RADIO-LISTS: BBC RADIO 3
Unofficial Weekly Listings for BBC Radio 3 — supported by bbc.co.uk/programmes/
SATURDAY 09 AUGUST 2025
SAT 06:30 Breakfast (m002gry8)
Start the day with classical music
Emma Clarke presents Radio 3’s Breakfast show live from Salford. You can contact the show by emailing 3breakfast@bbc.co.uk
To listen on most smart speakers, just say 'Ask BBC Sounds to play 3 Breakfast’
SAT 09:00 Saturday Morning (m002gryb)
Cello magic from Abel Selaocoe
Tom Service with guests, stories and the perfect classical soundtrack for the weekend!
South African cellist Abel Selaocoe is one of the world's most inventive and irrepressibly joyful musicians. Abel joins Tom to play live and talk about his new album and upcoming performance at the Edinburgh International Festival, as well as how he tries to tell African stories with his cello and how it felt making his Glastonbury debut this summer.
Icelandic composer Anna Thorvaldsdottir is known for creating elemental musical soundworlds, and the conductor who is often responsible for bringing her music to life in the orchestra is Eva Ollikainen. Ahead of Eva conducting Anna's new cello concerto at the Proms this week, the two musicians talk to Tom about collaboration, sound and their special musical bond.
And ever wondered why us humans have rhythm? The answer may well be found in the African rainforests, as astonishing new research shows that chimpanzees have also shown to use rhythmic patterns. Primatologist Cat Hobaiter talks to us about chimps, drumming and why rhythm is in us all.
To listen on most smart speakers just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Radio 3”
SAT 12:00 Earlier... with Jools Holland (m002gryd)
Classical, blues and jazz for the weekend
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 for harmonica by James Moody, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor's African Suite and a choral work by Francisco Guerrero, including performances from Tommy Reilly and Lloyd Glenn. His guest is the singer, composer and pianist Kate Garner who introduces music she loves by Mozart, Debussy and Paul Robeson.
To listen on most smart speakers just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Earlier with Jools Holland".
SAT 13:00 Music Matters (m002gryg)
Piano Stories
Alfred Brendel
Piano technician Ulrich Gerhartz talks pianos in Brendel's last recorded conversation.
Ulrich Gerhartz is talking pianos with some of the greatest pianists of our age. Ulrich is Director of Concert and Artist Services at Steinway and Sons in London. For the last 30 years he’s been piano technician to the stars of the piano world. When they sit down at a keyboard, it's his job to ensure that these top musicians have the best instrument possible set up for their particular taste and touch.
Great pianists take Ulrich on tour; into recording studios; and to the world’s finest concert halls. Tuning is a small part of what he does as he spends hours preparing each piano to suit each performer.
This conversation between Alfred Brendel and Ulrich which took place at Brendel’s home in March of this year, turned out to be his last recorded interview.
Alfred Brendel was Ulrich’s mentor as a piano technician. He taught him what a performer wants and needs from a piano, and this knowledge has gone on to inform Ulrich’s whole career. Their professional relationship started at the BBC Proms in 1991 and finished with Brendel’s final concert in Vienna in 2008. Their friendship continued up until Brendel’s death at the age of 94 on 17th June this year.
Haydn: Piano Sonata in C, H.XVI No.50: 3. Allegro molto
Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-Flat, Op. 83: II. Allegro appassionato
Beethoven: Sonata for Cello and Piano No. 5 in D major, Op. 102, No. 2 III. Allegro – Allegro fugato
Schubert: 4 Impromptus, Op. 142, D. 935: No. 1 in F Minor: Allegro moderato
Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 31 in A-Flat Major, Op. 110 - I. Moderato cantabile molto espressivo
J.S. Bach: Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, BWV 659
Producer: Rosie Boulton
A Must Try Softer Production
SAT 14:00 Record Review (m002gryk)
BBC Proms Composer: Ravel with Jeremy Sams and Andrew McGregor
Andrew McGregor with the best new recordings of classical music.
1430
BBC Proms Composer: Maurice Ravel
Jeremy Sams picks five indispensable recordings of works by BBC Proms Composer Ravel
c1530
Proms Recording
To round off each edition of Record Review during the BBC Proms, Andrew introduces the Building a Library recommendation of a major work by a composer featured at this year's Proms.
Sibelius: Symphony No. 1
BBC Philharmonic
John Storgards (conductor)
CHANDOS CHAN10809(3)
SAT 16:00 Sound of Cinema (m001b5jl)
Lalo Schifrin
Lalo Schifrin, composer of classic jazz-infused scores for Mission Impossible, Bullitt and Dirty Harry - Matthew Sweet looks back on his career and music. The programme features music from Cool Hand Luke, Enter the Dragon, The Fox, The Four Musketeers, Rush Hour 2, The Amityville Horror and Tango.
Lalo Schifrin died in June 2025, and this programme was first broadcast in 2022.
SAT 17:00 This Classical Life (m002grym)
Jess Gillam with... Edwin Outwater
Jess Gillam shares favourite music with the conductor Edwin Outwater.
American conductor Edwin Outwater is celebrated for his versatility, having worked with several top orchestras, and having also collaborated with Police drummer Stewart Copeland, and rock band Metallica. Recently he became Principal Guest Conductor of the BBC Concert Orchestra. He joins Jess today to share some of the music that means a lot to him, by the likes of his mentor Michael Tilson Thomas, Henry Mancini (whose music he has conducted at the BBC Proms), and Domenico Scarlatti. Jess has music from Mozart’s mentor Padre Martini, Rachmaninov, and Led Zeppelin.
To listen on most smart speakers just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Radio 3”
SAT 18:00 Music Planet (m002gryp)
The Cavemen's Return Journey
Kathryn Tickell curates a selection of new roots-based music from across the globe, and the Nigerian modern highlight duo, The Cavemen, takes us on a return journey. Brothers Kingsley and Benjamin James, who describe their music as revolutionary highlife, discuss the tracks that keep them going while they are on the road ahead of their PROMS debut on August 12th.
Elsewhere in the show, we have fresh releases, including Hawa Kasse Mady Diabaté singing with her late father, Kasse Mady Diabaté, affectionately known as the golden voice of Mali. Hawa is preserving and breathing fresh life into the jelimuso female griot tradition, her voice both versatile and deeply expressive. We also hear from the late husband-and-wife duo Amadou and Mariam, with a posthumous release that explores the intoxicating power of love. Rounding off the show with fresh music from Cerys Hafana, one of the most exciting voices in Welsh folk.
Produced by Fatuma Khaireh
A Reduced Listening production for BBC Radio 3 To listen on most smart speakers, just say: “Ask BBC Sounds to play Music Planet.”
SAT 19:00 BBC Proms (m002gryr)
2025
The Planets and Star Wars
Live at the BBC Proms: The National Youth Orchestra conducted by Dalia Stasevska perform Holst's Planets.
Presented by Georgia Mann, live from the Royal Albert Hall, London.
John Williams: Star Wars – suite
Caroline Shaw: The Observatory
c.
7.45
Interval: Space: Could Life Exist Beyond Earth? is the title of an exhibition currently running at the Natural History Museum. Curator Caroline Smith shares her interest in meteorites from Mars and the Moon to one which, at 4567 billion years old, is older than our Earth.
c.
8.05
Holst: The Planets
National Youth Orchestra
Dalia Stasevska conductor
Britain’s most talented teenagers present a concert of intergalactic musical giants. Expect moons and meteor showers, spaceships, stars and lightsabers from the National Youth Orchestra and Dalia Stasevska.
The many worlds of Holst’s The Planets, including the mysterious beauty of ‘Neptune’ and rousing ‘Jupiter’ theme, meet the music from John Williams’s mighty Star Wars soundtracks, plus Pulitzer Prize-winner Caroline Shaw’s piece inspired by sci-fi and some sky-gazing at the Griffin Observatory in Los Angeles.
SAT 21:45 The Lebrecht Interview (m002gryt)
Harpsichordist Mahan Esfahani
Norman Lebrecht talks to the Iranian-born harpsichordist Mahan Esfahani about growing up as an American with Iranian roots, and how he took an interest on the harpsichord as a teenager; Mahan recalls his experience as a member of Radio 3's New Generation Artist scheme; he explains why he's not part of the Early Music movement and about how important it is for the harpsichord to commission new work from composers, which he has done; and about his life-transforming experience training with his legendary teacher, the Czech harpsichordist Zuzana Ruzickova.
SAT 22:30 New Music Show (m002gryw)
Music We'd Like to Hear
Tom Service presents, with exclusive recordings from the 'Music We'd Like to Hear' London concert series, as well as the latest new music releases and recordings from Glasgow and Bergen.
SUNDAY 10 AUGUST 2025
SUN 00:30 Through the Night (m002gryy)
Rachmaninov and Strauss from Shanghai
The Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra joins the internationally renowned pianist Xiang-Dong Kong, who has recently returned to the stage after time away from performing, in Rachmaninov's third piano concerto. The concert concludes with Liszt's symphonic poem Mazeppa, adapted from a poem by Victor Hugo, telling of the escapades of the Ukrainian Ivan Stepanovich Mazepa-Koledinsky. Penny Gore presents.
