Augustin Hadelich joins Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra to play Lalo's Symphonie espagnole. Presented by Catriona Young.
Augustin Hadelich (violin), Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra, Christian Vasquez (conductor)
Concerto for horn and orchestra (C. 38) in D minor
Radek Baborák (french horn), Prague Chamber Orchestra, Antonín Hradil (conductor)
Missa brevis (... tempore belli)
Pécsi Kamarakórus, Alice Komároni (soprano), Anikó Kopjár (soloist), István Ella (organ), Aurél Tillai (conductor), Éva Nagy (soloist), Ágnes Tumpekné Kuti (soprano), Tímea Tillai (soloist), János Szerekován (soloist), Jószef Moldvay (soloist)
Maria Sanner (contralto), Bolette Roed (recorder), Frederik From (violin), Hager Hanana (cello), Komalé Akakpo (psalter), Joanna Boslak-Górniok (organ)
Joanne Kolomyjec (soprano), Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, Mario Bernardi (conductor)
Balcony Scene from the ballet suite Romeo and Juliet arr. Borisovsky
Clare Wilkinson (mezzo soprano), Musica Antiqua of London, John Bryam (viole), Alison Crum (viole), Roy Marks (viole), Philip Thorby (viole), Philip Thorby (director)
Australian String Quartet, William Hennessy (violin), Douglas Weiland (violin), Keith Crellin (viola), Janis Laurs (cello)
Georgia Mann presents Radio 3's classical breakfast show, featuring listener requests.
Donald Macleod explores the music, and what little is known of the life, of Baroque master Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber. Today, Biber’s best-known work – his Mystery, or Rosary, Sonatas.
Unpublished during his lifetime and unknown outside of a small circle at the Salzburg court, for more than two centuries Biber’s Rosary Sonatas existed in a single source – a mistake-peppered presentation copy which appears to have passed through the hands of a succession of private collectors before being deposited, eventually, in the Bavarian State Library in Munich. The sonatas – there are fifteen of them, organised in three groups of five – describe events in the lives of the Virgin Mary and Jesus, starting with The Annunciation and culminating in The Coronation of the Virgin. Heard as a complete cycle, they take the listener on an emotional journey of extraordinary range and intensity, whose rich and varied palette of colours Biber summons up by means of a technique called scordatura – literally, ‘mis-tuning’. From the second sonata on, Biber deliberately mis-tunes the violin in 14 different ways, resulting in subtly different tone-colours and allowing the performer to play combinations of notes that would be impossible on a normally-tuned instrument. The collection ends with a Passacaglia for unaccompanied violin that while returning to the standard tuning in which it opened, brings the cycle to a transcendent conclusion.
Sonata 1 in D minor: The Annunciation (The Rosary Sonatas: The Five Joyful Mysteries)
Sonata 2 in A major: The Visitation (The Rosary Sonatas: The Five Joyful Mysteries)
Sonata 6 in C minor: The Agony in the Garden (The Rosary Sonatas: The Five Sorrowful Mysteries)
Sonata 10 in G minor: The Crucifixion (The Rosary Sonatas: The Five Sorrowful Mysteries)
Sonata 14 in D major, The Assumption of the Virgin (The Rosary Sonatas: The Five Sorrowful Mysteries)
The first of four concerts inspired by the collaboration between three composers and friends - Robert Schumann, his pupil Albert Dietrich and the young Johannes Brahms. Together they composed a violin sonata in tribute of Joseph Joachim. In this concert, the Amatis Piano Trio perform the seldom heard piano trio by Albert Dietrich plus the second of Brahms' two piano trios.
A week of great performances by the BBC Philharmonic. Today, another all-English programme: music by Vaughan Williams and Elgar both recorded earlier this month in Bilbao.
Rec. March 2 2019 in Bilbao, Spain
Rec. October 9 2011 at MediaCityUK, Salford
Rec. March 2 2019 in Bilbao, Spain
Rec. March 3 2017 at the Victoria Hall, Hanley
BBC Philharmonic / John Storgards / Gillian Keith (soprano) / Mark Stone (baritone)
Katie Derham presents a lively mix of music, conversation and arts news, with live performance in the studio by cellist Andrei Ionita, and we hear from conductor Xian Zhang.
In Tune's specially curated playlist: an eclectic mix of music, featuring favourites, lesser-known gems, and a few surprises. The perfect way to usher in your evening.
From the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester.
Having fled across the Atlantic to escape in Nazi Europe, Martinů marked the defeat of his persecutors in 1945 with his Fourth Symphony. In this joyous and powerful work we hear military sounds but also snatches of Czech folk song. The following year, in Los Angeles, Stravinsky finished his ballet 'Orpheus' which received its premiere in New York in 1948. Choreographed by Balanchine the music is translucent, lyrical and restrained; the dreadful moment when Orpheus turns back to see Eurydice is powerfully marked - by silence. Andrei Ionită joins the orchestra for another work which marks the loss of a loved-one. Fifty years before Stravinsky and Martinů made America their home a home-sick Dvorak was teaching in New York. His Cello Concerto is infused with a powerful longing for his homeland, and for his sister-in-law Josefina; she had a particular fondness for one of his songs which appears in the slow movement. When she died a few years later, he revised the piece in homage to her.
As Pinter's play returns to the West End, Philip Dodd explores the idea of betrayal.
Tom Hiddleston stars alongside Zawe Ashton and Charlie Cox in a revival of Harold Pinter's play from 1978 which runs for 12 weeks from March 5th 2019.
