Puccini's Tosca with Jonas Kaufmann, Angela Gheorghiu and Bryn Terfel, recorded at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in 2011. Presented by John Shea
Sonata in E (Op. 1) no 15
Slovakian Radio Symphony Orchestra in Bratislava, Róbert Stankovský (conductor)
Netherlands Chamber Choir, Philippe Herreweghe (conductor), Stephan Stubbs (lute)
Debussy, Claude (1862-1918) (arr. Felix Greissle)
Valentin Stefanov (violin), Orchestra 'Symphonieta' of the Bulgarian National Radio, Stoyan Angelov (conductor).
Petroc Trelawny presents Radio 3's classical breakfast show, featuring the Musical Map of Britain and listener requests.
A selection of music, including the Essential CD of the Week: Piers Lane Goes to Town featuring Piers Lane (pianist). Also, at
In the week marking the 150th anniversary of the Gettysburg Address, Rob's guest is the doctor of 18th-century British History and author of historical novels, Amanda Foreman. Her book, 'A World on Fire: An Epic History of Two Nations Divided', traces turbulent Anglo-American relations during the American Civil War. She has compared the task with writing a symphony. Amanda's the daughter of Carl Foreman, the Oscar-winning screen writer of many film classics including, The Bridge on the River Kwai, High Noon, and The Guns of Navarone. She divides her time between London and New York and has served as judge on almost every major literary prize including the Man Booker and the National Book Award. Her book 'Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire' won the Whitbread Prize and has inspired a television documentary, a radio play starting Dame Judi Dench; and the recent movie 'The Duchess', staring Keira Knightley and Ralph Fiennes.
Also in this hour, Lucky Dip: today Rob dips into his CD collection and offers a tantalising glimpse of a lost musical world. Expect the unexpected!
From relatively humdrum origins in the coastal fishing port of Lowestoft, Benjamin Britten rose to become the pre-eminent British composer of his day, celebrated not just in his native land, but internationally. Although he would initially see himself as an outsider to the British musical establishment, he would rapidly transform music-making in Britain, introducing new sounds, and insisting on the highest standards of performance. By the time of his death in 1976, in the arms of his long-term companion Peter Pears, Britten was celebrated as a composer of operas, string quartets and song cycles, and of a War Requiem that touched the hearts of millions of listeners around the world.
Returning to their homeland, Britten and Peers faced possible vilification, arrest and imprisonment for their pacifist beliefs. Instead, they managed to achieve recognition as conscientious objectors. They were free to perform. Moreover, they were able to perform some of the exciting compositions Britten had completed whilst in the US.
At last Britten began to achieve critical approval for both his Michelangelo Sonnets and his Serenade for tenor and horn - featuring the talents of a promising young horn player, Dennis Brain, whom Britten had encountered in the RAF orchestra. Britten completed his project to write an opera, the tale of Peter Grimes which was so improbably successful that even bus conductors are heard to talk about it! In July 1945 Britten accompanied Yehudi Menuhin in a series of recitals among the survivors of Belsen. One response to that experience, about which he spoke very seldom, was his 2nd String Quartet. In the same year, Britten would also create a lasting and invigorating legacy for young people with his Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra. Originally a film score, it is now enjoyed in its own right.
The second in this series of Schubert lieder recitals from Glasgow, recorded at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.
Baritone Florian Boesch and pianist Malcolm Martineau take on Schubert's setting of twenty poems by Müller, following the joy and disillusion of a young Miller as he journeys through life.
1. Das Wandern
2. Wohin?
3. Halt!
4. Danksagung an den Bach
5. Am Feierabend
6. Der Neugierige
7. Ungeduld
8. Morgengruß
9. Des Müllers Blumen
10. Tränenregen
11. Mein!
12. Pause
13. Mit dem grünen Lautenbande
14. Der Jäger
15. Eifersucht und Stolz
16. Die liebe Farbe
17. Die böse Farbe
18. Trockne Blumen
19. Der Müller und der Bach
20. Des Baches Wiegenlied
This week's celebration of American music continues with the BBC Philharmonic performing the Overture and Dance Episodes from Leonard Bernstein's musical On The Town. There's more theatre music by Roger Sessions, a noted teacher whose pupils include composers as different as John Adams and Milton Babbitt, plus the BBC Singers performing Virgil Thomson, and a piano piece by Amy Beach. The BBC Concert Orchestra contribute a brand-new recording of music by Charles Martin Loeffler, and the afternoon ends with Aaron Copland's serial composition, Inscape.
Suzy Klein's guests include one of the most world-renowned singers, mezzo soprano Anne Sofie von Otter.
.
In this programme of Mozart's operatic and concert arias, soprano Sally Matthews joins The English Concert and its director Harry Bicket. The vocal works are complemented by two sunny orchestral works- Mozart's string Divertimento in D and the Bassoon Concerto in B flat.
Sally Matthews ranks among the world's leading Mozart sopranos, with acclaimed appearances in Mozart operas at Vienna Staatsoper, the Bavarian Staatsoper and the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.
