RADIO-LISTS: BBC RADIO 3
Unofficial Weekly Listings for BBC Radio 3 — supported by bbc.co.uk/programmes/
SATURDAY 23 NOVEMBER 2024
SAT 00:30 Through the Night (m0024xvb)
Satie, Dutilleux and Saint-Saëns
Alexander Humala conducts the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Katowice, with soloists Marc Coppey and Thomas Ospital. Jonathan Swain presents.
12:31 AM
Erik Satie (1866-1925), orch. Claude Debussy
Gymnopédies no 1 and no 3
Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Katowice, Alexander Humala (conductor)
12:37 AM
Henri Dutilleux (1916-2013)
Tout un monde lointain, cello concerto
Marc Coppey (cello), Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Katowice, Alexander Humala (conductor)
01:06 AM
Camille Saint-Saens (1835-1921)
Symphony no 3 in C minor, Op 78 'Organ'
Thomas Ospital (organ), Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Katowice, Alexander Humala (conductor)
01:46 AM
Fryderyk Chopin (1810-1849)
Piano Sonata no 3 in B minor, Op 58
Marc-Andre Hamelin (piano)
02:17 AM
Luigi Boccherini (1743-1805)
La Musica Notturna delle strade di Madrid, Quintet Op 30 no 6
Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Wojciech Rajski (conductor)
02:31 AM
Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643)
Vespro della Beata Vergine (excerpts)
Elisabetta Tiso (soprano), Monica Piccinini (soprano), Lia Serafini (soprano), Carlos Mena (counter tenor), Lambert Climent (tenor), Lluis Vilamajo (tenor), Francesc Garrigosa (tenor), Furio Zanasi (baritone), Antonio Abete (bass), Hesperion XXI, Daniele Carnovich (bass), Jordi Savall (conductor), La Capella Reial de Catalunya
02:50 AM
Edvard Grieg (1843-1907)
Holberg Suite, Op 40
Norwegian Chamber Orchestra, Terje Tonnesen (conductor)
03:09 AM
Sergey Prokofiev (1891-1953)
Piano Sonata no 7 in B flat major, Op 83
Jan Simandl (piano)
03:28 AM
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Fest-und Gedenkspruche for 8 voices, Op 109
Danish National Radio Choir, Stefan Parkman (conductor)
03:38 AM
Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck (1562-1621)
Mein Junges Leben hat ein End (variations)
Geert Bierling (organ)
03:46 AM
Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767)
Concerto a 5
Christian Schneider (oboe d'amore), Erik Niord Larsen (oboe d'amore), Kjell Arne Jorgensen (violin), Miranda Playfair (violin), Dan Styffe (bass), Hans Knut Sveen (harpsichord)
03:56 AM
Ivan Zajc (1832-1914)
Eva and Zrinski's duet from the opera 'Nikola Subic Zrinski' (1876)
Mirella Toic (soprano), Ratomir Kliskic (baritone), Croatian Radio-Television Symphony Orchestra, Pavle Despalj (conductor)
04:05 AM
Uuno Klami (1900-1961)
Overture: Nummisuutarit (The Cobblers on the Heath)
Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Jukka-Pekka Saraste (conductor)
04:13 AM
Johann Schenck (1660-c.1712)
Sonata in F sharp minor, Op 9 no 3
Berliner Konzert
04:31 AM
Francois Couperin (1668-1733)
La Francoise, Trio Sonata from 'Les Nations'
Les Ambassadeurs, Alexis Kossenko (director)
05:08 AM
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Rondo in A minor, K.511
Geoffrey Lancaster (pianoforte)
04:50 AM
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Coriolan overture, Op 62
Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Arvid Engegard (conductor)
04:57 AM
Francesco Maria Veracini (1690-1768)
Sonata in F major for Violin and Continuo, Op 1 no 12
Gottfried von der Goltz (violin), Lee Santana (theorbo), Torsten Johann (harpsichord)
05:16 AM
Franz Liszt (1811-1886)
Hungarian Rhapsody no 2 for piano in C sharp minor, S.244 no 2
Jeno Jando (piano)
05:27 AM
Traditional Hungarian
17th Century Dances
Csaba Nagy (tarogato), Peter Ella (harpsichord)
05:34 AM
Pancho Vladigerov (1899-1978)
Divertimento
Bulgarian National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Georgi Dimitrov (conductor)
05:52 AM
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714-1788)
Minuet 1 and 2 in F major; Fantasia in D minor
Wim Diepenhorst (organ)
06:11 AM
Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)
Violin Concerto in G major, Hob.VIIa:4
Stefano Barneschi (violin), Il Giardino Armonico, Giovanni Antonini (director)
SAT 06:30 Breakfast (m002539g)
Start your weekend the Radio 3 way, with Saturday Breakfast
Join Emma Clarke to wake up the day with a selection of the finest classical music.
To listen on most smart speakers, just say: "Ask BBC Sounds to play Breakfast."
SAT 09:00 Saturday Morning (m002539j)
Tom talks to rising star soprano Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha
Tom Service is joined by a rising star of the opera world, the soprano Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha. Tom also talks to Michael Downes about his new book on the creation of Wagner's Ring. Plus Tom plays the best classical music from his favourite recordings to new releases, and discusses discuss the annual report of UK Music with its CEO, Tom Kiehl.
10.10am
The rising star of the opera world, Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha, talks to Tom about how she is developing her voice and working from operatic stages and singing oratorios to performing with pop stars back in her homeland, South Africa. She talks to Tom about the place of Verdi’s Requiem in her life, singing Mendelssohn’s Elijah, and she introduces a beautiful South African lullaby, Thula Thula, from her forthcoming debut album.
09.45am
Tom enters the brand new virtual space of the BBC Philharmonic where 2000 participants across the world will be able to join their live Sound of Gaming concert later today. He dives into his computer to explore the new virtual world with BBC Research and Development lead, Fiona Rivera.
11.10am
Tom talks live to Tom Kiehl, who is the CEO of UK Music, to discuss the findings of their annual report, This is Music 2024, and specifically to discuss the call to ensure that every child and young person across the UK has access to free music making.
11.25am
Tom talks to Michael Downes about his new book, Story of the Century: Wagner and the Creation of the Ring. It’s an intriguing tale about how Wagner created a story that in turn created new stories both musically and politically, beyond the theatre walls of Bayreuth.
SAT 12:00 Earlier... with Jools Holland (m002539l)
Jools with some of his most-loved recordings
In a new show for Saturday lunchtimes, Jools shares his lifelong passion for classical music, and the beautiful connections with jazz and blues. With fascinating guests each week, who bring their own favourite music and occasionally perform live in Jools's studio.
Today, Jools's choices include music by Franz Schubert, Carl Friedrich Abel and Arthur Crudup, with performances by the baritone Matthias Goerne, Ensemble Signal and guitarist Django Reinhardt. Jools's guest is guitarist and composer Robin Katz who introduces a track from his new EP 'Oceans for Eros' and shares music he loves by Erik Satie, Piero Umiliani and Gustav Mahler.
To listen on most smart speakers just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Earlier with Jools Holland".
SAT 13:00 Music Matters (m002539n)
A View From The Organ Loft
6. Royal Albert Hall, London
Anna is in home territory visiting one of the organs she knows best - that of the Royal Albert Hall in London. It may be the second largest organ in the UK, but that’s not why Anna loves it. Instead, she is amazed by the atmosphere of the hall and how easy it is to play an instrument of that size. As well as recordings made on that organ, Anna also shares music by Joseph Haydn and Eric Coates that’s inspired by London, some of her favourite film soundtracks, and pieces she associates with the BBC Proms. We also hear from Daniel Spencer, Managing Director of Bishop & Son Organ Builders, who tells us how impressive a feat of engineering the instrument was when it was first built.
Plus, Anna’s recording of the piece she gets asked to play the most, featuring bass drum and tubular bells…
A Tandem Production for BBC Radio 3
SAT 14:00 Record Review (m002539q)
Mozart's Symphony no.40 in G minor, in Building a Library with Nicholas Kenyon & Andrew McGregor
Andrew McGregor with the best new recordings of classical music.
1405
Lucy Parham shares her choices of the latest classical releases.
1500
Building a Library
Mozart's Symphony no.40 in G minor K.550 with Nicholas Kenyon
Mozart's G minor Symphony is one of his most powerful and popular works. He worked on the symphony in 1788 when during a period of just a few weeks he also finished the mighty 39th and 41st symphonies. The work has taken people in very different ways. The composer, Robert Schumann, for instance thought it possessed "Grecian lightness and grace", others have seen it as a work of passion, violence, and grief, and some people are struck by the the witty, conversational style also found in Mozart's great operas.
Recommended version:
NDR Radiophilharmonie
Andrew Manze
Pentatone PTC5186757
1545
Record of the Week: Andrew’s top pick.
To listen on most smart speakers just say “ask BBC Sounds to play Record Review”
SAT 16:00 Sound of Gaming (m002539s)
On air, online and in concert with the BBC Philharmonic
A chance to experience a live video gaming concert like no other!
Using ground-breaking new technology developed by the BBC exclusively for Radio 3, Sound of Gaming brings the live concert straight into the World of Gaming with a virtual, live concert.
Hosted by Elle Osili-Wood, we look forward to welcoming not only an audience listening live on Radio 3 and in the BBC Philharmonic studios but ALSO those attending as avatars!
For information on how to take part in the live concert online, please visit the BBC Philharmonic website.
Online listeners will have the chance not only to listen to the concert and interact with other avatars and gaming music fans around the UK in the virtual BBC Philharmonic concert hall, but also learn more about the fascinating world of the orchestra and the instruments that plays those huge soundtracks from gaming world itself: music such as Gareth Coker's Ori and the Will of the Wisps, Brian Tyler's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Jessica Curry's Dear Esther and Inon Zur's Starfield Medley.
Join world-renowned conductor and gaming composer Eimear Noone and the BBC Philharmonic orchestra in this interactive live musical spectacular. Who knows, you might even bump into some people you know backstage in exclusive interview room pods!
And if that weren’t enough - remember you can even listen to this on most smart speakers! Just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Sound of Gaming".
SAT 17:00 This Classical Life (m002539v)
Jess Gillam with... Sasha Cooke
Jess Gillam is joined by Grammy Award-winning mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke to share some of the tracks they love and chat all things music. Between them they share Reynaldo Hahn's A Chloris, Martin Fröst's unique take on Scarlatti, Rachmaninoff in the hands of Martha Argerich, plus the forces of nature that are Colin Stetson and Beyoncé.
SAT 18:00 Opera on 3 (m002539x)
Beethoven's Fidelio
Beethoven's Fidelio from The Royal Ballet and Opera, with Jennifer Davis as Leonore, Eric Cutler as Florestan and Alexander Soddy conducting.
Beethoven wrote his only opera at a time of Europe-wide upheaval amid the turmoil and fall-out of the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars. And in Fidelio he addresses some of his life-long pre-occupations: Freedom, Love and Liberty are at its heart with music of almost vertiginous contrast. The opera's ambition may have been unprecedented in terms of the scope of its ideas, but at its heart lies the most touching of love stories, as Leonore, disguised as the young man 'Fidelio', embarks on a daring mission to rescue her husband, who has been wrongly imprisoned. After sneaking into the jail as a male prison guard, the jailer’s daughter falls in love with her and, as time begins to run out - and Fidelio’s hidden identity is discovered - her own fate and that of Florestan, her husband are put in sudden peril.
Presented by Martin Handley in conversation with Laura Tunbridge, author of Beethoven: A Life in Nine Pieces.
Beethoven: Fidelio
Leonore, Florestan's wife, disguised as Fidelio, a young man ..... Jennifer Davis (soprano)
Florestan ..... Eric Cutler (tenor)
Rocco, Warden of the Prison ..... Peter Rose (bass)
Marzelline, Rocco's daughter ..... Christina Gansch (soprano)
Jaquino, a prison gatekeeper ..... Michael Gibson (tenor)
Don Pizarro, Military governor of the prison ..... Jochen Schmeckenbecher (baritone)
Don Fernando, Minister ..... Phillip Rhodes (baritone)
First Prisoner ..... Siphe Kwani (baritone)
Second Prisoner ..... Eugene Dillon-Hooper (tenor)
Royal Opera Chorus
Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
Alexander Soddy (conductor)
SAT 21:30 Music Planet (m002539z)
The Joy in session
Lopa Khotari explores the rich musical traditions of South Africa with a special live session from the Zulu a cappella quintet The Joy, fresh off their European tour following the release of a self-titled debut album earlier this year.
Originally from a small town just outside of Durban in South Africa, Pastor (Ntokozo Bright Magcaba), Duzie (Melokuhle Mkhungo), Guduza (Sphelele Hlophe), Sthombe (Phelelani Sithole) and Marcus (Sanele Ngcobo) met at high school after entering a singing competition. They soon decided to start a project together, and over the past three years as The Joy they have brought their music to some of the world’s biggest festival stages, including Coachella and Glastonbury. Elsewhere in the show, more South Africa sounds courtesy of The Brother Moves On and Hugh Masekela as well as a protest song against apartheid recorded in 1959 at the African National Congress.
To listen on most smart speakers, just say: “Ask BBC Sounds to play Music Planet.”
Produced by Silvia Malnati
A Reduced Listening production for BBC Radio 3
SAT 22:30 New Music Show (m00253b1)
Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival (1/4): Ghost Trance Music
Kate Molleson presents live from this year's Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, the first of four programmes from this long-running key event in the new music world. Tonight we hear a live performance of Anthony Braxton's Composition 284 - part of the composer's Ghost Trance Music system - by guitarist Kobe Van Cauwenberghe and turntablist Mariam Rezai. Also tonight, the eight trumpets of the Monochrome Project perform a new work by one of this year's featured composers, Wadada Leo Smith, keyboardist Zubin Kanga plays the dazzling music of Alex Paxton, and Tom Service explores Yrttitarha, one of the multimedia installations at the festival, an interactive herb garden from Finnish artist Tytti Arola.
SUNDAY 24 NOVEMBER 2024
SUN 00:30 Through the Night (m00253b3)
Sparkling Baroque from Zurich Opera House
The Scintilla Orchestra conducted by Riccardo Minasi presents a programme of playful, witty and charming Italian and German music from the 17th century. Jonathan Swain presents.
