SATURDAY 22 FEBRUARY 2025
SAT 00:30 Through the Night (m0027tk3)
The Tears and Fire of the Muses
Soloists from La Capella Reial de Catalunya with Hespèrion XXI perform Monteverdi, Dowland and Holborne in Tarragona, directed by Jordi Savall. Presented by Jonathan Swain.
12:31 AM
Samuel Scheidt (1587-1654)
Paduan and Courant Dolorosa Cantus V-IX
12:39 AM
Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643)
Lamento d'Arianna, a 5 SV.107
Anna Piroli (soprano), Maria Chiara Gallo (mezzo soprano), Ferran Mitjans (tenor), Mauro Borgioni (baritone), Salvo Vitale (bass), Hesperion XXI, Jordi Savall (conductor)
12:53 AM
Anthony Holborne (c.1545-1602)
The image of Melancholy
12:57 AM
Anthony Holborne (c.1545-1602)
The Tears of the Muses
12:59 AM
Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643)
Lagrime d’amante al sepolcro dell’amata (SV 111)
Anna Piroli (soprano), Maria Chiara Gallo (mezzo soprano), Ferran Mitjans (tenor), Mauro Borgioni (baritone), Salvo Vitale (bass), Hesperion XXI, Jordi Savall (conductor)
01:16 AM
John Dowland (1563-1626)
Lachrimae gementes (pavan)
01:20 AM
John Dowland (1563-1626)
The Earle of Essex Galiard
01:22 AM
Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643)
Qui rise, o Tirsi (Madrigal concertato, a 5)
Anna Piroli (soprano), Maria Chiara Gallo (mezzo soprano), Ferran Mitjans (tenor), Mauro Borgioni (baritone), Salvo Vitale (bass), Hesperion XXI, Jordi Savall (conductor)
01:29 AM
Anthony Holborne (c.1545-1602)
Lachriae antiquae (pavan)
01:33 AM
Giacomo Gorzanis (c.1520-c.1575)
La Barcha d’amore (gallarda)
01:35 AM
Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643)
Tirsi e Clori (Ballo concertato con voci e istrumenti, a 5)
Hesperion XXI, Jordi Savall (conductor)
01:49 AM
Ottorino Respighi (1879-1936)
Concerto in modo misolidio for piano and orchestra
Olli Mustonen (piano), Norwegian Radio Orchestra, Markus Lehtinen (conductor)
02:25 AM
Arcangelo Corelli (1653-1713)
Sonata da chiesa in C major, Op 1 no 7
London Baroque
02:31 AM
Henriette Bosmans (1895-1952)
Cello Concerto no 2
Gemma Rosefield (cello), BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Jonathan Bloxham (conductor)
02:57 AM
Erik Satie (1866-1925)
Trois morceaux en forme de poire
Pianoduo Kolacny (piano duo), Steven Kolacny (piano), Stijn Kolacny (piano)
03:15 AM
Johann Caspar Ferdinand Fischer (c.1670-1746)
Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland - Mass for 4 voices & basso continuo
Barbara Schlick (soprano), Hans Peter Blochwitz (tenor), Max von Egmond (bass), Jugendkantorei Dormagen, Das Kleine Konzert, Hermann Max (director)
03:32 AM
Gaspar Sanz (1640-1710)
Tarantella
Eduardo Eguez (guitar)
03:40 AM
Anton Webern (1883-1945)
Langsamer Satz
Scharoun Ensemble Berlin, Zermatt Music Festival Academy Students
03:50 AM
Kaspar Forster (1616-1673)
Beatus vir, KBPJ 3
Marta Boberska (soprano), Kai Wessel (counter tenor), Grzegorz Zychowicz (bass), Il Tempo Baroque Ensemble
03:59 AM
Dmitry Shostakovich (1906-1975), arr. Levon Atovmyan/ Blaserserenaden Zurich
5 works for violin and piano arr. for flute, bassoon and harp
Andrea Kolle (flute), Maria Wildhaber (bassoon), Sarah Verrue (harp)
04:09 AM
Richard Wagner (1813-1883)
Prologue: Dawn music & Siegfried's Rhine journey from Gotterdammerung
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Riccardo Chailly (conductor)
04:22 AM
Franz Liszt (1811-1886)
Hungarian Rhapsody no 6 in D flat major
Rian de Waal (piano)
04:31 AM
Dietrich Buxtehude (1637-1707)
Ihr lieben Christen, freut euch nun, BuxWV 51
Marieke Steenhoek (soprano), Miriam Meyer (soprano), Bogna Bartosz (contralto), Marco van de Klundert (tenor), Klaus Mertens (bass), Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, Ton Koopman (conductor)
04:42 AM
Bela Bartok (1881-1945), arr. Zoltan Szekely
Romanian Folk dances, Sz.56 arr. for violin & piano
Vineta Sareika (violin), Ventis Zilberts (piano)
04:48 AM
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Praeludium and Fughetta in G major, BWV 902
Andreas Staier (harpsichord)
04:58 AM
Anthon van der Horst (1899-1965)
La Nuit, Op 63 no 1
Netherlands Chamber Choir, Eric Ericson (conductor)
05:06 AM
Arthur Butterworth (1923-2014)
Romanza for horn and strings
Martin Hackleman (horn), CBC Vancouver Orchestra, Mario Bernardi (conductor)
05:16 AM
Giovanni Battista Vitali (1632-1692)
Passa galli per la lettera E; Bergamasca per la lettera B
United Continuo Ensemble
05:23 AM
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
11 Zigeunerlieder for 4 voices and piano, Op 103
Danish National Radio Choir, Bengt Forsberg (piano), Stefan Parkman (conductor)
05:43 AM
Claude Debussy (1862-1918)
Sonata for Flute, Viola & Harp
Tom Ottar Andreassen (flute), Jon Sonstebo (viola), Sidsel Walstad (harp)
06:00 AM
Josef Suk (1874-1935)
Serenade for string orchestra in E flat major, Op 6
Budapest Strings, Bela Banfalvi (leader)
SAT 06:30 Breakfast (m0028318)
Start your weekend the Radio 3 way, with Saturday Breakfast
Join Emma Clarke to wake up the day with a selection of the finest classical music.
To listen on most smart speakers just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Breakfast."
SAT 09:00 Saturday Morning (m002831b)
Tom Service in conversation with soprano Fatma Said
Tom Service talks to the acclaimed Egyptian soprano, Fatma Said, ahead of her concert at London's Wigmore Hall and following the release of her latest album, Lieder, on 7 February.
Plus the best classical music and the continuation of BBC Radio 3’s 25 for 25: Sounds of the Century – a series of brand new commissions celebrating and commemorating some of the biggest events of the 21st century so far. This week we arrive at 2004, with virtuoso sitarist Jasdeep Singh Degun paying tribute to his teacher's teacher, Ustad Vilayat Khan, who died in 2004, aged 75. Degun is joined by the BBC Philharmonic, sitarist Ustad Dharambir Singh and tabla players Harkiret Bahra and Upneet Singh in a performance of his new work, Abbhā.
To listen on most smart speakers just say 'Ask BBC Sounds to play Saturday Morning'.
SAT 12:00 Earlier... with Jools Holland (m002831d)
Jools with some of his most-loved recordings
Jools shares his lifelong passion for classical music. With fascinating guests each week who bring their own favourite music and occasionally perform live in Jools's studio.
Today, Jools's choices include music by William Walton, Kevin Puts and Franz Schubert, with performances from blues singer Georgia White and pianist Dinu Lipatti. Jools's guest is the cellist, singer and composer Abel Selaocoe who introduces music he loves by Gabriel Fauré, Giovanni Platti and Cristobal de Morales, plus we hear music from his new album 'Hymns of Bantu' and a live improvisation with Jools.
To listen on most smart speakers, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Earlier with Jools Holland".
SAT 13:00 Music Matters (m002831g)
Jenni Murray's Women Composers
Play it yourself
Jenni Murray continues her celebration of the music of women composers, presenting a fabulous playlist of great music, classic and modern, and exploring the issues women have faced in forging a career as a composer.
3. Play it Yourself. Jenni looks at women composers who have performed their own music, from musicians of the Baroque era such as Barbara Strozzi, through to 20th Century jazz giant Nina Simone and contemporary cellist-vocalist-composer Ayanna Witter-Johnson. To introduce the music, and to discuss whether performing your own music is still one of the best ways for composers to communicate their own work, Jenni is joined by pianist Joanna MacGregor and writer Kate Kennedy.
Producer: Graham Rogers
SAT 14:00 Record Review (m002831j)
Bizet's L'Arlesienne Suites in Building a Library with Jeremy Sams and Andrew McGregor
Andrew McGregor with the best new recordings of classical music.
1405
Gillian Moore explores an exciting selection of new releases
1500
Building a Library
Jeremy Sams chooses his favourite version of Bizet's L'Arlesienne Suites
Georges Bizet composed incidental music to Alphonse Daudet's drama, L'Arlésienne, The Girl from Arles. It was first performed in 1872 at the Théâtre du Vaudeville in Paris. The premiere was a failure and Daudet remarked: "It was a resounding flop amid the prettiest music in the world, silk and velvet costumes, and comic opera scenery. I came out of there discouraged, still hearing the silly laughter caused by the emotional scenes." The main pieces of the incidental music are most often heard in the form of two suites for full orchestra; and they have become some of Bizet's most popular compositions.
Recommended version:
Les Musiciens du Louvre
Chœur de l’opéra de Lyon
Marc Minkowski (conductor)
Naïve V5130
1545
Record of the Week: Andrew’s top pick.
To listen on most smart speakers just say “ask BBC Sounds to play Record Review”
SAT 16:00 Sound of Cinema (m002831l)
Bafta Film Awards 2025: Soundtrack highlights
Matthew Sweet celebrates the film highlights of the year with a focus on the recently announced 2025 Bafta winners.
He speaks exclusively with the winner of the Best Original Score - composer Daniel Blumberg, for the film The Brutalist - who tells Matthew about how he travelled to an Italian quarry to record some of the music, and what it was like to actually win the Bafta itself.
There's music from Conclave, The Brutalist and The Wild Robot, plus even some Zoe Saldana and a hint of Trent Reznor's alarm clock....and even a musical jump-scare from Nosferatu....
To listen on most smart speakers, just say: "Ask BBC Sounds to play Sound of Cinema.”
SAT 17:00 This Classical Life (m0024ws6)
Jess Gillam with... Angel Blue
Jess shares favourite music with soprano Angel Blue.
Angel is one of the world's biggest opera stars, she is in demand the world over for her gorgeous voice and charismatic performances. She's won two Grammy's and of course starred in the 2024 Last Night of the Proms here on Radio 3. She chats to Jess about her life in music, her singing hero Renée Fleming and why Barry White's music is the language of love... Plus Jess and Angel share more music by Vivaldi, Sharon Jones, Bizet, Barber and more!
To listen using most smart speakers, just say “Ask BBC Sounds to play This Classical Life”
SAT 18:00 Opera on 3 (m0027m1q)
Kurt Weill's 'Love Life'
Kurt Weill's Love Life was immensely successful when it was first performed in the late 1940s, it ran for more than 250 performances, but has had few outings since and has never attracted a recording. In Opera on 3 this evening Mark Forrest and Emily MacGregor introduce a new production from the Leeds Grand Theatre given by Opera North. More a musical than traditional opera, Love Life belongs to Weill's American period, written after his flight from 1930s Germany. Once in America Weill absorbed the many different styles of American popular music to create a piece that conveys the sounds and atmosphere of American from the1790s to the 1947. He teamed up with lyricist Alan Jay Lerner (co-creator of My Fair Lady) and with the esteemed director Elia Kazan to create what is often referred to as the first 'concept' musical, paving the ways for the likes of 'Chicago' 'Company' and 'Cabaret'.
Love Life tells the story of the marriage of Sam and Susan Cooper and their two children Elizabeth and Johnny, but imagined across a life span of 250 years in order to explore how external forces, especially economic and technical change, impact on a relationship. The more naturalistic episodes of the story are cut around vaudeville like scenes which provide comment on their circumstances. This new production has been created by Matthew Eberhardt with design by Zahra Marsouri and choreography by Will Tuckett and is given in collaboration with the Kurt Weill Foundation for Music.
Kurt Weill: LOVE LIFE
In Two Parts:
Cast:
Quirijn de Lang (Sam Cooper)
Stephanie Corley (Susan Cooper)
Tilly Baker (Elizabeth Cooper)
Louie Stow (Johnny Cooper)
Justin Hopkins (Hobo)
Themba Mvula (Magician/ Vaudevillian/Con Man/Interlocutor
Will Hopkins, Joshua Da Costa, Andrew Randall, Masimba Ushe (Quartet)
Holly Saw (Magician Assistant/Dancer)
Max Westwell (Dancer)
Felicity Moore, Amber Midgley, Lottie Gray (The 3 Tots)
The Orchestra and Chorus of Opera North conducted by James Holmes
SAT 21:30 Music Planet (m002831q)
Florence Adooni’s Return Journey
Lopa Kothari selects new roots-based music from around the globe, including a head-spinning track from Colombian supergroup Los Pirañas and a tune from a new compilation of hypnotic music focusing on the sounds of the Soninke people of Mali. Plus, a song from North Wales, courtesy of singer-songwriter Gwilym Bowen Rhys, and meditative sitar from Anoushka Shankar.