12:31 AM
Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868)
Overture to The Barber of Seville
Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra, Liang Zhang (conductor)
12:39 AM
Sergey Rachmaninov (1873-1943)
Piano Concerto no 3 in D Minor, Op 30
Xiang-Dong Kong (piano), Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra, Liang Zhang (conductor)
01:29 AM
Franz Liszt (1811-1886)
Mazeppa, S.100 Symphonic poem no 6
Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra, Liang Zhang (conductor)
01:46 AM
Franz Liszt (1811-1886)
Etude no 4 in D minor 'Mazeppa'
Emil von Sauer (piano)
01:53 AM
Carl Nielsen (1865-1931)
Symphony no 6, FS. 116 'Sinfonia semplice'
Danish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Thomas Dausgaard (conductor)
02:31 AM
Henry Purcell (1659-1695)
Hail, Bright Cecilia: Ode for St Cecilia's Day, Z.328
Grace Davidson (soprano), Alex Potter (counter tenor), Thomas Hobbs (tenor), Matthew Brook (bass), Damien Guillon (counter tenor), Peter Kooij (bass), Samuel Boden (tenor), Collegium Vocale Gent, Philippe Herreweghe (director)
03:23 AM
Paule Maurice (1910-67)
Tableaux de Provence - 5 pieces for saxophone and orchestra
Julia Nolan (saxophone), CBC Vancouver Orchestra, Mario Bernardi (conductor)
03:38 AM
Clara Schumann (1810-1856)
Prelude and Fugue in B flat major, Op 16 no 2
Angela Cheng (piano)
03:42 AM
Eugene Ysaye (1858-1931)
Sonata for solo violin in D minor, Op 27 no 3
Byungchan Lee (violin)
03:49 AM
Johannes Le Febure (?-c.1609/12)
Motet: Isti sunt viri sancti
Currende, Herman Stinders (organ), Erik van Nevel (conductor)
03:53 AM
Mayas Alyamani (b.1981)
Warda
Shaher Fawaz (tabla), Daria Zappa Matesic (violin), Avi Avital (mandolin), Zurich Chamber Orchestra, Willi Zimmermann (conductor)
04:01 AM
Dietrich Buxtehude (1637-1707)
Nun freut euch lieben Christen g'mein – Chorale Fantasy (BuxWV 210)
Theo Jellema (organ)
04:15 AM
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Symphony no 5 in B flat major, K.22
Netherlands Radio Chamber Orchestra, Ernest Bour (conductor)
04:22 AM
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Gestillte Sehnsucht, for alto, viola and piano, Op 91 no 1
Jennifer Johnston (mezzo soprano), Lise Berthaud (viola), Christian Ihle Hadland (piano)
04:31 AM
Christoph Gluck (1714-1787)
Iphigenie en Aulide, Overture
Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, Stefan Robl (conductor)
04:43 AM
Anonymous
Greensleeves, to a Ground with Divisions
Elizabeth Wallfisch (baroque violin), Linda Kent (harpsichord), Rosanne Hunt (cello)
04:49 AM
Nadia Boulanger (1887-1979)
3 Pieces for cello and piano
Zoltan Despond (cello), Vesselin Stanev (piano)
04:56 AM
Richard Wagner (1813-1883),
Pilgrims Chorus from "Tannhauser" (arr. for organ)
David Drury (organ)
05:02 AM
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
6 Variations on an Original Theme in F major, Op 34 for piano
Boris Berman (piano)
05:16 AM
Alban Berg (1885-1935)
Drei Bruchstücke aus Wozzeck, (Three fragments frm Wozzeck) Op 7
Dunja Vejzovic (mezzo soprano), Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Gerd Albrecht (conductor)
05:37 AM
Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
Quartet for strings in D major, Op 44 no 1
Tankstream Quartet
06:04 AM
Augusta Holmes (1847-1903)
La vision de la reine
BBC Singers Women's Voices, Morwenna Del Mar (cello), Alison Martin (harp), Annabel Thwaite (piano), Hilary Campbell (conductor)
06:22 AM
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714-1788)
Flute Sonata in G major, Wq.133/H.564 'Hamburger Sonata'
Wilbert Hazelzet (flute), Andreas Staier (fortepiano)
SUN 06:30 Breakfast (m002gs09)
Wake up your senses with classical music
Mark Forrest presents Radio 3’s Breakfast show live from Salford. With birdsong and the best in classical music. You can contact the show by emailing 3breakfast@bbc.co.uk
To listen on most smart speakers, just say 'Ask BBC Sounds to play 3 Breakfast’
SUN 09:00 Sunday Morning (m002gs0c)
Your perfect Sunday soundtrack
Sarah Walker with three hours of classical music to reflect, restore and refresh.
Today, there’s music full of optimism, from Bach’s joyous Cantata ‘My soul magnifies the Lord’ to light music by Ronald Binge, renamed ‘Elizabethan Serenade’ in 1952 when Elizabeth II became Queen, and there’s also Mendelssohn’s Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage.
This week’s choral reflection is Poulenc’s prayer to the Virgin Mary - Salve Regina - both flowing and declamatory with all the familiar twists and turns of Poulenc’s angular and beautiful melodies…
Plus, we’re treated to the whole of one of Mozart’s most beloved piano concertos…
SUN 12:00 Private Passions (b09k6t75)
Alfred Brendel
Another chance to hear pianist Alfred Brendel in conversation with Michael Berkeley in 2017.
Alfred Brendel, one of the greatest musicians of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, died in June aged 94. He was renowned for his masterly interpretations of the works of Haydn, Mozart, Schubert, Brahms, Liszt and Beethoven. He talks to Michael Berkeley about the composers and musicians he admires, and looks back at his early life. It wasn't a musical childhood; the family had no record player, but his mother used to sing cabaret songs. The Second World War made an unforgettable impression. Brendel reveals too what drew him to live in Britain: the musical culture here, the Third Programme, the Proms, and the flourishing choral tradition. He also talks honestly about how the deafness of his later life affected his love of music, and how he dreamed of music all the time and played it continually in his head.
Brendel was too modest to pick any of his own recordings for his Private Passions music selection, so following the 2017 programme Michael Berkeley presents some of his personal favourite Brendel recordings of works by Bach, Mozart and Schubert.
Original producer: Elizabeth Burke, a Loftus production for BBC Radio 3
Repeat producer: Graham Rogers
SUN 13:30 Music Map (m002gs0h)
A journey to Ravel's Piano Concerto for the Left Hand
Sara Mohr-Pietsch charts a path to Ravel's Piano Concerto for the Left Hand, composed in 1929 for the pianist Paul Wittgenstein, who had lost his right arm in the First World War. On the way we hear other pieces written for Wittgenstein, as well as music that influenced the piece from Debussy to jazz.
To listen to this programme (using most smart speakers), just say: 'Ask BBC Sounds to play Music Map.'
SUN 15:00 Choral Evensong (m002ghg6)
Royal Holloway, University of London
From the Chapel of Royal Holloway, University of London, with the Rodolfus Choral Course on the Feast of the Transfiguration of Our Lord.
Prelude: Te lucis ante terminum (John Rutter)
Introit: The Beatitudes (Philip Stopford)
Responses: June Nixon
Psalm 72 (Thalben Ball)
First Lesson: Luke 9 vv28-36
Office Hymn: O vision blest of heavenly light (Plainsong)
Canticles: Jesus College Service (Mathias)
Second Lesson: 2 Corinthians 3 vv1-18
Anthem: O nata lux (Rhiannon Randle)
Hymn: Lord enthroned in heavenly splendour (St Helen)
Voluntary: Toccata (Cheryl Frances-Hoad)
Katherine Dienes-Williams (Conductor)
Tom Winpenny (Organist)
Recorded 31 July.
To listen on most smart speakers just say “ask BBC Sounds to play Choral Evensong”.
SUN 16:00 Jazz Record Requests (m002gs0k)
Bad Plus play Aphex Twin - Lalo Schifrin
Alyn Shipton presents jazz records of all styles as requested by you including music from Lalo Schifrin, Keith Jarrett, Claire Martin & Callum Au and the Bad Plus play music by Aphex Twin. 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 (m001w8tp)
English Satire and Opera in the 18th Century
Hannah French is joined by conductor and musicologist Dr John Andrews to explore opera in England from Purcell up to the arrival of Handel. Politics and music go very much hand in hand, it seems...
This period of English music has often been described as a barren landscape, but as John Andrews himself says: ‘The idea that English music was dormant between Purcell and Elgar is as ludicrous as our tendency to forget the brilliance of English literature between Shakespeare and Austen.’
SUN 18:00 Words and Music (m002gs0p)
The Coastal Path
Is there any annoyance in life that isn't improved by a brisk walk in the sea air? It's a truth Jane Austen would surely acknowledge and even the NHS suggests it to be so even though it is not always easy to get close to the glorious English coast. The King Charles III English Coastal Path is changing all that - taking shape as the longest managed path of its kind in the world. It will take ramblers from the flatlands of The Wash to the fossil strewn beaches of Dorset; past the windswept holy island of Lindisfarne as well as the kiss me quick thrills of Blackpool or Skegness, taking in landscapes that have inspired the finest novelists, composers and poets.
This edition of words and music celebrates the English coast and our long tradition of walking along it. You will hear the words of the Northumberland based monk and historian Bede as well as a contemporary traveller in Sunderland; from WG Sebald’s travelogue The Rings of Saturn and Alice Oswald on the Severn estuary; from Jane Austen on Lyme Regis and Jini Reddy in St Ives. You will hear music from Benjamin Brittan, Ralph Vaughan Williams and Ethel Smyth – music evoking our sea-faring past, beach loving present and the white cliffs in between.
Our readers are Tara Fitzgerald and Tayla Kovacevic-Ebong.
Anita Sethi - I Belong Here
Robert Macfarlane - The Old Ways
Maura Dooley - Still Life with Sea Pinks and High Tide
Christina Rosetti - By the Sea
WG Sebald - The Rings of Saturn
Patrick Barkham - Coastlines
Sarah Perry - The Essex Serpent
George Crabbe - Peter Grimes (excerpt)
Matthew Arnold - Dover Beach (excerpt)
Jane Austen - Persuasion
Ian McEwan - On Chesil Beach
Jini Reddy - Wanderland
AE Housman - The Shropshire Lad (excerpt)
Daphne du Maurier - Rebecca
William Wordsworth - Its a Beauteous Evening (excerpt)
Alice Oswald - A Sleepwalk on the Severn (excerpt)
Paul Theroux - The Kingdom by the Sea
Noreen Masud - The Flat Place
Ben Aitken - Sh**ty Breaks
Thomas A Clarke - On Walking
Bede - Ecclesiastical History of England
Katrina Porteous - Holy Island Arch
Phoebe Smith - Wayfarer
Produced in Salford by Olive Clancy
SUN 19:30 BBC Proms (m002gs0r)
2025
Edward Gardner Conducts the LPO
Live at the BBC Proms: The London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Edward Gardner with mezzo-soprano Aigul Akhmetshina with Ravel Shéhérazade and Debussy La Mer.
Presented by Martin Handley, live from the Royal Albert Hall, London.
Sibelius: The Oceanides 11’
Tippett: The Rose Lake 29’
c.
8.15
Interval
The pianist and music director Allyson Devenish joins Martin with her personal recommendations of forthcoming BBC Proms.
c.
8.35
Ravel Shéhérazade 17’
Debussy La mer 23’
Aigul Akhmetshina mezzo-soprano
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Edward Gardner conductor
Waves play and waterfalls plunge, the still surface of a lake reflects the midday sun and an ocean duets with the wind in a concert with saltwater on its breath.
Edward Gardner conducts the London Philharmonic Orchestra in a programme of 20th-century orchestral sound-pictures. The mercurial moods of Debussy’s La mer and rolling waters of Sibelius’s The Oceanides find answer in the gentle rolling harbour of Ravel’s song-cycle Shéhérazade, performed – in a Proms debut – by mezzo- soprano Aigul Akhmetshina.
Tippett’s last major work takes us inland to discover a glowing ‘lake full of song’.
SUN 22:00 Night Tracks (m002gs0t)
Sublime sounds for nightfall
Hannah Peel presents an adventurous, immersive soundtrack for late-night listening, from classical to contemporary and everything in between.
SUN 23:30 Unclassified (m002gs0w)
Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith's Listening Chair
Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith is a perfect fit for the Unclassified Listening Chair, with a training in classical composition at Berklee that led her into a Buchla-fuelled career in electronic and experimental music. Shifting tone and tempo so that dissonance, transcendence and pin-sharp pop playfully overlap, she’s never content to stay in one sonic space for too long. The track that she for the Listening Chair that has the power to take her elsewhere is a classic from Four Tet that she played on repeat at a point of personal discovery.
Elsewhere in the show, Elizabeth offers up a vibrant selection of fresh music from genre-defying artists who take us on a journey through landscapes of ambient and experimental sounds.