The orchid family has the largest number of species of any flowering plant and has existed for over 120 million years. There are more species of orchid than all species of mammals and birds combined. Orchids have culinary, medicinal, artistic, historical and literary stories galore. This astonishingly huge floral family has surprises galore in this essay. Many orchids do not photosynthesise, instead obtaining food from fungi that live inside their aerial roots. Orchids thrive on every continent including the Arctic. Many orchids adapt to very specific insects, such as the bee orchid, which attracts only male honey bees and whose existence depends on those insects thriving too. Others closely mimic the faces of specific animals, including the owl orchid and the monkey orchid. They can do this because orchids have bilateral symmetry, as do human faces, unlike many flowers which have universal symmetry. Orchids produce the world's favourite flavour ... vanilla, which comes from the pod of the orchid Vanilla planifolia. The genus Orchis comes from an Ancient Greek word meaning "testicle" because of the shape of the bulbous roots. The name "orchid" was not introduced until 1845.
A second series of these very popular flower essays written and presented by Fiona Stafford, Professor of Literature at Somerville College Oxford. Following her three much-praised series The Meaning of Trees and the first series of The Meaning of Flowers, Fiona explores the symbolism, importance, topicality and surprises of five more of the UK's most loved flowers. Across the series of essays, our ambiguous relationship with flowers is explored.
Verity Sharp kicks off another week of sonic exploration with music about emotion. Tonight it’s all about joy.
New releases come courtesy of Québécois producer Jean Cousin, working under the new moniker Joni Void, who has been inspired by ‘mise en abyme’ - the act of placing a copy of the work within itself. And the musical roots of Greece and Armenia are united with Moog synths by Kolida Babo.
Elsewhere on the programme, Irish brothers Ye Vagabonds sing the Hare’s Lament, The Meridian Brothers evoke the spirit of 70s salsa columbiana, and virtuoso viola da gamba player Paolo Pandolfo improvises on an ancient ground bass.
Produced by Freya Hellier.
WEDNESDAY 27 MARCH 2019
WED 00:30 Through the Night (m0003rrx)
Arcadia String Quartet
Music from Romania, Russian and Hungary by Sabin Pautza, Borodin and Bartok. Catriona Young presents.
12:31 AM
Sabin Pautza (b. 1943)
String Quartet No. 4 ('Ludus Modalis')
Arcadia String Quartet
12:57 AM
Alexander Borodin (1833-1887)
String Quartet No. 2 in D
Arcadia String Quartet
01:26 AM
Béla Bartók (1881-1945)
String Quartet No. 6, Sz. 114
Arcadia String Quartet
01:56 AM
Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
Symphony No.1 in B flat major (Op.38) 'Spring'
Orchestre Nationale de France, Heinz Wallberg (conductor)
02:31 AM
Sergey Rachmaninov (1873-1943), Konstantin Balmont (author)
The Bells (Kolokola) for soloists, chorus and orchestra (Op.35)
Pavel Kourchoumov (tenor), Roumiana Bareva (soprano), Stoyan Popov (baritone), Sons de la mer Mixed Choir, Bulgarian National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Vassil Stefanov (conductor)
03:09 AM
Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Piano Sonata in A major, D.959
Shai Wosner (piano)
03:50 AM
Carl Nielsen (1865-1931)
Overture to the opera 'Maskarade'
BBC Symphony Orchestra, Sakari Oramo (conductor)
03:55 AM
Alessandro Stradella (1639-1682)
Fulmini quanto sa for voice and accompaniment
Emma Kirkby (soprano), David Thomas (bass), Alan Wilson (harpsichord), Jakob Lindberg (lute), Anthony Rooley (lute)
04:00 AM
Fredrik Pacius (1809-1891)
Overture for Large Orchestra
Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Kari Tikka (conductor)
04:07 AM
Dario Castello (fl.1621-1629)
Sonata XII, a due soprani e trombone
Musica Fiata Köln
04:15 AM
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Andante in F (K616)
Andreas Borregaard (accordion)
04:22 AM
Jean Sibelius (1865-1957)
Suite Champetre Op 98b
Danish Radio Concert Orchestra, Hannu Koivula (conductor)
04:31 AM
Juliusz Zarebski (1854-1885)
Polonaise triomphale in A major, Op 11
Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Pawel Przytocki (conductor)
04:40 AM
Fryderyk Chopin (1810-1849)
Ballade for piano no. 1 (Op.23) in G minor
Zbigniew Raubo (piano)
04:49 AM
Heinrich Schütz (1585-1672)
2 sacred pieces - Spes mea, Christe Deus; Wie lieblich sind deine Wohnungen
Kölner Kammerchor, Collegium Cartusianum, Peter Neumann (conductor)
05:00 AM
Francesco Durante (1684-1755)
Concerto for harpsichord and string orchestra in B flat major
Gerald Hambitzer (harpsichord), Concerto Koln
05:10 AM
Fanny Mendelssohn (1805-1847)
Excerpts from Songs Without Words, Op 6 (1846)
Sylviane Deferne (piano)
05:20 AM
Carlos Salzédo (1885-1961)
Variations sur un theme dans le style ancien, Op 30
Mojca Zlobko (harp)
05:31 AM
Carl Maria von Weber (1786-1826)
Symphony No 1, in C major, Op 19
Norwegian Radio Orchestra, Ari Rasilainen (conductor)
05:55 AM
Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767)
Concerto in D major for flute, 2 violins, viola and continuo
Musica Antiqua Koln
06:07 AM
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Piano trio op.11 in B flat major, 'Gassenhauer-Trio'
Arcadia Trio
WED 06:30 Breakfast (m0003rs6)
Wednesday - Georgia’s classical commute
Georgia Mann presents Radio 3's classical breakfast show, featuring listener requests.
Email 3breakfast@bbc.co.uk
WED 09:00 Essential Classics (m0003rsb)
Ian Skelly
Ian Skelly with Essential Classics - the best in classical music.