And, on the release of her debut album, A.O.E.I.U. (An Ordinary Exercise In Unity), Ghanaian Fra Fra soul singer Florence Adooni joins Lopa on the programme to share two of her favourite tracks: one that she met on the road, and one that reminds her of home.
Produced by Silvia Malnati
A Reduced Listening production for BBC Radio 3
To listen on most smart speakers, just say: “Ask BBC Sounds to play Music Planet.
SAT 22:30 New Music Show (m002831s)
Elaine Mitchener and Ensemble Klang
Tom Service with cutting-edge and experimental new music
On tonight's show, the world premiere of Jamaican composer Mikhail Johnson's Tell! Jonkonnu, Tell! In it he weaves a tale of the Jamaican folk festival Jonkonnu using a cast of characters, there's intrigue, empathy, hope, and social commentary all packaged in a hugely exciting and ever-changing sound world. The vocal soloist Elaine Mitchener talks to us about bringing the various characters to life in this first performance with Ensemble Klang from London's Wigmore Hall. Tom also introduces a new piece by Hannah Kendall from the same concert.
Plus howling and gurgling from the Noise Intoners, early 20th-century noise synthesisers, remade for our time and played and recorded at the London Contemporary Music Festival. We’ll take a tour of the machines with the man who has rebuilt the orchestra and hear new pieces composed especially for them.
And there's music by Tom Coult, ilinx, Ed Bennett, Passepartout Duo, Jesper Nordin and more!
To listen using most smart speakers, just say “Ask BBC Sounds to play the New Music Show"
SUNDAY 23 FEBRUARY 2025
SUN 00:30 Through the Night (m002831v)
Radovan Vlatković plays Strauss's Horn Concerto no 1
The legend of the French Horn, Radovan Vlatković plays Richard Strauss's first Horn Concerto with the Croatian Radio-Television Symphony Orchestra. Conducted by Ivan Repušić, they play Smetana's Vltava and Croatian composer Blagoje Bersa's Sunny Fields. John Shea presents.
12:31 AM
Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
The Hebrides, Op 26 - Overture, Fingal's Cave
Croatian Radio-Television Symphony Orchestra, Ivan Repusic (conductor)
12:42 AM
Richard Strauss (1864-1949)
Horn Concerto no 1 in E flat major
Radovan Vlatkovic (french horn), Croatian Radio-Television Symphony Orchestra, Ivan Repusic (conductor)
12:59 AM
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Allegro from Horn Concerto no 3 in E flat major, K.447
Radovan Vlatkovic (french horn), Croatian Radio-Television Symphony Orchestra, Ivan Repusic (conductor)
01:03 AM
Blagoje Bersa (1873-1934)
Sunny Fields
Croatian Radio-Television Symphony Orchestra, Ivan Repusic (conductor)
01:20 AM
Bedrich Smetana (1824-1884)
Vltava from Má vlast - My Homeland
Croatian Radio-Television Symphony Orchestra, Ivan Repusic (conductor)
01:32 AM
Marko Ruzdjak (1946-2012)
April is the Cruellest Month
Zagreb Guitar Trio
01:40 AM
Traditional, arr. Vladimir Ruzdjak
Green Woods
Vladimir Ruzdjak (baritone), Zagreb Soloists
01:44 AM
Dora Pejacevic (1885-1923)
Symphony no 1 in F sharp minor, Op 41
Croatian Radio-Television Symphony Orchestra, Mladen Tarbuk (conductor)
02:31 AM
Dmitry Shostakovich (1906-1975)
Piano Trio no 2 in E minor, Op 67
Altenberg Trio Vienna
02:58 AM
Anonymous
Lauda Jerusalem (Psalm)
Claire Lefilliatre (soprano), Marnix De Cat (alto), Han Warmelinck (tenor), Currende, Erik van Nevel (director)
03:18 AM
Iris Szeghy (b.1956)
Cello Concerto
Andrej Gal (cello), Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, Marian Lejava (conductor)
03:45 AM
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Prelude and fugue no 5 in D major, BWV.874 from Das Wohltemperierte Klavier
Kamiel D'Hooghe (organ)
03:53 AM
Rene Eespere (b.1953)
Festina lente
Tallinn Music High School Chamber Choir, Evi Eespere (director)
04:01 AM
Mieczyslaw Karlowicz (1876-1909)
Smutna opowiesc - A sorrowful tale, Op 13
National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Andrzej Straszynski (conductor)
04:12 AM
Carl Nielsen (1865-1931)
Serenata in vano, FS 68 (for clarinet, horn, bassoon, cello & double bass)
Festival Ensemble of the Festival of the Sound, James Campbell (conductor)
04:19 AM
Victor Young (1899-1956)
My foolish heart - song
Gwilym Simcock (piano)
04:31 AM
August Enna (1859-1939)
The Match Girl: overture
Danish Radio Concert Orchestra, Hannu Koivula (conductor)
04:37 AM
Gertrude van den Bergh (1793-1840)
Lied fur pianoforte
Frans van Ruth (piano)
04:42 AM
Edvard Grieg (1843-1907), arr. Alan Civil
Suite for Brass Quintet
Brass Consort Koln
04:52 AM
Richard Rodney Bennett (1936-2012), arr. David Lindup
Murder on the Orient Express - music from the film
BBC Philharmonic, Rumon Gamba (conductor)
05:04 AM
Fanny Mendelssohn (1805-1847)
Die Schiffende
Benjamin Appl (baritone), Pavel Kolesnikov (piano)
05:07 AM
Henricus Albicastro (fl.1700-06)
Trio Sonata, Op 8 no 11
Ensemble 415, Chiara Banchini (conductor)
05:19 AM
Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari (1876-1948)
Suite Concertino in F major for bassoon and small orchestra, Op 16
Christopher Millard (bassoon), CBC Vancouver Orchestra, Mario Bernardi (conductor)
05:39 AM
Leonel Power (1370-1445)
Missa 'Alma redemptoris mater'
Hilliard Ensemble
06:00 AM
Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990)
Serenade after Plato's 'Symposium'
Jaap van Zweden (violin), Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Riccardo Chailly (conductor)
SUN 06:30 Breakfast (m00281zx)
Rise and Shine with Radio 3
Tom McKinney with Radio 3's classical breakfast show and music that captures the mood of Sunday morning. Email your requests to 3breakfast@bbc.co.uk.
To listen on most smart speakers just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Breakfast.”
SUN 09:00 Sunday Morning (m00281zz)
Your perfect Sunday soundtrack
Sarah Walker with three hours of classical music to reflect, restore and refresh.
Today, Sarah shares glorious melodies from Schubert, Bruch and Vaughan Williams, music from the first symphony known to be written by a British woman, and a Haydn string quartet that’s full of musical mastery and innovation.
There’s also a crazily virtuosic little ‘Canzon’ by Matthias Weckmann, and the theme music to a much loved TV detective show.
Plus, a piece named after a picturesque Icelandic bay…
Also including BBC Radio 3’s 25 for 25: Sounds of the Century – a series of brand new commissions celebrating and commemorating some of the biggest events of the 21st century so far. This week, it’s 2004, and Jasdeep Singh Degun’s piece, Abbha, is a tribute to his teacher Ustad Vilayat Khan who passed away that year.
A Tandem Production for BBC Radio 3
SUN 12:00 Private Passions (m0028201)
Daniel Levitin
Daniel Levitin is a psychologist and neuroscientist who is fascinated by the way our brains respond to music. He first worked as a musician, playing in bands, and then became a record producer and engineer. He’s worked with some of best-known names in the world, including Stevie Wonder, Joni Mitchell, Paul Simon, Sting and The Grateful Dead.
In his 30s he went back to university to study psychology. He’s now Professor Emeritus at McGill University and has written several best-sellers investigating why music has such a powerful effect on us as a species. His most recent, Music as Medicine, is about the healing power of music, and how it might be used to help treat PTSD, slow the spread of neurodegenerative diseases and even help combat multiple sclerosis.
Daniel's music choices include Debussy, Dvorak, Thelonious Monk and Beethoven.
SUN 13:30 Music Map (m0026wkk)
A journey to Holst's Neptune, the Mystic
Gustav Holst knew a thing or two about the cold of winter. He felt it badly and would walk around the St Paul's Girls School in Hammersmith, where he taught music, draped in a blanket to keep warm. The school is also where he composed The Planets, and in today's Music Map Sara Mohr-Pietsch sets a musical course across the galaxy towards the freezing blasts of Holst's mysterious Neptune, The Mystic. From the far reaches of one of the most popular pieces of classical music ever written, Neptune's delightfully icy terrain lures us on via music by Jean Sibelius, Patrick Moore, Hector Berlioz, Josef Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and a work by Holst's daughter Imogen Holst.
To listen to this programme (using most smart speakers) just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Music Map"
SUN 15:00 Choral Evensong (m0027vl6)
The Queen’s College, Oxford
From the Chapel of The Queen’s College, Oxford.
Introit: I sat down under his shadow (Bairstow)
Responses: Leighton
Psalms 98, 99, 100, 101 (Atkins, Martin, Alcock, Moorse)
First Lesson: Genesis 25 vv7-11, 19-34
Office hymn: O strength and stay (O strength and stay)
Canticles: Watson in E
Second Lesson: 2 Timothy 1 vv1-14
Anthem: Blessed is the man (Darke)
Hymn: Rejoice, the Lord is King (Gopsal)
Voluntary: Kyrie, Gott heiliger Geist, BWV 671 (Bach)
Owen Rees (Director of Music)
Rudyard Cook, Arthur Barton (Organ Scholars)
Recorded 15 February.
To listen on most smart speakers just say “ask BBC Sounds to play Choral Evensong”.
SUN 16:00 Jazz Record Requests (m0028203)
Nina Simone - Soft Machine - Sara Niemietz - Stan Kenton
Alyn Shipton presents jazz records of all styles from the past to the present as requested by you including music from Nina Simone, Soft Machine, Stan Kenton, Sara Niemietz and more. 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 (m0021xyw)
The Viola Joke
What do you call someone who hangs around musicians? A viola player (lol)!
Mark Seow explores the historical roots for the “viola joke”, which goes back to at least 1752 when Johann Joachim Quantz wrote that “so few violists devote as much industry to their work as they should... remaining chained to the viola to the end of their lives”.
But the viola wasn’t considered a lowly instrument by everyone. It possessed a range and timbral quality that many Baroque composers associated with tenderness and love – made explicit by its stranger cousin, the viola d’amore.
In this programme, we hear the viola come into its own as a sonorous solo instrument in music by Telemann, Bach, Biber, Rosenmüller and others.
Presented by Mark Seow, with jokes from comedians Helen Arney and Jonathan Mayor.
To listen to this programme using most smart speakers just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play The Early Music Show".
SUN 18:00 Words and Music (m001q738)
Twins and doppelgangers
The involuntary double-take occasioned by seeing two people who look exactly alike or, imagine this, of coming face to face with your own likeness. This edition of Words and Music focuses on twins and doppelgangers. Lewis Carroll’s Tweedledum and Tweedledee rub shoulders with Carol Ann Duffy’s Kray Sisters, while Romulus and Remus are brought to life by the European Saxophone Ensemble, and the Ashvins, twin gods from Hindu mythology, sing to each other in Ravi Shankar’s opera Sukanya. The doppelganger appears in Schubert’s chilling and tragic song of the same name, while Imtiaz Dharker reveals our doubles who lurk in the pages of fiction. The likeness that that is always near at hand – our shadow – is sung about by Judy Garland and comes alarmingly to life in a story by Hans Christian Andersen. Another pair of twins – the twin cities of Cork and Coventry - are celebrated in verse by Raef Boylan and musically by Seán Ó Riada and Benjamin Britten respectively.
The readers are Tracy-Ann Oberman and Don Gilet.
Producer: Torquil MacLeod
Readings and *Music
*Harold Budd – Twins
Percy Bysshe Shelley - Homer's Hymn To Castor And Pollux
Percy Bysshe Shelley – Prometheus Unbound
*Maciej Małecki - Europa: Romulus and Remus
Lewis Carroll – Alice Through the Looking-Glass
*Otis Spann & Muddy Waters – Look Like Twins
Charles Dickens – Nicholas Nickelby
*Frédéric Devreese - Gemini, Suite for Double Orchestra : Dance of the Twins
Carol Ann Duffy – The Kray Sisters
*Miklos Rozsa – Twins
Hans Christian Andersen – The Shadow
*Judy Garland – Me and My Shadow
Elizabeth Jennings – The Child and the Shadow
*Seán Ó Riada - Port na bPúcaí
Raef Boylan – Be Rightly Proud
*Benjamin Britten – War Requiem, Op. 66: I. (a) Requiem aeternam. "Requiem aeternam"
*William Basinski - The Disintegration Loops III - dlp 4.3
Grace Schulman – Because
*Richard Rijnvos - Manhattan Square Dances (for two identical orchestras): Washington Square Dance
John Burnside – The man who was answered by his own self
*Franz Schubert - Schwanengesang, D. 957: XIII. Der Doppelgänger
Imtiaz Dharker – Double
*Jaco Pastorius – Twins
Ted Hughes – Gaudete
*Antonio Vivaldi - Concerto for 2 Cellos in G Minor, RV 531 (Arr. M. Prooijen for Cello, Double Bass & Chamber Ensemble): I. Allegro
Sarah Crossan – One
*Ravi Shankar - Sukanya, Act 1: I. Prelude. Aswini Twins Song to Love
Robert Louis Stevenson – The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
*Black Box Recorder – The Deverell Twins
Maggie O’Farrell – Hamnet
*Howard Shore - Dead Ringers: Closing Credits
SUN 19:15 Sunday Feature (m0028206)
Anthony Minghella and Music
"If my work has been to create words and images, my passion has always been music," the Oscar-winning writer and director Anthony Minghella told BBC Radio 3 listeners in 2003. Music flows through his work like a vital river, from his early radio plays through to films such as The English Patient and The Talented Mr Ripley.