Penny Woolcock talks to Samira Ahmed about directing a film version of John Adams's opera The Death of Klinghoffer. For the Free Thinking Festival, she returned to the city where she began her career. During her work at Trade Films in Gateshead she depicted the aftermath of the closure of the steelworks in Consett in When the Dog Bites. Other projects have included a retelling of the biblical chapter Exodus, featuring Margate residents and the burning of a specially constructed Antony Gormley sculpture and an exploration of the UK coastline set to music by the rock band British Sea Power. Her most recent project involved negotiating a truce between rival Birmingham gangs which she documented in One Mile Away.
Among the memorable publishing highlights of 1913 Paris, Alain-Fournier's Le Grand Meaulnes has become one of France's best-loved and most revered novels. Writer Michele Roberts looks at why it occupies such a privileged place in French hearts, and assesses the cultural and literary landscape from which it emerged.
Eclectic late night listening with Anne Hilde Neset, including music by Benjamin Britten (pictured), Jakob Ullman, saxophonist Evan Parker jamming with birds, and a track from the Bee Gees.
THURSDAY 21 NOVEMBER 2013
THU 00:30 Through the Night (b03hk81n)
Warsaw Philharmonic - Mahler, Beethoven
Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra and Jerzy Semkkow with Beethoven's 2nd Piano Concerto, soloist Henri Sigfridsson, and Mahler's 1st Symphony. With John Shea
12:31 AM
Beethoven, Ludwig van [1770 -1827]
Concerto for piano and orchestra no. 2 (Op.19) in B flat major;
Henri Sigfridsson (piano), Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, Jerzy Semkow (conductor)
1:00 AM
Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus [1756-1791]
Sonata for piano (K.332) in F major;
Henri Sigfridsson (piano),
1:06 AM
Mahler, Gustav [1860-1911]
Symphony no. 1 in D major 'Titan'
Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, Jerzy Semkow (conductor)
2:02 AM
Schumann, Robert (1810-1856)
Quartet for strings in A major (Op.41 No.3)
Faust Quartet
2:31 AM
Fauré, Gabriel (1845-1924)
Requiem, Op 48
Unknown soloists (organ, baritone, harp), National Philharmonic Choir of Bulgaria, Lyuba Pesheva (conductor)
3:04 AM
Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus (1756-1791)
Piano Sonata in D major (K.284)
Cathal Breslin (piano)
3:37 AM
Berlioz, Hector (1803-1869)
Le Carnaval romain - overture (Op.9)
Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Andrew Davis (conductor)
3:46 AM
Spasov, Ivan (1934-1995) [lyrics Theodor Trayanov]
Solveig's Songs
Sofia Chamber Choir, Vassil Arnaudov (conductor)
3:55 AM
Enescu, George (1881-1955)
Concert Piece for viola and piano
Tabea Zimmermann (viola, Germany), Monique Savary (piano)
4:05 AM
Schubert, Franz (1797-1828)
Der Zwerg (D.891)
Jard van Nes (mezzo soprano), Gérard van Blerk (piano)
4:11 AM
Rachmaninov, Sergey (1873-1943)
Romance and Waltz
The Dutch Pianists' Quartet
4:17 AM
Bach, Johann Sebastian (1685-1750)
Brandenburg Concerto no.2 (BWV.1047) in F major
Mark Bennett (trumpet), Terje Tönnesen, Cecilia Waahlberg and Bjarte Eike (violins), Frode Thorsen (recorder), Anna-Maija Luolajan-Mikkola (oboe), Andreas Torgersen (violin), Markku Luolajan-Mikkola (cello), Dan Styffe (bass), Hans Knut Sveen (harpsichord)
4:31 AM
Vivaldi, Antonio (1678-1741)
Concerto in F major (RV.442) for treble recorder
Michael Schneider (recorder), Camerata Köln
4:39 AM
Cavalli, Francesco (1602-1676)
Salve Regina
Monteverdi Choir, English Baroque Soloists, John Eliot Gardiner (conductor)
4:48 AM
Beethoven, Ludwig van (1770-1827)
Piano Sonata in F sharp (Op.78)
Ernst von Dohnányi (1877-1960) (piano)
4:58 AM
Debussy, Claude (1862-1918)
Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune
BBC Philharmonic, Jan-Pascal Tortelier (conductor)
5:08 AM
Handel, Georg Frideric (1685-1759)
Violin Sonata in A minor (Op.1 No.4) (HWV.362)
Tomaz Lorenz (violin), Jerko Novak (guitar)
5:18 AM
Schumann, Robert (1810-1856)
Drei Fantaisiestucke (Op.73)
Algirdas Budrys (clarinet), Sergejus Okrusko (piano)
5:30 AM
Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus (1756-1791)
String Quartet in G major (K.156)
Australian String Quartet
5:42 AM
Berwald, Franz (1796-1868)
Septet in B flat
Kristian Möller (clarinet), Frederik Ekdahl (bassoon), Ayman Al Fakir (horn), Roger Olsson (violin), Linn Löwengren-Elkvull (viola), Hanna Thorell (cello), Mattias Karlsson (double bass)
6:04 AM
Haydn, Joseph [1732-1809]
Cello Concerto in D major(HV VIIb:2) Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Heinrich Schiff (cello/director).
THU 06:30 Breakfast (b03hk88d)
Thursday - Petroc Trelawny
Petroc Trelawny presents Radio 3's classical breakfast show, featuring the Musical Map of Britain and listener requests.