12:31 AM
Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber (1644-1704)
Battalia
La Scintilla Orchestra, Riccardo Minasi (conductor)
12:41 AM
Giovanni Battista Buonamente (1595-1642)
Sonata seconda a 3
La Scintilla Orchestra, Riccardo Minasi (conductor)
12:48 AM
Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber (1644-1704)
Nachtwächter - Serenade
La Scintilla Orchestra, Riccardo Minasi (conductor)
12:57 AM
Dario Castello (1602-1631)
Sonata decimaquinta
La Scintilla Orchestra, Riccardo Minasi (conductor)
01:03 AM
Johann Pachelbel (1653-1706)
Canon and Gigue
La Scintilla Orchestra, Riccardo Minasi (conductor)
01:08 AM
Johann Heinrich Schmelzer (c.1620-1680)
Die Fechtschule
La Scintilla Orchestra, Riccardo Minasi (conductor)
01:16 AM
Tarquinio Merula (1595-1665)
Ballo detto Pollicio
La Scintilla Orchestra, Riccardo Minasi (conductor)
01:19 AM
Johannes Hieronymous Kapsberger
Corrente quinta
La Scintilla Orchestra, Riccardo Minasi (conductor)
01:23 AM
Biagio Marini (c.1594-1663)
Passacaglia a quattro
La Scintilla Orchestra, Riccardo Minasi (conductor)
01:31AM
Biagio Marini (c.1594-1663)
Aria a 3 'La Soranza'
La Scintilla Orchestra, Riccardo Minasi (conductor)
01:32 AM
Carlo Farina (c.1604-1639)
Capriccio stravagante
La Scintilla Orchestra, Riccardo Minasi (conductor)
01:49 AM
Johann Heinrich Schmelzer (c.1620-1680)
Vesperae sollennes
Gradus ad Parnassum, Concerto Palatino, Choral scholars from Wiener Hofburgkapelle, Konrad Junghanel (director)
02:11 AM
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Piano Sonata in F major, K 332 (2nd mvt Adagio)
Henri Sigfridsson (piano)
02:17 AM
Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber (1644-1704)
Sonata in C minor for violin and bass continuo
Salzburger Hofmusik, Wolfgang Brunner (director)
02:31 AM
Leo Weiner (1885-1960)
Serenade for small orchestra in F minor, Op 3
Hungarian Radio Orchestra, Miklos Erdelyi (conductor)
02:53 AM
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Jesu meine Freude, BWV.227
Vox Luminis, Lionel Meunier (director)
03:16 AM
Dimitar Nenov (1901-1953)
Theme with variations
Mario Angelov (piano)
03:32 AM
John Tavener (1944-2013)
Funeral Ikos (The Greek funeral sentences) for chorus
Norwegian Soloists' Choir, Grete Helgerod (conductor)
03:38 AM
Josef Suk (1874-1935)
Meditation on an old Czech hymn St Wenceslas Op 35a
Signum Quartet
03:45 AM
Sergey Rachmaninov (1873-1943)
Symphonic Dance no 1 , Op 45
Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Andrew Litton (conductor)
03:57 AM
Domenico Pellegrini (17th century), Alessandro Piccinini (1566-c.1638)
Courante per la X (Pellegrini); Chiaccona in partite variate (Piccinini)
United Continuo Ensemble
04:03 AM
Mieczyslaw Karlowicz (1876-1909)
Smutna opowiesc (Preludia do wiecznosci), Op 13
National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Andrzej Straszynski (conductor)
04:14 AM
Cipriano de Rore [1516-1565]
"Qualhor rivolgo"
Consort of Musicke, Anthony Rooley (director)
04:20 AM
Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Andantino from Piano Sonata in A major, D.959
David Huang (piano)
04:31 AM
Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868)
Overture from La Gazza Ladra (The Thieving Magpie)
Netherlands Radio Symphony Orchestra, Kenneth Montgomery (conductor)
04:31 AM
Traditional Hungarian
18th Century Dances for recorder and ensemble
Csaba Nagy (recorder), Camerata Hungarica, Laszlo Czidra (conductor)
04:47 AM
Kaspar Forster (1616-1673)
Et cum ingressus esset Jesu, KBPJ.16
Kai Wessel (counter tenor), Krzysztof Szmyt (tenor), Grzegorz Zychowicz (bass), Il Tempo Baroque Ensemble
04:53 AM
Fryderyk Chopin (1810-1849)
Scherzo no 2 in B flat minor, Op 31
Valerie Tryon (piano)
05:03 AM
Camille Saint-Saens (1835-1921)
Introduction and rondo capriccioso for violin and orchestra, Op 28
Moshe Hammer (violin), Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, Kazuhiro Koizumi (conductor)
05:12 AM
Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767)
Sonata for oboe and continuo in B flat major (Essercizii Musici, 1739-40)
Camerata Koln
05:25 AM
Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)
String Quartet in G minor, Op 74 no 3, 'Rider'
Ebene Quartet
05:46 AM
Jacobus Gallus Carniolus (1550-1591)
Missa super Adesto dolori meo a 5, SQM III/9
Madrigal Quintett Brno, Roman Valek (director)
06:08 AM
Jean Sibelius (1865-1957)
Symphony no 7 in C major, Op 105
BBC Symphony Orchestra, Osmo Vanska (conductor)
SUN 06:30 Breakfast (m00253bw)
Start your Sunday the Radio 3 way with Tom McKinney
Tom McKinney with perfectly paced music to start the day - and for anyone who might be up and about mixing and steaming their Christmas puddings on today's 'Stir-Up Sunday'...
To get in touch with Tom, email 3breakfast@bbc.co.uk
And to listen on most smart speakers, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Breakfast."
SUN 09:00 Sunday Morning (m00253by)
Your perfect Sunday soundtrack
Sarah Walker with three hours of classical music to reflect, restore and refresh.
Today Sarah’s choices include uplifting music from Bach, Brahms and Borodin, lyrical melodies from Schubert, Mozart and Grieg, as well as a smoky and sensual tango by Astor Piazzolla. Something to enjoy over a nice cup of coffee.
There’s also stirring new music from harpist Catrin Finch with Irish fiddle player Aoife Ni Bhriain and Trio Mediaeval sing a traditional Norwegian song about reckless and youthful days.
Plus, Tchaikovsky dreams of winter…
A Tandem Production for BBC Radio 3
SUN 12:00 Private Passions (m00253c0)
Lola Young, Baroness Young of Hornsey
Lola Young, Baroness Young of Hornsey, grew up in care, and when she left school, she worked first for the gas board, then as a social worker and as an actor on stage and television. The idea that she would one day sit in the House of Lords never crossed her mind.
When she was in her early 30s she decided to study for a degree. That led to a PhD, academic posts and eventually a Professorship in Cultural Studies at Middlesex University. She entered the House of Lords as a crossbench peer 20 years ago, where she has campaigned for change in areas such as modern slavery and fast fashion. She recently wrote a memoir called Eight Weeks, in which she pieces together her upbringing, drawing on care records and her own reflections on her childhood.
Her music choices include works by Ravel, Errolyn Wallen, Philip Glass and Puccini.
Presenter Michael Berkeley
Producer Clare Walker
SUN 13:30 Music Map (m00253c2)
A journey to Britten's Hymn to St Cecilia
Embark on a voyage of musical connections, each piece a port-of-call.
Destination: a place of choral beauty - Britten's Hymn to St. Cecilia.
Your tour guide: Sara Mohr-Pietsch.
SUN 15:00 Choral Evensong (m0024xbz)
Salisbury Cathedral
Recorded last Wednesday at Salisbury Cathedral.
Introit: Behold, the tabernacle of God (Harris)
Responses: Smith
Psalm 104 (Goss, Russell, Turle, Attwood)
First Lesson: Zechariah 8 vv1-13
Canticles: Westminster Service (Howells)
Second Lesson: Mark 13 vv3-8
Anthem: Blessed city, heavenly Salem (Bairstow)
Voluntary: Rhapsody No 1 in D flat major (Howells)
David Halls (Director of Music)
John Challenger (Assistant Director of Music)
To listen on most smart speakers, just say: "Ask BBC Sounds to play Choral Evensong."
SUN 16:00 Jazz Record Requests (m00253c4)
Herbie Flowers - Sister Rosetta Tharpe - Sonny Rollins - Sarah Dowling
Alyn Shipton presents jazz records of all styles as requested by you including music featuring bassist Herbie Flowers, saxophonist Sonny Rollins and singers Sister Rosetta Tharpe & Sarah Dowling. Get in touch: jrr@bbc.co.uk or use #jazzrecordrequests on social.
To listen on most smart speakers just say “ask BBC Sounds to play Jazz Record Requests.”
SUN 17:00 The Early Music Show (m000sycn)
The Anna Amalias
Hannah French explores the colourful lives and little-known music of two 18th-century German princess-composers, both related to Frederick the Great... and both called Anna Amalia!
SUN 18:00 Words and Music (m0010nx6)
Mushrooms
A foraging trip is the scene of a failed marriage proposal in Anna Karenina, wild mushrooms form the key ingredient in a Meera Sodha meal, they inform the psychedelic experiments of Timothy Leary. Alice in Wonderland encountered the caterpillar, composer John Cage became interested in them, musing on the idea of playing Beethoven making a mushroom more edible. These are some of the readings in today's programme exploring fungi, with music from a range of composers including Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite, which Disney used for a scene with dancing mushrooms in Fantasia; Anna von Hausswolff's Theatre of Nature; a pygmy song for gathering mushrooms from the Bayaka people and Dvorak's evocation of a Bohemian forest. Our readers are Youssef Kerkour and Verity Henry.
Producer: Ewa Norman
READINGS:
The mushroom is the Elf of Plants Emily Dickinson
Mushrooms Roger Phillips
Surfacing Margaret Attwood
Mycelium Kathie Fiveash
Anna Karenina Tolstoy
Fresh India mushroom and pea kheema Meera Sodha
Journey to the Centre of the Earth Jules Verne
The Tempest William Shakespeare
Fun guy: is that Toad from Mario's head or is he wearing a hat? Keza MacDonald
Alice in Wonderland Lewis Carroll
L S D Timothy Leary
Entangled Life Merlin Sheldrake
When is a mushroom not a mushroom? Rodney Bennett
Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District Nikolai Leskov
The Sensitive Plant Percy Bysshe Shelley
Music Lovers' Field Companion John Cage
Mushrooms Sylvia Plath
You can find a Free Thinking discussion called Fungi: An Alien Encounter hearing from Merlin Sheldrake, in which Matthew Sweet cooks up some mushrooms for his guests available to download as an Arts and Ideas podcast
SUN 19:15 Sunday Feature (m00253c7)
Wolf Hall - the Music
The composer Debbie Wiseman created the score for the first BBC television series of Wolf Hall and she’s just completed work on the second part of the story, The Mirror and the Light.
She has allowed us to record every part of that remarkable process – from the very first experiments with phrases and themes in her home studio to discussions with series director Peter Kosminsky in ‘spotting sessions’ to match music and pictures. Along the way she has developed specific, subtle themes for the main characters and, most importantly, provided a soundtrack that reflects the mood of each scene and, vitally, the inner turmoils of Thomas Cromwell himself.
It's impossible to calculate the importance of this music – until you watch the series with actors and actuality but no soundtrack. It’s noticeably flat and lacks the engagement that a great drama such as Wolf Hall offers.
Finally we see Debbie in the huge studio with her small orchestra of world class musicians and singer as she conducts and records the soundtrack.
We hear from Damian Lewis, who plays Henry VIII and, like the King, no mean musician himself. And from Claire van Kampen, the early music specialist, who arranges and oversees the in-vision music at the Tudor Court.
Produced by Victoria Ferran
A Just Radio Production for BBC Radio 3
SUN 20:00 Drama on 3 (m001g40k)
Venice Preserved
by Thomas Otway
A political thriller about power, revolution, sex and betrayal.
The government of Venice is corrupt and self-serving.
A group of rebels prepare for revolution.
A married couple are forced to choose between their love for each other and the future of the state.
Jaffier ..... Sandy Grierson
Pierre ..... Paul Adeyefa
Belvidera ..... Anna Russell-Martin
Priuli ..... Michael Nardone
Aquilina ..... Maggie Service
Antonio ..... Stuart McQuarrie
Bedamar ..... Anne Lacey
Spinosa/Duke ..... Nalini Chetty
Renault ..... Cal MacAninch
Venice Preserved has been called a ‘masterpiece’ by Michael Billington and ‘the last great verse play in the English language’ by Kenneth Tynan.
Sound recording by Kris McConnachie
Sound design by Jon Nicholls
Adapted for radio and directed by Gaynor Macfarlane
SUN 21:30 Compline (m00253c9)
Christ the King
A reflective service of night prayer for the Feast of Christ the King, from the Chapel of Pembroke College, Cambridge. With words and music for the end of the day, including works by Anna Thorvaldsdottir, Paweł Łukaszewski, Lucy Walker and Kethaki Prathivadi.
Introit: Heyr þú oss himnum á (Anna Thorvaldsdottir)
Preces (Plainsong)
Psalm 4 (Plainsong)
Reading: Revelation 1 vv4b-8
Responsory: Into thy hands, O Lord (Plainsong)
Canticle: Nunc dimittis (Paweł Łukaszewski)
Lord’s Prayer (Lucy Walker)
Collect: Lighten our darkness (Lucy Walker)
Anthem: O nata lux (Kethaki Prathivadi)
Anna Lapwood (conductor)
To listen on most smart speakers just say “ask BBC Sounds to play Compline”.
SUN 22:00 Night Tracks (m001z6dk)
Blissful sounds for night owls
Sara Mohr-Pietsch presents an adventurous, immersive soundtrack for late-night listening, from classical to contemporary and everything in between.
SUN 23:30 Unclassified (m0021bt1)
Spacious and dreamy
Join Elizabeth Alker with a selection of fresh music from genre-defying artists as we journey through landscapes of ambient and experimental sounds. Along the way, we'll hear from emerging independent producers whose work plays with orchestral textures and classical form as well as the latest sounds from a new generation of contemporary composers whose sound is infused with the spirit of rock, pop and electronica.
Produced by Geoff Bird
A Reduced Listening production for BBC Radio 3
MONDAY 25 NOVEMBER 2024
MON 00:30 Through the Night (m00253cf)
Hand in Hand - the Mozarts and the Smetanas
GAIA Music Festival from Church Scherzligen, Thun, Switzerland. Jonathan Swain presents.