Produced by Geoff Bird
A Reduced Listening production for BBC Radio 3
MONDAY 11 AUGUST 2025
MON 00:30 Through the Night (m002gs0y)
Khachaturian and Dvořák from Turin
The RAI National Symphony Orchestra and conductor Kirill Karabits are joined by soloist Sergey Khachatryan for a performance of the Violin Concerto by Soviet Armenian composer Aram Khachaturian. The concert, at the Arturo Toscanini RAI Auditorium in Turin, concludes with Dvořák's Symphony no 7. Penny Gore presents.
12:31 AM
Théodore Akimenko (1876-1945)
La Nymphe Larmoyante
RAI National Symphony Orchestra, Kirill Karabits (conductor)
12:36 AM
Aram Khachaturian (1903-1978)
Violin Concerto in D minor, Op 46
Sergey Khachatryan (violin), RAI National Symphony Orchestra, Kirill Karabits (conductor)
01:17 AM
Soghomon Soghomonian (1869-1935)
Tsirani Tsar
Sergey Khachatryan (violin)
01:21 AM
Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904)
Symphony no 7 in D minor, Op 70
RAI National Symphony Orchestra, Kirill Karabits (conductor)
01:58 AM
Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904)
Slavonic dance no 10 in E minor for piano duet, Op 72 no 2
James Anagnason (piano), Leslie Kinton (piano)
02:03 AM
Soghomon Soghomonian (1869-1935)
6 Sacred Works for Choir
Hover State Chamber Chorus of Armenia, Sona Hovhannisyan (conductor)
02:20 AM
Aram Khachaturian (1903-1978)
Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia from the ballet 'Spartacus' (Act 3)
NRCU Symphony Orchestra, Vyacheslav Blinov (conductor)
02:31 AM
Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767)
Alles redet itzt und singet, TWV
20:10
Barbara Schlick (soprano), Stephen Varcoe (bass), Michael Schneider (recorder), Konrad Hünteler (recorder), Hans-Peter Westermann (oboe), Pieter Dhont (oboe), Michael McCraw (bassoon), Das Kleine Konzert, Hermann Max (conductor)
02:59 AM
Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
Kinderszenen, Op 15
Håvard Gimse (piano)
03:20 AM
Samuel Barber (1910-1981)
Dover beach for voice and string quartet, Op 3
Urszula Kryger (mezzo soprano), Royal String Quartet
03:28 AM
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Concerto in B flat major K.191 for bassoon and orchestra
Ronald Karten (bassoon), Nieuw Sinfonietta Amsterdam, Lev Markiz (conductor)
03:46 AM
Chiara Margarita Cozzolani (1602-c.1678)
Laudate pueri - psalm for 8 voices
Cappella Artemisia, Maria Christina Cleary (harp), Francesca Torelli (theorbo), Bettini Hoffmann (gamba), Miranda Aureli (organ), Candace Smith (director)
03:55 AM
Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868)
Overture to La Gazza Ladra
Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Nello Santi (conductor)
04:06 AM
Louis Spohr (1784-1859)
Harp Fantasia no 2 in C minor, Op 35
Mojca Zlobko Vaigl (harp)
04:15 AM
Sigismond Thalberg (1812-1871)
Variations on 'Home, sweet home', Op 72
Dennis Hennig (piano)
04:21 AM
Francesco Geminiani (1687-1762)
Concerto Grosso in G minor, Op 3 no 2
Europa Galante, Fabio Biondi (director)
04:31 AM
Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179)
Ave Generosa
Orpheus Women's Choir, Albert Wissink (director)
04:37 AM
Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck (1562-1621)
Variations on 'Mein junges Leben hat ein End'
Academic Wind Quintet
04:45 AM
Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958)
The Lark Ascending
Pekka Kuusisto (violin), Basel Symphony Orchestra, Ivor Bolton (conductor)
05:01 AM
Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Fantasia in F minor for piano duet, D.940
Leon Fleisher (piano), Katherine Jacobson Fleisher (piano)
05:20 AM
Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
A Midsummer Night's Dream - incidental music, Op 61
Danish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Michael Schønwandt (conductor)
05:45 AM
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Piano Trio no 5 in D major, Op 70 no 1, 'Ghost'
Swiss Piano Trio
06:14 AM
Josquin des Prez (c.1440-1521)
Miserere
Camerata Silesia, Anna Szostak (conductor)
MON 06:30 Breakfast (m002gr4b)
The finest classical music to elevate your morning
Tom McKinney presents Radio 3’s Breakfast show live from Salford. With birdsong, Bach Before 7 and the best in classical music. You can contact the show by emailing 3breakfast@bbc.co.uk
To listen on most smart speakers, just say 'Ask BBC Sounds to play 3 Breakfast’
MON 09:30 Essential Classics (m002gr4d)
Great classical music for your morning
Georgia Mann plays the best classical music for your morning, with discoveries and surprises rubbing shoulders with familiar favourites. Including the Playlister challenge: our regular listener-created sequence inspired by a different piece of music each day. Plus a new classical release in focus for Album of the Week.
1000 Playlister starter: listen and send us your ideas for the next step in today's musical journey. Text 83111 or email essentialclassics@bbc.co.uk.
1030 Album of the Week: an exciting new classical release in focus throughout the week.
1115 Playlister reveal: an uninterrupted sequence of music suggested by you in response to today's starter piece.
1200 Feast of a Piece: indulge your ears with an orchestral masterpiece.
To listen on most smart speakers say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Essential Classics”
MON 13:00 Classical Live (m002gr4g)
Dvorak's New World from the Proms and the Edinburgh Festival
The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra present Dvorak's much loved symphony 'From the New World' alongside a trumpet concerto by Arturo Marquez at this year's Proms, Mark Forrest introduces highlights from this year's Edinburgh International Festival, including music from The King's Singers with percussionist Colin Currie.
and former Radio 3 New Generation Artist, violinist Maria Duenas performing Szymanowski.
Arturo Márquez
Concierto de otoño
Pacho Flores (trumpet)
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
Domingo Hindoyan (conductor)
Antonin Dvorak
Symphony No 9 ‘From the New World’
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
Domingo Hindoyan (conductor)
From the Edinburgh International Festival:
Francesca Amewudah-Rivers
Alive
The King’s Singers
Thomas Weelkes
Death Has Deprived Me Of My Dearest Friend
The King’s Singers
Roderick Williams
Death Be Not Proud
The King’s Singers
Colin Currie (marimba)
Szymanowski
Violin Sonata in D minor Op. 9
Maria Duenas (violin)
Alexander Malofeev (piano)
MON 16:00 Composer of the Week (m001xwwn)
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Flying the Nest
Kate Molleson looks at Brahms’ love-hate relationship with his home city of Hamburg.
Johannes Brahms, the bearded and magisterial Romantic composer, could certainly do grandeur when required. But really, he was more interested in what music meant in ordinary life - how it can whisper, joke and console. He was a man who tried to find a place to belong all his life, wrote for the people closest to him, and that fondness is writ large in his music. All this week, Kate Molleson focuses on Brahms at home, revealing the subtle sides of this sometimes brawny composer – the tender heart behind the famous beard - through the music he wrote for himself and his friends to play.
Today, we begin in Brahms’ birthplace, Hamburg, where he had a cramped and chaotic upbringing. Despite not being able to afford an instrument at home, he was sent out as a child to play piano in bars and brothels. But just beyond the confines of the city centre, headspace and opportunities await.
Liebeslieder Waltzes, Op 52a No 1
Wyneke Jordans, piano
Leo van Doeselaar, piano
Ballade in G minor, Op 118 No 2
Paul Lewis, piano
Sandmännchen WoO 31, No 4 (Children’s Folk Songs)
Anna Lucia Richter, mezzo
Ammiel Bushakevitz, piano
Scherzo in E flat minor, Op 4
Gerhard Oppitz, piano
An die Nachtigall, Op 46 No 4
Simon Keenlyside, tenor
Malcolm Martineau, piano
Vier Gesänge für Frauenchor, Op 17
RIAS Kammerchor
Stefan Jezierski, Manfred Klier, horns
Marie-Pierre Langlamet, harp
Marcus Creed, conductor
Piano Quartet No 1 in G minor Op 25 (3rd mvt – Andante]
Martha Argerich, piano
Gidon Kremer, violin
Yuri Bashmet, viola
Mischa Maisky, cello
Produced by Amelia Parker for BBC Audio Wales and West
MON 17:00 In Tune (m002gr4k)
Live classical music for your commute
Petroc Trelawny talks to conductor Robert Ames about his upcoming Prom with sitar player Anoushka Shankar and the London Contemporary Orchestra. He is also joined by Kristian Bezuidenhout ahead of his performance, 'The Mozart Experience' at MOMA Machynlleth with the Consone Quartet.
MON 19:00 BBC Proms (m002gr4m)
2025
Mahler’s Third
Live at the BBC Proms: The BBC National Orchestra and Chorus of Wales, members of the Orchestre National de Bretagne, CBSO Children’s Chorus, Ryan Bancroft & Beth Taylor.
Presented by Alexandra Humphreys, live from the Royal Albert Hall, London
Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 3 in D minor
Beth Taylor (mezzo-soprano)
BBC National Orchestra of Wales
BBC National Chorus of Wales (upper voices)
CBSO Children’s Chorus
Members of Orchestre National de Bretagne
Ryan Bancroft (conductor)
‘A symphony should be like the world,’ Mahler said, ‘it should embrace everything.’ Nowhere does this vision come more powerfully to life than in his mighty Symphony No. 3, an intricate, joyful tapestry of man, nature, heaven. The work opens in heavy summer heat and closes in rapt tranquillity in a sublime finale, animated in between by marches, dances and birdsong. Ryan Bancroft brings together the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and the Orchestre National de Bretagne, joined by the CBSO Children’s Chorus and BBC National Chorus of Wales and mezzo-soprano Beth Taylor.
MON 21:15 Music Matters (m000dyg2)
Roger Norrington
Image Credit: Chris Christodoulou
Another chance to hear a special interview with Sir Roger Norrington, as he speaks to presenter Tom Service about his distinguished career in music, and in particular his relationship with Beethoven in the composer's 250th anniversary year, including his groundbreaking and seminal recordings of the symphonies with the London Classical Players, and his distinctive and influential approach to historically informed performance practice in music from Monteverdi and Schutz to Mahler and Debussy.
MON 22:00 Night Tracks (m002gr4r)
Harmonious music for nighttime listening
Hannah Peel presents an adventurous, immersive soundtrack for late-night listening, from classical to contemporary and everything in between.
MON 23:30 'Round Midnight (m002gr4t)
Jay Phelps’ 4/4
‘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.
From Monday to Thursday this week, Soweto’s guest is the dynamic Canada born, London based trumpeter, DJ, and broadcaster Jay Phelps. Over the past two decades, Jay has made his name both nationally and internationally as a formidable trumpeter, working with artists including Wynton Marsalis, Amy Winehouse, Jazz Jamaica and Shabaka.
Jay is currently starring in MILES., a new theatrical piece exploring Miles Davis’ seminal 1959 album Kind of Blue and the legendary trumpeter. The show is at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe until Monday 25th August.