Email 3Breakfast@bbc.co.uk or text 83111.
THU 09:00 Essential Classics (b03hk89t)
Thursday - Rob Cowan
9am
A selection of music, including the Essential CD of the Week: Piers Lane Goes to Town featuring Piers Lane (pianist). Also, at
9:30am, our brainteaser: What am I?
10am
Artist of the Week: Rafael Kubelik
10.30am
In the week marking the 150th anniversary of the Gettysburg Address, Rob's guest is the doctor of 18th-century British History and author of historical novels, Amanda Foreman. Her book, 'A World on Fire: An Epic History of Two Nations Divided', traces turbulent Anglo-American relations during the American Civil War. She has compared the task with writing a symphony. Amanda's the daughter of Carl Foreman, the Oscar-winning screen writer of many film classics including, The Bridge on the River Kwai, High Noon, and The Guns of Navarone. She divides her time between London and New York and has served as judge on almost every major literary prize including the Man Booker and the National Book Award. Her book 'Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire' won the Whitbread Prize and has inspired a television documentary, a radio play starting Dame Judi Dench; and the recent movie 'The Duchess', staring Keira Knightley and Ralph Fiennes.
11am
Rob's Essential Choice
Brahms
String Quartet, Op.51 No.1
Amadeus Quartet.
THU 12:00 Composer of the Week (b03hk8cn)
Britten 100
Britten During the 1950s
Britten becomes the foremost composer of opera in English, and establishes his own festival.
From relatively humdrum origins in the coastal fishing port of Lowestoft, Benjamin Britten rose to become the pre-eminent British composer of his day, celebrated not just in his native land, but internationally. Although he would initially see himself as an outsider to the British musical establishment, he would rapidly transform music-making in Britain, introducing new sounds, and insisting on the highest standards of performance. By the time of his death in 1976, in the arms of his long-term companion Peter Pears, Britten was celebrated as a composer of operas, string quartets and song cycles, and of a War Requiem that touched the hearts of millions of listeners around the world.
Britten has become almost synonymous with Aldburgh, after moving to the coastal town and making it his home. There he and Pears conceived the idea of a small-scale festival to perform works by Britten and other composers. Among these would be chamber operas, such as the comic masterpiece Albert Herring.
Although, financially, Britten was better off than ever, he had more than his share of critical failures. As Donald explains, it was in a state of depression in 1949 that he struggled to write his Spring Symphony, the first movement somehow echoing the bleakness of his mood.
Always a man with several projects on the go, it was while working on the score for Billy Budd that Britten wrote the exquisitely beautiful second canticle, Abraham and Isaac, for the voices of Peter Pears and Kathleen Ferrier. Sadly, Ferrier succumbed to cancer before she was able to record the work for posterity.
Donald ends today's story with the strange tale of abused children and a ghostly presence. With the Turn of the Screw, Britten discovered a future film star of the 1960s (David Hemmings), and took Venice by storm.
THU 13:00 Radio 3 Lunchtime Concert (b03hk8gv)
Schubert from Glasgow
Ailish Tynan, Joseph Middleton
Irish soprano Ailish Tynan and pianist Joseph Middleton perform today's lunchtime recital recorded at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, exploring the British influence on Schubert. Settings of Shakespeare and Sir Walter Scott sit alongside songs of night and dreams.
Who is Sylvia? D891
Horch, Horch! Die Lerch D889
Ellens Gesang I: 'Raste Krieger! Krieg ist aus' D837
Ellens Gesang II: 'Jäger, ruhe von der Jagd!' D838
Ellens Gesang III: 'Ave Maria' D839
Nacht und Träume D827
Die Junge Nonne D828
Gretchen am Spinnrade D118
Amalia D195
Lachen und Weinen D777
Du bist die Ruh D776
Ailish Tynan - soprano
Joseph Middleton - piano.
THU 14:00 Afternoon Concert (b03hk8j7)
Thursday Opera Matinee
Viktor Ullmann - The Emperor of Atlantis
Today's Thursday Opera Matinee is a chance to hear Viktor Ullmann's political parody The Emperor of Atlantis, written in a Nazi concentration camp in 1943, the year before both Ullmann and his librettist died in Auschwitz. The Emperor proclaims universal war, which so offends Death by taking over his job, that he goes on strike and refuses to let people die. Death will only go back to work when the Emperor agrees to be his first victim.
Then we're live at MediaCity Salford where the BBC Philharmonic continue this week's celebration of American music with a concert of works by William Schuman, Copland and Roy Harris.
Presented by Penny Gore.
2pm
Viktor Ullmann: Der Kaiser von Atlantis (The Emperor of Atlantis)
Emperor Overall .... Christian Miedl (baritone),
Death ..... Stephen Owen (bass-baritone),
Drummer Girl ..... Lucy Schaufer (mezzo-soprano),
Maiden/Soldier ..... Ivi Karnezi (soprano),
Loudspeaker ..... Jean-Baptiste Mouret (bass-baritone),
Soldier/Harlequin ..... Rui dos Santos (tenor),
Lyon Opera Orchestra,
Jean-Michaël Lavoie (conductor).
2.55pm
Copland: Clarinet Concerto
Mark Simpson (clarinet),
BBC Symphony Orchestra,
David Parry (conductor).