Juliet Stevenson, who worked with Anthony Minghella - most memorably in the film Truly, Madly, Deeply - charts how music shaped his life and career, 50 years after he created his first full-length show, a musical called Mobius the Stripper, at Hull University.
Anthony's siblings Gioia and Dominic look back at their upbringing on the Isle of Wight, where their Italian parents ran a busy cafe. Piano lessons, the Catholic church, Puccini arias and film soundtracks from a local cinema all played a part in Anthony's musical education - and a bedroom with a piano provided a refuge from the noisy world of the family business, and the stresses of teenage life. Anthony's self-written songs offered a welcome release and, as his old friend Graeme Du Fresne recalls, his creative drive was evident from the start.
Robert Cooper, who produced some of Anthony's most acclaimed BBC radio plays, including Cigarettes and Chocolate, as well as the film Truly, Madly, Deeply, reflects on how music was at the core of the dramas, and the Oscar-winning composer Gabriel Yared shares memories of a close working relationship on films such as The English Patient and The Talented Mr Ripley. Soprano Mary Plazas and conductor David Parry recall their 2005 collaboration on Madam Butterfly, the only opera Anthony directed, working with his wife Carolyn Choa - a regularly-revived production. And all reflect on the shock of hearing the news of Anthony's death in 2008, at the age of 54.
Producer John Goudie
SUN 20:00 Drama on 3 (m0028208)
Messiaen and the Birds
Poet Michael Symmons Roberts goes on a creative pilgrimage to get to the heart of Olivier Messiaen's obsession with birdsong, creating an imaginative sonic journey through drama, poetry and Messiaen's music.
One of Messiaen's main inspirations was the early, pioneering sound recordist and specialist in birdsong Ludwig Koch. Messiaen transcribed many of Koch's birdsong recordings, but he also listened to birds in the streets and parks of Paris and nearby forests, and the exotic birds in the bird market and the aviary in the zoological gardens. Increasingly Messiaen wanted to see the birds in their own habitat and so, together with his second wife the pianist Yvonne Loriod, he travelled the world to listen to and record birds. For Messiaen, birds were more than a purely musical interest. His mystical experiences led him to believe that birds - alone of all creation - had escaped the Fall, so when he heard birdsong he was hearing the unaltered music of the garden of Eden.
Michael travels to Paris to retrace Messiaen's steps and to see the famous 'Cahiers de notations des chants d'oiseaux' - the birdsong notebooks held in the Bibliothèque Nationale de France in order to understand his own obsession with Messiaen.
Olivier Messiaen.....Andonis Anthony
Yvonne Loriod.....Rosalie Craig
Gerygone.....Julie Hesmondhalgh
Paul Dukas/ Jean Bachmann.....David Seddon
With special thanks to Marie-Gabrielle Soret, Thomas Lacote, Isabelle Kermet and the Bibliothèque Nationale de France.
Written by Michael Symmons Roberts
Produced and Directed by Nadia Molinari
Technical Production and Sound Design by Sharon Hughes
Assistant Technical Producer: Amy Brennan
Production Co-ordinator: Pippa Day
BBC Studios Audio Production for BBC Radio 3
SUN 21:15 New Generation Artists (m002820b)
Wit and Modernity: cellist Sterling Elliot plays George Walker
Wit and Modernity: Britten and Walker.
A debut recording at the BBC studios from a recent member of Radio 3’s young artist scheme, the cellist Sterling Elliott, with George Walker’s witty Cello Sonata.
The humour continues as the Chaos String Quartet showcases Britten’s playful wit, paired with a dose of his trademark modernity in the second of his Three Divertimentos for String Quartet, recorded at the Cheltenham Music Festival.
To finish, Geneva Lewis graces us with a sophisticated performance of Brahms’s Violin Sonata No 2.
George Walker: Cello Sonata
Sterling Elliott (cello) Gabriel Strata (piano)
Benjamin Britten: Three Divertimentos for String Quartet, no 2
Chaos String Quartet
Brahms: Violin Sonata No 2 in A major
Geneva Lewis (violin) Georgijs Osokins (piano)
SUN 22:00 Night Tracks (m0020prs)
Music for late-night listening
Sara Mohr-Pietsch presents an adventurous, immersive soundtrack for late-night listening, from classical to contemporary and everything in between.
SUN 23:30 Unclassified (m002820d)
Oscillations and Overtones
Join Elizabeth Alker with a selection of fresh music from genre-defying artists as we journey through landscapes of ambient and experimental sounds. Along the way, we'll hear from emerging independent producers whose work plays with orchestral textures and classical form as well as the latest sounds from a new generation of contemporary composers who look to embrace the spirit of rock, pop and electronica.
Produced by Geoff Bird
A Reduced Listening production for BBC Radio 3
To listen on most smart speakers just say “ask BBC Sounds to play Unclassified”
MONDAY 24 FEBRUARY 2025
MON 00:30 Through the Night (m002820g)
Damström, Lindberg and Brahms
Nicholas Collon conducts the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra in a concert comprising Cecilia Damström's response to the climate crisis, a new Viola Concerto by Magnus Lindberg and the 4th Symphony by Brahms. John Shea presents.
12:31 AM
Cecilia Damstrom (b. 1988)
ICE, Op 77
Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Nicholas Collon (conductor)
12:42 AM
Magnus Lindberg (b.1958)
Viola Concerto
Lawrence Power (viola), Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Nicholas Collon (conductor)
01:18 AM
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Symphony no 4 in E minor, Op 98
Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Nicholas Collon (conductor)
01:58 AM
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Quartet for strings in C major, Op 59 no 3 'Rasumovsky'
Yggdrasil String Quartet
02:31 AM
Witold Maliszewski (1873-1939)
Symphony no 1 in G minor, Op 8
Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Lukasz Borowicz (conductor)
03:06 AM
Astor Piazzolla (1921-1992)
Las cuatro estaciones portenas
Musica Camerata Montreal
03:29 AM
Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741)
Sposa son disprezzata, from Il Tamerlano (Il Bajazet), RV.703
Julie Fuchs (soprano), La Scintilla Orchestra, Anna Gebert (conductor)
03:39 AM
Susan Spain-Dunk (1880-1962)
Two Scottish Pieces for orchestra, Op 54
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Stephen Bell (conductor)
03:46 AM
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Sonata for piano duet in B flat major, K 358
Leonore von Stauss (fortepiano), Wolfgang Brunner (fortepiano)
03:58 AM
Ilmari Hannikainen (1892-1955)
Rural Dances, Op 39a
Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Petri Sakari (conductor)
04:13 AM
Jacques Gallot (1625-1696)
Pieces de Lute in C minor
Konrad Junghanel (lute)
04:23 AM
Carl Maria von Weber (1786-1826)
The Ruler of the spirits - Overture, Op 27
BBC Philharmonic, Vassily Sinaisky (conductor)
04:31 AM
Antonin Dvorak (1841-1904)
Polonaise in E flat major
Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, Ludovit Rajter (conductor)
04:37 AM
George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)
Trio Sonata in G major, Op 5 no 4
Tafelmusik Baroque Soloists
04:51 AM
Richard Strauss (1864-1949)
Der Abend for 16 part choir, Op 34 no 1
Danish National Radio Choir, Stefan Parkman (conductor)
05:00 AM
Lili Boulanger (1893-1918)
Nocturne for flute and piano
Valentinas Gelgotas (flute), Audrone Kisieliute (piano)
05:04 AM
Jean-Marie Leclair (1697-1764)
Concerto for violin and string orchestra in D major, Op 10 no 3
Simon Standage (violin), Il Tempo Ensemble
05:19 AM
Howard Cable (1920-2016)
The Banks of Newfoundland
Hannaford Street Silver Band, Stephen Chenette (conductor)
05:27 AM
Johann Christoph Bach (1642-1703)
Der Mensch von Weibe geboren
Vox Luminis, Lionel Meunier (director)
05:32 AM
Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971)
Petrushka (Burlesque in Four Scenes)
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Ruud van den Brink (piano), Peter Masseurs (trumpet), Jacques Zoon (flute), Riccardo Chailly (conductor)
06:07 AM
Johann Nepomuk Hummel (1778-1837)
Piano Quintet in E flat minor, Op 87
Wouter Vossen (violin), Tomoko Akasaka (viola), Chiara Enderle Samatanga (cello), Lars Olaf Schaper (double bass), Diana Ketler (piano)
MON 06:30 Breakfast (m0028215)
Start the day right with classical music
Petroc Trelawny presents Radio 3's award-winning classical breakfast show with music that captures the mood of the morning, including BBC Radio 3’s 25 for 25: Sounds of the Century – a series of brand new commissions celebrating and commemorating some of the biggest events of the 21st century so far. This week, virtuoso sitarist Jasdeep Singh Degun pays tribute in Abbhā to his teacher’s teacher Ustad Vilayat Khan who passed away in 2004 and whose artistry and innovation continue to inspire Indian classical musicians in the UK and worldwide today. The BBC Philharmonic recorded it with Jasdeep Singh Degun and Ustad Dharambir Singh on sitar, and tabla players Harkiret Bahra and Upneet Singh.
Email your requests to 3breakfast@bbc.co.uk. To listen on most smart speakers just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Breakfast.”
MON 09:30 Essential Classics (m0028217)
The very best of classical music
Georgia Mann plays the best in classical music, with familiar favourites alongside new discoveries and musical surprises.
1000 Playlist starter – listen and send us your ideas for the next step in our musical journey today.
1030 Song of the Day – harnessing the magic of words, music and the human voice.
1115 Playlist reveal – a sequence of music suggested by you in response to our starter today.
1145 Slow Moment – time to take a break for a moment's musical reflection.
To listen on most smart speakers say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Essential Classics”
MON 13:00 Classical Live (m0028219)
Steven Osborne live at Wigmore Hall in London and Sibelius from Finland
Fiona Talkington showcases the best performances by BBC orchestras, choirs, ensembles and other great performing groups from Europe and around the globe.
The week begins with a live concert from London’s Wigmore Hall given by one of the very first BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artists, pianist Steven Osborne. At the heart of his recital is Schubert’s sublime final piano sonata, whose spirituality is anticipated in the three miniatures that precede it: Myra Hess’s soulful take on Bach, and two short pieces by fellow Scots composers Judith Weir and James MacMillan.
A trio of more recent New Generation Artists feature throughout this week on Classical Live, with two concerts recorded exclusively for us at last year’s Belfast International Arts Festival. The Z.E.N. Trio is made up of three world-class soloists who met while on Radio 3’s flagship talent development scheme: violinist Esther Yoo, cellist Narek Hakhnazaryan and pianist Zhang Zuo (aka Zee Zee). Today they perform the first of Rachmaninov’s Elegiac Trios.
The Belfast connection continues in the realm of orchestral music, with the Ulster Orchestra taking the lead in our week-long focus on Sibelius. But it’s Sibelius's compatriots in the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra who provide our centrepiece today at
3pm - the expansive Symphony No. 2.
And in the lead-up to the 25th anniversary celebrations of the New Generation Artists scheme next Monday, each day this week we feature an alumnus as the soloist in a concerto with a European orchestra. Today, French pianist Cédric Tiberghien joins the Liège Royal Philharmonic Orchestra for Ravel's Piano Concerto in G.
1303
Live from Wigmore Hall, London, presented by Hannah French
Johann Sebastian Bach arr. Myra Hess
Jesu Joy of Man’s Desiring
James MacMillan
Lumen Christi
Judith Weir
Chorale, for Steve
Franz Schubert
Piano Sonata in B flat, D960
Steven Osborne (piano)
***
1400
Leonard Bernstein
3 Dance Episodes from ‘On the Town’
Ulster Orchestra
Michael Seal (conductor)
Maurice Ravel
Piano Concerto in G
Cédric Tiberghien (piano)
Liège Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Elena Schwarz (conductor)
Sergei Rachmaninov
Trio élégaique No. 1 in G minor
Z.E.N. Trio
1500 - Centrepiece
Jean Sibelius
Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 43
Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra
Esa-Pekka Salonen (conductor)
Antonin Dvorak
Songs my mother taught me (Gypsy melodies, No. 4)
Laura van der Heijden (cello)
Jâms Coleman (piano)
To listen to this programme (using most smart speakers) just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Classical Live".
MON 16:00 Composer of the Week (m002821c)
The Turkish Five
Formation of the Turkish Republic
Donald Macleod explores what impact the newly formed Turkish Republic made on music.
In 1923 the Turkish Republic came into being. On the agenda for the founding father and first president, Mustafa Kemal Atatȗrk, was the aim to develop a new Turkish musical language, and to disassociate culturally with the Ottoman past. This new musical culture would be a blend of traditional Turkish music, in combination with Western classical music. The Republic funded musicians to study in Europe, who were then expected to return to Turkey and develop what they had learned. Through this cultural exchange, Western music began to be experienced more widely by audiences across Turkey, whilst Turkish music was also introduced to listeners around the world, including Europe and the USA.