This week Jay is selecting some of the albums that have impacted him, for our series 4/4. Tonight he begins with a record by Miles that has influenced him.
Also in the programme, music from Anaiis, Chaos In The CBD, and Julia Gjertsen & Gustav Davidsson.
To listen on most smart speakers, just say: 'Ask BBC Sounds to play Round Midnight.'
TUESDAY 12 AUGUST 2025
TUE 00:30 Through the Night (m002gr4w)
Beethoven's Fifth Symphony from Zagreb
Aleksandar Marković conducts the Croatian Radio-Television Symphony Orchestra in Beethoven's Fifth Symphony and Mendelssohn's Second Piano Concerto with soloist Jasminka Stančul. Penny Gore presents.
12:31 AM
Jean Sibelius (1865-1957)
Tapiola, Op 112
Croatian Radio-Television Symphony Orchestra, Aleksandar Markovic (conductor)
12:50 AM
Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
Piano Concerto no 2 in D minor, Op 40
Jasminka Stancul (piano), Croatian Radio-Television Symphony Orchestra, Aleksandar Markovic (conductor)
01:14 AM
Boris Papandopulo (1906-1991)
Study for Piano no 1
Jasminka Stancul (piano)
01:17 AM
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Symphony no 5 in C minor, Op 67
Croatian Radio-Television Symphony Orchestra, Aleksandar Markovic (conductor)
01:51 AM
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
String Quartet no 1 in F major, Op 18 no 1
Sebastian String Quartet
02:24 AM
Cesar Franck (1822-1890)
Cantabile in B major (M.36), no 2 from 3 Pieces pour grand orgue (M.35-37)
Ljerka Ocic-Turkulin (organ)
02:31 AM
Louis-Nicolas Clerambault (1676-1749)
Leandre et Hero - cantata
Isabelle Poulenard (soprano), Ricercar Consort, Henri Ledroit (conductor)
02:49 AM
Dmitry Shostakovich (1906-1975)
24 Preludes, Op 34 for piano
Igor Levit (piano)
03:25 AM
Georges Bizet (1838-1875)
Andante molto, 3rd movement from the Symphonic Suite "Roma"
Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, Oliver Dohnanyi (conductor)
03:32 AM
Alfred Kalnins (1879-1951)
Ballad for cello and piano
Marcis Kuplais (cello), Ventis Zilberts (piano)
03:39 AM
Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741), arr. Johann Sebastian Bach & David Baldwin
Concerto in D minor
Brass Consort Koln
03:50 AM
John Sheppard (1515-1558), Jonathan Dove (b.1959)
In manus tuas (Sheppard) & Into Thy Hands (Dove)
Gabrieli Consort, Paul McCreesh (director)
04:02 AM
Fanny Mendelssohn (1805-1847)
Allegro moderato (Song without words), Op 8 no 1 (1840)
Sylviane Deferne (piano)
04:07 AM
Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges (c.1739-1799)
Symphony in G major, Op 11 no 1
Tafelmusik Orchestra, Jeanne Lamon (conductor)
04:22 AM
Giovanni Antonio Pandolfi Mealli (1630-1670)
Violin Sonata in A minor, Op 3 no 2, 'La Cesta'
Daniel Sepec (violin), Hille Perl (viola da gamba), Lee Santana (theorbo), Michael Behringer (harpsichord)
04:31 AM
Flor Alpaerts (1876-1954)
Salome's Dans van de zeven sluiers
Flemish Radio Orchestra, Bjarte Engeset (conductor)
04:38 AM
John B. Escosa (1928-1991)
Three Dances for 2 harps
Julia Shaw (harp), Nora Bumanis (harp)
04:44 AM
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)
Dumka, Op 59 'Russian rustic scene'
Duncan Gifford (piano)
04:54 AM
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
4 Schemelli Chorales (BWV.478, 484, 492 and 502)
Bernarda Fink (mezzo soprano), Marco Fink (bass baritone), Domen Marincic (gamba), Dalibor Miklavcic (organ)
05:05 AM
Antoine Dauvergne (1713-1797)
Ballet music from "Les Troqueurs"
Capella Coloniensis, William Christie (conductor)
05:20 AM
Ton Bruynel (1934-1998)
Serene for flute solo (1979)
Harrie Starreveld (flute)
05:27 AM
Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)
Sonata for violin and piano in G major
Alina Ibragimova (violin), Cedric Tiberghien (piano)
05:44 AM
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Piano Concerto no 26 in D major, K.537 'Coronation'
Christian Ihle Hadland (piano), Trondheim Symphony Orchestra, Pietari Inkinen (conductor)
06:15 AM
Pietro Locatelli (1695-1764)
Concerto for violin in E flat major, Op 7 no 6 "Il Pianto d'Arianna"
Europa Galante, Fabio Biondi (director)
TUE 06:30 Breakfast (m002gs3m)
Kickstart your day with the best classical music
Tom McKinney presents Radio 3’s Breakfast show live from Salford. With birdsong, Bach Before 7 and the best in classical music. You can contact the show by emailing 3breakfast@bbc.co.uk
To listen on most smart speakers, just say 'Ask BBC Sounds to play 3 Breakfast’
TUE 09:30 Essential Classics (m002gs3p)
The best classical morning music
Georgia Mann plays the best classical music for your morning, with discoveries and surprises rubbing shoulders with familiar favourites. Including the Playlister challenge: our regular listener-created sequence inspired by a different piece of music each day. Plus a new classical release in focus for Album of the Week.
1000 Playlister starter: listen and send us your ideas for the next step in today's musical journey. Text 83111 or email essentialclassics@bbc.co.uk.
1030 Album of the Week: an exciting new classical release in focus throughout the week.
1115 Playlister reveal: an uninterrupted sequence of music suggested by you in response to today's starter piece.
1200 Feast of a Piece: indulge your ears with an orchestral masterpiece.
To listen on most smart speakers say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Essential Classics”
TUE 13:00 Classical Live (m002gs3r)
The London Philharmonic take to the sea at the Proms
Music by Debussy and Sibelius inspired by the sea made up the heart of the London Philharmonic's recent Prom with conductor Paul Daniel whilst at the Edinburgh International Festival cellist Leonard Eischenbroich and pianist Alexei Grynyuk perform works by Schumann, husband and wife. Presented by Mark Forrest,
Including:
Jean Sibelius
Oceanides
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Edward Gardner (conductor)
Claude Debussy
La Mer
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Edward Gardner (conductor)
From the Edinburgh International Festival:
Robert Schumann
Three Romances Op. 94
Leonard Elschenbroich (cello)
Alexei Grynyuk (piano)
Clara Schumann
Three Romances Op. 22
Leonard Elschenbroich (cello)
Alexei Grynyuk (piano)
TUE 16:00 Composer of the Week (m001xwd3)
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
More than Friends
Kate Molleson tells the story of Brahms‘s all-consuming friendship with the Schumanns.
Johannes Brahms, the bearded and magisterial Romantic composer, could certainly do grandeur when required. But really, he was more interested in what music meant in ordinary life - how it can whisper, joke and console. He was a man who tried to find a place to belong all his life, wrote for the people closest to him, and that fondness is writ large in his music. All this week, Kate Molleson focuses on Brahms at home, revealing the subtle sides of this sometimes brawny composer – the tender heart behind the famous beard - through the music he wrote for himself and his friends to play.
Today, we follow Brahms on an autumnal pilgrimage that sets his life spinning. Aimless and restless, he finds anchoring and inspiration in his new best friends, the Schumanns. Little does he know that his next few years will be overturned by tragedy, dramas and a heart-wrenching dilemma…
Einförmig ist der Liebe Gram, Op 113 No 13
Women of Leipzig Radio Choir
Wolf-Dieter Hauschild, conductor
Sonata in C major (4th movement)
Lars Vogt, piano
FAE Sonata (3rd movement – Scherzo)
Isabelle Faust, violin
Alexander Melnikov, piano
Piano Trio, Op 8 (3rd movement – Adagio)
Christian Tetzlaff, violin
Tanja Teztlaff, cello
Lars Vogt, piano
Geistliches Lied, Op 30
Tenebrae
Nigel Short, conductor
Intermezzo, Op 117 No 2
Benjamin Grosvenor, piano
Sextet No 2 (1st mvt – Allegro non troppo)
Nash Ensemble
Produced by Amelia Parker for BBC Audio Wales and West
TUE 17:00 In Tune (m002gs3v)
Wind down from the day with classical
Petroc Trelawny has live music from cellist Johannes Moser, who performs the UK premiere of Anna Thorvaldsdottir’s cello concerto, Before we fall. Plus, the violin virtuoso Bomsori Kim joins us ahead of her performance at the Edinburgh International Festival this week.
TUE 19:00 BBC Proms (m002gs3x)
2025
Anoushka Shankar
Live at the BBC Proms: Anoushka Shankar brings her Chapter albums to the Royal Albert Hall
Presented by Sara Mohr-Pietsch
Anoushka Shankar, sitar
London Contemporary Orchestra
Robert Ames, conductor
Anoushka Shankar
Chapter I : Forever, For Now
Chapter II: How Dark It Is Before Dawn
Chapter III: We Return to Light (world premiere)
Multi-Grammy-nominated sitar virtuoso and composer Anoushka Shankar returns to the Proms for the world-premiere performance of music from her three ‘Chapter’ albums, tracing her musical and geographical journeys
She is joined by Robert Ames and the London Contemporary Orchestra to perform new orchestral arrangements of the trilogy: Forever, For Now; How Dark It Is Before Dawn and We Return To Light
TUE 21:00 Night Tracks (m002246w)
Dissolve into sound
Hannah Peel presents an adventurous, immersive soundtrack for late-night listening, from classical to contemporary and everything in between.
TUE 22:15 BBC Proms (m002gs41)
2025
The Cavemen
Live at the BBC Proms: The Cavemen.
Presented by Georgia Mann, live from the Royal Albert Hall, London.
The Cavemen. (Kingsley Okorie and Benjamin James).
Before there was Afrobeat there was highlife – a joyful, good-times Ghanaian musical style that took on a new gloss in 1960s Nigeria. Praised for their ‘bewitching, colourful and easy-listening grooves’, Nigerian sensations Kingsley Okorie and Benjamin James bring their distinctive brand of ‘highlife fusion’ to the BBC Proms. Blending Igbo highlife – all bright horns, plucked guitar riffs and pulsing percussion – with jazz and soul, the brothers launched their careers with the influential 2020 album ROOTS (recorded in their living room) and have since collaborated with everyone from Wizkid to Angélique Kidjo and Davido.
There will be no interval.
TUE 23:45 'Round Midnight (m002gs43)
Fresh from Mu Quintet
‘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.
Melodic trumpeter Jay Phelps is back with another 4/4 pick and tonight he chooses an album by a pioneering trumpeter who despite his early death made an enduring mark on the jazz landscape.
Also in the programme, music from New Regency Orchestra, Tjoe Man Cheung, and Nite Bjuti.
To listen on most smart speakers, just say: 'Ask BBC Sounds to play Round Midnight.'