Barber: A Stopwatch and an Ordnance Map, Op. 15
BBC Singers,
Matthew Perry (timpani),
Andrew Griffiths (conductor),
3.15pm LIVE from MediaCity, Salford
William Schuman: Symphony for strings (Symphony no.5)
Copland: Old American songs - Set 1
Roy Harris: Symphony no. 3
David Wilson-Johnson (baritone),
BBC Philharmonic,
Paul Daniel (conductor).
THU 16:30 In Tune (b03hk8ks)
Thursday - Suzy Klein
Suzy Klein presents, with live music and guests from the music world including composer Michael Berkeley - presenter of Radio 3's Private Passions - who, as Benjamin Britten's godson, looks forward to tomorrow's centenary celebrations.
Main headlines are at
5pm and
6pm.
In.Tune@bbc.co.uk
@BBCInTune.
THU 18:30 Composer of the Week (b03hk8cn)
[Repeat of broadcast at
12:00 today]
THU 19:30 Radio 3 Live in Concert (b03hkbpb)
Britten 100: BBC SSO - Britten, Mahler
Britten 100 Live in Concert. Martyn Brabbins and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra mark Benjamin Britten's centenary by performing his works alongside the 4th Symphony of Mahler.
Live from City Halls, Glasgow
Presented Jamie MacDougall
Britten: Gloriana Symphonic Suite
Britten: Quatre Chansons Françaises
8.15
Interval Music
Jamie MacDougall explores the musical links between Britten and Mahler
8.35
Mahler: Symphony No 4
Elizabeth Watts (soprano)
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Martyn Brabbins (conductor)
The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra is conducted by Martyn Brabbins in a concert which forms part of events marking the centenary of Benjamin Britten: with two of the composer's works and a symphony by one of his heroes, Gustav Mahler. The concert opens with Britten's Symphonic Suite 'Gloriana', extracted from his coronation opera, it depicts scenes of Elizabethan tournaments and courtly dance.
The orchestra is joined by soprano Elizabeth Watts for a performance of Britten's early song cycle, written before his 15th birthday, the 1928 Quatre Chansons Françaises. In this quartet of songs, Britten sets atmospheric French texts by Victor Hugo and Paul Verlaine, ranging in theme from the heady scents of a summer night to the rough tossing of an autumn wind.
The second half of the concert features a symphony first encountered by Britten only two years after the composition of the 4 French Songs, Mahler's Symphony No 4, to which the young composer responded: '...what I heard was not what I had expected to hear ... the scoring startled me... The colouring seemed calculated to the smallest shade, and the result was wonderfully resonant.'.
THU 22:00 Night Waves (b03hkbpd)
Britten 100: Britten Libretti, Young Vic Theatre Uncut
As part of Radio 3's Britten 100 - Anne McElvoy discusses Myfanwy Piper's libretto writing with Professor Frances Spalding author of a biography of the Pipers and Alexandra Harris, author of Romantic Moderns and a BBC Radio 3 New Generation Thinker in 2011.
We also report on The Young Vic's Theatre Uncut season which features plays addressing current political issues. This year's playwrights include Neil LaBute, Mark Thomas and Tanika Gupta.
Producer: Neil Trevithick
Image: Lauren Crace and David Hounslow in The Wing by Clara Brennan. Photo by Richard Davenport.
THU 22:45 The Essay (b01pmh1n)
Paris 1913
Cubism
Writer Adam Gopnik sees Cubism, far from being a premonition of abstraction, as a new form of poetic modern realism, a way of capturing the syncopated, quick paced, ecletic mix of high and low that marks our civilization. Its tragedy, he argues, is that it captured that spirit just as the civilization it celebrated was about to commit suicide.
Producer: Sara Davies.
THU 23:00 Late Junction (b03hk8nk)
Late Junction Sessions
The Necks and Evan Parker
Anne Hilde Neset presents Late Junction, with the latest collaborative session recording from Australian improv legends The Necks and a giant of the free improv world, British saxophonist Evan Parker. Also, music from Lord Beginner, cellist Okkyung Lee and Wadada Leo Smith.
