SATURDAY 10 MAY 2025
SAT 00:30 Through the Night (m002bg2p)
Britten's Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra
The European Union Youth Orchestra performs at the Grafenegg Festival in Austria, with conductor Gianandrea Noseda, in a concert also featuring Richard Strauss's Don Quixote. Plus music from other youthful artists in the earlier stages of their careers. Jonathan Swain presents.
12:31 AM
Carlos Simon (b.1986)
Fate now conquers
European Union Youth Orchestra, Gianandrea Noseda (conductor)
12:36 AM
Benjamin Britten (1913-1976)
The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra, Op 34
European Union Youth Orchestra, Gianandrea Noseda (conductor)
12:53 AM
Richard Strauss (1864-1949)
Don Quixote, Op 35
Filipa Rodrigues (viola), Nicolas Altstaedt (cello), European Union Youth Orchestra, Gianandrea Noseda (conductor)
01:32 AM
Edward Elgar (1857-1934)
Nimrod, from 'Enigma Variations, Op 36'
European Union Youth Orchestra, Gianandrea Noseda (conductor)
01:35 AM
Jaime Texidor Dalmau (1884-1957)
Amparito Roca
European Union Youth Orchestra, Gianandrea Noseda (conductor)
01:38 AM
Claude Debussy (1862-1918)
Children's Corner
Roger Woodward (piano)
01:56 AM
Walter Braunfels (1882-1954)
Symphonic variations on a French children's song, Op 15
BBC Concert Orchestra, Johannes Wildner (conductor)
02:12 AM
Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)
Sonata for violin and piano in G major
Alina Ibragimova (violin), Cedric Tiberghien (piano)
02:31 AM
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714-1788)
Flute Concerto in G major, Wq.169
Tom Ottar Andreassen (flute), Norwegian Radio Orchestra, Roy Goodman (conductor)
02:55 AM
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
8 Pieces for Piano, Op 76
Robert Silverman (piano)
03:23 AM
Gedimas Gelgotas (b.1986)
Never Ignore the Cosmic Ocean
Baltic Sea Youth Philharmonic, Kristjan Jarvi (conductor)
03:29 AM
Nadia Boulanger (1887-1979)
Three Pieces for Cello and Piano
Samuel Niederhauser (cello), Denis Linnik (piano)
03:37 AM
Andreas Schencker (18th C)
Symphony no 5 in B flat major
Romanian Radio Chamber Orchestra, Horia Andreescu (conductor)
03:46 AM
Andrea Falconieri (c.1585-1656)
Quando il labro ti bacio; Fantasia; Nudo Arciero; Galliarda
Jan Van Elsacker (tenor), United Continuo Ensemble
03:55 AM
Adolf Schulz-Evler (1852-1905),Johann Strauss II (1825-1899)
Concert arabesque on themes by Johann Strauss for piano
Benjamin Grosvenor (piano)
04:06 AM
Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Overture to 'Fierrabras', D.796
Swiss National Youth Orchestra, Mario Venzago (conductor)
04:12 AM
Franz Doppler (1821-1883)
Fantaisie pastorale hongroise, Op 26 (version for flute & piano)
Ian Mullin (flute), Richard Shaw (piano)
04:23 AM
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Lobet den Herrn, alle Heiden, BWV.230
Tafelmusik Chamber Choir, Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, Ivars Taurins (conductor)
04:31 AM
Emils Darzins (1875-1910)
Close your Eyes and Smile
Kamer Youth Chorus, Raimonds Pauls (piano), Maris Sirmais (director)
04:34 AM
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)
Pezzo capriccioso - morceau de concert
Narek Hakhnazaryan (cello), Katya Apekisheva (piano)
04:42 AM
Christian Frederik Emil Horneman (1840-1906)
Overture (Aladdin)
Danish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Michael Schonwandt (conductor)
04:53 AM
Charles-Valentin Alkan (1813-1888)
Le Festin d'Esope in E minor, from '12 studies', Op 39 no 12
Johan Ullen (piano)
05:03 AM
Traditional Swiss, arr. Peter Brutsch
S isch äben e Mönsch uf Ärde (Guggisberglied)
Swiss Youth Choir, Nicolas Fink (conductor)
05:13 AM
Albert Grundt (1840-1878), Johann Wilhelm Knoll (1832-18??)