0930 Your ideas for companion pieces on the Essential Classics playlist.
1010 Time Traveller – a quirky slice of history.
1050 Cultural inspirations from composer Dobrinka Tabakova.
1130 Slow Moment - time to take a break for a moment's musical reflection
WED 12:00 Composer of the Week (m0003rsg)
Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber (1644-1704)
He who Endures, Wins
Donald Macleod explores the music, and what little is known of the life, of Baroque master Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber. Today, Biber’s music for church and stage.
Biber is known to posterity primarily as a composer for the violin, yet much of his time in Salzburg was spent in the production of ecclesiastical and theatrical music. Of his stage works, including at least three operas and fifteen ‘school dramas’, only one has survived, his opera Arminio, or Chi la dura la vince – ‘He who endures, wins’. Its score has certainly endured, but the opera, despite many fine moments, is rarely heard nowadays. Many of Biber’s masterly sacred works were composed with the cavernous spaces of Salzburg Cathedral in mind, and make full use of the spatial possibilities afforded by that monumental building.
Arminio, or Chi la dura la vince: Act I, Scene 1 (extract)
Salzburger Hofmusik
Wolfgang Brunner, conductor
Psalmi de B. M. Virgine, from Vesperae longiores ac breviores, 1693: Dixit dominus; Laudate pueri; Laetatus sum; Nisi Dominus; Lauda Jerusalem; Magnificat.
Cantus Cölln
Konrad Junghänel, conductor
Arminio, or Chi la dura la vince: Act I, Scene 7)
Gotthold Schwarz, baritone (Arminio)
Salzburger Hofmusik
Wolfgang Brunner, conductor
Arminio, or Chi la dura la vince: Act II, Scene 10 (extract)
Barbara Schlick, soprano (Giulia)
Salzburger Hofmusik
Wolfgang Brunner, conductor
Arminio, or Chi la dura la vince: Act III, Scene 9
Gerd Kenda, bass (Tiberio)
Hermann Oswald, tenor (Germanico)
Markus Forster, alto (Vitellio)
Florian Mehltretter, bass (Seiano)
Salzburger Hofmusik
Wolfgang Brunner, conductor
Litaniae Sancto Josepho
Cantus Cölln
Concerto Palatino
Konrad Junghänel, conductor
Producer: Chris Barstow for BBC Wales
WED 13:00 Radio 3 Lunchtime Concert (m0003rsl)
Schumann's Gift
New Generation Artist and Russian violinist Aleksey Semenenko plays the FAE sonata written by three friends, Schumann, his pupil Dietrich and Brahms as a gift for Joseph Joachim plus other works for violin.
Schumann/Brahms/Dietrich: F.A.E. Sonata for Violin and Piano
Schumann: Three Romances for Violin and Piano Op 22
Brahms: Sonata for Violin and Piano No 2 in A major op 100
Aleksey Semenenko, violin
Inna Firsova, piano
WED 14:00 Afternoon Concert (m0003rsq)
Live music with the BBC Philharmonic
Bantock The Sea Reivers
Sally Beamish Piano Concerto No 2 ‘Cauldron of the Speckled Seas’
Sibelius Symphony No 7
BBC Philharmonic / Rory Macdonald / Martin Roscoe (piano)
from MediaCityUK, Salford
Martinů Dream of the past
BBC Philharmonic / John Storgards
Rec. March 22 2019 at Royal Concert Hall, Nottingham
WED 15:30 Choral Evensong (m0003rsv)
Salisbury Cathedral
Live from Salisbury Cathedral.
Introit: Remember not, Lord, our offences (Purcell)
Responses: Tomkins
Psalms 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131 (Cutler, Goss, Goss, Jones, Walford Davies, Rogers)
First Lesson: Genesis 9 vv.8-17
Office hymn: Drop, drop, slow tears (Song 46)
Canticles: Second Service (Gibbons)
Second Lesson: 1 Peter 3 vv.18-22
Anthem: Let mine eyes run down with tears (Purcell)
Hymn: God moves in a mysterious way (London New)
Voluntary: Fantasia in A minor (Byrd)
David Halls (Director of Music)
John Challenger (Assistant Director of Music)
WED 16:30 New Generation Artists (m0003rsz)
Elisabeth Brauss plays Schumann's Kinderszenen
BBC New Generation Artists: Elisabeth Brauss plays Schumann's Kinderszenen.
The young German pianist brings her pure touch to a series of miniatures which capture his memories of childhood.
Svante Henryson [b.1963] Black run for cello solo
Andrei Ionita (cello)
Schumann Kinderszenen Op. 15
Elisabeth Brauss (piano)
WED 17:00 In Tune (m0003rt3)
Vikki Stone
Katie Derham presents a lively mix of music, conversation and arts news. We hear from comedian Vikki Stone.
WED 19:00 In Tune Mixtape (m0003rt7)
Stormy Weather
In Tune's specially curated playlist: an eclectic mix of music, featuring favourites, lesser-known gems, and a few surprises. The perfect way to usher in your evening.
WED 19:30 Radio 3 in Concert (m0003rtb)
Music of love and anxiety
Vasily Petrenko conducts the London Philharmonic Orchestra in Tchaikovsky, Khachaturian and Walton.
Live from the Royal Festival Hall, London.
Prsented by Martin Handley
Khachaturian: Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia
Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1
8.15: Interval
Walton: Symphony No. 1
George Li, piano
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Vasily Petrenko, conductor
William Walton was the original angry young composer, and his First Symphony is a cry of rage from an age of anxiety, a controlled explosion of anger, ardour and shattering power. There’s no possible way to follow it, so guest conductor Vasily Petrenko looks back to his childhood in the USSR, and starts the concert with the no-holds-barred romance of Khachaturian’s famous Adagio. And pianist George Li, a medallist in the 2015 Tchaikovsky International Piano Competition in Moscow, joins them in Tchaikovsky’s hugely popular First Piano Concerto.