FRIDAY 22 NOVEMBER 2013
FRI 00:30 Through the Night (b03hk81q)
BBC Proms 2012 - Messiaen's Turangalila Symphony
BBC Proms 2012. National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain and Vasily Petrenko perform Messiaen's Turangalila Symphony. Presented by John Shea
12:31 AM
Messiaen, Olivier (1908-1992)
Turangalila-symphonie
Cynthia Millar (ondes martenot), Joanna MacGregor (piano), National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, Vasily Petrenko (conductor)
1:47 AM
Muhly, Nico (1981-)
Gait
National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, Vasily Petrenko (conductor)
2:10 AM
Niewiadomski, Stanislaw (1859-1936) (lyrics: Adam Asnyk)
Siwy koniu (Grey Horse)
Polish Radio Choir, Marek Kluza (director)
2:14 AM
Weber, Carl Maria von (1786-1826)
Perpetuum mobile (from Sonata No.1 in C, J138)
Konstantin Masliouk (piano)
2:18 AM
Wagner, Richard (1813-1883), arranged by Zoltán Kocsis
Concert Prelude to Tristan und Isolde for piano
François-Frédéric Guy (piano)
2:31 AM
Chopin, Fryderyk([1810-1849)
Waltz for piano (Op.34 No.1) in A flat major
Zoltán Kocsis (piano)
2:36 AM
Pierné, Gabriel [1863-1937]
Konzertstuck for harp and orchestra (Op.39) (1903)
Suzanna Klintcharova (harp), Sofia Symphony Orchestra, Dimitar Manolov (conductor)
2:52 AM
Saint-Saëns, Camille (1835-1921)
Septet for trumpet, piano and strings (Op.65) in E flat major
Ole Edvard Antonsen (trumpet), Elise Baatnes (violin), Karolina Radziej (violin), Lars Anders Tomter (viola), Hjalmer Kvam (cello), Marius Faltby (double bass), Enrico Pace (piano)
3:09 AM
Sweelinck, Jan Pieterszoon (1562-1621)
Psalm 137 for choir
Netherlands Chamber Choir, Philippe Herreweghe (conductor)
3:12 AM
Sweelinck, Jan Pieterszoon (1562-1621)
Cantate Domino Canticum Novum (motet)
Netherlands Chamber Choir, Bernard Winsemius (organ), Peter Phillips (conductor)
3:15 AM
Bach, Johann Sebastian (1685-1750)
Brandenburg Concerto No.3 in G major for 3 violins, 3 violas, 3 cellos and continuo
Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, Paul Dyer (conductor)
3:29 AM
Ravel, Maurice (1875-1937)
Jeux d'eau for piano
Paloma Kouider (piano)
3:34 AM
Balakirev, Mily Alexeyevich (1837-1910)
Overture on Russian Themes
Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, Ondrej Lenard (conductor)
3:43 AM
Mussorgsky, Modest Petrovich (1839-1881)
Softly the spirit flew, The Seminarist
Petteri Salomaa (baritone), Ilmo Ranta (piano)
3:50 AM
Haydn, Joseph (1732-1809)
Symphony No.73 in D major 'La Chasse' (H.
1.73)
Romanian National Chamber Orchestra, Horia Andreescu (conductor)
4:11 AM
Piris, Bernard (1951-)
Deux Préludes for guitar
Heiki Matlik (guitar)
4:15 AM
Alfvén, Hugo (1872-1960)
Midsummer Vigil - Swedish Rhapsody no.1 (Op.19)
Danish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Michael Schønwandt (conductor)
4:31 AM
Telemann, Georg Philipp (1681-1767)
Overture from Tafelmusik
Crispian Steele-Perkins (trumpet), Frank de Bruine (oboe), The King's Consort, Robert King (director)
4:38 AM
Couperin, François (1668-1733)
Rondeau: Les Barricades Mystérieuses
Colin Tilney (harpsichord)
4:41 AM
Fauré, Gabriel (1845-1924) [text: Paul Verlaine]
Clair de lune; En sourdine
Karina Gauvin (soprano), Marc-André Hamelin (piano)
4:48 AM
Franck, César (1822-1890)
Le Chasseur Maudit, symphonic poem (M.44)
Bulgarian National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Milen Nachev (conductor)
5:02 AM
Vallet, Nicolas (c.1583-c.1645)
Carillon de village
Toyohiko Satoh (lute)
5:05 AM
Baermann, Heinrich Joseph (1784-1847)
Adagio in D major from Quintet no.3 (Op.23) in E flat major
Jože Kotar (clarinet), Borut Kantušer (double bass), Slovenian Philharmonic String Quartet
5:10 AM
Schumann, Robert (1810-1856)
Toccata for piano (Op.7) in C major
Francesco Piemontesi (Piano)
5:16 AM
Brahms, Johannes (1833-1897)
Serenade no.2 in A major (Op.16)
Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Orchestra, Raffi Armenian (conductor)
5:49 AM
Bruckner, Anton (1824-1896)
Ave Maria; Christus factus est; Locus iste (motets)
The Sokkelund Choir, Morten Schuldt Jensen (conductor)
6:02 AM
Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus [1756-1791]
Violin Sonata in A major K.526
Geir Inge Lotsberg (violin), Einar Steen-Nøkleberg (piano).
FRI 06:30 Breakfast (b03hk88g)
Friday - Petroc Trelawny
Petroc Trelawny presents Radio 3's classical breakfast show, featuring the Musical Map of Britain and listener requests.
Email 3Breakfast@bbc.co.uk or text 83111.
FRI 09:00 Essential Classics (b03hk89w)
Friday - Rob Cowan
9am
A selection of music, including the Essential CD of the Week: Piers Lane Goes to Town featuring Piers Lane (pianist). Also, at
9:30am, our brainteaser: Only Connect
10am
Artist of the Week: Rafael Kubelik
10.30am
In the week marking the 150th anniversary of the Gettysburg Address, Rob's guest is the doctor of 18th-century British History and author of historical novels, Amanda Foreman. Her book, 'A World on Fire: An Epic History of Two Nations Divided', traces turbulent Anglo-American relations during the American Civil War. She has compared the task with writing a symphony. Amanda's the daughter of Carl Foreman, the Oscar-winning screen writer of many film classics including, The Bridge on the River Kwai, High Noon, and The Guns of Navarone. She divides her time between London and New York and has served as judge on almost every major literary prize including the Man Booker and the National Book Award. Her book 'Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire' won the Whitbread Prize and has inspired a television documentary, a radio play starting Dame Judi Dench; and the recent movie 'The Duchess', staring Keira Knightley and Ralph Fiennes.