12:31 AM
Leopold Mozart (1719-1787), Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Menuetto from 'Nannerls Notenbuch'
Vera Kooper (piano)
12:35 AM
Franz Xaver Wolfgang Mozart (1791-1844)
Songs for Baritone and Piano
Wolf Matthias Friedrich (baritone), Vera Kooper (piano)
12:45 AM
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Abendempfindung an Laura, K. 523
Wolf Matthias Friedrich (baritone), Vera Kooper (piano)
12:50 AM
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Duo for Violin and Viola in G, K. 423
Kirill Troussov (violin), Markus Fleck (viola)
01:07 AM
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Per questa bella mano, KV 612
Wolf Matthias Friedrich (baritone), Kirill Troussov (violin), Clemence de Forceville (violin), Martin Moriarty (viola), Flurin Cuonz (cello), Lars Olaf Schaper (double bass)
01:14 AM
Bedrich Smetana (1824-1884)
Pensée Fugitive in D minor, JB
1:24
Alexandra Troussova (piano)
01:18 AM
Bedrich Smetana (1824-1884)
Souvenir de Bohême en forme de polka, Op 13
Alexandra Troussova (piano)
01:26 AM
Katerina Smetanova Kolarova (1827-1859)
Polka
Alexandra Troussova (piano)
01:29 AM
Bedrich Smetana (1824-1884)
Piano Trio in G minor, Op 15
Gwendolyn Masin (violin), Benedict Klockner (cello), Vera Kooper (piano)
01:58 AM
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Quartet for strings in C major, Op 59 no 3 'Rasumovsky'
Yggdrasil String Quartet
02:31 AM
Antonin Liehmann (1808-1878)
Mass for soloists, chorus, organ and orchestra no 1 in D minor
Lenka Skornickova (soprano), Olga Kodesova (alto), Damiano Binetti (tenor), Ilja Prokop (bass), Radek Rejsek (organ), Czech Radio Choir, Pilsen Radio Orchestra, Josef Hercl (conductor)
03:12 AM
Rudolf Escher (1912-1980)
Arcana Suite for piano
Ronald Brautigam (piano)
03:35 AM
Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
Ruy Blas - overture, Op 95
Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, Hiroyuki Iwaki (conductor)
03:43 AM
David Popper (1843-1913)
Concert Polonaise, Op 14
Tomasz Daroch (cello), Maria Daroch (piano)
03:50 AM
Dora Pejacevic (1885-1923), Rainer Maria Rilke (lyricist)
Mädchengestalten, Op 42
Franziska Heinzen (soprano), Benjamin Mead (piano)
04:00 AM
Gaetano Donizetti (1797-1848)
Sinfonia for wind instruments in G minor
Bratislavska Komorna Harmonia
04:07 AM
Richard Wagner (1813-1883)
Siegfrieds Trauermarsch - from 'Gotterdammerung'
Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra, Lovro von Matacic (conductor)
04:14 AM
Franz Liszt (1811-1886)
Petrarch Sonnet no 104 S.161
Andre Laplante (piano)
04:22 AM
Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767)
Secondo Trietto
La Coloquinte
04:31 AM
Franz von Suppe (1819-1895)
Overture from Die Leichte Kavallerie (Light cavalry)
RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra, Marko Munih (conductor)
04:39 AM
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Rhapsody for piano in B minor, Op 79 no 1
Steven Osborne (piano)
04:48 AM
Bernat Vivancos (b.1973)
Salve d'ecos
Latvian Radio Choir, Sigvards Klava (conductor)
04:58 AM
Balthasar Fritsch (1570-1608)
Paduan and 2 Galliards (from Primitiae musicales, Frankfurt/Main 1606)
Hortus Musicus, Andres Mustonen (director)
05:06 AM
Carl Ludwig Lithander (1773-1843)
Divertimento no 1 for flute and fortepiano
Mikael Helasvuo (flute), Tuija Hakkila (pianoforte)
05:15 AM
Alfonso Ferrabosco (1543-1588)
Pavan and Fantasie for lute
Nigel North (lute)
05:22 AM
Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)
Trio for piano and strings in A minor
Altenberg Trio Vienna
05:47 AM
Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683-1764)
Pieces de Clavecin
Andreas Borregaard (accordion)
06:03 AM
Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
Symphony no 4 in D minor, Op 120, original version.
Norwegian Radio Orchestra, Roy Goodman (conductor)
MON 06:30 Breakfast (m00253b5)
Boost your morning with classical
Petroc Trelawny presents Radio 3's award-winning classical breakfast show with music that captures the mood of the morning. Email your requests to 3breakfast@bbc.co.uk
MON 09:30 Essential Classics (m00253b7)
Refresh your morning with classical music
Ian Skelly plays the best in classical music, with familiar favourites alongside new discoveries and musical surprises.
1000 Playlist starter – listen and send us your ideas for the next step in our musical journey today.
1030 Song of the Day – harnessing the magic of words, music and the human voice.
1115 Playlist reveal – a sequence of music suggested by you in response to our starter today.
1145 Slow Moment – time to take a break for a moment's musical reflection.
1230 Album of the Week
To listen on most smart speakers say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Essential Classics”
MON 13:00 Classical Live (m00253b9)
ATOS Trio from Wigmore
Linton Stephens introduces a week of music putting Mozart and Haydn under the spotlight plus the ATOS Trio perform Brahms live from Wigmore Hall.
Formed in Berlin in 2003, the ATOS Trio has established itself as one of the finest of today’s piano trios. Its programme includes the first chamber work Brahms deemed fit to publish, and a work by the French late-Romantic composer Mélanie Hélène "Mel" Bonis. This short two-movement work even impressed Saint-Saëns who deigned to remark that, 'She knows all the clever tricks of the composer's trade'. The ATOS Trio's live Wigmore is introduced by Andrew McGregor.
Also in today's programme, the acclaimed pianist Kirill Gerstein "and friends" enjoy an artistic residency at LSO St. Luke's in London featuring a programme of late Debussy miniatures. And Linton begins a week of specially recorded performances from the BBC orchestras of Mozart and Haydn.
Live from Wigmore Hall
ATOS Trio
Annette von Hehn (violin)
Stefan Heinemeyer (cello)
Thomas Hoppe (piano)
Johannes Brahms
Piano Trio No. 1 in B Op. 8 (1854 version)
Mel Bonis
Soir, Matin Op. 76
*****
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Ave verum corpus K. 618
MDR Radio Chorus, Leipzig
Philipp Ahmann (conductor)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Symphony No. 29 in A major K. 201
Ulster Orchestra
Karem Hasan (conductor)
Kirill Gerstein residency at LSO St. Luke's:
Claude Debussy
Six épigraphes antiques
Kirill Gerstein (piano)
Katia Skanavi (piano)
Claude Debussy
Pièce pour le vêtement du blessé
Berceuse héroïque
Kirill Gerstein (piano)
Claude Debussy
Noël des enfants qui n’ont plus de maisons
Ruzan Mantashyan (soprano)
Kirill Gerstein (piano)
Claude Debussy
Les soirs illuminés par l’ardeur du charbon
Kirill Gerstein (piano)
15:00
Joseph Haydn
Symphony No. 103 in Eb ‘Drumroll’
BBC Symphony Orchestra
Sakari Oramo (conductor)
To listen on most smart speakers just say: "Ask BBC Sounds to play Classical Live".
MON 16:00 Composer of the Week (m0012rn3)
Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924)
1. Success at last
Donald Macleod recounts how Puccini's struggles to write 'Manon Lescaut' paid off - the only one of his operas applauded by both audiences and critics alike.
Giacomo Puccini was man of the theatre to his fingertips. Born in Lucca in 1858, into a distinguished family of church musicians, Puccini was never destined to follow in his forebears’ footsteps. His fate was sealed when as a teenager he walked thirty miles to hear Verdi’s Aida. He knew immediately that theatre was his calling and from that point on he wrote almost exclusively for the stage.
A perfectionist and an often unreasonable taskmaster, Puccini agonised over each of his operas. Beginning with Manon Lescaut, the opera that launched Puccini internationally, this week Donald Macleod follows the off and the on-stage dramas of La Bohème, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, La fanciulla del West, Suor Angelica, Gianni Schicchi, Il tabarro and the opera he left incomplete at his death in 1924, his final masterpiece, Turandot. The stories on stage are interleaved with events in his personal life, from an early scandal over his affair with a married woman and some very dodgy skulduggery in his business dealings, to the suicide of one of his servants, a tragedy of such proportion, he was plunged in to a deep depression, haunted by the events for the rest of his life.
In a week celebrating a composer whose music expresses every human emotion, there's a host of landmark recordings, including the voices of Jonas Kaufmann, Angela Gheorghiu, Anna Netrebko and Roberto Alagna. We'll hear Mimì's touching calling card from La Bohème, in the classic Victoria de los Angeles version, while Renato Scotto pours all Madam Butterfly's hopes into the heart-breaking Un bel dì. There's the raw pain of Sister Angelica mourning her dead son, and the dark desperation of a jealous husband in Il tabarro. On Wednesday Callas and Gobbi’s anguished, sadistic torture scene in Tosca still has the power to shock us as much as it did on its first night in 1900. It's high stakes and nail-biting tension in La fanciulla del West as Minnie trades the life of her outlaw lover on the outcome of a card game. Joan Sutherland’s icy Princess Turandot, a magnificent pairing with Luciano Pavarotti’s Prince Calaf comes on Friday along with a certain aria made famous by the 1990 world cup, heard here in the hands of another Puccini specialist, Jussi Björling.
After critics called Puccini's second opera, Edgar, a sin against art, the young composer really needed a hit. To the consternation of his publisher, Giulio Ricordi, what must his protégé do but pick a subject that had already been used for an opera by Massenet most successfully. Could Puccini pull off a winner too?
Manon Lescaut, Act 1
Donna non vidi mai
Jonas Kaufmann, tenor
Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia
Antonio Pappano, director
Le Villi, Act 1
Preghiera: Angiol di dio
Brian Mulligan, baritone, Guglielmo (Anna’s father)
Ermonela Jaho, soprano, Anna
Arsen Soghomonyan, tenor Roberto
Opera Rara Chorus
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Sir Mark Elder, conductor
Messa di Gloria
Credo
Roberto Alagna, tenor
London Symphony Chorus
Antonio Pappano, conductor
Crisantemi
Navarra String Quartet
Manon Lescaut, Act 2
Dispettosetto questo Riccio!
In quelle trine morbide
Mirella Freni, Manon, soprano
Renato Bruson, Lescaut, baritone
Philharmonia Orchestra
Giuseppe Sinopoli, conductor
Manon Lescaut, Act 4
Sola, perduta, abbandonata
Fra le tue bracce amore
Mirella Freni, Manon, soprano
Placido Domingo, Des Grieux, tenor
Philharmonia Orchestra
Giuseppe Sinopoli, conductor
Producer: Johannah Smith
MON 17:00 In Tune (m00253bd)
Experience classical music live in session
Sean Rafferty introduces live music from violinist Alena Baeva with pianist Joseph Havlat ahead of performances with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra in Poole and Exeter. Plus The Telling perform music from their new show 'What the Dickens?'
MON 19:00 Classical Mixtape (m001m58p)
Half an hour of the finest classical music
Tonight's mix opens with John Barry's theme from the 1985 Oscar winning film, Out of Africa. From there, we'll hear music from the Grammy award winning Danish String Quartet, as well as music by Eriks Esenvalds, Benjamin Britten and Henry Purcell. To listen on most smart speakers just say “ask BBC Sounds to play Classical Mixtape.”
Produced by Calantha Bonnissent
MON 19:30 Radio 3 in Concert (m00253bj)
Kirill Gerstein plays Busoni’s Piano Concerto
The BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sakari Oramo performs Bacewicz's Symphony No. 2 and Busoni's colossus of a Piano Concerto with Kirill Gerstein plus the BBC Symphony Chorus.
Grażyna Bacewicz: Symphony No. 2
Interval
Ferruccio Busoni: Piano Concerto
Kirill Gerstein (piano)
BBC Symphony Chorus (lower voices)
BBC Symphony Orchestra
Sakari Oramo (conductor)
“Joy and pain interweave in the light of the world…Thousands of years flash by with glory and strength, revealing that which is indestructible”. Extraordinary claims; but then extraordinary is the only word for the heaven-storming choral finale of Ferruccio Busoni’s colossal Piano Concerto: a masterpiece on the scale of a symphony, composed in 1904 by one of Mahler’s greatest fans.
Every performance is a major occasion, demanding a pianist with outsize charisma and fingers of steel. Kirill Gerstein has both – and when he recorded this concerto with Sakari Oramo, Gramophone described the results as “sublime”. Oramo and the BBC Symphony Orchestra open with the supercharged Second Symphony by Grazyna Bacewicz: the dazzling, neglected Polish composer whose music he’s determined to bring into the daylight.
To listen on most smart speakers just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Radio 3 in Concert"
MON 21:45 The Essay (m00253bl)
Tin Pan Alleys
China's Tin Pan Alley - Xinjiekou Street in Beijing
The original Tin Pan Alley was in Fifth and Sixth Avenue in Manhattan, New York, where music publishers set up shop in the late 19th century, attracting songwriters and coming to dominate American popular music. Since then Tin Pan Alley has come to mean a quarter where there are music shops and where musicians gather. Cities all over the globe have Tin Pan Alleys of their own. For instance, if you wanted to buy a bass guitar in London, you'd head to the UK's Tin Pan Alley, Denmark Street.
In this week's series of the Essay BBC correspondents from Madrid to Tokyo explore the Tin Pan Alleys of their towns, talking to musicians trying out the instruments before they buy, and to the shopkeepers selling them. They explore the state of the musical culture, and culture more generally, of the countries they are reporting from.
The series begins in Beijing where Stephen McDonell visits Xinjiekou Street, where the shops sell Chinese traditional instruments: the erhu, a two string fiddle; the pipa, a pear shaped lute; the guzheng, a zither...and several others. He discovers that there is renewed enthusiasm for them and their music, and meets some musicians playing in a tunnel, not for the acoustic but because, in an odd reversal of the norm, if they play in the street young people object to the noise and shop them to the cops.
Presenter: Stephen McDonell
Producer: Julian May
MON 22:00 Night Tracks (m00253bp)
Meditative music for late night solace
Sara Mohr-Pietsch presents an adventurous, immersive soundtrack for late-night listening, from classical to contemporary and everything in between.