A group of composers known as the Turkish Five were pioneers in this movement to form a synthesis between East and West. They included Cemal Reşit Rey (1904-1985), Ulvi Cemal Erkin (1906-1972), Hasan Ferit Alnar (1906-1978), Ahmet Adnan Saygun (1907-1991) and Necil Kâzim Akses (1908-1999). The Turkish Five became hugely influential in their home country as composers, teachers, conductors and artistic directors, and also became well known abroad, receiving many honours.
Some European music was known in Turkey, prior to the formation of the Turkish Republic. Giuseppe Donizetti, elder brother of the famed opera composer Gaetano Donizetti, was employed by the Sultan as General Instructor of Imperial Ottoman Music. By 1923 a greater influence of Western classical music in Turkey was seen as advantageous by the new hierarchy. Joining Donald Macleod to discuss this turning point in Turkish music is Prof. Mine Doğantan-Dack, and Dr. Emre Araci.
Ulvi Cemal Erkin
Camdan sakiz akiyor (Seven Folk Songs)
Mustafa İktu, bass-baritone
Budapest Symphony Orchestra
Hikmet Şimşek, conductor
Ahmet Adnan Saygun
Meseli, Op 25 (Anadolu’dan)
Zeynep Üçbaşaran, piano
Necil Kâzim Akses
Concerto for Orchestra (excerpt)
Hungarian State Orchestra
Rengim Gökmen, conductor
Cemal Reşit Rey
Three Turkish Folks Songs (Twelve Anatolish Folk Songs)
Suna Korat, soprano
Budapest Symphony Orchestra
Hikmet Şimşek, conductor
Hasan Ferit Alnar
Piano Trio (excerpt)
Bosphorus Trio
Ahmed Adnan Saygun
Piano Concerto No 1, Op 34 (excerpt)
Gülsin Onay, piano
Bilkent Symphony Orchestra
Howard Griffiths, conductor
Produced by Luke Whitlock
MON 17:00 In Tune (m002821f)
Wind down from work with classical music
Live music and interviews from the world's finest classical musicians. Including BBC Radio 3’s 25 for 25: Sounds of the Century – a series of brand new commissions celebrating and commemorating some of the biggest events of the 21st century so far. This week, virtuoso sitarist Jasdeep Singh Degun pays tribute in Abbhā to his teacher’s teacher Ustad Vilayat Khan who passed away in 2004 and whose artistry and innovation continue to inspire Indian classical musicians in the UK and worldwide today.
MON 19:00 Classical Mixtape (m002821h)
Classical music to inspire you
Take time out with a 30-minute soundscape of classical favourites - a string sonata by Rossini, Rachmaninov's Prelude in G minor, Rodrigo's guitar concerto and Mozart's concerto for flute and harp. Also in the mix are Anna Lapwood's choral work O Nata Lux, Oliver Knussen's Organa No.1 - Notre Dame des Jouets and a passacaglia by Buxtehude.
Producer: Ian Wallington
MON 19:30 Radio 3 in Concert (m002821k)
Michael Barenboim plays Bartók's Second Violin Concerto in Liverpool
Fiery folk tunes meet the orchestra – conductor Domingo Hindoyan dives deep into a whirlwind of colour and rhythm, straight from the untamed musical imagination of Zoltán Kodály. A different kind of passion drives Bartók’s Second Violin Concerto, and violinist Michael Barenboim is just the artist to uncover both its poetry and its inner fire. Meanwhile, if you enjoy Dvořák’s ‘New World’ symphony, you simply have to hear the Seventh. This tempestuous portrait of a nation awakening to freedom packs a serious emotional punch.
Recorded at Liverpool Philharmonic Hall on 6th February 2025.
Presented by Penny Gore.
Kodály: Dances of Galánta
Bartók: Violin Concerto No.2
Dvořák: Symphony No.7
Michael Barenboim, violin
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
Domingo Hindoyan, conductor
MON 21:30 Notable (m002821m)
Facing The Music
Jean Sibelius: Rage Against the Machine
Toby Jones tells how an act of creative destruction freed Sibelius - Finland’s most celebrated artist - from decades of torment, as he tried to finish his doomed Eighth Symphony.
Even in his lifetime, Jean Sibelius was considered Finland’s greatest artist and national hero: the Finnish nation’s musical Shakespeare. The late 1920s saw the composer seemingly at the peak of his powers - in his early sixties, and with seven celebrated symphonies to his name, the entire Finnish nation waited with bated breath for a glorious Eighth - and more. Yet he suddenly fell silent, crushed under a weight of expectation - one that would only be released years later in a dramatic, rageful episode of creative destruction, as he fed his masterpiece into the flames of his fireplace… never to be heard.
In Facing The Music, we experience the human drama behind some of the most extraordinary classical music ever written - told by legendary figures of stage and screen, including Toby Jones, Maxine Peake, Andrew Lincoln and Don Warrington. Ten episodes explore the human frailties, obsessions, emotions and vulnerabilities we all experience - and the composers who confronted them: to create extraordinary music that would stand the test of time. In each episode we hear from creatives, psychologists and other experts to understand what we can all learn from their hopes, their struggles and their music.
This episode is narrated by Toby Jones, and features contributors from dancer Baroness Deborah Bull, and psychologist Dr Linda Papadopoulos. The programme is written and produced by Hannah Dean.
Facing The Music is an Overcoat Media production for BBC Sounds and BBC Radio 3
The series is written and produced by Hannah Dean, Leonie Thomas, Gareth Ceredig, Katie Hill and Barney Rowntree – with additional production from Melvin Rickarby
Original Music: Peter Gregson
Sound Design and Mixing: Mike Woolley, with additional mixing by John Scott
Executive Producer: Steven Rajam
Production Management: Amy Wheel and Janice Jardine
Commissioner for BBC Radio 3 and BBC Sounds: Philip Raperport
MON 22:00 Night Tracks (m002821p)
Meditative music for night owls
Sara Mohr-Pietsch presents an adventurous, immersive soundtrack for late-night listening, from classical to contemporary and everything in between.
MON 23:30 'Round Midnight (m002821r)
Pat Metheny’s 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.
Multi award-winning American jazz guitarist Pat Metheny is Soweto’s guest this week. Leader of the pioneering Pat Metheny Group, he has also collaborated with fellow greats including Ron Carter, Jaco Pastorius, Herbie Hancock, and Dave Holland. Pat’s latest album “Moondial” was released in 2024.
From Monday to Thursday, Pat is selecting some of the albums that have influenced him. To begin his 4/4 run, Pat digs into the expansive repertoire of Miles Davis.
Plus music from Joe Armon-Jones, Knats, and Preservation Brass.
To listen on most smart speakers, just say: 'Ask BBC Sounds to play Round Midnight.'
TUESDAY 25 FEBRUARY 2025
TUE 00:30 Through the Night (m002821t)
Wolf, Beethoven and Schubert at the Schubertiade Schwarzenberg
The Modigliani Quartet with cellist Clemens Hagen, performs Wolf's Italian Serenade, Beethoven's String Quartet no 3 and Schubert's String Quintet in C major. John Shea presents.
12:31 AM
Hugo Wolf (1860-1903)
Italian Serenade in G major
Modigliani Quartet
12:38 AM
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
String Quartet no 3 in D major, Op 18 no 3
Modigliani Quartet
01:04 AM
Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
String Quintet in C major, D.956
Clemens Hagen (cello), Modigliani Quartet
01:58 AM
Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Symphony no 5 in B flat major, D.485
Budapest Symphony Orchestra, Tamas Vasary (conductor)
02:25 AM
Franz Schubert (1797-1828), arr. Ralf Gothoni
Der Muller und der Bach - from Die schone Mullerin (D.795) [orig voice/piano)
Ralf Gothoni (piano)
02:31 AM
Alessandro Stradella (1639-1682)
L'anime del Purgatorio - cantata for 2 voices, chorus & ensemble
Emma Kirkby (soprano), Evelyn Tubb (soprano), David Thomas (bass), Richard Wistreich (bass), Consort of Musicke, Anthony Rooley (director), Anthony Rooley (lute)
03:12 AM
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Suite for cello solo no 1 in G major, BWV.1007, arranged for viola
Maxim Rysanov (viola)
03:29 AM
Jean Sibelius (1865-1957)
Suite Champetre, Op 98b
Danish Radio Concert Orchestra, Hannu Koivula (conductor)
03:37 AM
Franz Berwald (1796-1868)
Fantasia on 2 Swedish Folksongs for piano
Lucia Negro (piano)
03:46 AM
Jacques-Francois Halevy (1799-1862)
Gerard & Lusignan's duet: "Salut, salut, à cette noble France"
Benjamin Butterfield (tenor), Brett Polegato (baritone), Canadian Opera Company Orchestra, Richard Bradshaw (conductor)
03:57 AM
Gaspar Sanz (1640-1710)
Marizapalos
Eduardo Eguez (guitar)
04:03 AM
Francesco Maria Veracini (1690-1768)
Overture VI for 2 oboes, bassoon & strings
Michael Niesemann (oboe), Alison Gangler (oboe), Adrian Rovatkay (bassoon), Musica Antiqua Koln, Reinhard Goebel (conductor)
04:14 AM
Fryderyk Chopin (1810-1849)
Introduction & variations on a theme from 'Herold's Ludovic' in B flat, Op 12
Ludmil Angelov (piano)
04:21 AM
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893), arr. Markus Theinert
The Nutcracker Suite, Op 71a
Brass Consort Koln
04:31 AM
Jan Sandstrom (b.1954)
Surge, aquilo for 16 voices
Erik Westberg Vocal Ensemble
04:38 AM
Johann Jacob de Neufville (1684-1712)
Aria Prima for organ
Jaco van Leeuwen (organ)
04:45 AM
Carl Nielsen (1865-1931)
An Imaginary journey to the Faroes, FS 123
Baltic Sea Youth Philharmonic, Kristjan Jarvi (conductor)
04:51 AM
George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)
Sonata in A major, HWV 361 (transposed to B flat)
Blagoj Angelovski (trumpet), Velin Iliev (organ)
05:00 AM
Ignacy Jan Paderewski (1860-1941)
Two works: Nocturne in B flat major, Op 16 no 4; Dans le désert, Op 15
Kevin Kenner (piano)
05:13 AM
Sergey Prokofiev (1891-1953)
Violin Concerto no 1 in D major, Op 19
David Oistrakh (violin), Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Bernard Haitink (conductor)
05:35 AM
Johann Gottfried Eckard (1735-1809)
Sonata in F minor, Op 1 no 3
Arthur Schoonderwoerd (pianoforte)
05:56 AM
Michael Haydn (1737-1806)
Missa Tempore Quadragesimae, MH 553
Ex Tempore, Marian Minnen (cello), Elise Christiaens (violone), David Van Bouwel (organ), Florian Heyerick (director)
06:10 AM
Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958)
Oboe Concerto in A minor
Matthias Arter (oboe), I Tempi Chamber Orchestra, Gevorg Gharabekyan (conductor)
TUE 06:30 Breakfast (m002822g)
Wake up with classical music
Petroc Trelawny presents Radio 3's award-winning classical breakfast show with music that captures the mood of the morning. Email your requests to 3breakfast@bbc.co.uk. To listen on most smart speakers just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Breakfast.”
TUE 09:30 Essential Classics (m002822j)
A feast of great music
Georgia Mann plays the best in classical music, with discoveries and surprises rubbing shoulders with familiar favourites.
1000 Playlist starter – listen and send us your ideas for the next step in our musical journey today.
1030 Song of the Day – harnessing the magic of words, music and the human voice.
1115 Playlist reveal – a sequence of music suggested by you in response to our starter today.
1145 Slow Moment – time to take a break for a moment's musical reflection.
To listen on most smart speakers say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Essential Classics”
TUE 13:00 Classical Live (m002822l)
Dvorak’s ‘Dumky’ from the Z.E.N. Trio in Belfast and the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra play Pejačević
Fiona Talkington showcases the best performances by BBC orchestras, choirs, ensembles and other great performing groups from Europe and around the globe.
Throughout this week we hear the brilliant Z.E.N. Trio in concert recordings made at St Mark’s Church in Dundela as part of the Belfast International Arts Festival 2024. Today they play Dvorak’s Piano Trio No. 4, whose nickname ‘Dumky’ refers to the Slavic dumka dance upon which all six movements are based. There’s also Paganini pyrotechnics from the trio’s cellist Narek Hakhnazaryan alongside pianist Zee Zee.
In the lead-up to next Monday's 25th anniversary of Radio 3's New Generation Artists scheme, every day this week Classical Live features an alumnus of the flagship talent development scheme as the soloist in a concerto with a European orchestra. Today, German pianist Igor Levit joins the NDR Elbphilharmonie for Bartok's Piano Concerto in No. 3.
Our orchestral focus on Finnish music-making continues with the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra performing Rautavaara’s Cantus Arcticus – a concerto for birds and orchestra – and the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra play an early work by Sibelius. They also provide our Centrepiece today at
3pm with a performance of Dora Pejačević’s Symphony in F sharp minor.
Plus BBC Radio 3’s 25 for 25: Sounds of the Century – a series of brand new commissions celebrating and commemorating some of the biggest events of the 21st century so far. This week, Jasdeep Singh Degun marks the year 2004 with his composition Abbha: A Tribute to Ustad Vilayat Khan.