WED 22:00 Free Thinking (m0003rtd)
Whatever happened to Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais?
The writers of TV sitcoms The Likely Lads, Porridge and Auf Wiedersehen, Pet talk to Matthew Sweet. As a restoration of the film version of The Likely Lads is released, Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais discuss the discovery of two missing episodes from the original BBC series that had been lost for over 50 years.
Producer: Craig Smith
WED 22:45 The Essay (b09c08zd)
The Meaning of Flowers - Series 2
Daffodils
Richly present in art, mythology, national claims and literary works, but daffodil surprises include it not being Welsh! They are Iberian in origin and very toxic. They flourish so well in early spring because almost nothing (except a few insects) can eat them due to poisonous crystals (especially toxic to dogs). Daffodil sap is also toxic, especially to other flowers. Don't mix cut daffodils with other flowers unless the daffodils have been soaking in water for 24 hours. Recutting the stems will re-release the toxin. Despite this, the Romans used daffodil sap for its special healing powers.
Poultry keepers used to ban daffodils in their homes, as they believed it would stop their hens from laying eggs. Scientists have discovered narciclasine, a natural compound in daffodil bulbs, which is believed to be therapeutic in treating brain cancer.
The ancient Romans cultivated daffodils extensively, but they then became a forgotten flower until the 1600s. In 1629, a few Englishmen decided the daffodil was no longer a weed, starting its rehabilitation as a garden favourite after a millennium and a half. The Daffodil Data Bank contains over 13,000 daffodil and narcissus hybrids ranging in colour from yellow to orange, white, lime-green and pink.
To Victorians, daffodils represented chivalry, today they represent hope and nationalism. In Wales, spotting the first daffodil of the season means your next 12 months will be filled with wealth.
A second series of these very popular flower essays written and presented by Fiona Stafford, Professor of Literature at Somerville College Oxford. Following her three much-praised series The Meaning of Trees and the first series of The Meaning of Flowers, Fiona explores the symbolism, importance, topicality and surprises of five more of the UK's most loved flowers. Across the series of essays, our ambiguous relationship with flowers is explored.
Producer - Turan Ali
A Bona Broadcasting production for BBC Radio 3.
WED 23:00 Late Junction (m0003rtg)
100 years of the Bauhaus
As the final touches are put on the new Bauhaus Museum in Weimar, Verity Sharp marks the centenary of the art school founded by Walter Gropius.
She plays new music by Detroit hip hop producer Quelle Chris, and by Rozi Plain, who conceived her album in an old dentist’s studio, an RAF base in Suffolk and whilst playing bass on tour with This Is The Kit.
There are also tracks by Indian classical musician Mohi Bahauddin who plays the rudra veena, and composer Dobrinka Tabakova.
Produced by Freya Hellier.
A Reduced Listening production for BBC Radio 3.
THURSDAY 28 MARCH 2019
THU 00:30 Through the Night (m0003rtj)
Mahler in Monte-Carlo
Mahler's Symphony No 2 from the Monte-Carlo Philharmonic and conductor Mark Wigglesworth. Catriona Young presents.
12:31 AM
Gustav Mahler (1860-1911)
Symphony no 2 in C minor ('Resurrection')
Malin Hartelius (soprano), Nathalie Stutzmann (contralto), Berlin Radio Chorus, Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra, Mark Wigglesworth (conductor)
01:53 AM
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Suite for solo Cello No.3 in C major (BWV.1009)
Guy Fouquet (cello)
02:18 AM
Alessandro Marcello (1673-1747)
Concerto in D minor for oboe and strings
Maja Kojc (oboe), RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra, Pavle Dešpalj (conductor)
02:31 AM
Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)
Miroirs
Martina Filjak (piano)
03:04 AM
Hector Berlioz (1803-1869)
Les nuits d'ete (Op.7) (Six songs on poems by Theophile Gautier)
Randi Steene (mezzo soprano), Norwegian Radio Orchestra, Bernhard Gueller (conductor)
03:34 AM
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
3 Lieder, arr. for cello and piano
Sol Gabetta (cello), Bertrand Chamayou (piano)
03:42 AM
Grażyna Bacewicz (1909-1969)
Folk sketches for small orchestral ensemble (1948)
Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Jan Krenz (conductor)
03:47 AM
Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904)
Slavonic dance no 10 in E minor for piano duet, Op 72 no 2
James Anagnason (piano), Leslie Kinton (piano)
03:53 AM
Alexander Konstantinovich Glazunov (1865-1936)
Reverie for horn and piano in D flat major (Op.24)
Mindaugas Gecevicius (horn), Ala Bendoraitiene (piano)
03:56 AM
Carl Friedrich Abel (1723-1787)
Symphony in A major, K 24 (Op 10 No 6)
La Stagione Frankfurt, Michael Schneider (conductor)
04:09 AM
Carl Maria von Weber (1786-1826)
2 Arias: 'Wie nahte mir der Schlummer' and 'Leise, Leise, fromme Weise'
Joanne Kolomyjec (soprano), Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, Mario Bernardi (conductor)
04:18 AM
Friedrich Kuhlau (1786-1832)
Trylleharpen (The Magic Harp), Op 27
Danish Radio Concert Orchestra, Roman Zeilinger (conductor)
04:31 AM
Adam Jarzebski (1590-1649)
Venite Exsultemus - concerto a 2
Bruce Dickey (cornetto), Alberto Grazzi (bassoon), Michael Fentross (theorbo), Jacques Ogg (organ)