MON 23:30 'Round Midnight (m00253br)
Sheila Maurice-Grey's Flowers
'Round Midnight is presented by award-winning saxophonist Soweto Kinch. This weekday late-night show celebrates the thriving UK jazz scene and spotlights the best new music alongside incredible heritage acts.
Trumpeter, composer and KOKOROKO bandleader Sheila Maurice-Grey is Soweto's guest this week giving out her Flowers. This feature gives artists the chance to celebrate fellow musicians they feel deserve recognition and respect. Sheila's first bouquet goes to vocalist Anaiis.
Plus, there's music from Pauli Lyytinen, Work Money Death and Charlie Haden.
To listen on most smart speakers just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Round Midnight".
TUESDAY 26 NOVEMBER 2024
TUE 00:30 Through the Night (m00253bt)
Mozart from Warsaw
Mozart's Late Symphonies with the Polish Radio Orchestra and conductor Michał Klauza. Jonathan Swain presents.
12:31 AM
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Symphony no 39 in E flat major, K. 543
Polish Radio Orchestra in Warsaw, Michał Klauza (conductor)
12:58 AM
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Symphony no 40 in G minor, K. 550
Polish Radio Orchestra in Warsaw, Michał Klauza (conductor)
01:27 AM
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Symphony no 41 in C major, K. 551 'Jupiter'
Polish Radio Orchestra in Warsaw, Michał Klauza (conductor)
02:00 AM
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
String Quartet no 19, K. 465 'Dissonance'
Ysaye Quartet
02:31 AM
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Cantata BWV.21 'Ich hatte viel Bekummernis'
Thomas Hobbs (tenor), Hana Blazikova (soprano), Peter Kooij (bass), Collegium Vocale Gent, Collegium Vocale Gent Orchestra, Philippe Herreweghe (conductor)
03:08 AM
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Violin Sonata no 6 in A major, Op 30 no 1
Mats Zetterqvist (violin), Mats Widlund (piano)
03:31 AM
Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924)
Crisantemi (Chrysanthemums)
Moyzes Quartet
03:37 AM
Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757)
Sonata in C, K.86
Eduardo Lopez Banzo (harpsichord)
03:45 AM
Giuseppe Martucci (1856-1909)
Notturno, Op 70 no 1
Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Nello Santi (conductor)
03:52 AM
Claude Debussy (1862-1918)
Sonata for cello and piano in D minor
Zara Nelsova (cello), Grant Johannesen (piano)
04:03 AM
Rued Langgaard (1893-1952)
3 Rose Gardens Songs
Danish National Radio Choir, Kaare Hansen (conductor)
04:14 AM
Gabriel Faure (1845-1924)
Nocturne in C sharp minor, Op 74
Stephane Lemelin (piano)
04:22 AM
Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)
Alborada del gracioso 'Miroirs'
BBC Philharmonic, Juanjo Mena (conductor)
04:31 AM
Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741)
Violin Concerto, Op 8 no 12, RV.178
Fabio Biondi (violin), Europa Galante, Fabio Biondi (director)
04:40 AM
Karol Szymanowski (1882-1937)
Prelude and fugue in C sharp minor
Jerzy Godziszewski (piano)
04:48 AM
Dietrich Buxtehude (1637-1707)
Kantate no 5 Ad Pectus - Sicut modo geniti
La Cetra Vocalensemble Basel, La Cetra Barockorchester Basel, Carlos Federico Sepulveda (conductor)
04:58 AM
George Enescu (1881-1955)
Konzertstuck in F for viola and piano
Gyozo Mate (viola), Balazs Szokolay (piano)
05:07 AM
Luka Sorkocevic (1734-1789), arr. Frano Matusic
Symphony no 3 in D major
Dubrovnik Guitar Trio
05:14 AM
Leopold Ebner (1769-1830)
Trio in B flat major
Zagreb Woodwind Trio
05:22 AM
Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
Piano Sonata in E major, Op 6
Sveinung Bjelland (piano)
05:46 AM
Lars-Erik Larsson (1908-1986), Sigfrid Siwertz (lyricist)
De nakna tradens sanger, Op 7 (Songs of the Naked Trees)
Swedish Radio Choir, Gote Widlund (conductor)
06:02 AM
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897), arr. Edmund Rubbra
25 Variations and fugue on a theme by G F Handel, Op 24
Norwegian Radio Orchestra, Johannes Fritzsch (conductor)
TUE 06:30 Breakfast (m00254ql)
Get going with classical
Petroc Trelawny presents Radio 3's award-winning classical breakfast show with music that captures the mood of the morning. Email your requests to 3breakfast@bbc.co.uk
TUE 09:30 Essential Classics (m00254qn)
Classical soundtrack for your morning
Georgia Mann plays the best in classical music, featuring new discoveries, some musical surprises and plenty of familiar favourites.
1000 Playlist starter – listen and send us your ideas for the next step in our musical journey today.
1030 Song of the Day – harnessing the magic of words, music and the human voice.
1115 Playlist reveal – a sequence of music suggested by you in response to our starter today.
1145 Slow Moment – time to take a break for a moment's musical reflection.
1230 Album of the Week
To listen on most smart speakers say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Essential Classics”
TUE 13:00 Classical Live (m00254qq)
Kirill Gerstein at LSO St Luke's and more from the pens of Mozart and Haydn
This week sees a focus on specially recorded performances of Mozart and Haydn from the BBC orchestras - today the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and Martin James Bartlett perform arguably the most dramatic of Mozart's piano concertos - and there's a chance to hear more from the acclaimed Russian born American pianist Kirill Gerstein's recent residency at LSO St. Luke's. Presented by Linton Stephens.
Kirill Gerstein at LSO St. Luke's:
Frédéric Chopin
Polonaise-Fantasie Op. 61
Brad Mehldau
Nocturne No 3 from ‘Après Fauré’
Gabriel Fauré
Nocturne No 13 in B minor Op. 119
Kirill Gerstein (piano)
***
Joseph Haydn
Te Deum in C, Hob. XXIIIc:2 ('for Empress Marie Therese')
MDR Radio Chorus, Leipzig
MDR Radio Symphony Orchestra, Leipzig
Philipp Ahman (conductor)
Bêla Bartok
Dance Suite
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Geoffrey Patterson (conductor)
Andre Caplet
Quintet for piano and winds
Orsino Ensemble
Adam Walker (flute)
Nicholas Daniel (oboe)
Matthew Hunt (clarinet)
Amy Hardman (bassoon)
Tom Poster (piano)
c.
3.00
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor K. 466
Martin James Bartlett (piano)
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Ryan Wigglesworth (conductor)
To listen on most smart speakers just say: "Ask BBC Sounds to play Classical Live".
TUE 16:00 Composer of the Week (m0012rx3)
Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924)
2. Rivalries and Reputation
Donald Macleod sees how the characters Puccini created in La Bohème illustrate the penury of the composer's own student years in Milan.
Giacomo Puccini was man of the theatre to his fingertips. Born in Lucca in 1858, into a distinguished family of church musicians, Puccini was never destined to follow in his forebears’ footsteps. His fate was sealed when as a teenager he walked thirty miles to hear Verdi’s Aida. He knew immediately that theatre was his calling and from that point on he wrote almost exclusively for the stage.
A perfectionist and an often unreasonable taskmaster, Puccini agonised over each of his operas. Beginning with Manon Lescaut, the opera that launched Puccini internationally, this week Donald Macleod follows the off and the on-stage dramas of La Bohème, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, La fanciulla del West, Suor Angelica, Gianni Schicchi, Il tabarro and the opera he left incomplete at his death in 1924, his final masterpiece, Turandot. The stories on stage are interleaved with events in his personal life, from an early scandal over his affair with a married woman and some very dodgy skulduggery in his business dealings, to the suicide of one of his servants, a tragedy of such proportion, he was plunged in to a deep depression, haunted by the events for the rest of his life.
In a week celebrating a composer whose music expresses every human emotion, there's a host of landmark recordings, including the voices of Jonas Kaufmann, Angela Gheorghiu, Anna Netrebko and Roberto Alagna, We'll hear Mimì's touching calling card from La Bohème, in the classic Victoria de los Angeles version while Renato Scotto pours all Madam Butterfly's hopes into the heartbreaking Un bel dì. There's the raw pain of Sister Angelica mourning her dead son, and the dark desperation of a jealous husband in Il tabarro. On Wednesday Callas and Gobbi’s anguished, sadistic torture scene in Tosca still has the power to shock us as much as it did on its first night in 1900. It's high stakes and nail-biting tension in La fanciulla del West as Minnie trades the life of her outlaw lover on the outcome of a card game. Joan Sutherland’s icy Princess Turandot, a magnificent pairing with Luciano Pavarotti’s Prince Calaf comes on Friday along with a certain aria made famous by the 1990 world cup, heard here in the hands of another Puccini specialist, Jussi Björling.
The project of finding a new operatic subject to follow the success of Manon Lescaut turned in to a scandal when Puccini fell into an argument with another composer over the rights to a book. Was this all a bit of hype engineered by the publishers, or was it a situation of Puccini's own making?
La Bohème, Act 1
Mi chiamano Mimì
Victoria de los Angeles, soprano
RCA Victor Orchestra
Thomas Beecham, conductor
La Bohème, Act 1
Pensier profondo!
Legna!
Si può
Nicolai Ghiaurov, bass, Colline
Rolando Panerai, baritone, Marcello
Luciano Pavarotti, tenor, Rodolfo
Gianni Maffei, actor, Schaunard
Michel Sénéchal, tenor, Benoit
Berlin Philharmonic
Herbert von Karajan, conductor
Capriccio sinfonico
Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra
Riccardo Chailly, conductor
La Bohème, Act 3
Donde lieta uscì
Dunque è proprio finita….Addio, dolce svegliare
Anna Netrebko, soprano, Mimì
Roland Villazon, tenor, Rodolfo
Nicole Cabell, mezzo soprano, Musetta
Boaz Daniel, baritone, Marcello
Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra
Bertrand de Billy, conductor
Tosca, Act 1
Mario, Mario ... son qui Tosca
Ora stammi a sentir
Non la sospiri la nostra cassetta
Or lasciarmi al lavoro
Ah quegli occhi ... Quale occhio al mondo
Mia gelosa!
Angela Gheorghiu, soprano, Floria Tosca
Roberto Alagna, tenor, Cavaradossi
Royal Opera House Orchestra, Covent Garden
Antonio Pappano, director
TUE 17:00 In Tune (m00254qt)
Drivetime classical
Live music from pianist Sebastian Knauer ahead of his new album "Hollywood'" out on 29 November. Plus Sean talks to star US vocalist Melody Gardot about her new release.
TUE 19:00 Classical Mixtape (m00254qw)
The eclectic classical mix
To listen on most smart speakers just say “ask BBC Sounds to play Classical Mixtape.”
TUE 19:30 Radio 3 in Concert (m00254qy)
Kirill Gerstein and Friends
Pianist Kirill Gerstein curates a concert of music from Central Europe with some of his closest musical collaborators, including the composer, conductor & pianist Thomas Adès and members of the London Symphony Orchestra, as part of Gerstein's Spotlight Artist series with the LSO last season. Folk-flavoured masterpieces by Beethoven, Haydn & Bartok; music by Gyorgy Ligeti, Robert Schumann and two pieces by Adès himself.
Recorded at LSO St Luke's, London, presented by Ian Skelly
Joseph Haydn: Piano Trio in G major
Béla Bartók: Selection of Hungarian Folk Songs
György Ligeti: Concerto for Piano and Orchestra
Ludwig van Beethoven: Trio for Clarinet, Cello and Piano, ‘Gassenhauer’
Robert Schumann: Blumenstück
Thomas Adès: Növények
Thomas Adès: Concerto Conciso
Thomas Adès, conductor and piano
Timothy Redmond, conductor
Kirill Gerstein, piano
Katia Skanavi, piano
Joseph Havlat, piano
Katalin Károlyi, mezzo-soprano
Members of the London Symphony Orchestra
To listen on most smart speakers just say “ask BBC Sounds to play Radio 3 in Concert”
TUE 21:45 The Essay (m00254r0)
Tin Pan Alleys
Türkiye's Tin Pan Alley - Galip Dede Street in Istanbul
Galip Dede Street in Istanbul used to be famous for its antique, philatelic and book shops. But over the past 30 years more and more music shops have opened and now the street has more than 30. Esra Yalcinalp talks to the shopkeepers who sell instruments of all kinds, all the orchestral instruments. Here, too, she finds musicians who might buy a bağlama or saz, like a mandolin with a very long neck, and a kemençe or lyra, a bowed instrument, used in Ottoman classical and Turkish folk music. She gets a demonstration of the different rhythms a master can play on the darbuka, the goblet shaped drum used in Turkish classical music. She meets, too, a French musician seeking strings for her Syrian oud. Can she find these in Galip Dede? Of course. No problem.
There is a problem, though - tourism. It's driving up rents and driving out specialist music shops, which are replaced by hotels and T shirt shops.
Presenter: Esra Yalcinalp
Producer: Julian May
TUE 22:00 Night Tracks (m00254r2)
Nocturnal music to bewitch the senses
Sara Mohr-Pietsch presents an adventurous, immersive soundtrack for late-night listening, from classical to contemporary and everything in between.
TUE 23:30 'Round Midnight (m00254r4)
Fresh Tom Sochas
'Round Midnight is presented by award-winning saxophonist Soweto Kinch. This weekday late-night show celebrates the thriving UK jazz scene and spotlights the best new music alongside incredible acts from past decades.
Soweto's guest this week is trumpeter, composer and KOKOROKO bandleader Sheila Maurice-Grey. She's on to celebrate the unsung heroes that have inspired her. Tonight she has chosen to give Flowers to the trumpeter and educator Abram Wilson.
There's also a premiere of new material by pianist Tom Sochas and an exclusive live recording from Scottish band Mahuki's recent show in Edinburgh.
To listen on most smart speakers just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Round Midnight".
WEDNESDAY 27 NOVEMBER 2024
WED 00:30 Through the Night (m00254r6)
Leila Josefowicz, artist-in-residence with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra
Bartók's Violin Concerto no 2 plus Beethoven's Eroica Symphony and the world premiere of Veronique Vaka's Inmost, a piece written for chief conductor Eva Ollikainen. Presented by Jonathan Swain.