11am
Rob's Essential Choice
Mahler
Symphony No.1
Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra
Rafael Kubelik (conductor).
FRI 12:00 Composer of the Week (b03hk8cq)
Britten 100
Final Years and Late Masterpieces
His health in decline, Britten produces his final masterpieces.
From relatively humdrum origins in the coastal fishing port of Lowestoft, Benjamin Britten rose to become the pre-eminent British composer of his day, celebrated not just in his native land, but internationally. Although he initially saw himself as an outsider to the British musical establishment, he would rapidly transform music-making in Britain; introducing new sounds, and insisting on the highest standards of performance. By the time of his death in 1976, in the arms of his long-term companion Peter Pears, Britten was celebrated as a composer of operas, string quartets and song cycles, and of a War Requiem that touched the hearts of millions of listeners around the world.
By the late 1950s and the early 1960s Britten's pacifism was no longer a particularly eccentric position to hold. A supporter of the Peace Movement, Britten was delighted to be commissioned to write a piece to mark the opening of the rebuilt Coventry Cathedral. That piece, the War Requiem, would become one of the fastest selling classical records of all time! One inspiration throughout the 1960s was cellist Mstislav Rostropovich. Despite linguistic differences (they spoke in 'Aldeburgh Deutsch') they got on famously well, and among other things Britten composed a Cello Symphony in Rostropovich's honour.
Dogged by increasingly frail health, Britten struggled to complete his final opera, Death in Venice. And yet, despite increasingly insistent intimations of his own mortality, his last years witnessed an extraordinary burst of creativity, including a chamber cantata, Phaedra.
Donald concludes this week's look at the life and music of Benjamin Britten with the last two movements of one of the last pieces he completed: his third string quartet.
FRI 13:00 Radio 3 Lunchtime Concert (b03hk8gx)
Schubert from Glasgow
Florian Boesch, Malcolm Martineau
Composed during a particularly low ebb in Schubert's short life, his monumental setting of 24 Wilhelm Müller poems follows a youth's demise from young love to untimely death. Austrian baritone Florian Boesch and pianist Malcolm Martineau perform this giant of the Lieder world. Recorded at the City Halls, Glasgow.
Schubert: Winterreise, D.911
1. Gute Nacht
2. Die Wetterfahne
3. Gefrorne Tränen
4. Erstarrung
5. Der Lindenbaum
6. Wasserflut
7. Auf dem Flusse
8. Rückblick
9. Irrlicht
10. Rast
11. Frühlingstraum
12. Einsamkeit
13. Die Post
14. Der greise Kopf
15. Die Krähe
16. Letzte Hoffnung
17. Im Dorfe
18. Der stürmische Morgen
19. Täuschung
20. Der Wegweiser
21. Das Wirtshaus
22. Mut
23. Die Nebensonnen
24. Der Leiermann
Florian Boesch - baritone
Malcolm Martineau - pianist.
FRI 14:00 Afternoon Concert (b03hk8j9)
Americana
Part 4
The grand finale to this week's celebration of American music with the BBC Orchestras and BBC Singers kicks off with John Adams' ever popular Short Ride in a Fast Machine, performed by the BBC Philharmonic. Wayne Marshall joins the orchestra for Gershwin's Piano Concerto, the BBC Singers perform Psalms by Charles Ives, and there's another brand-new recording of music by Charles Martin Loeffler from the BBC Concert Orchestra. The BBC Symphony Orchestra play music by Charles Griffes and Christopher Rouse, and round things off with the third symphony of the week by Roy Harris - and perhaps his best, the Symphony no.7.
Presented by Penny Gore.
John Adams: Short Ride in a Fast Machine
BBC Philharmonic,
Gianandrea Noseda (conductor).
Charles Griffes: The White Peacock
BBC Symphony Orchestra,
Andrew Litton (conductor).
2.30pm
Gershwin: Piano Concerto in F major
Wayne Marshall (piano),
BBC Philharmonic,
Arvo Volmer (conductor).
3pm
Christopher Rouse: Friandises
BBC Symphony Orchestra,
Grant Llewellyn (conductor).
3.35pm
Ives: Psalms 24 and 150
BBC Singers,
Andrew Griffiths (conductor).
Charles Martin Loeffler: Divertissement in A minor
Lorraine McAslan (violin),
BBC Concert Orchestra,
Johannes Wildner (conductor).
4pm
Harris: Symphony No 7
BBC Symphony Orchestra
Andrew Litton (conductor).
FRI 16:30 In Tune (b03hk8kv)
In Tune: Britten Centenary Weekend Launch
Sean Rafferty launches BBC Radio 3's weekend marking Britten's centenary with a special edition of In Tune, live from The Britten Studio at Snape Maltings. There's live performance from Aldeburgh Strings, tenor Allan Clayton and horn player Richard Watkins. And linking up to London and Salford, the BBC Singers perform Britten's Hymn to St Cecilia and the BBC Philharmonic join the celebrations with two newly orchestrated songs from his 'Friday Afternoons' sung by 230 voices from the Greater Manchester Music Hub Junior Choir. Sean and his guests will be reflecting on the integral connection between Britten's music and his Suffolk surroundings, and two local children's choirs will give the world premieres of works by young composers Tom Rose and Emily Hall.