WEDNESDAY 13 AUGUST 2025
WED 00:30 Through the Night (m002gs45)
Schubert's Trout Quintet in Barcelona
Young chamber musicians perform a selection of chamber works by Schubert in the concert hall of the Palau de la Música Catalana in Barcelona. Penny Gore presents.
12:31 AM
Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
String Trio in B flat, D.471
María Florea (violin), Lara Fernández (viola), Daniel Claret (cello)
12:39 AM
Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Adagio and Rondo in F, D.487
María Florea (violin), Lara Fernández (viola), Daniel Claret (cello), Àlex Ramírez (piano)
12:53 AM
Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Piano Quintet in A, D.667 'Trout'
María Florea (violin), Lara Fernández (viola), Daniel Claret (cello), Àlex Ramírez (piano), Joaquín Arrabal (double bass)
01:32 AM
Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Acht Ländler, D.378
María Florea (violin), Lara Fernández (viola), Daniel Claret (cello), Àlex Ramírez (piano), Joaquín Arrabal (double bass)
01:37 AM
Franz Schubert (1797-1828), arr. Markus Brönnimann
Hungarian Melody in B minor, D.817
Ensemble Pyramide
01:42 AM
Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Symphony no 9 in C major, D.944 "Great"
Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Juanjo Mena (conductor)
02:31 AM
Maria Herz (1878-1950)
Concerto for Harpsichord or Fortepiano, String Orchestra and Flute, Op 15
Nadja Saminskaja (piano), Ronny Spiegel (violin), Yuta Takase (violin), Daphne Unseld (viola), Fedor Saminski (cello), Nikola Major (double bass), Christian Madlener (flute)
02:59 AM
Arthur Butterworth (1923-2014)
Romanza for horn and strings
Martin Hackleman (horn), CBC Vancouver Orchestra, Mario Bernardi (conductor)
03:09 AM
Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990)
Chichester psalms arranged for treble, chorus, organ, harp & percussion
Choeur de Radio France, Unknown (treble), Yves Castagnet (organ), Unknown (harp), Unknown (percussion), Vladislav Chernuchenko (conductor)
03:30 AM
Jan Ladislav Dussek (1760-1812)
Piano Sonata in D major, Op 31 no 2
Andreas Staier (fortepiano)
03:43 AM
Christopher Simpson (c.1605-1669)
Summer (excerpt from The Four Seasons)
Les Voix Humaines, Arparla
04:01 AM
Alexander Borodin (1833-1887)
Overture to Prince Igor
Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Bramwell Tovey (conductor)
04:12 AM
Pavle Dešpalj (1934-2021)
String Whim no 2 for violin solo
Ana Savicka (violin)
04:19 AM
Robert Johnson (1583-1633)
"Full fathum five" & "Where the bee sucks, there suck I" (from 'The Tempest')
Paul Agnew (tenor), Christopher Wilson (lute)
04:24 AM
Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904)
4th mvt from Piano Trio no 4 in E minor, Op 90 'Dumky'
Delta Piano Trio
04:31 AM
Matthias Schmitt (b.1958)
Ghanaia for percussion
Colin Currie (percussion)
04:38 AM
Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958)
Norfolk Rhapsody no 1 in E minor
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Sir Bernard Heinze (conductor)
04:49 AM
Johann Pachelbel (1653-1706)
Magnificat
Cantus Cölln, Johanna Koslowsky (soprano), Graham Pushee (counter tenor), Wilfred Jochens (tenor), Stephan Schreckenberger (bass), Christoph Anselm Noll (organ), Konrad Junghänel (director)
04:54 AM
Fanny Mendelssohn (1805-1847)
Allegro moderato for piano, Op 8 no 1
Sylviane Deferne (piano)
05:00 AM
Henry Purcell (1659-1695)
Sonata no 7 for 2 violins in E minor, Z.796
Simon Standage (violin), Ensemble Il Tempo
05:07 AM
José de Nebra (1702-1768)
Entre cándidos
Maria Espada (soprano), Al Ayre Espanol, Eduardo Lopez Banzo (harpsichord)
05:23 AM
Sergey Prokofiev (1891-1953)
Quintet in G minor, Op 39
Hexagon Ensemble
05:44 AM
Marcel Tournier (1879-1951)
Sonatine for harp, Op 30
Rita Costanzi (harp)
06:02 AM
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Nanie Op 82
Oslo Philharmonic Choir, Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos (conductor)
06:15 AM
Imants Zemzaris (b.1951)
Pastorale for Summer Flute for organ
Talivaldis Deksnis (organ)
WED 06:30 Breakfast (m002gr7s)
Embrace the morning calm of classical music and birdsong
Tom McKinney presents Radio 3’s Breakfast show live from Salford. With birdsong, Bach Before 7 and the best in classical music. You can contact the show by emailing 3breakfast@bbc.co.uk
To listen on most smart speakers, just say 'Ask BBC Sounds to play 3 Breakfast’
WED 09:30 Essential Classics (m002gr7v)
The ideal mix of classical music
Georgia Mann plays the best classical music for your morning, with discoveries and surprises rubbing shoulders with familiar favourites. Including the Playlister challenge: our regular listener-created sequence inspired by a different piece of music each day. Plus a new classical release in focus for Album of the Week.
1000 Playlister starter: listen and send us your ideas for the next step in today's musical journey. Text 83111 or email essentialclassics@bbc.co.uk.
1030 Album of the Week: an exciting new classical release in focus throughout the week.
1115 Playlister reveal: an uninterrupted sequence of music suggested by you in response to today's starter piece.
1200 Feast of a Piece: indulge your ears with an orchestral masterpiece.
To listen on most smart speakers say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Essential Classics”
WED 13:00 Classical Live (m002gr7x)
More from the New World with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic at the Proms
Music from America makes up today's highlights from the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic's recent Prom, led from the Albert Hall rostrum by Chief Conductor Domingo Hindoyan. Their programme includes music by Jennifer Higdon and a European Premiere from Adolphus Hailstork. Also in today's programme, more from the Edinburgh International Festival including The King's Singers with percussionist Colin Currie performing a world premiere from James MacMillan and Leonard Elschenbroich and Alexei Grynyuk performing Brahms's Four Serious Songs in a version for cello and piano. Introduced by Mark Forrest
Maurice Ravel
Shéhérazade
Aigul Akhmetshina (mezzo-soprano)
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Edward Gardner (conductor)
Adolphus Hailstork
An American Port of Call (European premiere)
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
Domingo Hindoyan (conductor)
Jennifer Higdon
Blue Cathedral
Percussionists from Liverpool Philharmonic Youth Company and In Harmony Liverpool
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
Domingo Hindoyan (conductor)
From the Edinburgh International Festival:
Johannes Brahms
Four Serious Songs Op. 121
Leonard Elschenbroich (cello)
Alexei Grynyuk (piano)
James MacMillan
A Bunch o’ Craws (world premiere)
The King’s Singers
Colin Currie (percussion)
WED 15:00 Choral Evensong (m002gr81)
St James's Church Piccadilly, London
From St James's Church Piccadilly, London with Genesis Sixteen.
Introit: Pater noster (Palestrina)
Responses: Smith
Psalms 69, 70 (Stanford, Luther)
First Lesson: Isaiah 55 vv8-13
Magnificat Quarti toni (Palestrina)
Second Lesson: 2 Timothy 2 vv8-19
Nunc dimittis a 8 (Palestrina)
Anthem: Caro mea vere cibus est (Palestrina)
Hymn: Jesu, grant me this, I pray (Song 13)
Voluntary: The woods so wilde (Gibbons)
Harry Christophers, Eamonn Dougan, Emma Warren (Conductors)
Michael Haslam (Organist)
Recorded 10 July.
To listen on most smart speakers just say “ask BBC Sounds to play Choral Evensong”.
WED 16:00 Composer of the Week (m001xwd6)
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Bachelor Pad
Kate Molleson follows Brahms as he puts down roots in Vienna.
Johannes Brahms, the bearded and magisterial Romantic composer, could certainly do grandeur when required. But really, he was more interested in what music meant in ordinary life - how it can whisper, joke and console. He was a man who tried to find a place to belong all his life, wrote for the people closest to him, and that fondness is writ large in his music. All this week, Kate Molleson focuses on Brahms at home, revealing the subtle sides of this sometimes brawny composer – the tender heart behind the famous beard - through the music he wrote for himself and his friends to play.
Today, we join Brahms in Vienna, the city that he would call home for most of his adult life. Arriving with a suitcase full of impostor syndrome, he has to make a name for himself in the musical soirees of Viennese culture vultures. Brahms quickly finds a place to hang his hat and sets about creating one of his most heartfelt and ambitious works to date .
Waltz in A flat
Fabian Muller, piano
Six Quartets, Op 112 (1. Sehnsucht)
Danish National Radio Choir
Stefan Parkman, conductor
Bengt Forsberg, piano
Piano Quartet No 2 in A major (3rd movement – Scherzo)
Renaud Capuçon, violin
Gérard Caussé, viola
Gautier Capuçon, cello
Nicholas Angelich, piano
Ein Deutsches Requiem: Wie lieblich sind deine Wohnungen; Ihr habt nun Traurigkeit
Dorothea Röschmann, soprano
Rundfunkchor Berlin
Berlin Philharmonic
Simon Rattle, conductor
Geistliches Wiegenlied
Anne Sofie von Otter, mezzo soprano
Nils-Erik Sparf, viola
Bengt Forsberg, piano
Piano Concerto No 2 (3rd movement - Andante)
Steven Hough, piano
Mozarteumorchester Salzburg
Mark Wigglesworth, conductor
Produced by Amelia Parker for BBC Audio Wales and West
WED 17:00 In Tune (m002gr87)
The biggest names in classical music
Petroc Trelawny introduces live music from pianist Benjamin Grosvenor, who performs Ravel at the BBC Proms. Plus, choreographer Sophie Laplane has a new ballet depicting Mary Queen of Scots opening in Edinburgh.
WED 19:00 Classical Mixtape (m002gr8c)
Classical music for your journey
Take time out with a 30-minute soundscape of classical music including a concerto for 2 mandolins by Vivaldi, film music by John Williams, the first Movement of Mozart's 40th Symphony and part of a concert suite by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor .
Producer: Kevin Satizabal Carrascal.
WED 19:30 BBC Proms (m002gr8h)
2025
Boléro and The Rite of Spring
Live at the BBC Proms: the BBC Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Eva Ollikainen, performs Stravinsky, Ravel, Varèse and Anna Thorvaldsdottir's Cello Concerto with Johannes Moser.
Presented by Georgia Mann at the Royal Albert Hall, London.
Edgard Varèse: Intégrales
Anna Thorvaldsdottir: Before we fall (Cello Concerto) (BBC co-commission: UK premiere)
Maurice Ravel: Boléro
c.
8.20pm
Interval Journalist and dance critic Sarah Crompton discusses the Ballet Russes company directed by Sergei Diaghilev which commissioned Stravinsky's Rite of Spring.
c.