12:31 AM
Veronique Vaka (b.1986)
Inmost
Iceland Symphony Orchestra, Eva Ollikainen (conductor)
12:44 AM
Bela Bartok (1881-1945)
Violin Concerto no 2, Sz.112
Leila Josefowicz (violin), Iceland Symphony Orchestra, Eva Ollikainen (conductor)
01:22 AM
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Largo, from Violin Sonata no 3 in C, BWV.1005
Leila Josefowicz (violin)
01:26 AM
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Symphony no 3 in E flat, Op 55 'Eroica'
Iceland Symphony Orchestra, Eva Ollikainen (conductor)
02:13 AM
Edvard Grieg (1843-1907)
String Quartet in F major
Vertavo Quartet
02:31 AM
Edward Elgar (1857-1934)
In the South 'Alassio', Op 50
BBC Symphony Orchestra, Jiri Belohlavek (conductor)
02:53 AM
Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Piano Sonata in A minor, D.784
Alfred Brendel (piano)
03:13 AM
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Symphony no 34 in C, K338
Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Herbert Blomstedt (conductor)
03:35 AM
Christopher Simpson (c.1605-1669)
Prelude and Divisions upon a Ground
Vittorio Ghielmi (viola da gamba), Luca Pianca (lute)
03:42 AM
Nicolas Gombert (c.1495-c.1560)
Benedicto mensae
BBC Singers, Bo Holten (conductor)
03:52 AM
Johann Christoph Pez (1664-1716)
Overture in D minor
Hildebrand'sche Hoboisten Compagnie
04:02 AM
Johan Halvorsen (1864-1935)
Norwegian Rhapsody no 1 in A minor
Norwegian Radio Orchestra, Ingar Bergby (conductor)
04:15 AM
Jacques Champion De Chambonnieres (c.1601-1672)
Pavane in D minor, 'Entretien des Dieux', from Bk.1 of 'Pieces de Clavecin'
Bob van Asperen (harpsichord)
04:22 AM
Orlande de Lassus (1532-1594)
Gratia sola Dei (motet)
Currende, Erik van Nevel (conductor)
04:31 AM
Graeme Koehne (b.1956)
Powerhouse - rhumba for orchestra
Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, David Porcelijn (conductor)
04:42 AM
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Motet: "Komm, Jesu, komm!", BWV.229
Danish National Radio Choir, Stefan Parkman (conductor)
04:52 AM
Claude Debussy (1862-1918)
Rhapsodie for saxophone and orchestra (arr. for saxophone and piano)
Miha Rogina (saxophone), Jan Sever (piano)
05:03 AM
Henry Purcell (1659-1695)
Rejoice in the Lord alway (Z.49) "Bell Anthem"
Robert Lawaty (counter tenor), Robert Pozarski (tenor), Miroslaw Borczynski (bass), Sine Nomine Chamber Choir, Concerto Polacco Baroque Orchestra, Marek Toporowski (director)
05:12 AM
Mihaly Mosonyi (1815-1870)
Studies for the teaching of the Interpretation of Hungarian Music
Klara Kormendi (piano)
05:25 AM
Benedetto Pallavicino (c.1551-1601)
Cruda Amarilli, che col nome ancora - madrigal for 5 voices
Cantus Colln
05:32 AM
Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)
String Quartet no 64 in D major, Op 76 no 5
Engegard Quartet
05:50 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)
06:10 AM
Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767)
Suite in E flat major, 'La Lyra', TWV.55:Es3
B'Rock, Jurgen Gross (conductor)
WED 06:30 Breakfast (m00253kd)
Classical music to set you up for the day
Petroc Trelawny presents Radio 3's award-winning classical breakfast show with music that captures the mood of the morning. Email your requests to 3breakfast@bbc.co.uk
WED 09:30 Essential Classics (m00253kg)
The very best of classical music
Georgia Mann plays the best in classical music, with familiar favourites alongside new discoveries and musical surprises.
1000 Playlist starter – listen and send us your ideas for the next step in our musical journey today.
1030 Song of the Day – harnessing the magic of words, music and the human voice.
1115 Playlist reveal – a sequence of music suggested by you in response to our starter today.
1145 Slow Moment – time to take a break for a moment's musical reflection.
1230 Album of the Week
To listen on most smart speakers say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Essential Classics”
WED 13:00 Classical Live (m00253kj)
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra with Mozart and Haydn live
Linton Stephens introduces an afternoon of live and specially recorded music including the BBC's orchestra in North, the BBC Philharmonic, live from Media City Uk in Salford performing Mozart and Haydn. Martin Roscoe is the featured pianist in one of Mozart's greatest masterpieces, his late Piano Concerto in C major and Ben Gernon conducts the orchestra in Haydn's Symphony No 53, one of the most popular works Haydn created whilst in the employ of Nikolaus II, Prince of Esterhazy.
Also in today's programme performances from Radio 3 New Generation Artist, the violist Timothy Ridout and more from the recent Kirill Gerstein residency in London.
Joseph Haydn
Insanae et vanae curae, Hob. XXI: 1/13c
MDR Radio Chorus, Leipzig
MDR Radio Symphony Orchestra, Leipzig
Philipp Ahman (conductor)
Rebecca Clarke
Viola Sonata in E minor
Timothy Ridout (viola)
James Baillieu (piano)
c
1.30
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra Live from Media City UK:
“Mozart and Haydn”
Joseph Haydn
Overture - L'isola disabitata
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Piano Concerto No 25 in C (K 503)
Haydn: Symphony No 53 in D ‘L’Imperiale’
Martin Roscoe (piano)
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
Ben Gernon (conductor)
****
From the Kirill Gertsein residency at LSO St. Luke's:
Franz Liszt
Liszt Polonaise No 2 in E major S. 223
Kirill Gerstein (piano)
To listen on most smart speakers just say: "Ask BBC Sounds to play Classical Live".
WED 15:00 Choral Evensong (m00253kl)
St Thomas Church, Fifth Avenue, New York
From St Thomas Church, Fifth Avenue, New York.
Introit: The Lord is in His Holy Temple (Hancock)
Responses: Hancock
Psalms 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131 (Turle, Parratt, Goss, Wesley, Walford Davies, Willcocks)
Office Hymn: Rejoice, ye pure in heart [vv. 1,2,5,7] (Vineyard Haven (Richard W. Dirksen)
First Lesson: Joel 2 vv21-27
Canticles: Aedes Christi (Sebastian Forbes)
Second Lesson: 1 Thessalonians 5 vv12-24
Anthem: O God, my heart is ready (Rorem)
Hymn: O Beautiful for spacious skies (Materna)
Voluntary: Psalm Prelude ‘Sing unto the Lord a new song; sing praises lustily unto him with a good courage’ (Buck McDaniel)
Jeremy Filsell (Director of Music)
Nicolas Haigh (Associate Organist)
Recorded 20 November.
To listen on most smart speakers just say “ask BBC Sounds to play Choral Evensong”.
WED 16:00 Composer of the Week (m0012rrl)
Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924)
3. Confusion and mayhem
Donald Macleod follows the dramas surrounding Tosca and Madama Butterfly, the opera which Puccini believed was his finest creation, yet suffered the most negative reception.
Giacomo Puccini was man of the theatre to his fingertips. Born in Lucca in 1858, into a distinguished family of church musicians, Puccini was never destined to follow in his forebears’ footsteps. His fate was sealed when as a teenager he walked thirty miles to hear Verdi’s Aida. He knew immediately that theatre was his calling and from that point on he wrote almost exclusively for the stage.
A perfectionist and an often unreasonable taskmaster, Puccini agonised over each of his operas. Beginning with Manon Lescaut, the opera that launched Puccini internationally, this week Donald Macleod follows the off and the on-stage dramas of La Bohème, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, La fanciulla del West, Suor Angelica, Gianni Schicchi, Il tabarro and the opera he left incomplete at his death in 1924, his final masterpiece, Turandot. The stories on stage are interleaved with events in his personal life, from an early scandal over his affair with a married woman and some very dodgy skulduggery in his business dealings, to the suicide of one of his servants, a tragedy of such proportion, he was plunged in to a deep depression, haunted by the events for the rest of his life.
In a week celebrating a composer whose music expresses every human emotion, there's a host of landmark recordings, including the voices of Jonas Kaufmann, Angela Gheorghiu, Anna Netrebko and Roberto Alagna, We'll hear Mimì's touching calling card from La Bohème, in the classic Victoria de los Angeles version while Renato Scotto pours all Madam Butterfly's hopes into the heartbreaking Un bel dì. The raw pain of Sister Angelica mourning her dead son, and the dark desperation of a jealous husband in Il tabarro. On Wednesday Callas and Gobbi’s anguished, sadistic torture scene in Tosca still has the power to shock us as much as it did on its first night in 1900. It's high stakes and nail-biting tension in La fanciulla del West as Minnie trades the life of her outlaw lover on the outcome of a card game. Joan Sutherland’s icy Princess Turandot, a magnificent pairing with Luciano Pavarotti’s Prince Calaf comes on Friday along with a certain aria made famous by the 1990 world cup, heard here in the hands of another Puccini specialist, Jussi Björling.
When it came to Tosca, Puccini met with resistance from all sides, including his crack team of librettists and also his publisher. None of them seemed to understand his vision. Worse was to follow with the birth of his beloved Madama Butterfly. What was behind its failure?
Tosca, Act 1 (excerpt)
Ah! Finalmente ...
Royal Opera House Orchestra, Covent Garden
Antonio Pappano, director
Vissi d’arte, Act 2
Leontyne Price, soprano, Tosca
Vienna Philharmonic
Herbert von Karajan, conductor
Tosca, Act 2
Mario Cavaradossi qual testimone ...
Ed or fra noi parliam da buon amici
Sciarrone, che dice il cavalier
Orsu, Tosca, parlate
Maria Callas, soprano, Tosca
Giuseppe di Stefano, tenor, Mario Cavaradossi
Tito Gobbi, baritone, Baron Scarpia
Angelo Mercuriali, tenor, Spoleta
Dario Caselli, bass, Sciarrone
Milan La Scala Orchestra
Victor de Sabata, conductor
Tosca, Act 3
E lucevan le stelle
Ah! Franchigia a Floria Tosca
Il tuo sangue o il mio amore volea
O dolci mani mansuete e puré
Senti l’ora è vicina
Amaro sol per te m’era il morire
Angela Gheorghiu, soprano, Tosca
Roberto Alagna, tenor, Cavaradossi
Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
Antonio Pappano, director
Madama Butterfly, Act 1
Dovunque al mondo
America for ever
Ier l'altro il Consolato
Ecco. Son giunte al sommo del pendio
Gran ventura
Robert Kerns, baritone, Sharpless
Michel Sénéchal, tenor, Goro
Luciano Pavarotti, tenor, Pinkerton
Mirella Freni, soprano, Butterfly
Vienna Philharmonic
Herbert von Karajan, conductor
Madama Butterfly, Act 1
Viene la sera
Vogliatemi bene
Mirella Freni, soprano, Butterfly
Luciano Pavarotti, tenor, Pinkerton
Vienna Philharmonic
Herbert von Karajan, conductor
WED 17:00 In Tune (m00253kp)
Live classical performance and interviews
Sean talks to acclaimed percussionist Evelyn Glennie ahead of her debut with the Brighton Philharmonic, and Ethan Loch, winner of the 2022 BBC Young Musician keyboard category final plays live.
WED 19:00 Classical Mixtape (m00253kr)
Power through with classical music
Take time out with a 30-minute soundscape of classical favourites, including Haydn's concerto for cello and orchestra, a string quartet by Florence Price, a piece for 2 marimbas by Steve Reich, Tippett's choral take on Nobody Knows The Trouble I See, and a beautifully lyrical prelude for flute, strings and piano by William Grant Still.
Producer: Eleonora Claps
To listen on most smart speakers just say “ask BBC Sounds to play Classical Mixtape”
WED 19:30 Radio 3 in Concert (m00253kt)
Sibelius from the Hallé in Manchester
Violinist Stephen Waarts joins the Hallé orchestra conducted by Artist-in-Residence, Thomas Adès.
Finnish composer Rautavaara’s Deux Sérénades is a delicately poignant work in two movements: the first, ‘For my love’, is rich with emotive, yearning melodies; the second, ‘For life’, is more contemplative, until a suddenly frantic finish. Thomas Adès’ Aquifer is brimming with fluid motifs and rhythms that expand and withdraw as the water would in its namesake geological structure. Stephen Waarts will perform Adès’ Air – Homage to Sibelius, a transformative work first premiered earlier this year.
Book-ending tonight’s concert are two Sibelius symphonies, his Fifth and Seventh. The latter, like Air, was composed in one single movement, yet it is no less full of rhythmic variety.
Recorded at the Bridgewater Hall, Manchester on 21st November 2024.
Presented by Mark Forrest.
Sibelius: Symphony No.7
Rautavaara: Deux Sérénades
Adès: Aquifer
Adès: Air: Homage to Sibelius
Sibelius: Symphony No.5
Stephen Waarts, violin
The Hallé orchestra
Thomas Adès, conductor
WED 21:45 The Essay (m00253kw)
Tin Pan Alleys
Japan's Tin Pan Alley - Ochanomizu in Tokyo
Ochanomizu means 'tea water' because of its proximity to the Kanda River, which in the Edo period provided water for the Shogun's tea. Now it is a university area - Meiji University, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, and Juntendo University all have campuses in Ochanomizu. Phoebe Amoroso reports on the way teahouses have given way to musical instrument shops. There are more than 70 in Ochanomizu's 'Guitar Street' . But you can buy harmonicas and accordions, too. In such a competitive space shops survive by specialising. Almost all the instruments sold are western, but made with Japanese materials, craftsmanship and attention to detail.
Presenter: Phoebe Amoroso
Producer: Julian May
WED 22:00 Night Tracks (m00253ky)
Bewitching sounds for after dark
Sara Mohr-Pietsch presents an adventurous, immersive soundtrack for late-night listening, from classical to contemporary and everything in between.
WED 23:30 'Round Midnight (m00253l2)
One for Maria Schneider's birthday
'Round Midnight is presented by award-winning saxophonist Soweto Kinch. This weekday late-night show celebrates the thriving UK jazz scene and spotlights the best new music alongside incredible acts from past decades.