Potpourri Caracteristique 'Den Brug over den Oceaan'
Dutch National Youth Wind Orchestra, Jan Cober (conductor)
05:30 AM
William Babell (c.1690-1723)
Violin sonata no 1 in B flat major
Ilia Korol (violin), Jermaine Sprosse (harpsichord)
05:37 AM
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Symphony no 2 in D major, Op 36
Swiss National Youth Orchestra, Kai Bumann (conductor)
06:10 AM
Franz Liszt (1811-1886)
Hymne de l'enfant à son reveil, S19
Eva Andor (soprano), Hedi Lubik (harp), Gabor Lehotka (organ), Gyor Girls' Choir, Miklos Szabo (conductor)
06:22 AM
Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757)
Sonata in F minor, Kk.466
Louis Schwizgebel (piano)
SAT 06:30 Breakfast (m002bv55)
Breakfast with the best classical music
Emma Clarke presents Radio 3’s Breakfast show live from Salford. You can contact the show by emailing 3breakfast@bbc.co.uk
To listen on most smart speakers, just say 'Ask BBC Sounds to play 3 Breakfast’
SAT 09:00 Saturday Morning (m002bv57)
Cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason takes us on a spring walk
Tom Service with guests, stories and the perfect classical soundtrack to start the weekend.
Tom meets the superstar cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason. One of the most sensitive and in demand cellists in the world, Sheku is also one of the busiest and right now alongside writing not one, but two new books on music, he is about to release a new album that pays tribute to his cellist hero Mstislav Rostropovich. Tom and Sheku take a walk round Rostropovich's old London neighbourhood to talk Shostakovich, why he believes the fight for music education is urgent and why classical music must be available to everyone.
As part of Wellbeing Week on the BBC, we delve into cutting edge research on the positive effects of music on perinatal womens’ mental health. Professor Daisy Fancourt has been researching the subject for a decade and discovered the profound effect music can have on reducing the symptoms of Post Natal Depression via group singing and musical involvement. We hear too from musical sessions from a charity called ‘Breathe Melodies’ who run singing workshops in collaboration with NHS hospitals and midwives throughout London for new mothers
Plus the continuation of BBC Radio 3’s 25 for 25: Sounds of the Century – a series of new commissions celebrating some of the biggest events of the 21st century so far. This week, Novello award winning composer Gavin Higgins joins to Tom to chat about his piece Cortège for a Coal Mine that remembers the closure of the Kellingley Colliery in North Yorkshire, which marked the end of deep-pit coal mining in the UK, and the deep musical links forged in mining communities.
To listen on most smart speakers just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Radio 3”.
SAT 12:00 Earlier... with Jools Holland (m002bv59)
Jools and guests share their musical favourites
Jools shares his lifelong passion for classical music and the beautiful connections with jazz and blues. With fascinating guests each week, who bring their own favourite music and occasionally perform live in Jools's studio.
Today, Jools's choices include music by Joseph Haydn, Steve Reich and Big Maceo, with performances by Nina Simone, Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective and Antal Dorati. His guest is the artist Brian Clarke, known for his large-scale stained glass and mosaic projects, who introduces music he loves by Berlioz, Stravinsky, Walton and Handel.
To listen on most smart speakers just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Earlier with Jools Holland".
SAT 13:00 Music Matters (m002bv5c)
Harmony in Neurodiversity
Elisabeth Wiklander and Elizabeth Watts
Neurodivergence is more prevalent among musicians than the general population. Soprano Elizabeth Watts, who has ADHD, explores how neurodiversity influences the lives and creativity of fellow musicians. She is joined by cellist Elisabeth Wiklander, who is autistic, for a candid conversation about how their unique ways of thinking shape their experiences in music and life. Along the way, they share meaningful pieces that reflect their personal journeys.
Elisabeth Wiklander brings music that holds deep personal resonance, including a composition written by her autistic father, and another by the person who helped her realise that she is autistic. She also shares music that evokes her childhood in her homeland, Sweden, and a symphony conducted by Vladimir Jurowski, whose meticulous approach and way of working really resonated with her. Elizabeth Watts also shares two pieces which capture aspects of her experience of ADHD.