From the actual afternoon of Benjamin Britten's 100th birthday on Friday 22 November until the following Sunday evening, Radio 3 will be relocating to Suffolk, the county of Britten's birth and where he felt most firmly rooted. Based in Snape Maltings, where Britten created one of the UK's finest concert halls, it will be a weekend packed with broadcasts of live and specially recorded performances from Suffolk venues, including those in Aldeburgh, Snape, Orford and the town of Britten's birth, Lowestoft.
There will also be features, discussions, contributions from those who knew and worked with Britten, plus his recordings both of his and others' music, bringing to life Britten the composer, Britten the performer and Britten the man.
The weekend will include selections from two sepcially recorded interviews excerpted for broadcast and available online in full:
Pianist Murray Perahia talks about his unique insight into Britten's extraordinary piano playing. When he took over from Britten as Peter Pears' accompanist, Perahia received personal coaching from the composer.
Marion Thorpe, one of Britten's closest friends, reveals a very personal portrait of the composer she knew so well.
Twelve mini-features get closer to Britten the man. 'Britten at Home' looks at Britten and Cars, Sport, Pets, Food, Clothes, Games, while 'Britten's Suffolk' explores the importance to Britten of his environment and look at The Sea, Churches, Lowestoft and Greshams, Aldeburgh, The Red House, The Maltings.
Regular Radio 3 presenters Suzy Klein, Tom Service, Sean Rafferty, Louise Fryer and Andrew McGregor are joined by Britten expert John Bridcut for an unmissable weekend.
FRI 18:45 Britten 100 (b03hmp0z)
Bridcut's Britten
Suzy Klein finds out from award-winning film-maker and writer John Bridcut about the inspiration Britten drew from children, film, sport and his need to win. Including excerpts from Simple Symphony, Quatre chansons françaises, Sinfonietta, A Ceremony of Carols, The Turn of the Screw, and Night Mail.
FRI 19:30 Radio 3 Live in Concert (b03hkc64)
BBC Symphony Orchestra Centenary Concert
Who better to lead the Britten Centenary Concert than Oliver Knussen? Since first meeting Britten as a young child, to becoming Artistic Director of the Aldeburgh Festival, and helping to shape the Britten-Pears School, the composer-conductor has been inextricably linked with Britten's legacy. Any Knussen concert is special but this one, coming from the superb Snape Maltings Concert Hall, created by Britten himself, is unmissable with its combination of the rarely heard, well-known and new.
The concert's first part has the ebulient Cantata Academica, whose tongue-in-cheek title has surely kept it a rarity, and the famous Sea Interludes and Passacaglia from Peter Grimes. A specially commissioned world premiere by Ryan Wigglesworth starts the second half which ends with Britten's first major orchestral work, the Spring Symphony. It's a vibrant celebration of the seasons, with wonderful settings of English poetry (and cow-horn), the perfect piece to end a special occasion.
Presented by Tom Service, who talks to composer Ryan Wigglesworth and Lucy Walker from the Britten Pears Foundation in the interval.
Britten: Cantata Academica
Britten: Four Sea Interludes and Passacaglia (Peter Grimes)
Ryan Wigglesworth: Locke's Theatre (world premiere)
Britten: Spring Symphony
Claire Booth (soprano)
Christine Rice (mezzo soprano)
Robert Murray (tenor)
Christopher Purves (baritone)
Norwich Cathedral Choristers
Choirs of Norwich School and Norwich High School for Girls
BBC Symphony Chorus
BBC Symphony Orchestra
Oliver Knussen (conductor).
FRI 22:00 Britten 100 (b03hmp14)
Britten String Quartets
Quartet No 2
Andrew McGregor presents the first of three concerts featuring the Britten String Quartets paired with chamber music by composers Britten admired. Recorded earlier today in the Britten Studio in Snape Maltings with the acclaimed Benyounes Quartet, winners of the Sandor Vegh String Quartet Competition in Budapest last year. They perform Britten's second Quartet and Purcell Fantasias, with the second Cello Suite, played by Philip Higham.
Benyounes Quartet
Philip Higham, cello
Purcell: Fantasias (selection)
Britten: Suite No 2 for Cello, Op 80
Britten: String Quartet No 2, Op 36.
FRI 23:30 Britten 100 (b03hmp6d)
Festival of Britten
Bach and Schubert
Suzy Klein presents Britten performing Bach and Schubert, composers particlularly close to Britten's heart, in the 1960s with his two of his favourite musical collaborators, soprano Heather Harper and pianist Sviatoslav Richter.
Bach: Süßer Trost, mein Jesus kömmt (Cantata No 151)
Heather Harper (soprano)
English Chamber Orchestra
Benjamin Britten (conductor)
Schubert: Fantasy in F minor, D 940
Sviatoslav Richter and Benjamin Britten (piano duet).