The trumpeter and KOKOROKO bandleader Sheila Maurice-Grey has been picking a tune to play each evening in Flowers - paying tribute to contemporaries, living legends and unsung heroes. Tonight she chooses one by L'Rain.
Plus, there's music from Myra Brownbridge, Snazzback and Waldo's Gift.
To listen on most smart speakers just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Round Midnight".
THURSDAY 28 NOVEMBER 2024
THU 00:30 Through the Night (m00253l6)
The Sound of the North
The St Gallen Symphony Orchestra is joined by violinist Henning Kraggerud for a concert of Norwegian, Danish and Icelandic music. Presented by Jonathan Swain.
12:31 AM
Niels Gade (1817-1890)
Echoes of Ossian, Op 1
St Gallen Symphony Orchestra, Modestas Pitrenas (conductor)
12:45 AM
Edvard Grieg (1843-1907), arr. Henning Kraggerud and Bernt Simen Lund
Violin Sonata no 3 in C minor, Op 45 arr for violin and orchestra
Henning Kraggerud (violin), St Gallen Symphony Orchestra, Modestas Pitrenas (conductor)
01:09 AM
Henning Kraggerud (b.1973)
Improvisation
Henning Kraggerud (violin)
01:14 AM
Anna Thorvaldsdottir (b.1977)
Aeriality
St Gallen Symphony Orchestra, Modestas Pitrenas (conductor)
01:28 AM
Niels Gade (1817-1890)
Symphony no 1 in C minor, Op 5 'On Sjølund’s Beautiful Plains'
St Gallen Symphony Orchestra, Modestas Pitrenas (conductor)
02:01 AM
Franz Berwald (1796-1868)
Septet in B flat major
Niklas Andersson (clarinet), Henrik Blixt (bassoon), Hans Larsson (horn), Jannica Gustafsson (violin), Hakan Olsson (viola), Jan-Erik Gustafsson (cello), Maria Johansson (double bass)
02:25 AM
Johan Halvorsen (1864-1935)
Triumphal Entry of the Boyars
Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, Uri Mayer (conductor)
02:31 AM
Johannes Ockeghem (1410-1497)
Missa prolationum
Hilliard Ensemble, Paul Hillier (director)
03:05 AM
Mikhail Mikhaylovich Ippolitov-Ivanov (1859-1935)
Caucasian Sketches - orchestral suite, Op 10
Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, Uri Mayer (conductor)
03:27 AM
Fryderyk Chopin (1810-1849)
Variations in E major on a German National Air
Ludmil Angelov (piano)
03:35 AM
Franz Liszt (1811-1886)
Orpheus - symphonic poem S.98 for orchestra
Hungarian State Orchestra, Janos Ferencsik (conductor)
03:47 AM
Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber (1644-1704)
Violin Sonata no 6 in C minor
Daniel Sepec (violin), Hille Perl (viola da gamba), Lee Santana (theorbo), Michael Behringer (organ)
04:00 AM
Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958)
Fantasia on a theme by Thomas Tallis for double string orchestra
BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Tadaaki Otaka (conductor)
04:18 AM
Francesco Corbetta (1615-1681)
Folias
Simone Vallerotonda (guitar)
04:25 AM
Stanislaw Moniuszko (1819-1872)
Mazurka from the opera 'Halka'
Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Szymon Kawalla (conductor)
04:31 AM
Antonio Soler (1729-1783)
Fandango
Fredrik From (violin), Benjamin Scherer Questa (violin), Teodoro Bau (viola d'arco), Hager Hanana (cello), Joanna Boslak-Gorniok (harpsichord), Dagmara Kapczyńska (harpsichord), Gwennaelle Alibert (harpsichord), Bolette Roed (recorder), Komale Akakpo (dulcimer)
04:38 AM
Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868)
Quartet for flute, clarinet, horn and bassoon no 6 in F major
Vojtech Samec (flute), Jozef Luptacik (clarinet), Jozef Illes (french horn), Frantisek Machats (bassoon)
04:49 AM
Dora Pejacevic (1885-1923), Rainer Maria Rilke (author)
Liebeslied, Op 39
Katia Markotich (mezzo soprano), HRT Symphony Orchestra, Mladen Tarbuk (conductor)
04:55 AM
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Concerto for violin and string orchestra no 1, BWV.1041, in A minor
Sigiswald Kuijken (violin), La Petite Bande, Sigiswald Kuijken (director)
05:09 AM
Nicolas Gombert (c.1495-c.1560)
Media vita in morte sumus a6
BBC Singers, Bo Holten (conductor)
05:16 AM
Alexander Glazunov (1865-1936)
Lyric poem in D flat major, Op 12
West Australian Symphony Orchestra, Vladimir Verbitsky (conductor)
05:27 AM
Guillaume Tessier (fl.1550-1600)
In a grove most rich of shade - from "A Musicall Banquet"
Paul Agnew (tenor), Christopher Wilson (lute)
05:30 AM
Benjamin Britten (1913-1976)
Piano Concerto, Op 13
Robert Leonardy (piano), Saarbrucken Radio Symphony Orchestra, Stanislaw Skrowaczewski (conductor)
06:03 AM
Valborg Aulin (1860-1928)
Quartet for strings in F major
Tale String Quartet
THU 06:30 Breakfast (m00253h7)
Sunny side up classical
Petroc Trelawny presents Radio 3's award-winning classical breakfast show with music that captures the mood of the morning. Email your requests to 3breakfast@bbc.co.uk
THU 09:30 Essential Classics (m00253h9)
Relax into the day with classical
Georgia Mann plays the best in classical music, featuring new discoveries, some musical surprises and plenty of familiar favourites.
1000 Playlist starter – listen and send us your ideas for the next step in our musical journey today.
1030 Song of the Day – harnessing the magic of words, music and the human voice.
1115 Playlist reveal – a sequence of music suggested by you in response to our starter today.
1145 Slow Moment – time to take a break for a moment's musical reflection.
1230 Album of the Week
To listen on most smart speakers say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Essential Classics”
THU 13:00 Classical Live (m00253hc)
Kirill Gerstein and friends from LSO St. Luke's in London
The highly acclaimed pianist Kirill Gerstein continues his residency at LSO St. Luke's with music by Robert Schumann and the Armenian priest and musicologist Vardapet Komitas. Also in today's programme further adventures into the world of Haydn and Mozart from the BBC orchestras - the BBC National Orchestra of Wales perform from Mozart's set of three last great symphonic masterpieces. And a major choral work from Schubert recorded earlier this year in Leipzig. Presented by Linton Stephens.
From Kirill Gerstein's residency at LSO St Luke's :
Vardupet Komitas
10 Armenian Folk Songs:
No. 5 ‘Chinar es’ (You Are Like a Plane Tree)
‘Antouni’
Ruzan Mantashyan (soprano)
Kirill Gerstein (piano)
Robert Schumann
Faschingsschwank aus Wien Op. 26
Kirill Gerstein (piano)
Vardapet Komitas
7 Armenian Dances for Solo Piano:
No. 1 ‘Manushaki of Vagharshapat’
No. 2 ‘Yerangi of Yerevan’ No. 3 ‘Unabi of Shushi’
Kirill Gerstein (piano)
***
Claude Debussy
Sonata for flute, viola and harp
Adam Walker (flute)
Timothy Ridout (viola)
Anneleen Lenaerts (harp)
c
2.15
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Symphony No. 39 in Eb, K. 543
BBC National Orchestra of Wales
Ryan Bancroft (conductor)
c.
3.00
Franz Schubert
Mass No. 6 in E flat, D. 950
Alba Vilar-Juanola, soprano
Alexandra Schmid, mezzo-soprano
Falk Hoffmann, tenor
Oliver Kaden, tenor
Steven Klose, bass
MDR Radio Chorus, Leipzig
MDR Radio Symphony Orchestra, Leipzig
Philipp Ahman (conductor)
To listen on most smart speakers just say: "Ask BBC Sounds to play Classical Live".
THU 16:00 Composer of the Week (m0012s5p)
Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924)
4. Troubles at home
Donald Macleod details the tragic event which created the biggest scandal of Puccini's life, throwing him into despair as he struggled to work on La fanciulla del West.
Giacomo Puccini was man of the theatre to his fingertips. Born in Lucca in 1858, into a distinguished family of church musicians, Puccini was never destined to follow in his forebears’ footsteps. His fate was sealed when as a teenager he walked thirty miles to hear Verdi’s Aida. He knew immediately that theatre was his calling and from that point on he wrote almost exclusively for the stage.
A perfectionist and an often unreasonable taskmaster, Puccini agonised over each of his operas. Beginning with Manon Lescaut, the opera that launched Puccini internationally, this week Donald Macleod follows the off and the on-stage dramas of La Bohème, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, La fanciulla del West, Suor Angelica, Gianni Schicchi, Il tabarro and the opera he left incomplete at his death in 1924, his final masterpiece, Turandot. The stories on stage are interleaved with events in his personal life, from an early scandal over his affair with a married woman and some very dodgy skulduggery in his business dealings, to the suicide of one of his servants, a tragedy of such proportion, he was plunged in to a deep depression, haunted by the events for the rest of his life.
In a week celebrating a composer whose music expresses every human emotion, there's a host of landmark recordings, including the voices of Jonas Kaufmann, Angela Gheorghiu, Anna Netrebko and Roberto Alagna, We'll hear Mimì's touching calling card from La Bohème, in the classic Victoria de los Angeles version while Renato Scotto pours all Madam Butterfly's hopes into the heartbreaking Un bel dì. The raw pain of Sister Angelica mourning her dead son, and the dark desperation of a jealous husband in Il tabarro. On Wednesday Callas and Gobbi’s anguished, sadistic torture scene in Tosca still has the power to shock us as much as it did on its first night in 1900. It's high stakes and nail-biting tension in La fanciulla del West as Minnie trades the life of her outlaw lover on the outcome of a card game. Joan Sutherland’s icy Princess Turandot, a magnificent pairing with Luciano Pavarotti’s Prince Calaf comes on Friday along with a certain aria made famous by the 1990 world cup, heard here in the hands of another Puccini specialist, Jussi Björling.
After years of enduring her husband's infidelities, Puccini's wife Elvira accused one of the servants of having an affair with him.
Gianni Schicchi
O mio babbino caro
Montserrat Caballé, soprano, Lauretta
London Symphony Orchestra
Charles Mackerras, conductor
Gianni Schicchi, excerpt
.. Zitte, Obbedite!
... Datemi I panni per verstirmi presto!
Tito Gobbi, baritone, Gianni Schicchi
Leo Pudis, bass, Maestro Spinellocchio
Anna di Stasio, mezzo soprano, Zita
Giancarlo Luccardi, bass, Simone
Alfredo Marriotti, bass-baritone, Betto di Signa
Carlo del Bosco, bass, Marco
Ileana Cotrubas, soprano, Lauretta
London Symphony Orchestra
Lorin Maazel, conductor
Il tabarro
Nulla silenzio!
Carlo Guelfi, baritone, Michele
London Symphony Orchestra
Anthony Pappano, conductor
La fanciulla del West, Act 1
Signor Johnson, siete rimasto indietro
Io non son che una povera fanciulla
Quello che tacete
Come voi, Leggermi in cor non so
Oh, non temete, nessuno ardira
Mara Zampieri, soprano, Minnie
Placido Domingo, tenor, Dick Johnson
Sergio Bertocchi, tenor, Nick
Chorus & Orchestra of La Scala Milan
Lorin Maazel, conductor
La fanciulla del West, Act 2
Una partita a poker!
Sherrill Milnes, baritone, Jack Rance
Carol Neblett, soprano, Minnie
Royal Opera House Orchestra, Covent Garden
Zubin Mehta, conductor
Suor Angelica
Nel silenzio di quei raccoglimenti
Tutto offerto alla Vergine, si, tutto
Senza mamma, o bimbo, tu sei morto!
Cristina Gallardo-Domas, soprano, Sister Angelica
Bernadette Manca di Nissa, soprano, the Aunt Princess
London Symphony Orchestra
Anthony Pappano, conductor
THU 17:00 In Tune (m00253hg)
Discover classical music and artists
Violinist Pavel Sporcl, accompanied by pianist Anna Tilbrook, and conductor Roberto Fores Veses drop by the In Tune studio ahead of their concert with the English Chamber Orchestra at the Southbank Centre. Plus Sean Rafferty talks to cellist and conductor, Leonard Elschenbroich.
THU 19:00 Classical Mixtape (m00253hj)
Your daily classical soundtrack
Take time out with a 30-minute soundscape of classical favourites by French composers across the centuries - Charpentier's majestic Prelude to Te Deum, a strutting cakewalk by Debussy, Lili Boulanger's strident setting of Psalm 24 - "The earth is the Lord's and the fulness thereof" and Ravel's evocation of a pavane that a little princess might have danced at the Spanish court in years gone by. These are followed by the "Méditation" from Massenet's opera Thaïs arranged for flute and harp, the slow movement from Poulenc's rustic Concert champêtre and the sublime duet from Bizet's The Pearl Fishers. A French affair to cherish!
Producer: Ian Wallington
To listen on most smart speakers just say “ask BBC Sounds to play Classical Mixtape.”
THU 19:30 Radio 3 in Concert (m00253hl)
Coltrane: Legacy for Orchestra
The BBC Concert Orchestra returns to the EFG London Jazz Festival with a full symphonic tribute to the life, work and genius of John Coltrane.
The creator of Blue Train, Giant Steps and A Love Supreme might just be the single greatest creative genius in modern jazz: a figure whose musical legacy is revered by many, and acknowledged by all. Now, his spirit rides again. Coltrane: Legacy for Orchestra is a new live concert experience re-framing some of his greatest works. This special concert features fast-rising trumpeter Giveton Gelin, legendary saxophonist Denys Baptiste, the ground-breaking Nikki Yeoh Trio and the ever-versatile BBC Concert Orchestra, conducted by Principal Guest Conductor and Curator Edwin Outwater. Together, they’ll take you on a musical journey through Coltrane’s work, from the 1950s through to the late sixties. For one night only, the legend lives.
Presented by Georgia Mann and recorded at Queen Elizabeth Hall on 24 November 2024.