1303
Jean Sibelius
Rakastava, Op. 14 (version for string orchestra)
Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra
Sakari Oramo (conductor)
Nicolo Paganini
Variations on a theme from “Moses in Egypt”
Narek Hakhnazaryan (cello)
Zhang Zuo (piano)
Antonin Dvorak
Piano Trio No 4 in E minor, Op. 90, ‘Dumky’
Z.E.N. Trio
1400
Bela Bartok
Piano Concerto No. 3 in E
Igor Levit (piano)
NDR Elbphilharmonie
Alan Gilbert (conductor)
Jasdeep Singh Degun
Abbha: A Tribute to Ustad Vilayat Khan
Indian Classical Soloists
BBC Philharmonic
Ben Gernon (conductor)
Edward Elgar
Sea Pictures, Op. 37
Sarah Richmond (mezzo soprano)
Ulster Orchestra
Jac van Steen (conductor)
1500 - Centrepiece
Dora Pejačević
Symphony in F sharp minor, Op. 41
Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra
Sakari Oramo (conductor)
Antonin Dvorak
Humoresque in G flat major, Op. 101 No. 7
Z.E.N. Trio
To listen to this programme (using most smart speakers) just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Classical Live".
TUE 16:00 Composer of the Week (m002822n)
The Turkish Five
Studying in Europe
Donald Macleod explores what impact studying in Europe had on the Turkish Five.
In 1923 the Turkish Republic came into being. On the agenda for the founding father and first president, Mustafa Kemal Atatȗrk, was the aim to develop a new Turkish musical language, and to disassociate culturally with the Ottoman past. This new musical culture would be a blend of traditional Turkish music, in combination with Western classical music. The Republic funded musicians to study in Europe, who were then expected to return to Turkey and develop what they had learned. Through this cultural exchange, Western music began to be experienced more widely by audiences across Turkey, whilst Turkish music was also introduced to listeners around the world, including Europe and the USA.
A group of composers known as the Turkish Five were pioneers in this movement to form a synthesis between East and West. They included Cemal Reşit Rey (1904-1985), Ulvi Cemal Erkin (1906-1972), Hasan Ferit Alnar (1906-1978), Ahmet Adnan Saygun (1907-1991) and Necil Kâzim Akses (1908-1999). The Turkish Five became hugely influential in their home country as composers, teachers, conductors and artistic directors, and also became well known abroad, receiving many honours.
Four members of the Turkish Five competed for, and were awarded state funded scholarships to study in Europe. The eldest of the group, Cemal Reşit Rey, had already moved to Europe prior to the formation of the Turkish Republic. Western teachers who influenced the Turkish Five included Gabriel Fauré, Joseph Marx, Nadia Boulanger, Alois Hába, and Vincent d’Indy. Prof. Mine Doğantan-Dack. Dr. Emre Araci joins Donald Macleod to discuss the impact these studies in Europe had on the Turkish Five, and the development of their music.
Hasan Ferit Alnar
Şu Yamaçta (8 Piano Pieces)
Beyza Yazgan, piano
Cemal Reşit Rey
Nomad Zeybek Air (Turkish Scenes)
Budapest Symphony Orchestra
Hikmet Şimşek, conductor
Necil Kâzim Akses
Five Turkish Piano Pieces (excerpt)
Burak Çebi, piano
Ahmet Adnan Saygun
Theme and Variations, Op 2
Kathryn Woodard, piano
Ahmet Adnan Saygun
String Quartet No 1, Op 27 (excerpt)
Quatuor Danel
Ulvi Cemal Erkin
Piano Concerto (excerpt)
Gülsin Onay, piano
Bilkent Symphony Orchestra
José Serebrier, conductor
Produced by Luke Whitlock
TUE 17:00 In Tune (m002822r)
Classical artists live in session
Katie Derham is joined in the studio for chat and live music from conductor Paavo Järvi and cellist Nicolas Altstaedt. They will be talking about their upcoming concert with the Philharmonia Orchestra on Thursday at the Royal Festival Hall in London. Katie will also be speaking with counter-tenor Franco Fagioli, down the line from Madrid, to discuss his new album 'The last castrato. Arias for Velluti', which is released on Friday.
TUE 19:00 Classical Mixtape (m001nh8r)
The eclectic classical mix
Take time out with a 30-minute soundscape of classical music including Vanhal's Concerto for two bassoons, Lili Boulanger's On a Spring Morning and an aria from Vivaldi's opera The Triumphant Constancy of Love and Hatred. Along the way there's Delius's interlude La Calinda from his opera Koanga, Kemel Belevi's Cyprian Rhapsody No.1 for two guitars, Bortkiewicz's Elegie for piano and Faure's Pavane for orchestra.
Producer: Ian Wallington
TUE 19:30 Radio 3 in Concert (m002822w)
The Z.E.N. Trio from the Belfast International Arts Festival
John Toal introduces the Z.E.N. Trio in a programme of piano trios by Schubert, Mendelssohn and Brahms from the Belfast International Arts Festival 2024, ahead of their 10th birthday.
Schubert: “Notturno” in E flat major, D897
Mendelssohn: Piano Trio No 1 in D minor, Op 49
Brahms: Piano Trio No 1 in B major, Op 8
Brahms (arr. Louis Ries): Hungarian Dance No 6
Z.E.N. Trio: Zhang Zuo (piano), Esther Yoo (violin) and Narek Hakhnazaryan (cello)
The concert was recorded in St Mark's Church, Dundela - the CS Lewis Church - in East Belfast. The Z.E.N. Trio met as BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artists in 2015 and during the interval, John Toal speaks with the players about what the scheme meant to them. The interval also features Mendelssohn's Hebrides Overture, Op. 26, performed by the Ulster Orchestra and conducted by Jac van Steen.
Producer: Richard Yarr
Presenter: John Toal
TUE 21:30 Notable (m002822y)
Facing The Music
Ethel Smyth: Resilience and Resistance
Maxine Peake tells the story of how Dame Ethel Smyth’s anthem for equality, March of the Women, propelled the Suffragettes to victory, despite her arrest and imprisonment.
In this episode, we meet Dame Ethel Smyth in her prison cell: locked up for smashing windows in her fight for the right to vote. Despite the composer’s genteel upbringing, she had been battling for equality since she was a girl - in music, in politics, and in life. As the Suffrage movement swelled into more violent protest in the face of police brutality, Ethel Smyth’s exceptional musical skills gave women on the front lines something to yell from the top of their lungs, or whisper in the depths of a hunger strike. Maxine Peake explores how the composer’s “March of the Women” became the ultimate campaign anthem.
In Facing The Music, we experience the human drama behind some of the most extraordinary classical music ever written - told by legendary figures of stage and screen including Michael Sheen, Dominic West, Nina Sosanya, Kit Harington and Adeel Akhtar. Ten episodes explore the human frailties, obsessions, emotions and vulnerabilities we all experience - and the composers who confronted them: to create extraordinary music that would stand the test of time. In each episode we hear from creatives, psychologists and other experts to understand what we can all learn from their hopes, their struggles and their music.
This episode is narrated by Maxine Peake and features contributions from Lauren Duncan, Professor of Psychology at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts and Laurie Stras, Professor Emerita of Music at the University of Southampton. The programme is written and produced by Leonie Thomas.
Facing The Music is an Overcoat Media production for BBC Sounds and BBC Radio 3
The series is written and produced by Hannah Dean, Leonie Thomas, Gareth Ceredig, Katie Hill and Barney Rowntree – with additional production from Melvin Rickarby
Original Music: Peter Gregson
Sound Design and Mixing: Mike Woolley, with additional mixing by John Scott
Executive Producer: Steven Rajam
Production Management: Amy Wheel and Janice Jardine
Commissioner for BBC Radio 3 and BBC Sounds: Philip Raperport
TUE 22:00 Night Tracks (m0028230)
Blissful sounds for after-hours
Sara Mohr-Pietsch presents an adventurous, immersive soundtrack for late-night listening, from classical to contemporary and everything in between.
TUE 23:30 'Round Midnight (m0028232)
New from TRiO WAH!!!
‘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.
Legendary guitarist Pat Metheny is back with his second 4/4 pick of the week. Tonight he selects a powerhouse release from Wes Montgomery and the Wynton Kelly Trio.
Plus, music from Slowly Rolling Camera & Caoilfhionn Rose, Simon Moullier, and Moonfish.
To listen on most smart speakers, just say: 'Ask BBC Sounds to play Round Midnight.'
WEDNESDAY 26 FEBRUARY 2025
WED 00:30 Through the Night (m0028234)
Korngold, Richard Strauss & Ravel from Zürich
Conductor Lorenzo Viotti's debut at the Zürich Tonhalle Orchestra, featuring Korngold's Violin Concerto with soloist Veronika Eberle, Richard Strauss's Suite from Der Rosenkavalier and Ravel's La Valse. John Shea presents.
12:31 AM
Erich Wolfgang Korngold (1897-1957)
Violin Concerto in D major, Op 35
Veronika Eberle (violin), Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra, Lorenzo Viotti (conductor)
12:58 AM
Richard Strauss (1864-1949)
Suite from Der Rosenkavalier, Op 59
Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra, Lorenzo Viotti (conductor)
01:24 AM
Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)
La Valse - choreographic poem for orchestra
Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra, Lorenzo Viotti (conductor)
01:37 AM
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Violin Sonata no 1 in G major, Op 78
Veronika Eberle (violin), Francesco Piemontesi (piano)
02:03 AM
Edward Elgar (1857-1934), orch. Gordon Jacob
Organ Sonata in G major, Op 28
Argovia Philharmonic, Douglas Bostock (conductor)
02:31 AM
Marcin Mielczewski (c.1600-1651)
Missa super O Gloriosa Domina
Il Canto
02:48 AM
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Clarinet Quintet in A major, K.581
Kimball Sykes (clarinet), Pinchas Zukerman (violin), Donnie Deacon (violin), Jane Logan (viola), Amanda Forsyth (cello)
03:22 AM
Flor Alpaerts (1876-1954)
Zomer-idylle
Flemish Radio Orchestra, Michel Tabachnik (conductor)
03:30 AM
Franz Liszt (1811-1886)
Rhapsodie espagnole (Folies d'Espagne et jota aragonesa) S.254 for piano
Zheeyoung Moon (piano)
03:44 AM
Jacques Offenbach (1819-1880)
Les Oiseaux dans la charmille - The Doll's Song
Tracy Dahl (soprano), Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, Mario Bernardi (conductor)
03:50 AM
Giovanni Antonio Piani (1678-1760)
Sonata II, from Violin Sonatas, Op 1
Eva Saladin (violin), Daniel Rosin (cello), Johannes Keller (harpsichord)
03:59 AM
Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
Manfred - Overture to the Incidental Music, Op 115
BBC Symphony Orchestra, Jiri Belohlavek (conductor)
04:13 AM
Henri Dutilleux (1916-2013)
Sonatine for flute and piano
Ivica Gabrisova-Encingerova (flute), Matej Vrabel (piano)
04:22 AM
Fryderyk Chopin (1810-1849)
Nocturne in F sharp minor for piano, Op 48 no 2
Wojciech Switala (piano)
04:31 AM
George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)
Spirit Music (nos 1 to 4) - from "Alcina"
CBC Vancouver Orchestra, Monica Huggett (conductor)
04:37 AM
Ludwig Senfl (c.1486-1543)
Gloria, Missa dominicalis (L'homme arme)
Schola Cantorum Basiliensis Vocal Ensemble, Schola Cantorum Basiliensis Instrumental Ensemble
04:44 AM
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
7 variations on "God save the King" in C major, WoO.78
Theo Bruins (piano)
04:52 AM
Claude Debussy (1862-1918)
Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune
Upama Muckensturm (flute), Philibert Perrine (oboe), Amaury Viduvier (clarinet), Fabian Ziegler (percussion), Tsuyoshi Moriya (violin), Dimitri Pavlov (violin), Gregor Hrabar (viola), Ruiko Matsumoto (cello), Sophie Lucke (double bass), Esthea Kruger (piano), Stefanie Mirwald (accordion)
05:03 AM
Gheorghi Arnaoudov (b.1957)
Barocus ex Machina. Concerto for piano, hammerklavier, harpsichord and orchestra
Daniela Dikova (piano), Galina Draganova (hammerklavier), Vasily Ilisavsky (harpsichord), Bulgarian National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Georgi Dimitrov (conductor)
05:16 AM
Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)
Trio for keyboard and strings in G minor, H.XV.19
Katharine Gowers (violin), Adrian Brendel (cello), Paul Lewis (piano)
05:32 AM
Edvard Grieg (1843-1907)
6 Orchestral songs - nos 1-5, EG.177
Solveig Kringelborn (soprano), Trondheim Symphony Orchestra, Eivind Aadland (conductor)
05:55 AM
Dame Ethel Mary Smyth (1858-1944)
Concerto for Violin and Horn in A major - 1st movt
Anna Agafia Egholm (violin), Tillmann Hofs (horn), Alice Burla (piano)
06:07 AM
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Lute Partita in C minor, BWV.997
Konrad Junghanel (lute)
WED 06:30 Breakfast (m002823q)
Your classical alarm call
Petroc Trelawny presents Radio 3's award-winning classical breakfast show with music that captures the mood of the morning. Email your requests to 3breakfast@bbc.co.uk. To listen on most smart speakers just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Breakfast.”
WED 09:30 Essential Classics (m002823s)
Your perfect classical playlist
Georgia Mann plays the best in classical music, with discoveries and surprises rubbing shoulders with familiar favourites.