Adding a scientific lens to the discussion, Professor Catherine Loveday offers explanations and insights into the relationship between neurodiversity and musical creativity.
A Tandem Production for BBC Radio 3
SAT 14:00 Record Review (m002bv5f)
Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor in Building a Library with Roger Parker & Andrew McGregor
Andrew McGregor with the best new recordings of classical music.
1405
Elin Manahan Thomas makes her pick of the best new releases
1500
Roger Parker chooses his favourite recording of Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor
Top choice:
Maria Callas (Lucia)
Giuseppe Di Stefano (Edgardo)
Tito Gobbi (Enrico)
Raffaele Arié (Raimondo)
Valiano Natali (Arturo)
Anna Maria Canali (Alisa)
Gino Sarri (Normanno)
Chorus and Orchestra of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino
Tullio Serafin (conductor)
Naxos
8.110131-32
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 (m002bv5h)
Georges Auric
Matthew Sweet explores the film work of prolific French composer, Georges Auric, who wrote over 100 film scores throughout his career.
Featuring classic music from the Ealing comedies, including Passport to Pimlico, along with Moulin Rouge and Dead of Night, which was released 80 years ago in 1945.
Joining Matthew to celebrate Auric’s work is British composer, Gary Yershon, whose score for the Mike Leigh film, Mr Turner, was nominated for an Academy Award.
To listen on most smart speakers, just say: "Ask BBC Sounds to play Sound of Cinema.”
SAT 17:00 This Classical Life (m001yqwc)
Jess Gillam with... Bryce Dessner
Jess's guest this week is composer and guitarist Bryce Dessner. Bryce straddles numerous musical worlds, whether as a guitarist and songwriter for The National, as part of a piano quartet with the Labeque sisters, as a film composer or a composer of concert works who studied with Steve Reich and collaborates with soloists from Alice Sara Ott to Pekka Kuusisto. Bryce and Jess talk about how this spirit of collaboration is key for both of them when making music.
Plus they settle in for a listening party of the music they love, including a vibrant overture by Thomas Ades, Floating Points and Pharoah Saunders joining forces, Stravinsky's glittering Firebird, Vikingur Olafsson in Bach and a haunting This Mortal Coil cover of Song of the Siren
Plus Jess plays some of the best music to take you into Saturday evening.
SAT 18:00 Opera on 3 (m002bv5m)
Puccini's Turandot
From the Royal Opera House in London, Puccini's dazzling depiction of ancient China, with a cast led by Sondra Radvanovsky as Turandot and SeokJong Baek as her suitor Calaf. The beautiful princess Turandot will only marry a man who can answer her three riddles - those who fail will be killed. When Calaf sees her he's smitten, and determined to be the one who solves her riddles and wins her heart. With a rich sound world including authentic Chinese melodies, Puccini's final masterpiece is conducted by Rafael Payare in the classic Royal Opera and Ballet production by Andrei Șerban.
Georgia Mann presents, and is joined by Alexandra Wilson to discuss Puccini's fascinating score.
Puccini: Turandot
Turandot ..... Sondra Radvanovsky (soprano)
Calaf ..... SeokJong Baek (tenor)
Liu ..... Gemma Summerfield (soprano)
Timur ..... Adam Palka (bass)
Ping ..... Hansung Yoo (baritone)
Pang ..... Aled Hall (tenor)
Pong ..... Michael Gibson (tenor)
Emperor ..... Paul Hopwood (tenor)
Mandarin ..... Ossian Huskinson (bass-baritone)
Royal Opera Chorus
Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
Rafael Payare (conductor)
To listen on most smart speakers, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Opera on 3".
SAT 21:30 Music Planet (m002bv5p)
Olcay Bayir in session
Kathryn Tickell presents a session from Kurdish-Alevi singer and songwriter Olcay Bayir ahead of her upcoming performance at the Songlines Encounters Festival. Performing songs from her new album Tu Gulî (You are a Rose), Bayir weaves Anatolian roots with the rich musical soundscapes of her adopted home – London. Plus, new music from Kenyan percussionist Kasiva Mutua, whose music honours African identity, resilience and heritage, and a cherished classic from folk legend Shirley Collins as her 1959 debut Sweet England is reissued in celebration of her 90th birthday.