04:37 AM
Orlande de Lassus (1532-1594)
3 motets: Jubilate Deo; Io ti voria; Tristis est anima mea
Netherlands Chamber Choir, Paul van Nevel (conductor)
04:43 AM
Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
Arabeske for piano Op 18 in C major
Angela Cheng (piano)
04:50 AM
Marjan Mozetich (b.1948)
"Postcards from the Sky" for string orchestra (1997)
CBC Vancouver Orchestra, Mario Bernardi (conductor)
05:03 AM
Benjamin Britten (1913-1976)
6 Metamorphoses after Ovid
Owen Dennis (oboe)
05:17 AM
Francis Poulenc (1899-1963)
Concerto in D minor for 2 pianos and orchestra
Lutoslawski Piano Duo (soloist), Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Jerzy Maksymiuk (conductor)
05:36 AM
Joel Martinson (b.1960)
Aria on a Chaconne for organ
Jan Bokszczanin (organ)
05:41 AM
Johann Ernst Bach (1722-1777)
Ode on 77th Psalm 'Das Vertrauen der Christen auf Gott'
Barbara Schlick (soprano), Martina Lins (soprano), Christoph Pregardien (tenor), Stephen Varcoe (bass baritone), Rheinische Kantorei, Das Kleine Konzert, Hermann Max (conductor)
05:58 AM
Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)
Cello Concerto in D major (H.7b.2)
Alexandra Gutu (cello), Romanian Radio Chamber Orchestra, Radu Zvoriszeanu (conductor)
06:24 AM
George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)
Lascia la spina - from Il Trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno
Anna Reinhold (mezzo soprano), Les Ambassadeurs, Alexis Kossenko (director)
THU 06:30 Breakfast (m0003rtl)
Thursday - Georgia’s classical rise and shine
Georgia Mann presents Radio 3's classical breakfast show, featuring listener requests.
Email 3breakfast@bbc.co.uk
THU 09:00 Essential Classics (m0003rtn)
Ian Skelly
Ian Skelly with Essential Classics - the best in classical music.
0930 Your ideas for companion pieces on the Essential Classics playlist.
1010 Time Traveller – a quirky slice of history.
1050 Cultural inspirations from composer Dobrinka Tabakova.
1130 Slow Moment - time to take a break for a moment's musical reflection
THU 12:00 Composer of the Week (m0003rtq)
Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber (1644-1704)
Preserved in Print
Donald Macleod explores the music, and what little is known of the life, of Baroque master Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber. Today, the five remarkable printed collections of instrumental music that spread Biber’s name across Europe.
That music in the Western Classical tradition has enjoyed, by and large, a relatively good survival rate, is down to the fact that unlike improvised music, it has a system of notation that allows it to be written down. Even so, much music from the past has been lost – a prime example being Bach’s cantatas, of which it’s been estimated that around 40 percent have gone missing in action. That’s because they existed only in manuscript – often just in a single copy, which could easily be inadvertently mislaid, damaged or destroyed. The manuscript score of Biber’s great Missa Salisburgensis, which is the focus of tomorrow’s programme, nearly ended up as wrapping paper in a Salzburg grocer’s shop; if a local choirmaster hadn’t happened to be dropping by for some groceries at just the right moment, the huge – that’s to say, 82 by 57 cm! – folios of Biber’s magnum opus might very well have been split up and dispersed among dozens of peckish customers, bundled around their Bratwurst, Pumpernickel and Apfelkuchen. The odds of survival are immeasurably lengthened for music that gets into print, ensuring a wide distribution of multiple copies. Only six collections of Biber’s music appeared in print during his lifetime, five of them instrumental; so it was his instrumental music, and particularly his music for violin, that formed the basis of his reputation, both among his contemporaries and for many years after his death.
Sonata No 11 in A (Sonatae tam Aris, quam Aulis servientes)
Freiburger Barockorchester Consort
Partita No 3 in A minor (Mensa sonoris, seu Musica instrumentalis)
Purcell Quartet
Sonata No 3 in F (Sonatae violino solo)
Monica Huggett, violin
Sonnerie
Sonata No 12 in A major (Fidicinium sacro-profanum)
Ars Antiqua Austria
Gunar Letzbor, violin 1 and direction
Partita No 1 in D minor (Harmonia artificioso-ariosa)
Rebel
Producer: Chris Barstow for BBC Wales
THU 13:00 Radio 3 Lunchtime Concert (m0003rts)
Schumann in love
Romanian cellist and Radio 3 New Generation Artist Andrei Ionita and pianist Florian Mitrea team up for a programme of friends Schumann and Brahms for this most romantic of all instruments.
Schumann: Romanzen for cello and piano Op 94
Schumann: Fünf Stücke im Volkston Op 102
Brahms: Cello Sonata No 1
Andrei Ionita (cello)
Florian Mitrea (piano)
THU 14:00 Afternoon Concert (m0003rtv)
Romeo and Juliet by Niccolo Vaccai
Giulietta e Romeo by Nicola Vaccai
From the Festival della Valle d'Itria
Now known mainly as an exceptionally gifted singing teacher Niccola Vaccai was also a prolific composer of some 16 operas. He was born into a family of doctors in 1790 and was on a career journey towards practising Law when he found his real vocation of music. Bravely, he managed to shake off the family expectations of a 'respectable' career and followed his dream of becoming a composer. At the same time as establishing his composing career he also became a much sought after singing teacher. In the early nineteenth century Vaccai studied with the great Paisiello in Naples.