1000 Playlist starter – listen and send us your ideas for the next step in our musical journey today.
1030 Song of the Day – harnessing the magic of words, music and the human voice.
1115 Playlist reveal – a sequence of music suggested by you in response to our starter today.
1145 Slow Moment – time to take a break for a moment's musical reflection.
To listen on most smart speakers say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Essential Classics”
WED 13:00 Classical Live (m002823v)
Chamber Music from Belfast and Sibelius’s Violin Concerto
Linton Stephens showcases the best performances by BBC orchestras, choirs, ensembles and other great performing groups from Europe and around the globe.
We’re back in St Mark’s Church, Dundela, East Belfast for more chamber music from the Z.E.N. Trio’s residency at Belfast International Arts Festival 2024, exclusively recorded last October for Classical Live. Today the starry members of the trio each take a turn as soloist, with cellist Narek Hakhnazaryan playing Massenet’s famous Meditation, violinist Esther Yoo performing music by Max Bruch and Zhang Zuo (aka Zee Zee) dazzling at the piano in Liszt. And there’s more music-making from Belfast in our centrepiece today, when Italian violinist Francesca Dego joins the Ulster Orchestra for Sibelius’s Violin Concerto at
2pm.
And in the lead-up to the 25th anniversary celebrations of Radio 3's New Generation Artists scheme next Monday, each day this week we feature an alumnus of the flagship talent development scheme as the soloist in a concerto with a European orchestra. Today, Swedish clarinettist Martin Fröst joins the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra for Copland's Clarinet Concerto.
1303
Aaron Copland
Clarinet Concerto
Martin Fröst (clarinet)
Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra
Riccardo Minasi (conductor)
Jules Massenet
Meditation (Thaïs)
Narek Hakhnazaryan (cello)
Zhang Zuo (piano)
Franz Lizst
Years of Pilgrimage - 1st Year, Switzerland (6th mvt, Obermann’s Valley)
Zhang Zuo (piano)
Max Bruch
Adagio appassionato, Op. 57
Esther Yoo (violin)
Zhang Zuo (piano)
1400 - Centrepiece
Jean Sibelius
Violin Concerto in D minor, Op. 47
Francesca Dego (violin)
Ulster Orchestra
Daniele Rustioni (conductor)
Fanny Mendelssohn
String Quartet in E flat major
Carducci Quartet
To listen to this programme (using most smart speakers) just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Classical Live".
WED 15:00 Choral Evensong (m002823x)
Merton College, Oxford
Live from the Chapel of Merton College, Oxford.
Introit: O hearken thou (Elgar)
Responses: Smith
Psalm 119 vv81-104 (Day, Howells, Elgar)
First Lesson: Isaiah 52 v13 – 53 v6
Canticles: Dyson in D
Second Lesson: Romans 15 vv14-21
Anthem: Lord thou hast been our refuge (Bairstow)
Hymn: O thou who camest from above (Hereford)
Voluntary: Sursum corda (Elgar)
Britten Sinfonia
Benjamin Nicholas (Director of Music)
Francois Cloete (Organ Scholar)
To listen on most smart speakers just say “ask BBC Sounds to play Choral Evensong”.
WED 16:00 Composer of the Week (m002823z)
The Turkish Five
Return to Turkey
Donald Macleod explores the opportunities the Turkish Five found after travelling home from their time abroad.
In 1923 the Turkish Republic came into being. On the agenda for the founding father and first president, Mustafa Kemal Atatȗrk, was the aim to develop a new Turkish musical language, and to disassociate culturally with the Ottoman past. This new musical culture would be a blend of traditional Turkish music, in combination with Western classical music. The Republic funded musicians to study in Europe, who were then expected to return to Turkey and develop what they had learned. Through this cultural exchange, Western music began to be experienced more widely by audiences across Turkey, whilst Turkish music was also introduced to listeners around the world, including Europe and the USA.
A group of composers known as the Turkish Five were pioneers in this movement to form a synthesis between East and West. They included Cemal Reşit Rey (1904-1985), Ulvi Cemal Erkin (1906-1972), Hasan Ferit Alnar (1906-1978), Ahmet Adnan Saygun (1907-1991) and Necil Kâzim Akses (1908-1999). The Turkish Five became hugely influential in their home country as composers, teachers, conductors and artistic directors, and also became well known abroad, receiving many honours.
During the 1930s all members of the Turkish Five returned home, and started to develop their careers as conductors and teachers. They also began to compose new music, fusing their native styles with what they had learned in Europe. Joining Donald Macleod is Prof. Mine Doğantan-Dack, and Dr. Emre Araci, who explore what music tuition was like in Turkey, during this period. They also discuss how the rise of Nazism in the West led to a stream of European musicians heading to Turkey.
Hasan Ferit Alnar
Uyuşuk Dans (8 Piano Pieces)
Beyza Yazgan, piano
Cemal Reşit Rey
Feast (Instantanés)
Hungarian State Orchestra
Cem Mansur, conductor
Ulvi Cemal Erkin
Duyuşlar (excerpt)
Beyza Yazgan, piano
Ahmet Adnan Saygun
Yunus Emre, Op 26 (excerpt)
Ibolya Verebics, soprano
Éva Pánczél, soprano
György Korondy, tenor
Sándor Blazsó, bass
Hungarian Radio and Television Chorus
Budapest Symphony Orchestra
Hikmet Şimşek, conductor
Necil Kâzim Akses
Violin Concerto (Adagio – Allegro)
Cihat Aşkın, violin
NDR Radiophilharmonie
Rengim Gökmen, conductor
Produced by Luke Whitlock
WED 17:00 In Tune (m0028241)
Music news and live classical music
Live music and interviews from the world's finest classical musicians.
WED 19:00 Classical Mixtape (m0028243)
Take 30 minutes out with a relaxing classical mix
A relaxing mix to take you into your evening, including part of Stanford's Irish Symphony, Henriette Bosmans' Danse Orientale and a traditional Italian song - Ninna Nanna.
Producer - Ellie Mant
WED 19:30 Radio 3 in Concert (m0028245)
Haydn's Creation
Kazuki Yamada conducts the CBSO Chorus and Orchestra in a live performance of Haydn's Creation at Birmingham's Symphony Hall, with soloists Carolyn Sampson, James Way and Ashley Riches.
“Let there be light”: The Creation of the whole world in Haydn’s glorious oratorio.
A regular visitor to London, Haydn was inspired to write a mighty oratorio after hearing performances of Handel’s choral works. He tackled the biggest subject in the Bible: the creation of everything. The music is suitably immense, for a big orchestra, chorus and soloists who will bring out every detail of this epic work.
Haydn - The Creation
Carolyn Sampson (soprano)
James Way (tenor)
Ashley Riches (bass baritone)
CBSO Chorus
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
Kazuki Yamada (conductor)
Live from Symphony Hall, Birmingham
Presented by Tom McKinney
WED 21:30 Notable (m0028247)
Facing The Music
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Lust for Life
Andrew Lincoln tells the story of how Mozart’s passionate love (and lust) for his future wife drove him to escape the clutches of boyhood expectation - and his controlling father.
The Boy Genius, the golden child… since he was old enough to stand up, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart had struggled under the heavy weight of other people’s expectations. Until, one day, he had enough. Throwing off the suffocating influences of both his father and his rich patron, Mozart gambles his entire reputation to live life on his own terms. And the fact that he was falling in love with the beautiful Constanze Weber…? Well, that didn’t hurt either. Mozart poured his love, lust, and newfound freedom into an extraordinary opera. The Abduction of the Seraglio heralds Mozart’s transition from boy… to man. Andrew Lincoln narrates the scandalous - and uplifting - story.
In Facing The Music, we experience the human drama behind some of the most extraordinary classical music ever written - told by legendary figures of stage and screen including Michael Sheen, Dominic West, Nina Sosanya, Kit Harington and Adeel Akhtar. Ten episodes explore the human frailties, obsessions, emotions and vulnerabilities we all experience - and the composers who confronted them: to create extraordinary music that would stand the test of time. In each episode we hear from creatives, psychologists and other experts to understand what we can all learn from their hopes, their struggles and their music.
This episode is narrated by Andrew Lincoln and features contributions from psychotherapist Julia Samuel, and poet and author Owen Sheers. The programme is written and produced by Leonie Thomas.
Facing The Music is an Overcoat Media production for BBC Sounds and BBC Radio 3
The series is written and produced by Hannah Dean, Leonie Thomas, Gareth Ceredig, Katie Hill and Barney Rowntree – with additional production from Melvin Rickarby
Original Music: Peter Gregson
Sound Design and Mixing: Mike Woolley, with additional mixing by John Scott
Executive Producer: Steven Rajam
Production Management: Amy Wheel and Janice Jardine
Commissioner for BBC Radio 3 and BBC Sounds: Philip Raperport
WED 22:00 Night Tracks (m00214rg)
Music for the evening
Sara Mohr-Pietsch presents an adventurous, immersive soundtrack for late-night listening, from classical to contemporary and everything in between.
WED 23:30 'Round Midnight (m002824c)
Hiromi's latest single
‘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.
Pat Metheny picks another album from his collection that has inspired him, this time from American vibraphonist Gary Burton.
Also in the show, music from Norman and Corrie, Cleo Laine, and ARTEMIS.
To listen on most smart speakers, just say: 'Ask BBC Sounds to play Round Midnight.'
THURSDAY 27 FEBRUARY 2025
THU 00:30 Through the Night (m002824f)
Verdi's Requiem at the 2022 BBC Proms
Sakari Oramo conducts the BBC Symphony Chorus and Orchestra, the Crouch End Festival Chorus and a starry quartet of soloists at the First Night of the BBC Proms 2022. John Shea presents.
12:31 AM
Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901)
Messa da Requiem
Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha (soprano), Jennifer Johnston (mezzo soprano), David Junghoon Kim (tenor), Kihwan Sim (bass baritone), Crouch End Festival Chorus, BBC Symphony Chorus, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Sakari Oramo (conductor)
01:55 AM
Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
Kinderszenen, Op 15
Havard Gimse (piano)
02:15 AM
George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)
Concerto grosso in B flat major, Op 6 No 7, HWV.325
Norwegian Chamber Orchestra, Terje Tonnesen (conductor)
02:31 AM
Louise Farrenc (1804-1875)
Overture no 2, Op 24
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Anja Bihlmaier (conductor)
02:38 AM
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Cello Sonata no 1 in E minor, Op 38
Ciril Skerjanec (cello), Mojca Pucelj (piano)
03:06 AM
Marcin Leopolita (? - 1589)
Missa Paschalis
Barbara Janowska (soprano), Wanda Laddy (soprano), Robert Lawaty (counter tenor), Cezary Szyfman (baritone), Michal Straszewski (bass), Il Canto
03:25 AM
Max Bruch (1838-1920)
Symphony no 1 in E flat major, Op 28
Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Lukasz Borowicz (conductor)
03:56 AM
Primoz Ramovs (1921-1999)
Pihalni kvintet (Wind Quintet) in 7 parts
Ariart Woodwind Quintet
04:05 AM
Josef Suk (1874-1935)
Meditation on an old Czech hymn 'St Wenceslas', Op 35a
Camerata Bern, Antje Weithaas (director)
04:13 AM
Traditional Hungarian
2 Dances from the Gervaise Collection
Csaba Nagy (recorder), Camerata Hungarica, Laszlo Czidra (conductor)
04:16 AM
Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)
Keyboard Sonata in G major, Hob.XVI/39
Andreas Staier (pianoforte)
04:31 AM
Godfrey Ridout (1918-1984)
Fall fair (1961)
Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, Uri Mayer (conductor)
04:39 AM
Richard Strauss (1864-1949), arr. Percy Grainger
Ramble on the Last Love Duet in Der Rosenkavalier
Dennis Hennig (piano)
04:47 AM
Arcangelo Califano (fl.1700-1750)
Sonata for 2 oboes, bassoon and keyboard in C major
Ensemble Zefiro
04:57 AM
Komitas (1869-1935)
5 Sacred Works for Choir
Hover State Chamber Chorus of Armenia, Sona Hovhannisyan (conductor)
05:14 AM
Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990)
Overture - from Candide
BBC Philharmonic, Rumon Gamba (conductor)
05:19 AM
Milko Lazar (b.1965)
Prelude (Allegro moderato)
Mojca Zlobko-Vajgl (harp), Bojan Gorisek (piano)
05:28 AM
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Cantata no. 51 BWV.51 (Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen)
Maria Keohane (soprano), Sebastian Philpott (trumpet), European Union Baroque Orchestra, Lars Ulrik Mortensen (conductor)
05:44 AM
Alexander Scriabin (1871-1915)
Piano Sonata no 10, Op 70
Charles Richard-Hamelin (piano)
05:57 AM
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Clarinet Quintet in A major, K581
Andrzej Ciepliński (clarinet), Royal String Quartet
THU 06:30 Breakfast (m002824h)
Classical music to start the day
Petroc Trelawny presents Radio 3's award-winning classical breakfast show with music that captures the mood of the morning. Email your requests to 3breakfast@bbc.co.uk. To listen on most smart speakers just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Breakfast.”
THU 09:30 Essential Classics (m002824k)
Great classical music for your morning
Georgia Mann plays the best in classical music, with discoveries and surprises rubbing shoulders with familiar favourites.
1000 Playlist starter – listen and send us your ideas for the next step in our musical journey today.
1030 Song of the Day – harnessing the magic of words, music and the human voice.
1115 Playlist reveal – a sequence of music suggested by you in response to our starter today.
1145 Slow Moment – time to take a break for a moment's musical reflection.
1200 “25 for 25: Sounds of the Century” – a series of brand new commissions celebrating and commemorating some of the biggest events of the 21st century so far.