8.40pm
Igor Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring
Johannes Moser (cello)
BBC Symphony Orchestra
Eva Ollikainen (conductor)
Feel the beat. From the primal, hypnotic dances of Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring to the sensual throb of Ravel’s Boléro and the edgy thrum and twitch of Varèse’s Intégrales, the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Eva Ollikainen get the musical pulse racing. They’re joined by ‘stupendous’ German-Canadian cellist Johannes Moser for the UK premiere of Anna Thorvaldsdottir’s Before we fall – a work that teeters on the edge of ‘a multitude of opposites’, torn between lyricism and distorted energy.
WED 22:00 Night Tracks (m002gr8l)
Meditative music for late night solace
Hannah Peel presents an adventurous, immersive soundtrack for late-night listening, from classical to contemporary and everything in between.
WED 23:30 'Round Midnight (m002gr8n)
A rhythm-fused release from Harold López-Nussa
‘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.
Jay Phelps is back tonight with his third 4/4 album choice of the week. This time he selects a record from a late jazz trumpeter who was an embodiment of cool and groove.
Plus there’s music from Brandee Younger, Rosie Turton, and Emma-Jean Thackray.
To listen on most smart speakers, just say: 'Ask BBC Sounds to play Round Midnight.'
THURSDAY 14 AUGUST 2025
THU 00:30 Through the Night (m002gr8q)
Max Richter's Recomposed: Vivaldi – The Four Seasons
Britten Sinfonia performed at the BBC Proms in 2023 with a programme exploring musical re-imagining. Thomas Gould and the Britten Sinfonia gave the Proms debut performance of Max Richter’s celebrated 21st-century reimagining of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. Lera Auerbach’s reworking of Pergolesi’s Stabat mater looks back to the 18th century and Michael Tippett draws inspiration from Corelli in his Fantasia Concertante. Penny Gore presents.
12:31 AM
Lera Auerbach (b.1973)
Sogno di Stabat Mater
Thomas Gould (violin), Clare Finnimore (viola), Owen Gunnell (vibraphone), Britten Sinfonia, Thomas Gould (director)
12:43 AM
Arcangelo Corelli (1653-1713)
Concerto grosso in F, Op 6 no 2
Thomas Gould (violin), Miranda Dale (violin), Caroline Dearnley (cello), Britten Sinfonia, Thomas Gould (director)
12:52 AM
Michael Tippett (1905-1998)
Fantasia Concertante on a Theme of Corelli
Thomas Gould (violin), Miranda Dale (violin), Caroline Dearnley (cello), Britten Sinfonia, Thomas Gould (director)
01:10 AM
Max Richter (b.1966), Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741)
Recomposed: Vivaldi - The Four Seasons
Thomas Gould (violin), Britten Sinfonia, Thomas Gould (director)
01:49 AM
Rune Tonsgaard Sørensen (b.1983)
Shine You No More
Thomas Gould (violin), Britten Sinfonia, Thomas Gould (director)
01:54 AM
Sergey Rachmaninov (1873-1943)
Variations on a theme of Chopin, Op 22
Zbigniew Raubo (piano)
02:24 AM
George Frideric Handel (1685-1759), Unknown (arranger)
Theme and Variations arr for harp
Manja Smits (harp)
02:31 AM
Richard Wagner (1813-1883), arr. Felix Mottl
Funf Lieder von Mathilde von Wesendonck
Yvonne Minton (mezzo soprano), Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, Kurt Masur (conductor)
02:50 AM
Bela Bartok (1881-1945)
Concerto for Orchestra, Sz.116
Swiss National Youth Orchestra, Kai Bumann (conductor)
03:28 AM
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Harpsichord Concerto no 5 in F minor, BWV.1056
Lembit Orgse (harpsichord), Estonian Radio Chamber Orchestra, Paul Magi (conductor)
03:38 AM
George Gershwin (1898-1937)
Lullaby for string quartet
New Stenhammar String Quartet
03:47 AM
Arvo Pärt (b.1935)
Magnificat
Jauna Muzika, Vaclovas Augustinas (conductor)
03:53 AM
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791), arr. Robert Levin
Larghetto and Allegro in E flat, KV deest
Soos-Haag Piano Duo
04:06 AM
Leevi Madetoja (1887-1947)
Overture, Op 7 (1911)
Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, John Storgards (conductor)
04:15 AM
Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber (1644-1704)
Sonata no 12 a 8 from sonatae tam aris, quam aulis servientes (1676)
Collegium Aureum, Georg Ratzinger (conductor)
04:20 AM
Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)
Divertimento for 2 flutes and cello in C major, Hob.4.1, 'London trio' no 1
Les Ambassadeurs
04:31 AM
Susan Spain-Dunk (1880-1962)
Two Scottish Pieces for orchestra, Op 54
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Stephen Bell (conductor)
04:38 AM
Johann Wilhelm Wilms (1772-1847)
Rondo - Polonaise pour le pianoforte in D major
Arthur Schoonderwoerd (fortepiano)
04:45 AM
Cecile Chaminade (1857-1944)
Flute Concertino, Op 107
Maria Filippova (flute), Ekaterina Mirzaeva (piano)
04:53 AM
George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)
Lascia la spina, from 'Il Trionfo del tempo e del disinganno'
Julia Lezhneva (soprano), Wroclaw Baroque Orchestra, Giovanni Antonini (conductor)
05:01 AM
Antonin Dvorak (1841-1904)
Suite in A major, Op 98b
Polish Radio National Symphony Orchestra Katowice, Stanislaw Macura (conductor)
05:21 AM
Archduke Rudolf of Austria (1788-1831)
Trio for clarinet, cello and piano
Amici Chamber Ensemble
05:41 AM
Charles Villiers Stanford (1852-1924)
The Haven (from 8 Partsongs, Op 127 no 4)
BBC Singers, Stephen Cleobury (conductor)
05:44 AM
Charles Villiers Stanford (1852-1924)
The Blue Bird (from 8 Partsongs, Op 119 no 3)
BBC Singers, Stephen Cleobury (conductor)
05:48 AM
Claude Debussy (1862-1918)
Suite bergamasque
Roger Woodward (piano)
06:07 AM
Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
Bilder aus Osten, Op 66
Festival Strings Lucerne, Daniel Dodds (conductor)
THU 06:30 Breakfast (m002gs9b)
Ease into the day with classical music
Tom McKinney presents Radio 3’s Breakfast show live from Salford. With birdsong, Bach Before 7 and the best in classical music. You can contact the show by emailing 3breakfast@bbc.co.uk
To listen on most smart speakers, just say 'Ask BBC Sounds to play 3 Breakfast’
THU 09:30 Essential Classics (m002gs9d)
Refresh your morning with classical music
Georgia Mann plays the best classical music for your morning, with discoveries and surprises rubbing shoulders with familiar favourites. Including the Playlister challenge: our regular listener-created sequence inspired by a different piece of music each day. Plus a new classical release in focus for Album of the Week.
1000 Playlister starter: listen and send us your ideas for the next step in today's musical journey. Text 83111 or email essentialclassics@bbc.co.uk.
1030 Album of the Week: an exciting new classical release in focus throughout the week.
1115 Playlister reveal: an uninterrupted sequence of music suggested by you in response to today's starter piece.
1200 Feast of a Piece: indulge your ears with an orchestral masterpiece.
To listen on most smart speakers say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Essential Classics”
THU 13:00 Classical Live (m002gs9g)
Steve Martland's Street Songs from Edinburgh plus Stravinsky from the Proms
The BBC Symphony Orchestra are back in the Albert Hall for the Proms with Stravinsky's Rite of Spring and from the Edinburgh International Festival The King's Singers alongside marimba player Colin Currie bring us bygone plyaground sounds in Street Songs by Steve Martland. Also in today's programme, former R3 New Generation Artist, violinist Maria Duenas performs popular French chamber music. Introduced by Mark Forrest
From the edinburgh International Festival:
Cesar Franck
Violin Sonata
Maria Duenas (violin)
Alexander Malofeev (piano)
Claude Debussy
Violin Sonata in G minor
Maria Duenas (violin)
Alexander Malofeev (piano)
Steve Martland
Street Songs
The King's Singers
Colin Currie (marimba)
Johannes Brahms
Cello Sonata No 2 in F Op 99
Leonard Elschenbroich (cello)
Alexei Grynyuk (piano)
From the Proms:
Maurice Ravel
Bolero
BBC Symphony Orchestra
Eva Ollikainen (conductor)
Igor Stravinsky
The Rite of Spring
BBC Symphony Orchestra
Eva Ollikainen (conductor)
THU 16:00 Composer of the Week (m001xwkq)
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Homes from Home
Kate Molleson joins Brahms at some of his most beloved and inspiring holidays spots.
Johannes Brahms, the bearded and magisterial Romantic composer, could certainly do grandeur when required. But really, he was more interested in what music meant in ordinary life - how it can whisper, joke and console. He was a man who tried to find a place to belong all his life, wrote for the people closest to him, and that fondness is writ large in his music. All this week, Kate Molleson focuses on Brahms at home, revealing the subtle sides of this sometimes brawny composer – the tender heart behind the famous beard - through the music he wrote for himself and his friends to play.
Today, we join Brahms on holiday. Though he loved Vienna, he also loved getting away from the city, ideally where he could see woods and climb mountains. At Ischl in Austria, and Thun in Switzerland, we hear about his vacation routines, and how he injected this fresh air into his music, composing much of his best chamber music there.
Wiegenlied, Op 49 No 4
Mischa Maisky, cello
Pavel Gililov, piano
Romance in F major, Op 118 No 5
Murray Perahia, piano
String Quintet in F (1st movement)
Gérard Caussé, viola
Hagen Quartet
Wie Melodien zieht es mir; Immer leiser wird mein Schlummer
Jessye Norman, soprano
Daniel Barenboim, piano
Violin Sonata in A major (1st movement)
Alina Ibragimova, violin
Cedric Tiberghien, piano
Clarinet Quintet (1st movement)
Jerusalem Quartet
Sharon Hagen, clarinet
Liebeslieder Waltzes, Op 52: Ein kleiner hübscher Vogel
Edith Mathis, soprano
Brigitte Fassbaender, mezzo
Peter Schreier, tenor
Dieter Fischer-Dieskau ,baritone
Karl Engel, piano
Produced by Amelia Parker for BBC Audio Wales and West
THU 17:00 In Tune (m002gs9k)
Classical music live in the studio
Petroc Trelawny introduces live music from Penguin Cafe, who perform at Folk East Festival this weekend. Plus Alan Lane, Creative Director of the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, joins live from Edinburgh.
THU 19:00 Classical Mixtape (m002gs9m)
Half an hour of the finest classical music
Take time out with a 30-minute soundscape of classical music.
THU 19:30 BBC Proms (m002gs9p)
2025
Joe Hisaishi and Steve Reich
Live at the BBC Proms: Joe Hisaishi and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra play Hisaishi and Steve Reich
Presented by Georgia Mann live from the Royal Albert Hall, London
Hisaishi
Symphonic Suite: The Boy and the Heron; The End of the World
Interval: Chris Harding, author of books on Japan including Japan Story, and The Japanese: A history in twenty lives joins Georgia Mann to discuss the music of Joe Hisaishi, and artistic responses to the conflicts which lie behind tonight's concert programme.