This afternoon's Opera Matinee is Romeo and Juliet, based on the Shakespeare play. It's really his masterpiece. After a career in which he found success in Venice, Naples, Rome and even London, Vaccai was in the end completely overshadowed and outclassed by Bellini and his works have sunk into obscurity. This charming opera abounds with music instantly recognised as in the Italian style.
This recording was made at the festival of the Itria Valley in the Puglia region of Italy.
Capellio..... Leonardo Cortellazzi (tenor)
Giulietta.....Leonor Bonilla (soprano)
Romeo.....Raffaella Lupinacci (contralto)
Adele.....Paoletta Marrocu (soprano)
Tebaldo.....Vasa Stajkic (bass)
Frate Lorenzo.....Christian Senn (bass)
Orchestra Accademia Teatro alla Scala
Sesto Quatrini.....(conductor)
THU 17:00 In Tune (m0003rtx)
Katie Derham presents a lively mix of music, conversation and arts news.
THU 19:00 In Tune Mixtape (m0003rtz)
In Tune's specially curated playlist: an eclectic mix of music, featuring favourites, lesser-known gems, and a few surprises. The perfect way to usher in your evening.
THU 19:30 Radio 3 in Concert (m0003rv1)
Concierto de Aranjuez
Live from Aberystwyth Arts Centre
Presented by Nicola Heywood Thomas
Coming live from the first stop of their bi-annual tour of Wales, Kensho Watanabe conducts the BBC National Orchestra of Wales in a program of two Russian classics, book-ending an ever-popular Spanish landmark of the guitar repertoire, Joaquin Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez, featuring New Generation Artist Thibaut Garcia as the soloist. The overture to Borodin's Prince Igor opens the concert, a work which was almost certainly composed not by Borodin, but by Glazunov after Borodin's untimely death, but based on Borodin's themes and sketches. It manages to show both composers in a favourable light—Borodin for his dazzling themes, and Glazunov for his iridescent orchestration. To close the concert, Tchaikovsky's 5th Symphony, a work which the composer struggled with and which many believe to be a work coming to terms with the secret homosexuality which he took to the grave.
Borodin: Prince Igor (Overture)
Rodrigo: Concierto de Aranjuez
8.10 Interval music
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No 5 in E minor, Op 64
Thibaut Garcia (guitar)
BBC National Orchestra of Wales
Kensho Watanabe (conductor)
THU 22:00 Free Thinking (b0b1q0xc)
Charms: Madeline Miller; Zoe Gilbert; Kirsty Logan
Each generation creates its own myths and in Free Thinking, Eleanor Rosamund Barraclough talks to three writers Madeline Miller, Zoe Gilbert and Kirsty Logan, whose novels and stories spring bright and fresh from a compost of classical legend and British folk stories.
Madeline Miller, the American writer who re-created Achilles for the 21st century, now turns her attention to Circe, nymph, lowest-of-the-low goddess or witch, who possesses a unique sympathy for humanity.
Zoe Gilbert's obsession with folk stories where strange things happen and no-one asks why has led her to create a new island replete with a population of selkies and hares, water bulls and human happiness and tragedy.
Kirsty Logan's novel of The Gloaming, takes us to an island somewhere-sometime-never off the West Coast of Scotland where turning to stone and the mermaid life are all part and parcel of daily existence. Together they discuss the enduring nature of certain kinds of stories, why they still matter and so often enjoy a surge in popularity at times of social stress and confusion.
Madeline Miller: Circe is out now in papberback.
Zoe Gilbert: Folk is out now in paperback
Kirsty Logan: The Gloaming is out in paperback in April 2019.
You might also be interested in the Free Thinking discussion Is British Culture Getting Weirder ? https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p072nvvj
Enchantment, Witches and Woodland https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p06p9w81
And the Radio 3 Sunday Feature Into The Eerie https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p07276tl
Producer: Jacqueline Smith.
THU 22:45 The Essay (b09c09k4)
The Meaning of Flowers - Series 2
Lavender
Lavender is put to more uses than probably any other flower and is used worldwide. It is in the mint family and is a herb. It was introduced to Britain 2000 years ago from France and used medicinally ever since, especially as a headache remedy, to treat indigestion and gas. Lavender oil treats many medical complaints, including burns and wounds, and was used in hospitals as a disinfectant and for pain relief during the First World War. Lavender-scented soaps and creams provide a relaxing sensation, because they help "ease an overworked nervous system" and there is a scientific basis to the calming smell, as essential lavender oil has sedative effects.
16th-century England used masses of lavender to scent laundry and toilets, and, to ward off bedbugs, it was routinely sewn into sheets.
During the Black Plague, in London, lavender oil and alcohol were taken as a way to ward off the disease. Bunches of lavender were sold in the streets to ease the smell of the dead and dying. Bees love lavender for chemical reasons, and it's a good source of pollen and nectar for honey.
Lavender is a very trendy modern culinary ingredient used in hipster establishments in smoothies, cakes, tea, pasta, risotto and salads.
A second series of these very popular flower essays written and presented by Fiona Stafford, Professor of Literature at Somerville College Oxford. Following her three much-praised series The Meaning of Trees and the first series of The Meaning of Flowers, Fiona explores the symbolism, importance, topicality and surprises of five more of the UK's most loved flowers. Across the series of essays, our ambiguous relationship with flowers is explored.
Producer - Turan Ali
A Bona Broadcasting production for BBC Radio 3.
THU 23:00 Late Junction (m0003rv3)
Memento mori in music
Music to remember, console and celebrate with Verity Sharp.
Alex Rex (Alex Neilson from the Trembling Bells) explores the grief he experienced in the aftermath of this brother’s death in his new album Otterburn. Verity previews a track from his album and examines the role that music plays in coping with loss and longing with lamentations from the 16th century and Eastern Europe.