LIST OF THIS WEEK'S PROGRAMMES
(Note: the times link back to the details; the pids link to the BBC page, including iPlayer)
Afternoon Concert
14:00 MON (b03hk7z8)
Afternoon Concert
14:00 TUE (b03hk8j3)
Afternoon Concert
14:00 WED (b03hk8j5)
Afternoon Concert
14:00 THU (b03hk8j7)
Afternoon Concert
14:00 FRI (b03hk8j9)
BBC Performing Groups
23:30 SUN (b03hk7r7)
Breakfast
07:00 SAT (b03hk1y5)
Breakfast
07:00 SUN (b03hk3j2)
Breakfast
06:30 MON (b03hk7z0)
Breakfast
06:30 TUE (b03hk888)
Breakfast
06:30 WED (b03hk88b)
Breakfast
06:30 THU (b03hk88d)
Breakfast
06:30 FRI (b03hk88g)
Britten 100
18:45 FRI (b03hmp0z)
Britten 100
22:00 FRI (b03hmp14)
Britten 100
23:30 FRI (b03hmp6d)
CD Review
09:00 SAT (b03hk1y7)
Choir and Organ
16:00 SUN (b03l1ygw)
Choral Evensong
15:00 SUN (b03h3w00)
Choral Evensong
15:30 WED (b03hkbjv)
Composer of the Week
12:00 MON (b03hk7z4)
Composer of the Week
12:00 TUE (b03hk8cj)
Composer of the Week
18:30 TUE (b03hk8cj)
Composer of the Week
12:00 WED (b03hk8cl)
Composer of the Week
18:30 WED (b03hk8cl)
Composer of the Week
12:00 THU (b03hk8cn)
Composer of the Week
18:30 THU (b03hk8cn)
Composer of the Week
12:00 FRI (b03hk8cq)
Discovering Music
20:25 SAT (b03hk1z0)
Drama on 3
22:00 SUN (b03hk7r5)
Essential Classics
09:00 MON (b03hk7z2)
Essential Classics
09:00 TUE (b03hk89p)
Essential Classics
09:00 WED (b03hk89r)
Essential Classics
09:00 THU (b03hk89t)
Essential Classics
09:00 FRI (b03hk89w)
Free Thinking
22:00 WED (b03j04cp)
Geoffrey Smith's Jazz
00:00 SUN (b03hk3hy)
Hear and Now
22:00 SAT (b03hk2y5)
In Tune
16:30 MON (b03hk7zc)
In Tune
16:30 TUE (b03hk8kl)
In Tune
16:30 WED (b03hk8kn)
In Tune
16:30 THU (b03hk8ks)
In Tune
16:30 FRI (b03hk8kv)
Jazz Line-Up
18:00 SAT (b03hk1yw)
Jazz Record Requests
17:00 SAT (b03hk1yq)
Jazz on 3
23:00 MON (b03hk7zr)
Late Junction
23:00 TUE (b03hk8nf)
Late Junction
23:00 WED (b03hk8nh)
Late Junction
23:00 THU (b03hk8nk)
Music Matters
12:15 SAT (b03hk1y9)
Night Waves
22:00 TUE (b03hkbdn)
Night Waves
22:00 THU (b03hkbpd)
Opera on 3
18:15 MON (b03hk7zf)
Private Passions
12:00 SUN (b01n6r08)
Radio 3 Live in Concert
19:30 SAT (b03hk1yy)
Radio 3 Live in Concert
20:45 SAT (b03hk23w)
Radio 3 Live in Concert
19:30 SUN (b03hk7r3)
Radio 3 Live in Concert
19:30 TUE (b03hkbdl)
Radio 3 Live in Concert
19:30 WED (b03hkbjy)
Radio 3 Live in Concert
19:30 THU (b03hkbpb)
Radio 3 Live in Concert
19:30 FRI (b03hkc64)
Radio 3 Lunchtime Concert
13:00 SAT (b03h3nx2)
Radio 3 Lunchtime Concert
13:00 SUN (b00lfq8m)
Radio 3 Lunchtime Concert
13:00 MON (b03hk7z6)
Radio 3 Lunchtime Concert
13:00 TUE (b03hk8gq)
Radio 3 Lunchtime Concert
13:00 WED (b03hk8gs)
Radio 3 Lunchtime Concert
13:00 THU (b03hk8gv)
Radio 3 Lunchtime Concert
13:00 FRI (b03hk8gx)
Saturday Classics
14:00 SAT (b03hk1yc)
Sound of Cinema
16:00 SAT (b03hk1yf)
Sunday Feature
18:45 SUN (b03hk7r1)
Sunday Morning
09:00 SUN (b03hk3j4)
The Early Music Show
14:00 SUN (b03hk6gy)
The Essay
22:45 MON (b01pmfj9)
The Essay
22:45 TUE (b01pmh1j)
The Essay
22:45 WED (b01pmh1l)
The Essay
22:45 THU (b01pmh1n)
Through the Night
01:00 SAT (b03h3xdz)
Through the Night
01:00 SUN (b03hk3j0)
Through the Night
00:30 MON (b03hk7yy)
Through the Night
00:30 TUE (b03hk81j)
Through the Night
00:30 WED (b03hk81l)
Through the Night
00:30 THU (b03hk81n)
Through the Night
00:30 FRI (b03hk81q)
Words and Music
17:30 SUN (b03hk7qz)