To listen on most smart speakers say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Essential Classics”
THU 13:00 Classical Live (m002824m)
Sibelius Five from Belfast and the Z.E.N. Trio play Babadjanian
Linton Stephens showcases the best performances by BBC orchestras, choirs, ensembles and other great performing groups from Europe and around the globe.
We return to the Z.E.N. Trio’s residency at last year’s Belfast International Arts Festival for a performance of Armenian composer Arno Babadjanian’s beautiful Piano Trio – a passionate piece that deserves to be better known. There’s also music by Tchaikovsky performed by two of the trio – pianist Zhang Zuo and violinist Esther Yoo – who met while members of Radio 3’s New Generation Artists Scheme and went on to form the Z.E.N. Trio with cellist and fellow New Generation Artist Narek Hakhnazaryan.
We stay in Belfast for our centrepiece at
3pm, with the Ulster Orchestra performing the Symphony No. 5 by Sibelius, whose music we are focusing on throughout the week.
Ahead of next Monday's 25th anniversary celebrations of Radio 3's New Generation Artists scheme, each day this week Classical Live features an alumnus of the flagship talent development scheme as the soloist in a concerto with a European orchestra. Today, pianist Pavel Kolesnikov joins the Danish National Symphony Orchestra for Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No. 3.
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Waltz-Scherzo, Op. 34
Esther Yoo (violin)
Zhang Zuo (piano)
Arno Babadjanian
Piano Trio in F sharp minor
Z.E.N. Trio
Claude Debussy
Prelude a l’apres-midi d’une faune
BBC National Orchestra of Wales
Gergely Madaras (conductor)
Sergei Rachmaninov
Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor, Op. 30
Pavel Kolesnikov (piano)
Danish National Symphony Orchestra
Manfred Honeck (conductor)
Einojuhani Rautavaara
Cantus Arcticus – Concerto for Birds and Orchestra
Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra
Pekka Kuusisto (conductor)
Jean Sibelius
Symphony No. 5 in E minor, Op. 82
Ulster Orchestra
Chloé van Soeterstède (conductor)
Barbara Strozzi
Lagrime Mie
Helen Charlston (mezzo)
Toby Carr (theorbo)
Aram Khachaturian
Sabre Dance (from Gayane)
Z.E.N. Trio
To listen to this programme (using most smart speakers) just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Classical Live".
THU 16:00 Composer of the Week (m002824p)
The Turkish Five
Continued ties with the West
Donald Macleod explores the Turkish Five's continued links with the West including Ahmet Adnan Saygun's visit to the UK and his meeting with British composer Michael Tippett.
In 1923 the Turkish Republic came into being. On the agenda for the founding father and first president, Mustafa Kemal Atatȗrk, was the aim to develop a new Turkish musical language, and to disassociate culturally with the Ottoman past. This new musical culture would be a blend of traditional Turkish music, in combination with Western classical music. The Republic funded musicians to study in Europe, who were then expected to return to Turkey and develop what they had learned. Through this cultural exchange, Western music began to be experienced more widely by audiences across Turkey, whilst Turkish music was also introduced to listeners around the world, including Europe and the USA.
A group of composers known as the Turkish Five were pioneers in this movement to form a synthesis between East and West. They included Cemal Reşit Rey (1904-1985), Ulvi Cemal Erkin (1906-1972), Hasan Ferit Alnar (1906-1978), Ahmet Adnan Saygun (1907-1991) and Necil Kâzim Akses (1908-1999). The Turkish Five became hugely influential in their home country as composers, teachers, conductors and artistic directors, and also became well known abroad, receiving many honours.
After World War Two, the Turkish Five continued to develop their ties with the West. It was in during a visit to Madrid in 1953 that Cemal Reşit Rey composed his symphonic poem Fatih Sultan Mehmet “Le Conquerant”. Hasan Ferit Alnar developed his career as a conductor not only in Turkey, but also in Austria and Germany. Ahmet Adnan Saygun was invited to Britain as part of a cultural exchange. Prof. Mine Doğantan-Dack, and Dr. Emre Araci join Donald Macleod once again, to explore this period and the music composed.
Ulvi Cemal Erkin
Piano Quintet (Ritmico e enérgico)
Deniz Arman Gelenbe, piano
Budapest Haydn Quartet
Necil Kâzim Akses
Andante (Ten Piano Pieces)
Beyza Yazgan, piano
Ahmet Adnan Saygun
Halay, Op 25 (Anadolu’dan)
Zeynep Üçbaşaran, piano
Ahmet Adnan Saygun
String Quartet No 2, Op 35 (Grave)
Quatuor Danel
Cemal Reşit Rey
Fatih Sultan Mehmet “Le Conquerant”
Hungarian State Orchestra
Cem Mansur, conductor
Hasan Ferit Alnar
Concerto for Qānūn and String Orchestra (Allegro poco moderato)
Tahir Aydoğdu, Qānūn
Anadolu Yaylı Çalgılar Dörtlüsü
Produced by Luke Whitlock
THU 17:00 In Tune (m002824r)
Live classical music for your drive
Live music and interviews from the world's finest classical musicians.
THU 19:00 Classical Mixtape (m002824t)
Classical music for focus or relaxation
An eclectic mix of classical favourites including Camille Saint-Saens' depiction of the Aquarium, a Piazzolla tango, a Sea Interlude from Benjamin Britten's opera Peter Grimes as well as some keyboard music by Johann Sebastian Bach.
Produced by Zerlina Vulliamy.
THU 19:30 Radio 3 in Concert (m002824w)
Stravinsky's Firebird
Nicolas Altstaedt joins the Philharmonia for the UK premiere of Erkki-Sven Tüür's Second Cello Concerto, framed by two of Stravinsky's thrilling ballet scores.
Presented live from the Royal Festival Hall by Ian Skelly.
Stravinsky: Petrushka
Erkki-Sven Tüür: Cello Concerto No 2 ‘Labyrinths of Life’ (UK premiere)
Interval
Stravinsky: The Firebird Suite (1919)
Nicolas Altstaedt (cello)
Philharmonia
Paavo Järvi (conductor)
“Music has to have everything – overwhelming power, illuminating light, endless gentleness and the deepest darkness… everything that makes us human” says Estonian composer Erkki-Sven Tüür. And all these things combine to potent effect in his Cello Concerto No. 2. Inspired by a poem by Federico García Lorca, it was written for tonight’s soloist Nicolas Altstaedt.
To listen on most smart speakers just say “ask BBC Sounds to play Radio 3 in Concert."
THU 21:30 Notable (m002824y)
Facing The Music
Duke Ellington: In Control
Don Warrington tells the story of a remarkable musical rebirth, as a down-on-his-luck Duke Ellington risks it all - to spontaneously and joyously spark his band into life at the 1956 Newport Jazz Festival.
In the mid 1950s, Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington was washed up. His musicians in disarray, his own star waning, his band had been reduced to playing obscure and tawdry gigs for cash - a far cry from their heyday a decade and a half before. Then, Ellington had enjoyed billboards, magazine shoots, and even a ‘National Ellington Week’ to mark 20 years since his band’s debut. But now, with a low-billing spot at the 1956 Newport Jazz Festival, Ellington was staring down the end of the road. But there was just time for one last hurrah… and to, musically, risk everything. What happened next was to go down in jazz history... and reignite Ellington’s career.
In Facing The Music, we experience the human drama behind some of the most extraordinary classical music ever written - told by legendary figures of stage and screen including Michael Sheen, Dominic West, Nina Sosanya, Kit Harington and Adeel Akhtar. Ten episodes explore the human frailties, obsessions, emotions and vulnerabilities we all experience - and the composers who confronted them: to create extraordinary music that would stand the test of time. In each episode we hear from creatives, psychologists and other experts to understand what we can all learn from their hopes, their struggles and their music.
This episode is narrated by Don Warrington and features Tamara Rojo, Artistic Director of San Francisco Ballet, and Jochen Menges, Professor of Leadership at the University of Zurich and Cambridge University. The programme is written and produced by Gareth Ceredig and Katie Hill.
Facing The Music is an Overcoat Media production for BBC Sounds and BBC Radio 3
The series is written and produced by Hannah Dean, Leonie Thomas, Gareth Ceredig, Katie Hill and Barney Rowntree – with additional production from Melvin Rickarby
Original Music: Peter Gregson
Sound Design and Mixing: Mike Woolley, with additional mixing by John Scott
Executive Producer: Steven Rajam
Production Management: Amy Wheel and Janice Jardine
Commissioner for BBC Radio 3 and BBC Sounds: Philip Raperport
THU 22:00 Night Tracks (m00214gm)
Dissolve into sound
Sara Mohr-Pietsch presents an adventurous, immersive soundtrack for late-night listening, from classical to contemporary and everything in between.
THU 23:30 'Round Midnight (m002688w)
Something from Ife Ogunjobi
‘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.
Pat Metheny concludes his 4/4 week in style, with a fourth and final album selection by the great Ornette Coleman.
Plus, music from Alliance, MOSES YOOFEE TRIO, and Yaatri.
To listen on most smart speakers, just say: 'Ask BBC Sounds to play Round Midnight.'
FRIDAY 28 FEBRUARY 2025
FRI 00:30 Through the Night (m0028252)
A Wagner Feast with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra
Ólafur Sigurðarson sings majestic arias from some of Wagner's most well-known operas. The Iceland Symphony Orchestra performs well-loved preludes and overtures under the direction of Eva Ollikainen. John Shea presents.
12:31 AM
Richard Wagner (1813-1883)
Prelude to act 3 of 'Lohengrin'
Iceland Symphony Orchestra, Eva Ollikainen (conductor)
12:34 AM
Richard Wagner (1813-1883)
Was duftet doch der Flieder, from 'Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg'
Olafur Sigurdarson (baritone), Iceland Symphony Orchestra, Eva Ollikainen (conductor)
12:41 AM
Richard Wagner (1813-1883)
Prelude to act 3 of 'Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg'
Iceland Symphony Orchestra, Eva Ollikainen (conductor)
12:47 AM
Richard Wagner (1813-1883)
Overture to 'Der fliegende Holländer'
Iceland Symphony Orchestra, Eva Ollikainen (conductor)
12:58 AM
Richard Wagner (1813-1883)
Die Frist ist um, from 'Der fliegende Holländer'
Olafur Sigurdarson (baritone), Iceland Symphony Orchestra, Eva Ollikainen (conductor)
01:10 AM
Richard Wagner (1813-1883)
Overture to 'Tannhäuser'
Iceland Symphony Orchestra, Eva Ollikainen (conductor)
01:32 AM
Richard Wagner (1813-1883)
Wotan's Farewell, from act 3 of 'Die Walküre'
Olafur Sigurdarson (baritone), Iceland Symphony Orchestra, Eva Ollikainen (conductor)
01:48 AM
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Duet: Bei Mannern, from 'Die Zauberflote'
Isabel Bayrakdarian (soprano), Russell Braun (baritone), Canadian Opera Company Orchestra, Richard Bradshaw (conductor)
01:52 AM
Gheorghi Arnaoudov (b.1957)
Brahms versus Wagner (Imaginarium super Mathilde Wesendonck), for piano quintet
Elena Dikova (piano), Teodora Hristova (violin), Yordan Dimitrov (violin), Demna Gigova (viola), Hristo Tanev (cello)
01:58 AM
Richard Wagner (1813-1883), transc. Franz Liszt
Isolde's Liebestod transc. for piano, S447
Francois-Frederic Guy (piano)
02:06 AM
Johann Schobert (c.1735-1767)
Keyboard Concerto in G major
Eckart Selheim (pianoforte), Collegium Aureum, Franzjosef Maier (director)
02:31 AM
Veljo Tormis (1930-2017)
Jaanilaulud (St. John's Day Songs)
BBC Singers, Stephen Cleobury (conductor)
02:48 AM
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Sonata for oboe and keyboard, BWV.1030
Douglas Boyd (oboe), Knut Johannessen (harpsichord)
03:05 AM
Erich Wolfgang Korngold (1897-1957)
Suite, from Much Ado About Nothing, Op 11
Bern Chamber Orchestra, Kaspar Zehnder (conductor)
03:22 AM
Gabriel Faure (1845 - 1924)
Nocturne in B minor, Op 97
Stephane Lemelin (piano)
03:26 AM
Claude Debussy (1862-1918)
Syrinx for solo flute
Ivica Gabrisova-Encingerova (flute)
03:29 AM
Jean-Yves Daniel-Lesur (1908-2002)
Suite Medievale for flute, harp and string trio
Arpae Ensemble
03:44 AM
Paul Hindemith (1895-1963)
Trauermusik for viola and string orchestra
Rivka Golani (viola), Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Andrew Davis (conductor)
03:52 AM
Orlande de Lassus (1532-1594)
Gratia sola Dei (motet)
Currende, Erik van Nevel (conductor)
03:59 AM
Leo Smit (1900-1943)
Concerto for piano & wind
Bart van de Roer (piano), Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, Lucas Vis (conductor)
04:12 AM
Isabella Leonarda (1620-1704)
Sonata Prima a 4 (Opera Decima Sesta)
Maniera
04:22 AM
Paul Dukas (1865-1935)
Villanelle for horn and orchestra
Esa Tukia (horn), Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Michael Adelson (conductor)
04:31 AM
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Intermezzo in A major, Op 118 no 2
Jane Coop (piano)
04:38 AM
Leif Strand (1942-2021), arr. Oivind Westby
Men går jag över engarna (But I Walk Across the Meadows)
Ole Edvard Antonsen (trumpet), Argovia Philharmonic, Rune Bergmann (conductor)
04:44 AM
John Dowland (1563-1626)
Thou mighty God; When David's life; When the poore criple for 4 voices
Ars Nova, Bo Holten (director)
04:55 AM
Hilda Sehested (1858-1936)
Tre Fantasistykker (3 Fantasy pieces)
Nina Reintoft (cello), Malene Thastum (piano)
05:05 AM
Ruth Gipps (1921-1999)
Seascape, Op 53
BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Jonathan Bloxham (conductor)
05:12 AM
Samuel Barber (1910-1981)
Dover beach for voice and string quartet, Op 3
Urszula Kryger (mezzo soprano), Royal String Quartet
05:21 AM
Alessandro Scarlatti (1660-1725)
Recorder Concerto in A minor
Leonard Schelb (recorder), Raphael Alpermann (harpsichord), Akademie fur Alte Musik Berlin, Bernhard Forck (conductor)
05:31 AM
Franz Liszt (1811-1886)
A la Chapelle Sixtine (Miserere de Allegri et Ave verum corpus de Mozart)
Jos Van Immerseel (piano)
05:40 AM
George Shearing (1919-2011)
Music to Hear (Five Shakespeare Songs)
Vancouver Chamber Choir, Peter Berring (piano), David Brown (double bass), Jon Washburn (director)
05:53 AM
Paul Gilson (1865-1942)
La Mer - symphonic sketches
Flemish Radio Orchestra, Martyn Brabbins (conductor)
FRI 06:30 Breakfast (m0028236)
Classical sunrise
Petroc Trelawny presents Radio 3's award-winning classical breakfast show with music that captures the mood of the morning, including BBC Radio 3’s 25 for 25: Sounds of the Century – a series of brand new commissions celebrating and commemorating some of the biggest events of the 21st century so far. This week, virtuoso sitarist Jasdeep Singh Degun pays tribute in Abbhā to his teacher’s teacher Ustad Vilayat Khan who passed away in 2004 and whose artistry and innovation continue to inspire Indian classical musicians in the UK and worldwide today. The BBC Philharmonic recorded it with Jasdeep Singh Degun and Ustad Dharambir Singh on sitar, and tabla players Harkiret Bahra and Upneet Singh.