Coltrane arr. Erik Jekabson: Blue Train
Coltrane arr. Andy Milne: Naima
Coltrane arr. Andy Milne: Crepescule with Nellie
Coltrane arr. Steven Feifke: Giant Steps
Coltrane arr. Ben Morris: My One and Only Love
Davis arr. Tim Davies: So What
Davis arr. Cassie Kinoshi: Blue in Green
Coltrane arr. Andy Milne: A Love Supreme
INTERVAL
Ellington & Coltrane arr. Carlos Simon: In a Sentimental Mood
Coltrane arr. Ben Morris: Crescent
Coltrane arr. Tim Davies: Central Park West
Coltrane arr. Carlos Simon: Alabama
Coltrane arr. Ben Morris: Impressions
Coltrane arr. Jonathan Bingham: My Favorite Things
Denys Baptiste (tenor saxophone)
Giveton Gelin (trumpet)
Nikki Yeoh Trio – Nikki Yeoh (piano), Ewan Hastie (bass) Shaney Forbes (drums)
BBC Concert Orchestra
Edwin Outwater (conductor)
THU 21:45 The Essay (m00253hn)
Tin Pan Alleys
Spain's Tin Pan Alley - Centro, Madrid
The journalist Guy Hedgecoe, who covers Spain for the BBC, visits Felipe Conde's shop and workshop in Centro, Madrid. Conde is the fourth generation of his family to make classical and flamenco guitars. Many of the great flamenco musicians - Moraito, Paco de Lucia, Tomatito - have played Conde guitars, as have artists from other traditions - Leonard Cohen, Lenny Kravitz, Cat Stevens. And Paco de Lucia gave one to Michael Jackson.
Guy meet Antonio Gonzalez, one of Conde's customers, who tell him what qualities he is looking for - and plays. And he watches while Felipe Conde works on a new instrument.
Guy explores the state of the craft of making, the art of playing and the place of the classical guitar and flamenco music in Spain, and around the world, today.
Presenter: Guy Hedgecoe
Producer: Julian May
THU 22:00 Night Tracks (m00253hq)
A meditative moonlight soundtrack
Sara Mohr-Pietsch presents an adventurous, immersive soundtrack for late-night listening, from classical to contemporary and everything in between.
THU 23:30 'Round Midnight (m00253hs)
The Bad Plus are back
'Round Midnight is presented by award-winning saxophonist Soweto Kinch. This weekday late-night show celebrates the thriving UK jazz scene and spotlights the best new music alongside incredible acts from past decades.
Trumpeter, composer and KOKOROKO bandleader Sheila Maurice-Grey has been Soweto's Flowers guest this week, choosing contemporaries and unsung heroes to celebrate. She concludes her time as our jazz florist by choosing legendary Brazilian trio Azymuth.
KOKOROKO's new EP Get The Message is out now.
There's also music in the show from McCoy Tyner & Joe Henderson, Mike Westbrook and Colectiva.
To listen on most smart speakers just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Round Midnight".
FRIDAY 29 NOVEMBER 2024
FRI 00:30 Through the Night (m00253hv)
Croatian Music from Zagreb
Sebastian Quartet performs works by Croatian composers from the 19th Century to the present day. Jonathan Swain presents.
12:31 AM
Franjo Dugan (1874-1948)
Golden Wings
Sebastian String Quartet
12:33 AM
Rabanus Maurus (c. 780-856)
Veni, Creator Spiritus
Sebastian String Quartet
12:34 AM
Davorin Kempf (b.1947)
Prelude Chorale and Fugue
Sebastian String Quartet
12:43 AM
Rudolf Matz (1901-1988)
Burgenland Quartet
Sebastian String Quartet
12:58 AM
Vjekoslav Rosenberg Ruzic (1870-1954)
Dance Scenes
Sebastian String Quartet
01:12 AM
Camille Saint-Saens (1835-1921)
String Quartet no 2 in G, Op 153
Sebastian String Quartet
01:41 AM
Fryderyk Chopin (1810-1849)
Etude in F major, Op 10 no 8
Ivo Pogorelich (piano)
01:44 AM
Dora Pejacevic (1885-1923)
Symphony in F sharp minor, Op 41
Croatian Radio-Television Symphony Orchestra, Mladen Tarbuk (conductor)
02:31 AM
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Septet in E flat, Op 20
Moritz Roelcke (clarinet), Herve Joulain (horn), Igor Ahss (bassoon), Gwendolyn Masin (violin), Rumen Cvetkov (viola), Benedict Klockner (cello), Lars Olaf Schaper (double bass)
03:11 AM
Sergey Rachmaninov (1873-1943)
Suite no 2 for 2 pianos, Op 17
Ouellet-Murray Duo
03:35 AM
Edvard Grieg (1843-1907)
Symphonic dance no 2 (Allegro grazioso), Op 64 no 2
Norwegian Radio Orchestra, Ingar Bergby (conductor)
03:42 AM
Henry Purcell (1659-1695), John Playford (1623-1686)
Charon the peaceful shade invites
Anders J. Dahlin (tenor), Les Ambassadeurs, Alexis Kossenko (director)
03:50 AM
Henry Eccles (c.1675-1745)
Sonata for double bass and piano
Gary Karr (double bass), Harmon Lewis (piano)
03:59 AM
George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)
Water Music: Suite in G major for 'flauto piccolo' HWV 350
Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, Paul Dyer (director)
04:09 AM
Orlande de Lassus (1532-1594)
3 motets: Jubilate Deo; Io ti voria; Tristis est anima mea
Netherlands Chamber Choir, Paul van Nevel (conductor)
04:15 AM
Gabriel Faure (1845 - 1924)
Nocturne in E minor, Op 107
Stefan Lindgren (piano)
04:22 AM
Johann Strauss II (1825-1899)
Der Zigeunerbaron - overture
Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Orchestra, Raffi Armenian (conductor)
04:31 AM
Carl Friedrich Abel (1723-1787)
Symphony in E flat major, Op 10 no 3, K.21
La Stagione Frankfurt, Michael Schneider (conductor)
04:40 AM
Maxim Berezovsky (1745-1777)
Do not reject me Ps.70
Seven Saints Chamber Choir, Dimitar Grigorov (conductor)
04:49 AM
Franz Liszt (1811-1886)
Hungarian Rhapsody no 2 in C sharp minor
Ladislav Fantzowitz (piano)
04:58 AM
Carl Nielsen (1865-1931)
Pan og Syrinx (Pan and Syrinx) Op 49 FS.87
Danish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Michael Schonwandt (conductor)
05:07 AM
Bohuslav Martinu (1890-1959)
Variations on a theme by Rossini for cello and piano
Leonid Gorokhov (cello), Irina Nikitina (piano)
05:15 AM
Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868)
Overture to "Il Barbiere di Siviglia"
KBS Symphony Orchestra, Chi-Yong Chung (conductor)
05:23 AM
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Magnificat in D major, BWV 243
Hana Blazikova (soprano), Margot Oitzinger (mezzo soprano), Robin Blaze (counter tenor), Thomas Hobbs (tenor), Peter Kooij (bass), Collegium Vocale Gent, Collegium Vocale Gent Orchestra, Philippe Herreweghe (conductor)
05:50 AM
Fryderyk Chopin (1810-1849)
Ballade for piano no 4 in F minor, Op 52
Zbigniew Raubo (piano)
06:02 AM
Niccolo Paganini (1782-1840)
Concerto for violin and orchestra no 1 in D major, Op 6
Jaap van Zweden (violin), Netherlands Radio Symphony Orchestra, Kenneth Montgomery (conductor)
FRI 06:30 Breakfast (m00253p9)
Perk up your morning with classical music
Petroc Trelawny presents Radio 3's award-winning classical breakfast show with the Friday poem and music that captures the mood of the morning.
Email your requests to 3breakfast@bbc.co.uk
FRI 09:30 Essential Classics (m00253pc)
Celebrating classical greats
Georgia Mann plays the best in classical music, with discoveries and surprises rubbing shoulders with familiar favourites.
1000 Playlist starter – listen and send us your ideas for the next step in our musical journey today.
1030 Song of the Day – harnessing the magic of words, music and the human voice.
1115 Playlist reveal – a sequence of music suggested by you in response to our starter today.
1145 Slow Moment – time to take a break for a moment's musical reflection.
1230 Album of the Week
To listen on most smart speakers say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Essential Classics”
FRI 13:00 Classical Live (m00253pf)
Haydn and Mozart from Wales and pianist Kirill Gerstein in London
Linton Stephens reaches the climax to his Haydn and Mozart week from the BBC orchestras with Mozart's Jupiter Symphony from the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, whilst the acclaimed Russian born American pianist now living in Berlin, Kirill Gerstein, concludes his recent residency at LSO St. Luke's in London with music by Poulenc and Debussy.
From the Kirill Gerstein residency at LSO St Luke's:
Francis Poulenc
3 Intermezzos
Kirill Gerstein (piano)
Claude Debussy
‘Chansons de Bilitis’ -
La Flûte de Pan
La Chevelure
Le Tombeau des naïades
Ruzan Mantashyan (soprano)
Kirill Gerstein (piano)
***
Joseph Haydn
Symphony No. 26 in D minor ‘Lamentatione’
BBC National Orchestra of Wales
Harry Bickett (conductor)
Howard Shore
Fanfare for organ and brass
Karol Mossakowski (organ)
Brass of Radio France Philharmonic Orchestra
Ludwig Wicki (conductor)
Max Steiner
Suite from Casablanca
NDR Radio Symphony Orchestra
Frank Strobel (conductor)
Bohuslav Martinu
Rhapsody-Concerto for viola and orchestra
Timothy Ridout (viola)
Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra
Sir Simon Rattle (conductor)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Symphony No. 41 in C ‘Jupiter’ K. 551
BBC National Orchestra of Wales
Ryan Bancroft (conductor)
To listen on most smart speakers just say: "Ask BBC Sounds to play Classical Live".
FRI 16:00 Composer of the Week (m0012sp5)
Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924)
5. Unfinished business
Donald Macleod explores Puccini's genius for creating different sound worlds in Madama Butterfly and Turandot.
Giacomo Puccini was man of the theatre to his fingertips. Born in Lucca in 1858, into a distinguished family of church musicians, Puccini was never destined to follow in his forebears’ footsteps. His fate was sealed when as a teenager he walked thirty miles to hear Verdi’s Aida. He knew immediately that theatre was his calling and from that point on he wrote almost exclusively for the stage.
A perfectionist and an often unreasonable taskmaster, Puccini agonised over each of his operas. Beginning with Manon Lescaut, the opera that launched Puccini internationally, this week Donald Macleod follows the off and the on-stage dramas of La Bohème, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, La fanciulla del West, Suor Angelica, Gianni Schicchi, Il tabarro and the opera he left incomplete at his death in 1924, his final masterpiece, Turandot. The stories on stage are interleaved with events in his personal life, from an early scandal over his affair with a married woman and some very dodgy skulduggery in his business dealings, to the suicide of one of his servants, a tragedy of such proportion, he was plunged into a deep depression, haunted by the events for the rest of his life.
In a week celebrating a composer whose music expresses every human emotion, there's a host of landmark recordings, including the voices of Jonas Kaufmann, Angela Gheorghiu, Anna Netrebko and Roberto Alagna, We'll hear Mimì's touching calling card from La Bohème, in the classic Victoria de los Angeles version while Renato Scotto pours all Madam Butterfly's hopes into the heartbreaking Un bel dì. There's the raw pain of Sister Angelica mourning her dead son, and the dark desperation of a jealous husband in Il tabarro. On Wednesday Callas and Gobbi’s anguished, sadistic torture scene in Tosca still has the power to shock us as much as it did on its first night in 1900. It's high stakes and nail-biting tension in La fanciulla del West as Minnie trades the life of her outlaw lover on the outcome of a card game. Joan Sutherland’s icy Princess Turandot, a magnificent pairing with Luciano Pavarotti’s Prince Calaf comes on Friday along with a certain aria made famous by the 1990 world cup, heard here in the hands of another Puccini specialist, Jussi Björling.
As soon as the ink was dry on one project, Puccini would start looking ahead to the next. However, from 1900 onwards he was beset by doubts and anxieties, unable to decide on the subject for his next opera. In the end it was the instruments and melodies of the Far East that provided new inspiration.
Turandot
Nessun dorma
Jussi Björling, tenor, Prince Calaf
Rome Opera Orchestra
Erich Leinsdorf, conductor
Madama Butterfly, Act 2
Un bel dì vedremo
Anna di Stasio, mezzo soprano, Suzuki
Renata Scotto, soprano, Cio-cio San
Rome Opera House Orchestra
John Barbirolli, conductor
Madama Butterfly, Act 2
Una nave da guerra
Scuoti quella fronda di ciliegio
Or vieni ad adornar
Anna di Stasio, mezzo soprano, Suzuki
Renata Scotto, soprano, Cio-cio San
Rome Opera House Orchestra
John Barbirolli, conductor
Turandot, Act 1
In Questa Reggia
Ascolta straniera
Gloria o vincitore!
Joan Sutherland, soprano, Princess Turandot
Luciano Pavarotti, tenor, Calaf
Peter Pears, tenor, Emperor
Montserrat Caballe, soprano, Liu
London Philharmonic Orchestra
John Alldis choir
Zubin Mehta, conductor
La Bohème, Act 4
Fingevo dormire
Angela Gheorghiu, soprano, Mimi
Roberto Alagna, tenor, Rodolfo
Roberto de Candia, baritone, Schaunard
Elizabetta Scano, mezzo soprano, Musetta,
Simon Keenlyside, baritone, Marcello
Ildebrando d’Arcangelo, bass, Colline
Orchestra of La Scala, Milan
Riccardo Chailly, conductor
Producer: Johannah Smith
FRI 17:00 In Tune (m00253pj)
Voces8 and Cara Tivey
Voces8 perform live music for presenter Sean Rafferty, plus the pianist and composer Cara Tivey plays music from her latest album.
FRI 19:00 Classical Mixtape (m00253pl)
Classical music for your journey
A relaxing half hour of back to back classical music to ease the mind. Music includes works by Rachmaninov, Yoshimatsu, Corelli and Debussy.