Reich
The Desert Music
John Holiday, counter-tenor
BBC Singers
National Youth Voices
Philharmonia Chorus
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Joe Hisaishi, conductor
Celebrated classical and film composer Joe Hisaishi makes his Proms debut conducting the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in his own The End of the World, alongside Steve Reich’s scorched-earth vision of a post-nuclear wasteland The Desert Music
THU 22:15 Night Tracks (m002gs9r)
Nocturnal music to bewitch the senses
Hannah Peel presents an adventurous, immersive soundtrack for late-night listening, from classical to contemporary and everything in between.
THU 23:30 'Round Midnight (m002gs9t)
A classic from Hermeto Pascoal
‘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.
All this week, celebrated UK based trumpeter Jay Phelps has been highlighting some of the releases that have inspired him, for 4/4. Rounding off his week, Jay selects an album by one of jazz’s living legends, who is an inspiration to trumpet players and musicians more broadly.
There’s also music from Emma Smith, Donna Thompson, and Kassa Overall.
To listen on most smart speakers, just say: 'Ask BBC Sounds to play Round Midnight.'
FRIDAY 15 AUGUST 2025
FRI 00:30 Through the Night (m002gs9w)
Liviu Prunaru and Sophia Reuter with the Romanian Radio Chamber Orchestra
The Romanian Radio Chamber Orchestra performs music by Kurt Atterberg, Mozart and Tchaikovsky. Penny Gore presents.
12:31 AM
Kurt Atterberg (1887-1974)
Suite for violin, viola and orchestra, Op 19
Liviu Prunaru (violin), Sophia Reuter (viola), Romanian Radio Chamber Orchestra
12:43 AM
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Sinfonia concertante in E flat, K.364
Liviu Prunaru (violin), Sophia Reuter (viola), Romanian Radio Chamber Orchestra
01:16 AM
Johan Halvorsen (1864-1935)
Passacaglia for violin and viola
Liviu Prunaru (violin), Sophia Reuter (viola)
01:24 AM
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)
Souvenir de Florence, Op 70
Romanian Radio Chamber Orchestra, Liviu Prunaru (conductor)
02:01 AM
Hans Krasa (1899-1944)
3 Lieder for baritone, clarinet, viola and cello after Rimbaud
Maarten Koningsberger (baritone), Arjan Kappers (clarinet), Frank Brakkee (viola), Taco Kooistra (cello)
02:06 AM
Anton Bruckner (1824-1896)
Te Deum
Meredith Wohlgemuth (soprano), Marie Henriette Reinhold (mezzo soprano), Matthew Swensen (tenor), Manuel Winckhler (bass), Munich Philharmonic Choir, German Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, Saarbrucken Kaiserslautern, Pietari Inkinen (conductor)
02:31 AM
Esa-Pekka Salonen (b.1958)
kínēma, five scenes for solo clarinet and string orchestra
Christoffer Sundqvist (clarinet), Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Esa-Pekka Salonen (conductor)
03:00 AM
Clara Schumann (1810-1856)
Piano Concerto in A minor, Op 7
Beatrice Rana (piano), Lucerne Festival Orchestra, Yannick Nezet-Seguin (conductor)
03:21 AM
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Sonata for solo violin no 2 in A minor, BWV.1003
Alina Ibragimova (violin)
03:43 AM
Johannes Ockeghem (1410-1497)
Salve Regina
Hilliard Ensemble
03:53 AM
Elisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre (1665-1729)
Suite from 'Céphale et Procris'
Concerto Copenhagen, Lars Ulrik Mortensen (conductor)
04:01 AM
John McLeod (b.1934)
The Sun dances for orchestra
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Donald Runnicles (conductor)
04:13 AM
Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)
Pavane pour une infante défunte
Bertrand Chamayou (piano)
04:19 AM
Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767)
Sonate de Concert for trumpet in C and organ
Blagoj Angelovski (trumpet), Velin Iliev (organ)
04:31 AM
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Lucio Silla, K.135 (Overture)
Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, Mario Bernardi (conductor)
04:40 AM
Jean-Baptiste Lully (1632-1687)
Plainte d'Armide (from Les Amours deguises)
Isabelle Poulenard (soprano), Ricercar Consort, Henri Ledroit (conductor)
04:48 AM
Traditional, arr. Michael Hurst
Ten Thousand Miles Away
West Australian Symphony Orchestra, David Measham (conductor)
04:55 AM
Edward Elgar (1857-1934)
To her beneath whose steadfast star, for chorus
BBC Singers, Stephen Layton (conductor)
05:00 AM
Torsten Rasch (b.1965)
Pataphor
Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, Vladimir Jurowski (conductor)
05:13 AM
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Sonata for Viola da Gamba in D minor, BWV 1023
Teodoro Bau (viola da gamba), Andrea Buccarella (harpsichord)
05:25 AM
Joseph Rheinberger (1839-1901)
Horn Sonata in E flat major, Op 178
Martin Van der Merwe (horn), Huib Christiaanse (piano)
05:47 AM
Antonin Dvorak (1841-1904)
Symphony no 7 in D minor, Op 70
Bern Symphony Orchestra, Duncan Ward (conductor)
06:23 AM
Franz Doppler (1821-1883)
L'oiseau des bois (Bird in the woods) - idyll for flute and 4 horns, Op 21
Janos Balint (flute), Jeno Kevehazi (horn), Peter Fuzes (horn), Sandor Endrodi (horn), Tibor Maruzsa (horn)
FRI 06:30 Breakfast (m002grfn)
Wake up with classical music
Tom McKinney presents Radio 3’s Breakfast show live from Salford. With birdsong, Bach Before 7 and the best in classical music. You can contact the show by emailing 3breakfast@bbc.co.uk
To listen on most smart speakers, just say 'Ask BBC Sounds to play 3 Breakfast’
FRI 09:30 Essential Classics (m002grfq)
A classical soundtrack for your morning
Georgia Mann plays the best classical music for your morning, with discoveries and surprises rubbing shoulders with familiar favourites. Including the Playlister challenge: our regular listener-created sequence inspired by a different piece of music each day. Plus a new classical release in focus for Album of the Week.
1000 Playlister starter: listen and send us your ideas for the next step in today's musical journey. Text 83111 or email essentialclassics@bbc.co.uk.
1030 Album of the Week: an exciting new classical release in focus throughout the week.
1115 Playlister reveal: an uninterrupted sequence of music suggested by you in response to today's starter piece.
1200 Feast of a Piece: indulge your ears with an orchestral masterpiece.
To listen on most smart speakers say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Essential Classics”
FRI 13:00 Classical Live (m002grfs)
Joe Hisaishi at the Proms plus Steve Reich from Edinburgh
Composer/conductor Joe Hishaishi, famous for his scores for Studio Ghibli, conducts his own music alongside Steve Reich's Desert Music at the Proms, plus more highlights from the Edinburgh Internatinal Festival, including The King's Singers performing music by Missy Mazzoli and Stanley Glasser. Also in today's programme Mark Forrest introduces performances from Europe by fomer R3 New Generation Artist, Benjamin Grosvenor.
Antonín Dvořák
Piano Trio No. 3 in F minor, op. 65
Ilian Garnetz (violin)
Sol Gabetta (cello)
Benjamin Grosvenor (piano)
From the Edinburgh International Festival:
Stanley Glasser
Lala Mntwana
The King’s Singers
Missy Mazzoli
A Year of Our Burning
The King’s Singers
Colin Curry (percussion)
From the Proms:
Joe Hisaishi
The End of the World
John Holiday (counter-tenor)
BBC Singers
National Youth Voices
Philharmonia Chorus
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Joe Hisaishi (conductor)
Steve Reich
The Desert Music
John Holiday (counter-tenor)
BBC Singers
Philharmonia Chorus
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Joe Hisaishi (conductor)
FRI 16:00 Composer of the Week (m001xvxv)
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Creature Comforts
Kate Molleson explores Brahms’s final decade, when he most valued his friends.
Johannes Brahms, the bearded and magisterial Romantic composer, could certainly do grandeur when required. But really, he was more interested in what music meant in ordinary life - how it can whisper, joke and console. He was a man who tried to find a place to belong all his life, wrote for the people closest to him, and that fondness is writ large in his music. All this week, Kate Molleson focuses on Brahms at home, revealing the subtle sides of this sometimes brawny composer – the tender heart behind the famous beard - through the music he wrote for himself and his friends to play.
Today, in the final years of Brahms life, he values his creature comforts more than ever. He also recognises the value of those closest to him, from his housekeeper Frau Truxa, to Clara Schumann and the Fellingers. He begins to repair old relationships with musical olive branches, and writes some of his most interior music for and about his friends. It’s they who rally round him in the coda of his life.
Hungarian Dance in D major, WoO1 No 18
Katia and Marielle LaBecque, piano
Wo ist ein so herrlich Volk, Op 109 No 3
Tenebrae
Nigel Short, conductor
Denn es gehet dem Mennschen (Serious Songs, Op 121 No 1)
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, baritone
Jörg Demus, piano
Intermezzo in E flat major, Op 117 No 1
Intermezzo in B minor, Op 119 No 1
Paul Lewis, piano
Piano Trio No 1 (1st movement – Allegro con brio)
Leonidas Kavakos, violin
Yo-Yo Ma, cello
Emanuel Ax, piano
Double Concerto for violin and cello (2nd movement – Adagio)
Joshua Bell, violin
Steven Isserlis, cello
Academy of Ancient Music
Jeremy Denk, conductor
Intermezzo in A major, Op 118 No 2
Murray Perahia, piano
Produced by Amelia Parker for BBC Audio Wales and West
FRI 17:00 In Tune (m002grfw)
Live music at drivetime
Petroc Trelawny has live music from violinist Maya Magub and pianist Matthew Schellhorn, who have a new album out celebrating the 150th anniversary of composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor. Conductor Hervé Niquet chats about bringing his ensemble, Le Concert Spirituel, to the BBC Proms, and there's another edition of our musical Proms round-up, Joe StilGoes to the Proms. Plus, Petroc commemorates the 80th anniversary of VJ Day.
FRI 19:00 Classical Mixtape (m002grfy)
The relaxing classical mix
Escape with a 30-minute soundscape of quietly uplifting classical music. Relax into a seamless mix of orchestral, choral and piano textures, with works by composers from JS Bach to Paul Mealor. Produced by Christina Kenny.
FRI 19:30 BBC Proms (m002grg0)
2025
Benjamin Grosvenor Plays Ravel
The BBC National Orchestra and Chorus of Wales, Ryan Bancroft, Benjamin Grosvenor, Kostas Smoriginas and Synergy Vocals perform works by Gubaidulina, Ravel and Shostakovich.
Presented by Alexandra Humphreys, live from the Royal Albert Hall, London
Gubaidulina: Revue Music for Symphony Orchestra and Jazz Band (UK premiere)
Ravel: Piano Concerto in G major
c.
8.10pm
Interval: The writer and academic Philip Bullock joins Alexandra Humphreys to discuss Shostakovich's setting of poetry by Russian writer and novelist Yevgeny Yevtushenko and his musical depictions of Soviet history - including the events at Babi Yar ravine near the Ukrainian capital Kyiv in 1941.
c.
