Symphony No. 1 in G minor (Sérieuse) - II. Adagio maestoso
San Francisco Symphony Orchestra
Herbert Blomstedt, conductor

String Quartet in A minor - Finale: Allegro molto
The Frydén String Quartet

Symphony No. 3 in C Major (Singulière) - II. Adagio & III. Finale: Presto
Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra
Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt, conductor.


FRI 13:00 Radio 3 Lunchtime Concert (b06s98sw)
Danish String Quartet in Scotland

Episode 4

The fourth and final lunchtime concert by the Danish String Quartet celebrating the 150th anniversary of Carl Nielsen, recorded live at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in Glasgow. Nielsen's Fourth String Quartet in F major was written around the time of his comic opera Maskarade, and it's full of the same grace and fun. It's followed by music Nielsen would have been familiar with as a boy, playing with his father's village band - Nordic folk tunes. The Danish String Quartet play personal arrangements of these traditional tunes from Denmark, Norway and Sweden.

Nielsen: String Quartet No 4 in F major, Op.44

Nordic Folk Music Selection:
Faroese/Danish trad. arr. Danish String Quartet: 'Ye Honest Bridal Couple/Sonderho Bridal Trilogy'
Norwegian trad. arr. Danish String Quartet: 'Vigstmoin'
Swedish trad. arr. Danish String Quartet: 'Waltz after Lasse in Lyby'
Danish trad. arr. Danish String Quartet: Ribers No. 8 "Sterrands Rand"
Danish trad. arr. Danish String Quartet: 'Five Sheep, Four Goats'
Bosse Nordin arr. Danish String Quartet: 'Bosse Nordin's Schottis'

Danish String Quartet
Rune Tonsgaard Sørensen - violin
Frederik Øland - violin
Asbjørn Nørgaard - viola
Fredrik Sjölin - cello

Presenter - Kate Molleson.


FRI 14:00 A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols (b06s9hzg)
Recorded yesterday from the Chapel of King's College, Cambridge

Hymn: Once in Royal David's City (desc. David Willcocks)
Bidding Prayer read by the Dean
What Sweeter Music? (John Rutter)
First lesson: Genesis 3 vv 8-19 read by a Chorister
This is the truth sent from above (David Willcocks)
Adam Lay Ybounden (Boris Ord)
Second lesson: Genesis 22 vv 15-18 read by a Choral Scholar
Ding, Dong, Merrily on High (David Willcocks)
In Dulci Jubilo (Robert Lucas de Pearsall)
Third lesson: Isaiah 9 vv 2, 6-7 read by a Representative of the Cambridge Churches
Sussex Carol (arr. David Willcocks)
Hymn: It came upon the midnight clear (desc. Stephen Cleobury)
Fourth lesson: Isaiah 11 vv 1-3a, 4a, 6-9 read by a Representative of the City of Cambridge
A Tender Shoot (arr. Otto Goldschmidt)
A Spotless Rose (Philip Ledger)
Fifth lesson: Luke 1 vv 26-38 read by the Master over the Choristers.
The Angel Gabriel from Heaven Came (arr. David Willcocks)
Nova, Nova (John Scott)
Sixth lesson: Luke 2 vv 1 -7 read by the Chaplain
In The Bleak Midwinter (Harold Darke)
Dormi, Jesu (John Rutter)
Seventh lesson: Luke 2 vv 8-16 read by the Director of Music
The Shepherd's Carol (Bob Chilcott)
Hymn: God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen (arr. David Willcocks)
Eighth lesson: Matthew 2 vv 1-12 read by the Vice-Provost
The Flight (Richard Causton - newly commissioned)
Here is the Little Door (Herbert Howells)
Ninth lesson: John 1 vv 1-14 read by the Provost
Hymn: O come, all ye faithful (arr. David Willcocks)
Blessing
Hymn: Hark, the Herald Angels Sing (arr. David Willcocks)

Organ voluntaries:
In dulci jubilo (BWV 729) (Bach)
Sortie on 'In dulci jubilo' (David Briggs) [broadcast on Radio 3 on Christmas Day only]

Director of Music: Stephen Cleobury
Organ Scholar: Tom Etheridge

Producer: Philip Billson

For many around the world, A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, live from the candlelit Chapel of King's College, Cambridge, marks the beginning of Christmas. It is based around nine Bible readings which tell the story of the loving purposes of God. They are interspersed with carols old and new, sung by the world-famous chapel choir who also lead the congregation in traditional Christmas hymns.

Explanatory notes from Director of Music Stephen Cleobury:

"This year's selection has a very strong King's basis. The commissioned carol is from Richard Causton, a Fellow of King's College, and a university lecturer in composition. He has, in turn, commissioned a new text from George Szirtes, which has strong contemporary resonances.

In September we heard the sad news of the death of one of my predecessors here at King's, the legendary Sir David Willcocks. His many carol arrangements and descants are known the world over, and we include a number of these. Near the beginning and the end are pieces by Vaughan Williams and Howells, both composers having been very closely associated with David Willcocks.

Also, during the summer, the world of church and organ music mourned the loss of John Scott, whose setting of Nova, Nova comes after the Annunciation lesson.

We mark the 70th birthday of John Rutter by including two of the carols he has written for King's over the years. Bob Chilcott, 60 this year, is a former chorister and choral scholar of King's, and his commission for the Choir is also programmed.

Carols by Boris Ord, Harold Darke and Philip Ledger also find a place. Ord and Ledger were, respectively, the predecessor and successor of Willcocks, while Darke looked after the Choir during WW2.".