Also on the programme; Radiohead reworked for choir and the latest work by Bristol producer Vessel, a.k.a. Sebastian Gainsborough.
Produced by Freya Hellier.
A Reduced Listening production for BBC Radio 3.
FRIDAY 29 MARCH 2019
FRI 00:30 Through the Night (m0003rv5)
Messiaen the Synaesthete
Piano music as a response to hearing colour. Olivier Messiaen's works performed by Alberto Rosado. Catriona Young presents.
12:31 AM
Olivier Messiaen (1908-1992)
Preludes
Alberto Rosado (piano)
01:04 AM
Olivier Messiaen (1908-1992)
Excerpts from 'Vingt Regards sur l'enfant-Jésus'
Alberto Rosado (piano)
01:56 AM
Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky (1839-1881)
Pictures from an Exhibition
Sofia Symphony Orchestra, Ivan Marinov (conductor)
02:31 AM
Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767)
Suite in E minor
Barbara Jane Gilby (violin), Imogen Lidgett (violin), Douglas Mackie (flute), Jane Dickie (flute), Sue-Ellen Paulsen (cello), Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, Geoffrey Lancaster (conductor), Geoffrey Lancaster (harpsichord)
03:04 AM
Toivo Kuula (1883-1918)
South Ostrobothnian Suite No 1 Op 9
Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Jorma Panula (conductor)
03:29 AM
Béla Bartók (1881-1945)
Hungarian Sketches
Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra, Zóltan Kocsis (conductor)
03:40 AM
George Frideric Handel (1685-1759), Johan Halvorsen (arranger)
Passacaglia in G minor arr. Halvorsen for violin and cello
Dong-Ho An (violin), Hee-Song Song (cello)
03:49 AM
Pierre Max Dubois (1930-1995)
Quartet for flutes
Valentinas Kazlauskas (flute), Lina Baublyté (flute), Albertas Stupakas (flute), Giedrius Gelgotas (flute)
03:57 AM
Louis Vierne (1870-1937)
Clair de lune - No 5 from Pieces de fantaisie: suite for organ No 2 Op 53
Stanislas Deriemaeker (organ)
04:08 AM
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714-1788)
Sinfonia in D major Wq.183 No 1
Slovenicum Chamber Orchestra
04:19 AM
Paul Hindemith (1895-1963)
Sonata for Piano No 2
Bruno Lukk (piano)
04:31 AM
Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Overture in D major, D556
Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Saarbrücken, Marcello Viotti (conductor)
04:39 AM
Fryderyk Chopin (1810-1849)
Fantasie in F minor Op 49
Xaver Scharwenka (piano)
04:52 AM
Johann Joachim Quantz (1697-1773)
Trio Sonata in E flat major
Atrium Musicium Chamber Ensemble
04:59 AM
Henryk Mikołaj Górecki (1933-2010)
Ad Matrem (Do Matki) for soprano, choir and orchestra Op 29
Bo_ena Harasimowicz-Haas (soprano), Warsaw Philharmonic Choir, National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Henryk Wojnarowski (choirmaster), Wojciech Michniewski (conductor)
05:11 AM
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Horn concerto No 3 in E flat major, K.447
James Sommerville (horn), CBC Vancouver Orchestra, Mario Bernardi (conductor)
05:27 AM
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908)
The tale of Tsar Saltan - suite Op 57
Queensland Symphony Orchestra, Vladimir Verbitsky (conductor)
05:49 AM
Julius Röntgen (1855-1932)
Violin Sonata in F sharp minor Op 20 (1879-1883)
Alexander Kerr (violin), Sepp Grotenhuis (piano)
06:09 AM
Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)
Concerto No 2 in D major H.7b.2 for cello and orchestra
France Springuel (cello), Antoni Ros-Marbà (conductor), Netherlands Radio Chamber Orchestra
FRI 06:30 Breakfast (m0003rrz)
Friday - Georgia’s classical alternative
Georgia Mann presents Radio 3's classical breakfast show, featuring listener requests and the Friday poem.
Email 3breakfast@bbc.co.uk
FRI 09:00 Essential Classics (m0003rs1)
Ian Skelly
Ian Skelly with Essential Classics - the best in classical music.
0930 Your ideas for companion pieces on the Essential Classics playlist.
1010 Time Traveller – a quirky slice of history.
1050 Cultural inspirations from composer Dobrinka Tabakova.
1130 Slow Moment - time to take a break for a moment's musical reflection
FRI 12:00 Composer of the Week (m0003rs3)
Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber (1644-1704)
A Grand Day Out
Donald Macleod explores the music, and what little is known of the life, of Baroque master Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber. Today, the focus is on Biber’s magnificent Salzburg Mass.
For many years after its score turned up in a Salzburg grocer’s, the Missa Salisburgensis wasn’t regarded as a work by Biber. The scholars of the Salzburg Mozarteum, to whom the choirmaster who made the momentous discovery took the score for identification, attributed it to one Orazio Benevoli and dated it to 1628, when, it was supposed, the mass was performed at a service for the consecration of the new Salzburg Cathedral. It was not until the 1970s that the attribution to Benevoli was contested, when it was spotted that the watermarks on the score’s paper placed it much later in the century. Further musicological detective-work followed, and nowadays most scholars concur that the Missa Salisburgensis is without doubt the work of Biber, and that it was composed for the service that marked the high-point of a grand eight-day festival not in 1628 but in 1682, when the city celebrated the 1100th anniversary of the founding of the diocese of Salzburg. Our performance was recorded in the monumental space where it was first heard – that of Salzburg Cathedral, rebuilt to its original design after a single Allied bomb destroyed its colossal dome in 1944.