8.30pm
Shostakovich: Symphony No 13 in B flat minor, Op 113 ‘Babi Yar’
Benjamin Grosvenor (piano)
Kostas Smoriginas (bass-baritone)
BBC National Orchestra and Chorus of Wales
Synergy Vocals
Ryan Bancroft (conductor)
A jazz band and a symphony orchestra meet in the zany groovings of Sofia Gubaidulina’s Revue Music for Symphony Orchestra and Jazz Band – part of a concert that brings these two sound- worlds together. Jazz is represented by the syncopated brilliance of Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G major, performed by Proms favourite and former BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist Benjamin Grosvenor. Shostakovich supplies the symphony – the snarling, sometimes shockingly tender ‘Babi Yar’, bearing witness to the horrors of a Nazi massacre of Jews in Soviet Ukraine.
FRI 22:15 Late Junction (m002grg2)
Vanished presences and long-lost sounds
Jennifer Lucy Allan takes us on a spin around the globe of the most adventurous and left-field sounds. Expect to hear some actual and potential, real and imaginary instrumentation from a new London-based trio, the mysterious sounds of vanished presences found in crossing abandoned spaces in New Jersey, and a cunning take down track from the 1940s courtesy of Greek rebetiko singer. Plus a fizzy long-lost jazz session from 1975, from a jazz giant in self-imposed European exile, recorded in Paris, and accompanied by members of a notorious American funk unit whose deep grooves would later be mined by generations of hip-hop producers.
And, after a good leaf through her record collection, Jennifer Lucy Allan pulls out some old favourites from New Zealand’s underground scene to rock out to.
Produced by Cat Gough
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 (m002grg4)
'Round Midnight Prom highlights
‘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.
This Friday night, Soweto presents more concert highlights from this year's inaugural 'Round Midnight Prom, recorded live at the Fire Station in Sunderland late last month.
Tonight, we hear more from rising North East vocalist Rivkala, and dexterous Welsh pianist Joe Webb, as well as music from The Glasshouse's dynamic youth jazz ensemble Jambone.
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 (m002gr4t)
'Round Midnight
23:45 TUE (m002gs43)
'Round Midnight
23:30 WED (m002gr8n)
'Round Midnight
23:30 THU (m002gs9t)
'Round Midnight
23:30 FRI (m002grg4)
BBC Proms
19:00 SAT (m002gryr)
BBC Proms
19:30 SUN (m002gs0r)
BBC Proms
19:00 MON (m002gr4m)
BBC Proms
19:00 TUE (m002gs3x)
BBC Proms
22:15 TUE (m002gs41)
BBC Proms
19:30 WED (m002gr8h)
BBC Proms
19:30 THU (m002gs9p)
BBC Proms
19:30 FRI (m002grg0)
Breakfast
06:30 SAT (m002gry8)
Breakfast
06:30 SUN (m002gs09)
Breakfast
06:30 MON (m002gr4b)
Breakfast
06:30 TUE (m002gs3m)
Breakfast
06:30 WED (m002gr7s)
Breakfast
06:30 THU (m002gs9b)
Breakfast
06:30 FRI (m002grfn)
Choral Evensong
15:00 SUN (m002ghg6)
Choral Evensong
15:00 WED (m002gr81)
Classical Live
13:00 MON (m002gr4g)
Classical Live
13:00 TUE (m002gs3r)
Classical Live
13:00 WED (m002gr7x)
Classical Live
13:00 THU (m002gs9g)
Classical Live
13:00 FRI (m002grfs)
Classical Mixtape
19:00 WED (m002gr8c)
Classical Mixtape
19:00 THU (m002gs9m)
Classical Mixtape
19:00 FRI (m002grfy)
Composer of the Week
16:00 MON (m001xwwn)
Composer of the Week
16:00 TUE (m001xwd3)
Composer of the Week
16:00 WED (m001xwd6)
Composer of the Week
16:00 THU (m001xwkq)
Composer of the Week
16:00 FRI (m001xvxv)
Earlier... with Jools Holland
12:00 SAT (m002gryd)
Essential Classics
09:30 MON (m002gr4d)
Essential Classics
09:30 TUE (m002gs3p)
Essential Classics
09:30 WED (m002gr7v)
Essential Classics
09:30 THU (m002gs9d)
Essential Classics
09:30 FRI (m002grfq)
In Tune
17:00 MON (m002gr4k)
In Tune
17:00 TUE (m002gs3v)
In Tune
17:00 WED (m002gr87)
In Tune
17:00 THU (m002gs9k)
In Tune
17:00 FRI (m002grfw)
Jazz Record Requests
16:00 SUN (m002gs0k)
Late Junction
22:15 FRI (m002grg2)
Music Map
13:30 SUN (m002gs0h)
Music Matters
13:00 SAT (m002gryg)
Music Matters
21:15 MON (m000dyg2)
Music Planet
18:00 SAT (m002gryp)
New Music Show
22:30 SAT (m002gryw)
Night Tracks
22:00 SUN (m002gs0t)
Night Tracks
22:00 MON (m002gr4r)
Night Tracks
21:00 TUE (m002246w)
Night Tracks
22:00 WED (m002gr8l)
Night Tracks
22:15 THU (m002gs9r)
Private Passions
12:00 SUN (b09k6t75)
Record Review
14:00 SAT (m002gryk)
Saturday Morning
09:00 SAT (m002gryb)
Sound of Cinema
16:00 SAT (m001b5jl)
Sunday Morning
09:00 SUN (m002gs0c)
The Early Music Show
17:00 SUN (m001w8tp)
The Lebrecht Interview
21:45 SAT (m002gryt)
This Classical Life
17:00 SAT (m002grym)
Through the Night
00:30 SUN (m002gryy)
Through the Night
00:30 MON (m002gs0y)
Through the Night
00:30 TUE (m002gr4w)
Through the Night
00:30 WED (m002gs45)
Through the Night
00:30 THU (m002gr8q)
Through the Night
00:30 FRI (m002gs9w)
Unclassified
23:30 SUN (m002gs0w)
Words and Music
18:00 SUN (m002gs0p)
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
Words and Music
18:00 SUN (m002gs0p)
Factual: Arts, Culture & the Media
Music Matters
13:00 SAT (m002gryg)
Music Matters
21:15 MON (m000dyg2)
Sound of Cinema
16:00 SAT (m001b5jl)
Music
Late Junction
22:15 FRI (m002grg2)
Music: Classical
Breakfast
06:30 SAT (m002gry8)
Breakfast
06:30 SUN (m002gs09)
Breakfast
06:30 MON (m002gr4b)
Breakfast
06:30 TUE (m002gs3m)
Breakfast
06:30 WED (m002gr7s)
Breakfast
06:30 THU (m002gs9b)
Breakfast
06:30 FRI (m002grfn)
Classical Live
13:00 MON (m002gr4g)
Classical Live
13:00 TUE (m002gs3r)
Classical Live
13:00 WED (m002gr7x)
Classical Live
13:00 THU (m002gs9g)
Classical Live
13:00 FRI (m002grfs)
Classical Mixtape
19:00 WED (m002gr8c)
Classical Mixtape
19:00 THU (m002gs9m)
Classical Mixtape
19:00 FRI (m002grfy)
Composer of the Week
16:00 MON (m001xwwn)
Composer of the Week
16:00 TUE (m001xwd3)
Composer of the Week
16:00 WED (m001xwd6)
Composer of the Week
16:00 THU (m001xwkq)
Composer of the Week
16:00 FRI (m001xvxv)
Earlier... with Jools Holland
12:00 SAT (m002gryd)
Essential Classics
09:30 MON (m002gr4d)
Essential Classics
09:30 TUE (m002gs3p)
Essential Classics
09:30 WED (m002gr7v)
Essential Classics
09:30 THU (m002gs9d)
Essential Classics
09:30 FRI (m002grfq)
In Tune
17:00 MON (m002gr4k)
In Tune
17:00 TUE (m002gs3v)
In Tune
17:00 WED (m002gr87)
In Tune
17:00 THU (m002gs9k)
In Tune
17:00 FRI (m002grfw)
Music Map
13:30 SUN (m002gs0h)
Night Tracks
22:00 SUN (m002gs0t)
Night Tracks
22:00 MON (m002gr4r)
Night Tracks
21:00 TUE (m002246w)
Night Tracks
22:00 WED (m002gr8l)
Night Tracks
22:15 THU (m002gs9r)
Private Passions
12:00 SUN (b09k6t75)
Record Review
14:00 SAT (m002gryk)
Saturday Morning
09:00 SAT (m002gryb)
Sunday Morning
09:00 SUN (m002gs0c)
The Lebrecht Interview
21:45 SAT (m002gryt)
This Classical Life
17:00 SAT (m002grym)
Through the Night
00:30 SUN (m002gryy)
Through the Night
00:30 MON (m002gs0y)
Through the Night
00:30 TUE (m002gr4w)
Through the Night
00:30 WED (m002gs45)
Through the Night
00:30 THU (m002gr8q)
Through the Night
00:30 FRI (m002gs9w)
Words and Music
18:00 SUN (m002gs0p)
Music: Classical: Choral
Choral Evensong
15:00 SUN (m002ghg6)
Choral Evensong
15:00 WED (m002gr81)
Music: Classical: Early Music
The Early Music Show
17:00 SUN (m001w8tp)
Music: Classical: Experimental & New
New Music Show
22:30 SAT (m002gryw)
Unclassified
23:30 SUN (m002gs0w)
Music: Classical: Orchestral
BBC Proms
19:00 SAT (m002gryr)
BBC Proms
19:30 SUN (m002gs0r)
BBC Proms
19:00 MON (m002gr4m)
BBC Proms
19:00 TUE (m002gs3x)
BBC Proms
22:15 TUE (m002gs41)
BBC Proms
19:30 WED (m002gr8h)
BBC Proms
19:30 THU (m002gs9p)
BBC Proms
19:30 FRI (m002grg0)
Music: Easy Listening, Soundtracks & Musicals
Sound of Cinema
16:00 SAT (m001b5jl)
Music: Jazz & Blues
Jazz Record Requests
16:00 SUN (m002gs0k)
Music: Jazz & Blues: Jazz
'Round Midnight
23:30 MON (m002gr4t)
'Round Midnight
23:45 TUE (m002gs43)
'Round Midnight
23:30 WED (m002gr8n)
'Round Midnight
23:30 THU (m002gs9t)
'Round Midnight
23:30 FRI (m002grg4)
Jazz Record Requests
16:00 SUN (m002gs0k)
Music: World
Late Junction
22:15 FRI (m002grg2)
Music Planet
18:00 SAT (m002gryp)
Night Tracks
22:00 SUN (m002gs0t)
Night Tracks
22:00 MON (m002gr4r)
Night Tracks
21:00 TUE (m002246w)
Night Tracks
22:00 WED (m002gr8l)
Night Tracks
22:15 THU (m002gs9r)
Religion & Ethics
Choral Evensong
15:00 SUN (m002ghg6)
Choral Evensong
15:00 WED (m002gr81)