FRI 15:45 Sean Rafferty at Home (b06s9hzj)
Dame Kiri Te Kanawa

In the first of two Christmas and New Year's Day specials, Sean Rafferty visits soprano Dame Kiri Te Kanawa at home in the Sussex countryside to find out about her interests and musical passions.

Famous for her performances on the stages of the major opera houses throughout the world, especially in the works of Mozart and Richard Strauss, in this interview we get to meet the person behind the Countess and the Marschallin, the very private Dame Kiri. She talks about her love for her pet dogs and about her passion for teaching as she now devotes much of her time to passing on a lifetime of experience to young singers through the Kiri Te Kanawa Foundation. Sean discovers her secret love of painting and she demonstrates one of her favourite things - a mechanical musical instrument.


FRI 17:00 Words and Music (b00wlj9g)
Gifts

Sheila Hancock and Scott Handy read poems and prose on the festive theme of giving and receiving gifts. Through the words of writers from Robert Herrick to O. Henry, and from Edward Lear to Walt Whitman, Sheila Hancock and Scott Handy unwrap simple gifts of friendship and lavish gifts of love. They explore the desire of gifts and the rejection of friendships. Music includes Siegfried Idyll by Wagner, which was composed as a birthday present for his wife Cosima, and Colleen's musical boxes.

Producer: Elizabeth Arno.


FRI 18:00 New Generation Artists (b06s9j43)
Olena Tokar, Peter Moore, Beatrice Rana, Danish String Quartet

Clemency Burton-Hill celebrates the music making of the BBC New Generation Artists. Today's programme features two of the youngest members on the current programme; nineteen-year-old trombonist Peter Moore, who last year became the youngest ever member of the London Symphony Orchestra, and the Italian pianist Beatrice Rana who, at 22 years of age has already appeared with some of the world's leading orchestras. She's heard today in Chopin's famous 'Funeral March' sonata.

Kreutzer: Das Muhlrad
Olena Tokar (soprano), Alec Frank-Gemmill (horn)

Jongen: Aria and Polonaise
Peter Moore (trombone), Jonathan Ware (piano)

Chopin: Piano Sonata No. 2 In B flat minor, Op. 35
Beatrice Rana (piano)

Carl Nielsen arr. Rune Tonsgaard Sørensen: Bohemian-Danish folktune
The Danish Quartet

Scriabin: Romance for horn and piano [1890], arr. for cello and piano
Narek Hakhnazaryan (cello), Marianna Shirinyan (piano)

Michael Head: Star Candles; Slumber song of the Madonna
Kitty Whately (mezzo soprano), Gamal Khamis (piano).


FRI 19:00 BBC Proms 2015 (b06ttmln)
Prom 67: Bernstein - Stage and Screen

From the Royal Albert Hall, London
Presented by Katie Derham

Louise Dearman (vocalist)
Lucy Schaufer (mezzo-soprano)
Scarlett Strallen (vocalist)
Julian Ovenden (vocalist)
Maida Vale Singers
John Wilson Orchestra
John Wilson (conductor)

John Wilson and his orchestra are an annual Proms highlight, bringing the glitz and glamour of old-time stage and screen to the Royal Albert Hall. The second of their two performances this year is all about Leonard Bernstein - America's multi-talented conductor, pianist and composer. He reinvented the musical with the anger, energy and feral beauty of West Side Story, his updated take on Romeo and Juliet. A starry cast of soloists including Proms favourite Julian Ovenden and the West End's Louise Dearman join the John Wilson Orchestra and Maida Vale Singers for a tribute to the composer that includes Bernstein's biggest hits as well as a selection of rarities.


FRI 21:10 BBC Proms 2015 (b06s9js7)
Prom 68: Bach - Six Cello Suites Nos 4, 5, 6

Yo-Yo Ma performs the complete solo cello suites by JS Bach at the BBC Proms (Part II)

From the Royal Albert Hall, London
Presented by Tom Service

Bach: Suite No. 4 in E flat major for solo cello, BWV 1010
Bach: Suite No. 5 in C minor for solo cello, BWV 1011
Bach: Suite No. 6 in D major for solo cello, BWV 1012

Yo-Yo Ma, cello

American cellist Yo-Yo Ma has been a regular Proms soloist for almost 40 years, tackling perhaps his boldest performance to date. He performs the complete Bach solo cello suites - over two hours of music - in a single concert: a feat as challenging intellectually as it is physically. Though neglected until the 20th century, the suites represent some of Bach's greatest musical achievements - music at its purest and most profound. Ma's relationship with them extends back over many decades and multiple recordings, generating expressive performances distinguished by their depth of emotion.


FRI 22:45 The Essay (b06s9dhg)
Religion in the North

A Swedish Christmas: Andrew Brown

The religious journalist Andrew Brown spent part of his childhood in Sweden during the 1960s. In the '70s he married a Swedish woman and raised a family there. He remembers how his mother-in-law was dedicated to keeping the Swedish Christmas traditions alive. Producer: Phil Pegum.


FRI 23:00 World on 3 (b06sfp5d)
Womad 2015 Highlights

Episode 2

Lopa Kothari presents the second of two programmes with unheard highlights from this summer's WOMAD, the international festival introducing cultures and music from across the globe. The bands featured tonight include French-Nigerien desert rock trio Ezza, Macedonian Romani brass band Kocani Orkestar, Honduran Garifuna singer-songwriter Aurelio Martinez, and French producer Jerome Ettinger's Egyptian Project, a fusion of electronic dance music and Egyptian traditional styles.