Balletti a 6 (1. Sonata)
Clemencic Consort
René Clemencic, director
Missa Salisburgensis (Kyrie, Gloria)
The Amsterdam Baroque Choir and Orchestra
Ton Koopman, conductor
Sonata a 7
Jaap ter Linden, cello
Albert Rasi, Michele Zeoli, violone
Stephen Keavy, Jonathan Impett, Michael Harrison, Robert Vanryne, David Hendry, Mark Bennet, trumpet
Martin Ansink, timpani
Ton Koopman, conductor
Missa Salisburgensis (Credo)
The Amsterdam Baroque Choir and Orchestra
Ton Koopman, conductor
Sonata Sancti Polycarpi
Jaap ter Linden, cello
Albert Rasi, Michele Zeoli, violone
Stephen Keavy, Jonathan Impett, Michael Harrison, William O’Sullivan, Robert Vanryne, David Hendry, Simon Gabriel, Mark Bennet, trumpet
Martin Ansink, timpani
Ton Koopman, conductor
Missa Salisburgensis (Sanctus, Agnus Dei)
The Amsterdam Baroque Choir and Orchestra
Ton Koopman, conductor
Producer: Chris Barstow for BBC Wales
FRI 13:00 Radio 3 Lunchtime Concert (m0003rs7)
Romantic songs by Schumann and Brahms
Eqyptian soprano and Radio 3 New Generation Artist Fatma Said joins pianist Joseph Middleton and sings love songs by Schumann and Brahms of the German Romantic school.
Schumann: Seven Songs Op 90
Brahms: Immer leiser wird mein Schlummer; Lerchengesang; Nicht mehr zu dir zu gehen; Oh wüsst ich doch den Weg zurück; Sapphische Ode; Verzagen; Schwesterlein; Es schauen die Blumen
FRI 14:00 Afternoon Concert (m0003rsc)
BBC Philharmonic
Concluding a week of great performances by the BBC Philharmonic. Today's concert features music by Elgar (Sevillana and Cockaigne Overture) and Walton (Viola Concerto).
Presented by Tom McKinney
Elgar Sevillana
Walton Viola Concerto
Elgar Overture, Cockaigne
BBC Philharmonic / Juanjo Mena
Rec. March 3 2019 in Bilbao, Spain
Montsalvatge Partita
BBC Philharmonic / Juanjo Mena
Britten Violin Concerto
BBC Philharmonic / Edward Gardner / Tasmin Little (violin)
Scott Symphony No 4
BBC Philharmonic / Martyn Brabbins
Bax Symphony No 7
BBC Philharmonic / Vernon Handley
FRI 17:00 In Tune (m0003rsh)
Free Thinking festival at the Sage, Gateshead
As part of the Free Thinking festival, Katie Derham broadcasts live from Sage Gateshead with music by Kathryn Tickell, the Consone Quartet and the NASUWT Riverside Brass Band.
FRI 19:00 In Tune Mixtape (m0003rsm)
In Tune's specially curated playlist: an eclectic mix of music, featuring favourites, lesser-known gems, and a few surprises. The perfect way to usher in your evening.
FRI 19:30 Radio 3 in Concert (m0003rsr)
Cathedral of Sound
Bruckner's expansive and, in his own words, cheeky, Sixth Symphony live from Radio 3's Free Thinking Festival, performed by Royal Northern Sinfonia under Thomas Zehetmair.
Programme:
Mozart Violin Concerto No.3
Bruckner Symphony No.6
Royal Northern Sinfonia
Thomas Zehetmair (conductor/violin)
Presented by Elizabeth Alker.
FRI 22:00 Free Thinking (m0003rsw)
Feelings, and feelings, and feelings.
Historian of emotions Professor Thomas Dixon explains how looking to the past can help us understand our feelings in the present.
Many of us still remember the images of Paul Gascoigne crying at the 1990 World Cup, Mrs Thatcher’s red eyes on leaving Downing Street, and the national mourning for Princess Diana. Over twenty years later, the tide of tears shows no sign of receding. From public inquiries to primetime TV, the Premier League to Prime Minister’s Questions, emotions seem to be everywhere in public life. With a cool head and some much-needed historical perspective, Professor Thomas Dixon opens the Free Thinking festival 2019 by showing that our emotions themselves have a history.
In recent decades, some scientists have claimed there are just five or six ‘basic emotions’, but the category of ‘emotions’ did not exist until the nineteenth century, and history reveals a much richer picture of passions, affections, and sentiments. Ranging from revolutionary feelings and the sentimental tales of Charles Dickens to the poetic rage of Audre Lorde, Thomas Dixon paints a historical panorama of emotions and ends by asking what we can learn from our ancestors about the value of stoical restraint. The lecture will be followed by an interview conducted by Matthew Sweet and questions from the Free Thinking Festival audience at Sage Gateshead.
Thomas Dixon was the first director of Queen Mary University of London's Centre for the History of the Emotions, the first of its kind in the UK. He is currently researching anger and has explored the histories of friendship, tears, and the British stiff upper lip in books Weeping Britannia: Portrait of a Nation in Tears and The Invention of Altruism: Making Moral Meanings in Victorian Britain.
Producer: Debbie Kilbride
FRI 23:00 Music Planet (m0003rt0)
Kathryn Tickell at Free Thinking
Kathryn Tickell presents a special episode from Free Thinking at Sage Gateshead exploring the emotional power of music and song from different global cultures. With live music from Teesside folk trio The Young'uns, who use the sea shanty and work song traditions of the North East to tell real human stories, Senegalese Kora player Senny Camara and blues guitarist Ramon Goose delve into the soul and emotion of West African blues, and Olcay Bayir sings the emotional Kurdish and Turkish folk songs of her youth.