To listen on most smart speakers just say “ask BBC Sounds to play Classical Mixtape”
Producer: Helen Garrison
FRI 19:30 Friday Night is Music Night (m00253pn)
Celebrating Puccini
To mark the 100th anniversary of the death of Giacomo Puccini, one of the greatest ever opera composers, the BBC Concert Orchestra conducted by Matthew Kofi Waldren presents a special Friday Night Is Music Night concert in which the opera goes to the movies, and movie music comes to life. Tonight, these two worlds collide and make beautiful music. The orchestra is joined by dazzling British opera singers Anna Patalong and Charne Rochford as well as West End sensation Tyrone Huntley, It performs epic movie themes from The Sea Hawk to Star Wars, arias from Tosca, Madam Butterfly, La Boheme and Turandot as well showtunes from Les Miserables and South Pacific in a musical toast to opera’s greatest showman, the man who created blockbusters before the silver screen was even invented.
Presented by Gareth Malone and recorded at BBC Maida Vale Studios on 20 September 2024.
Puccini: La Tregenda from Le Villi
Puccini: Vissi d’arte from Tosca
Puccini: E lucevan le stelle from Tosca
Rossini: Overture to The Barber of Seville
Rodgers & Hammerstein : Younger Than Springtime from South Pacific
Puccini: Intermezzo from Manon Lescaut
Claude-Michel Schönberg: Bring Him Home from Les Misérables
John Williams: Star Wars Theme (A New Hope)
INTERVAL
Korngold arr. Black: Overture to The Sea Hawk
Puccini: Un bel dì from Madama Butterfly
Claude-Michel Schönberg: Why God, Why from Miss Saigon
Verdi: Overture to La Forza del destino
De Curtis: Non ti scordar di me
Puccini: Intermezzo from Suor Angelica
Puccini: Nessun dorma from Turandot
Puccini: O soave fanciulla from La Boheme
Anna Patalong (soprano)
Charne Rochford (tenor)
Tyrone Huntley (singer)
BBC Concert Orchestra
Matthew Kofi Waldren (conductor)
FRI 21:45 The Essay (m00253pq)
Tin Pan Alleys
Indonesia's Tin Pan Alley - Tihingan in Bali
'Be not afeard. The isle is full of noises,
Sounds, and sweet airs, that give delight and hurt not.
Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments
Will hum about mine ears...'
There is an idea that what Caliban is describing is gamelan music, and that Shakespeare had heard accounts of it as he wrote The Tempest from sailors who had recently returned from a voyage to the Spice Islands - Indonesia.
The village of Tihingan in Bali is full of noises because the chief occupation there is making gongs for gamelans, the wonderful gong orchestras of Bali and Java. Ade Mardiyati, a journalist who reports for the BBC's Indonesian service, visits Tihingan - Indonesia's Tin Pan Alley - the learn about the craft. Two crucial skills are involved; that of the smith who forges the gongs, and that , the tuner who works them to ensure they give the right note. In a sonically rich essay, recorded while these masters work, Ade explores the past, present and future of gamelan making, and music.
Presenter: Ade Mardiyati
Producer: Julian May
FRI 22:00 Late Junction (m00253ps)
Lechuga Zafiro’s mixtape
Verity Sharp presents a mind-bending mixtape from self-styled “amphibian” Lechuga Zafiro. The Uruguayan producer’s approach to production has been dubbed “club concrète”, bringing cutting edge sound design to recordings collected through his travels - from the sound of metal, glass and water, to toads, sea lions and pigs. A close affinity with frogs provided the initial creative spark for Zafiro’s latest album, Desde los oídos de un sapo (From the Ears of a Toad), a free flowing combination of Afro-Latin folkloric rhythms, ambient field recordings, and fierce electronics. To celebrate the album’s release, Lechuga Zafiro offers a glimpse into his sonic universe with this Late Junction mixtape.
Elsewhere in the show, a newly-released lost recording of esteemed pianist Thelonious Monk playing live in Paris in 1966, surreal minimalism from French singer-songwriter Chicaloyoh, and a track from treasured Wassoulou singer Nahawa Doumbia.
Produced by Gabriel Francis
A Reduced Listening production for BBC Radio 3
To listen on most smart speakers just say “ask BBC Sounds to play Late Junction”
FRI 23:30 'Round Midnight (m00253pv)
London Jazz Festival: Daniel Casimir, Lau Noah & Marysia Osu
'Round Midnight is presented by award-winning saxophonist Soweto Kinch. This weekday late-night show celebrates the thriving UK jazz scene and spotlights the best new music alongside incredible acts from past decades.
Fridays on the show sound a little different.. and tonight, Soweto has highlights from the 'Round Midnight concert at the Barbican, recorded during this year's London Jazz festival.
Bassist and composer Daniel Casimir performed music from latest album 'Balance' with his quintet, Catalan guitarist and vocalist Lau Noah played a beautiful solo set, and harpist Marysia Osu featured material from her debut record 'harps, beats and dreams', alongside flautist YUIS.
To listen on most smart speakers just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Round Midnight".
LIST OF THIS WEEK'S PROGRAMMES
(Note: the times link back to the details; the pids link to the BBC page, including iPlayer)
'Round Midnight
23:30 MON (m00253br)
'Round Midnight
23:30 TUE (m00254r4)
'Round Midnight
23:30 WED (m00253l2)
'Round Midnight
23:30 THU (m00253hs)
'Round Midnight
23:30 FRI (m00253pv)
Breakfast
06:30 SAT (m002539g)
Breakfast
06:30 SUN (m00253bw)
Breakfast
06:30 MON (m00253b5)
Breakfast
06:30 TUE (m00254ql)
Breakfast
06:30 WED (m00253kd)
Breakfast
06:30 THU (m00253h7)
Breakfast
06:30 FRI (m00253p9)
Choral Evensong
15:00 SUN (m0024xbz)
Choral Evensong
15:00 WED (m00253kl)
Classical Live
13:00 MON (m00253b9)
Classical Live
13:00 TUE (m00254qq)
Classical Live
13:00 WED (m00253kj)
Classical Live
13:00 THU (m00253hc)
Classical Live
13:00 FRI (m00253pf)
Classical Mixtape
19:00 MON (m001m58p)
Classical Mixtape
19:00 TUE (m00254qw)
Classical Mixtape
19:00 WED (m00253kr)
Classical Mixtape
19:00 THU (m00253hj)
Classical Mixtape
19:00 FRI (m00253pl)
Compline
21:30 SUN (m00253c9)
Composer of the Week
16:00 MON (m0012rn3)
Composer of the Week
16:00 TUE (m0012rx3)
Composer of the Week
16:00 WED (m0012rrl)
Composer of the Week
16:00 THU (m0012s5p)
Composer of the Week
16:00 FRI (m0012sp5)
Drama on 3
20:00 SUN (m001g40k)
Earlier... with Jools Holland
12:00 SAT (m002539l)
Essential Classics
09:30 MON (m00253b7)
Essential Classics
09:30 TUE (m00254qn)
Essential Classics
09:30 WED (m00253kg)
Essential Classics
09:30 THU (m00253h9)
Essential Classics
09:30 FRI (m00253pc)
Friday Night is Music Night
19:30 FRI (m00253pn)
In Tune
17:00 MON (m00253bd)
In Tune
17:00 TUE (m00254qt)
In Tune
17:00 WED (m00253kp)
In Tune
17:00 THU (m00253hg)
In Tune
17:00 FRI (m00253pj)
Jazz Record Requests
16:00 SUN (m00253c4)
Late Junction
22:00 FRI (m00253ps)
Music Map
13:30 SUN (m00253c2)
Music Matters
13:00 SAT (m002539n)
Music Planet
21:30 SAT (m002539z)
New Music Show
22:30 SAT (m00253b1)
Night Tracks
22:00 SUN (m001z6dk)
Night Tracks
22:00 MON (m00253bp)
Night Tracks
22:00 TUE (m00254r2)
Night Tracks
22:00 WED (m00253ky)
Night Tracks
22:00 THU (m00253hq)
Opera on 3
18:00 SAT (m002539x)
Private Passions
12:00 SUN (m00253c0)
Radio 3 in Concert
19:30 MON (m00253bj)
Radio 3 in Concert
19:30 TUE (m00254qy)
Radio 3 in Concert
19:30 WED (m00253kt)
Radio 3 in Concert
19:30 THU (m00253hl)
Record Review
14:00 SAT (m002539q)
Saturday Morning
09:00 SAT (m002539j)
Sound of Gaming
16:00 SAT (m002539s)
Sunday Feature
19:15 SUN (m00253c7)
Sunday Morning
09:00 SUN (m00253by)
The Early Music Show
17:00 SUN (m000sycn)
The Essay
21:45 MON (m00253bl)
The Essay
21:45 TUE (m00254r0)
The Essay
21:45 WED (m00253kw)
The Essay
21:45 THU (m00253hn)
The Essay
21:45 FRI (m00253pq)
This Classical Life
17:00 SAT (m002539v)
Through the Night
00:30 SAT (m0024xvb)
Through the Night
00:30 SUN (m00253b3)
Through the Night
00:30 MON (m00253cf)
Through the Night
00:30 TUE (m00253bt)
Through the Night
00:30 WED (m00254r6)
Through the Night
00:30 THU (m00253l6)
Through the Night
00:30 FRI (m00253hv)
Unclassified
23:30 SUN (m0021bt1)
Words and Music
18:00 SUN (m0010nx6)
LIST OF THIS WEEK'S PROGRAMMES ORDERED BY GENRE
(Note: the times link back to the details; the pids link to the BBC page, including iPlayer)
Drama
Drama on 3
20:00 SUN (m001g40k)
Words and Music
18:00 SUN (m0010nx6)
Factual
Sunday Feature
19:15 SUN (m00253c7)
Factual: Arts, Culture & the Media
Music Matters
13:00 SAT (m002539n)
The Essay
21:45 MON (m00253bl)
The Essay
21:45 TUE (m00254r0)
The Essay
21:45 WED (m00253kw)
The Essay
21:45 THU (m00253hn)
The Essay
21:45 FRI (m00253pq)
Music
Late Junction
22:00 FRI (m00253ps)
Sound of Gaming
16:00 SAT (m002539s)
Music: Classical
Breakfast
06:30 SAT (m002539g)
Breakfast
06:30 SUN (m00253bw)
Breakfast
06:30 MON (m00253b5)
Breakfast
06:30 TUE (m00254ql)
Breakfast
06:30 WED (m00253kd)
Breakfast
06:30 THU (m00253h7)
Breakfast
06:30 FRI (m00253p9)
Classical Live
13:00 MON (m00253b9)
Classical Live
13:00 TUE (m00254qq)
Classical Live
13:00 WED (m00253kj)
Classical Live
13:00 THU (m00253hc)
Classical Live
13:00 FRI (m00253pf)
Classical Mixtape
19:00 MON (m001m58p)
Classical Mixtape
19:00 TUE (m00254qw)
Classical Mixtape
19:00 WED (m00253kr)
Classical Mixtape
19:00 THU (m00253hj)
Classical Mixtape
19:00 FRI (m00253pl)
Composer of the Week
16:00 MON (m0012rn3)
Composer of the Week
16:00 TUE (m0012rx3)
Composer of the Week
16:00 WED (m0012rrl)
Composer of the Week
16:00 THU (m0012s5p)
Composer of the Week
16:00 FRI (m0012sp5)
Earlier... with Jools Holland
12:00 SAT (m002539l)
Essential Classics
09:30 MON (m00253b7)
Essential Classics
09:30 TUE (m00254qn)
Essential Classics
09:30 WED (m00253kg)
Essential Classics
09:30 THU (m00253h9)
Essential Classics
09:30 FRI (m00253pc)
In Tune
17:00 MON (m00253bd)
In Tune
17:00 TUE (m00254qt)
In Tune
17:00 WED (m00253kp)
In Tune
17:00 THU (m00253hg)
In Tune
17:00 FRI (m00253pj)
Music Map
13:30 SUN (m00253c2)
Night Tracks
22:00 SUN (m001z6dk)
Night Tracks
22:00 MON (m00253bp)
Night Tracks
22:00 TUE (m00254r2)
Night Tracks
22:00 WED (m00253ky)
Night Tracks
22:00 THU (m00253hq)
Private Passions
12:00 SUN (m00253c0)
Radio 3 in Concert
19:30 MON (m00253bj)
Radio 3 in Concert
19:30 TUE (m00254qy)
Radio 3 in Concert
19:30 WED (m00253kt)
Radio 3 in Concert
19:30 THU (m00253hl)
Record Review
14:00 SAT (m002539q)
Saturday Morning
09:00 SAT (m002539j)
Sunday Morning
09:00 SUN (m00253by)
This Classical Life
17:00 SAT (m002539v)
Through the Night
00:30 SAT (m0024xvb)
Through the Night
00:30 SUN (m00253b3)
Through the Night
00:30 MON (m00253cf)
Through the Night
00:30 TUE (m00253bt)
Through the Night
00:30 WED (m00254r6)
Through the Night
00:30 THU (m00253l6)
Through the Night
00:30 FRI (m00253hv)
Words and Music
18:00 SUN (m0010nx6)
Music: Classical: Choral
Choral Evensong
15:00 SUN (m0024xbz)
Choral Evensong
15:00 WED (m00253kl)
Compline
21:30 SUN (m00253c9)
Music: Classical: Early Music
The Early Music Show
17:00 SUN (m000sycn)
Music: Classical: Experimental & New
New Music Show
22:30 SAT (m00253b1)
Unclassified
23:30 SUN (m0021bt1)
Music: Classical: Opera
Opera on 3
18:00 SAT (m002539x)
Music: Easy Listening, Soundtracks & Musicals
Friday Night is Music Night
19:30 FRI (m00253pn)
Music: Jazz & Blues
Jazz Record Requests
16:00 SUN (m00253c4)
Music: Jazz & Blues: Jazz
'Round Midnight
23:30 MON (m00253br)
'Round Midnight
23:30 TUE (m00254r4)
'Round Midnight
23:30 WED (m00253l2)
'Round Midnight
23:30 THU (m00253hs)
'Round Midnight
23:30 FRI (m00253pv)
Jazz Record Requests
16:00 SUN (m00253c4)
Music: World
Late Junction
22:00 FRI (m00253ps)
Music Planet
21:30 SAT (m002539z)
Night Tracks
22:00 SUN (m001z6dk)
Night Tracks
22:00 MON (m00253bp)
Night Tracks
22:00 TUE (m00254r2)
Night Tracks
22:00 WED (m00253ky)
Night Tracks
22:00 THU (m00253hq)
Religion & Ethics
Choral Evensong
15:00 SUN (m0024xbz)
Choral Evensong
15:00 WED (m00253kl)
Compline
21:30 SUN (m00253c9)