Email your requests to 3breakfast@bbc.co.uk. To listen on most smart speakers just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Breakfast.”
FRI 09:30 Essential Classics (m0028238)
The very best of classical music
Georgia Mann plays the best in classical music, with discoveries and surprises rubbing shoulders with familiar favourites.
1000 Playlist starter – listen and send us your ideas for the next step in our musical journey today.
1030 Song of the Day – harnessing the magic of words, music and the human voice.
1115 Playlist reveal – a sequence of music suggested by you in response to our starter today.
1145 Slow Moment – time to take a break for a moment's musical reflection.
To listen on most smart speakers say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Essential Classics”
FRI 13:00 Classical Live (m002823b)
Symphonic Double Bill: Brahms Four from Finland and Sibelius Seven in Belfast
Linton Stephens showcases the best performances by BBC orchestras, choirs, ensembles and other great performing groups from Europe and around the globe.
In our final trip to last year’s Belfast International Arts Festival, the Z.E.N. Trio perform Shostakovich’s Piano Trio No. 2. Resident at the 2024 Festival, the Z.E.N. Trio brings together three of the finest players of their generation, who began collaborating while on the Radio 3's flagship New Generation Artists scheme: pianist Zhang Zuo, violinist Esther Yoo and cellist Narek Hakhnazaryan. Continuing the Belfast connection, we'll also hear a pair of songs written by Northern Irish composers and sung by mezzo soprano Niamh O'Sullivan, one of the current members of the BBC's prestigious talent development scheme.
Plus, ahead of next Monday's 25th anniversary celebrations of Radio 3's New Generation Artists scheme, Classical Live features an alumnus as the soloist in a concerto with a European orchestra. Today, German pianist Martin Helmchen joins the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra for Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 16..
In orchestral music, today we feature a pair of final symphonies from two of the greatest composers working in the form. In our Centrepiece at
2pm, the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra performs the Fourth Symphony by Johannes Brahms. And to finish this week’s focus on the orchestral music of Sibelius, we end the programme today with the Ulster Orchestra performing the concise, super-concentrated Symphony No. 7.
1303
Gioachino Rossini
La Cenerentola (Overture)
Ulster Orchestra
Tom Fetherstonhaugh (conductor)
Jean Sibelius
6 Bagatelles, Op. 97 for piano
Paul Lewis (piano)
Joan Trimble
Green Rain
Niamh O’Sullivan (mezzo)
Gary Beecher (piano)
Hamilton Harty
Sea Wrack
Niamh O’Sullivan (mezzo)
Gary Beecher (piano)
Dmitri Shostakovich
Piano Trio No. 2 in E minor, Op. 67
Z.E.N. Trio
1400 - Centrepiece
Johannes Brahms
Symphony No. 4 in E minor, Op. 98
Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra
Nicholas Collon (conductor)
Grażyna Bacewicz
Concerto for Strings
Ulster Orchestra
Michael Collins (conductor)
1500
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Piano Concerto No. 16 in D, K451
Martin Helmchen (piano)
Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra
John Storgårds (conductor)
Jean Sibelius
Symphony No 7 in C major, Op. 105
Ulster Orchestra
Jac van Steen (conductor)
To listen to this programme (using most smart speakers) just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Classical Live".
FRI 16:00 Composer of the Week (m002823d)
The Turkish Five
Legacy of the Turkish Five
Donald Macleod examines the ongoing legacy of the Turkish Five and asks if the cultural agenda of the early Turkish Republic damaged or even destroyed authentic Turkish music.
In 1923 the Turkish Republic came into being. On the agenda for the founding father and first president, Mustafa Kemal Atatȗrk, was the aim to develop a new Turkish musical language, and to disassociate culturally with the Ottoman past. This new musical culture would be a blend of traditional Turkish music, in combination with Western classical music. The Republic funded musicians to study in Europe, who were then expected to return to Turkey and develop what they had learned. Through this cultural exchange, Western music began to be experienced more widely by audiences across Turkey, whilst Turkish music was also introduced to listeners around the world, including Europe and the USA.
A group of composers known as the Turkish Five were pioneers in this movement to form a synthesis between East and West. They included Cemal Reşit Rey (1904-1985), Ulvi Cemal Erkin (1906-1972), Hasan Ferit Alnar (1906-1978), Ahmet Adnan Saygun (1907-1991) and Necil Kâzim Akses (1908-1999). The Turkish Five became hugely influential in their home country as composers, teachers, conductors and artistic directors, and also became well known abroad, receiving many honours.
In this final episode, Donald Macleod is once again joined by Prof. Mine Doğantan-Dack, and Dr. Emre Araci who explore the final decades of these five Turkish composers. What exactly has been the lasting impact and legacy of the Turkish Five? Did the early Turkish Republic with its turn to the West, destroy authentic Turkish music? Why did composers such as Saygun feel ignored in their final years?
Ahmet Adnan Saygun
Köröğlu, Op 41 (Ten Turkish Folk Songs)
Ayhan Baran, bass
Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra
Hikmet Şimşek, conductor
Hasan Ferit Alnar
Piano Trio (excerpt)
Cihat Aşkın, violin
Gülgȗn Akagün Sarisözen, cello
Mehru Ensari, piano
Ulvi Cemal Erkin
Seven Folk Songs (excerpt)
Mustafa İktu, bass-baritone
Budapest Symphony Orchestra
Hikmet Şimşek, conductor
Cemal Reşit Rey
Andante and Allegro
Suna Kan, violin
Northern Sinfonia
Howard Griffiths, conductor
Necil Kâzim Akses
Five Pieces for Piano (excerpt)
Beyza Yazgan, piano
Ahmet Adnan Saygun
Piano Concerto No 2, Op 71 (excerpt)
Gülsin Onay, piano
Bilkent Symphony Orchestra
Howard Griffiths, conductor
Produced by Luke Whitlock
FRI 17:00 In Tune (m002823g)
Classical artists live in the studio
Katie Derham is joined for live music in the studio by Siglo de Oro and Spinacino Consort. Also joining Katie in the studio is the Monkin' Around Trio. They will be playing live and talking about their upcoming performance in Oxford on 5 March.
Including BBC Radio 3’s 25 for 25: Sounds of the Century – a series of brand new commissions celebrating and commemorating some of the biggest events of the 21st century so far. This week, virtuoso sitarist Jasdeep Singh Degun pays tribute in Abbhā to his teacher’s teacher Ustad Vilayat Khan who passed away in 2004 and whose artistry and innovation continue to inspire Indian classical musicians in the UK and worldwide today.
FRI 19:00 Classical Mixtape (m001n2bh)
The perfect classical half hour
Wind down with 30 minutes of uninterrupted music beginning with a Will-o'-the-wisp by Liszt and a musette based on music by Satie. While pianist Stephen Hough brings some glitz via a Saint-Saens' Piano Concerto, Yo Yo Ma and friends calm things down with their take on a Bach chorale prelude. The programme ends with the sublime Ave Maria by Schubert and the joyful finale of Dvorak's American Quartet.
Producer: Marie Claire Doris
FRI 19:30 Friday Night is Music Night (m001zn2j)
Fair's Fair
Another chance to hear singer Clare Teal with the BBC Concert Orchestra and conductor Gavin Sutherland in light music associated with the fair by Phyllis Tate and Peter Hope and the world premiere of a Bruce Montgomery's Comedy Overture Bartholomew Fair.
Presented by Petroc Trelawny from BBC Maida Vale studios and first broadcast on 7th June 2024.
Programme to include
Julius Fucik: Entry of the Gladiators
Berlin, arr Stanley Black: Annie Get your Gun Overture
William Blezard: Battersea Park Suite
Angela Morley: A Canadian in Mayfair
Ian Hughes: Phantom Fairground
Peter Hope: Scaramouche
INTERVAL
Bruce Montgomery: Comedy Overture Bartholomew Fair
Elizabeth Maconchy: Puck Fair
Phyllis Tate: Rondo for Roundabouts from London Fields Suite
Laurie Johnson: Las Vegas
Singer, Clare Teal
BBC Concert Orchestra
Conductor, Gavin Sutherland
FRI 21:30 Notable (m002823l)
Facing The Music
Joseph Haydn: Letting Go of Loneliness
In a city torn apart by war, an enemy soldier shatters Joseph Haydn’s isolation - and quells his loneliness. David Suchet narrates a moment of unexpected beauty amidst the decay.
Joseph Haydn lived through war, sorrow, and the disappearance of his dear friends. But it wasn’t until the elderly composer’s piano was taken away that he faced his darkest hour. David Suchet narrates the poignant and unexpected moment of connection and joy that arrived at Haydn’s door, in the form of a French soldier from Napoleon’s invading army. Across generations and enemy lines, Haydn’s music transcended all differences to allow two men to share pure joy on the eve of both their deaths.
In Facing The Music, we experience the human drama behind some of the most extraordinary classical music ever written - told by legendary figures of stage and screen including Michael Sheen, Dominic West, Nina Sosanya, Kit Harington and Adeel Akhtar. Ten episodes explore the human frailties, obsessions, emotions and vulnerabilities we all experience - and the composers who confronted them: to create extraordinary music that would stand the test of time. In each episode we hear from creatives, psychologists and other experts to understand what we can all learn from their hopes, their struggles and their music.
This episode is narrated by Sir David Suchet and features contributions from Sarah Harper, Professor of Gerontology at the University of Oxford, and Richard Holloway, writer and former Bishop of Edinburgh (92 years young). The programme is written and produced by Leonie Thomas.
Facing The Music is an Overcoat Media production for BBC Sounds and BBC Radio 3
The series is written and produced by Hannah Dean, Leonie Thomas, Gareth Ceredig, Katie Hill and Barney Rowntree – with additional production from Melvin Rickarby
Original Music: Peter Gregson
Sound Design and Mixing: Mike Woolley, with additional mixing by John Scott
Executive Producer: Steven Rajam
Production Management: Amy Wheel and Janice Jardine
Commissioner for BBC Radio 3 and BBC Sounds: Philip Raperport
FRI 22:00 Late Junction (m001z5md)
Fractured hard drives, pinball machines and windswept coastlines
Join Verity Sharp on our latest sonic excursion. There’s stuttering improvisations for pinball machines from Dutch trio Ilinx, Robert Mackay’s Lovecraftian tales of a city lost to the tide and Jad Atoui’s sonic exploration of ‘Ghost Sectors’, with music made from repurposed hard drives. Elsewhere, there’s bubbling synths, infant mimicry and music for hairdressers.
Produced by Alex Yates
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 (m0026868)
Byron Wallen in concert
‘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.
Tonight Soweto shares concert highlights from British trumpeter and composer Byron Wallen, recorded at Austria’s INNtöne Jazzfestival last summer. Byron was joined by his band The Four Corners, featuring guitarist Rob Luft, bassist Paul Michael and drummer Zoe Lima Pascoal.
The quartet performed explorative original compositions by Byron, including from his most recent album “Portrait”, which reflects on heritage, diaspora, and cultural roots.
Plus music from Ensemble C, Betty Accorsi, and Zoe’s Shanghai.
To listen on most smart speakers, just say: 'Ask BBC Sounds to play Round Midnight.'