Produced by Gabriel Francis
A Reduced Listening production for BBC Radio 3
To listen on most smart speakers, just say: “Ask BBC Sounds to play Music Planet.”
SAT 22:30 New Music Show (m002bv5r)
Tectonics Glasgow 1/2: Clara Iannotta, Beatrice Dillon, Oyvind Torvund
Kate Molleson presents the first of two programmes of music from Tectonics Glasgow 2025, the annual two-day festival curated by Ilan Volkov and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra.
Tonight, we hear the electronic sets of both Beatrice Dillon and local artist Lauren Sarah Hayes, recorded in the Old Fruitmarket, plus world premieres of two searingly honest orchestral works that confront grief, by the Italian composer Clara Iannotta and the American composer Timothy McCormack, and conducted at City Halls by Ilan Volkov. The flautist Richard Craig showcases the extremes his instrument can reach in works by Patricia Alessandrini and Mesias Maiguashca, drummer Mark Sanders and saxophonist Rachel Musson collaborate with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, and we take a sonic walk around the spaces of City Halls in Orvind Torvund's Symphony.
LAUREN SARAH HAYES
Electronics
PATRICIA ALESSANDRINI
Il y a plus d'eau que prevu sur la lune for contrabass flute and electronics (2020)
Richard Craig (flute)
ORVIND TORVUND
Symphony
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Ilan Volkov (conductor)
CLARA IANNOTTA
strange bird – no longer navigating by a star (UK Premiere)
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Ilan Volkov (conductor)
MARK SANDERS / RACHEL MUSSON
Improvisation – New Collaboration
Mark Sanders (drums / percussion)
Rachel Musson (saxophone)
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Ilan Volkov (conductor)
TIMOTHY McCORMACK
a vapor (no body, no image) (World Premiere)
Ty Bouque (singer)
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Ilan Volkov (conductor)
BEATRICE DILLON
Electronics
SUNDAY 11 MAY 2025
SUN 00:30 Through the Night (m002bv5t)
Lied the Future: a concert performed by young European singers and pianists
Musicians taking part in the Christoph Prégardien Academy perform songs by Schumann, Liszt, Schubert and Duparc. The rest of the programme celebrates music making by young people. Jonathan Swain presents.
12:31 AM
Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Willkommen und Abschied, D.767
Jonas Muller (baritone), Anna Gebhardt (piano)
12:34 AM
Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Der Geistertanz, D.116
Jonas Muller (baritone), Anna Gebhardt (piano)
12:36 AM
Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Totengräbers Heimwehe
Jonas Muller (baritone), Anna Gebhardt (piano)
12:44 AM
Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Die junge Nonne, D.828
Katja Maderer (soprano), Amadeus Wiesensee (piano)
12:48 AM
Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Auf dem See, D.543
Katja Maderer (soprano), Amadeus Wiesensee (piano)
12:52 AM
Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Der Fischer, D.225
Katja Maderer (soprano), Amadeus Wiesensee (piano)
12:54 AM
Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Im Frühling, D.882
Katja Maderer (soprano), Amadeus Wiesensee (piano)
12:59 AM
Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
Wanderlied
Jonas Muller (baritone), Anna Gebhardt (piano)
01:02 AM
Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
Der Spielmann
Jonas Muller (baritone), Anna Gebhardt (piano)
01:05 AM
Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
Die Löwenbraut
Jonas Muller (baritone), Anna Gebhardt (piano)
01:14 AM
Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
Schöne Wiege meiner Leiden
Jonas Muller (baritone), Anna Gebhardt (soprano)
01:18 AM
Henri Duparc (1848-1933)
Phidylé
Katja Maderer (soprano), Amadeus Wiesensee (piano)
01:24 AM
Franz Liszt (1811-1886)
Vergiftet sind meine Lieder
Katja Maderer (soprano), Amadeus Wiesensee (piano)
01:26 AM
Franz Liszt (1811-1886)
Im Rhein im schöne Strome
Katja Maderer (soprano), Amadeus Wiesensee (piano)
01:29 AM
Franz Liszt (1811-1886)
Die Loreley
Katja Maderer (soprano), Amadeus Wiesensee (piano)
01:36 AM
Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
So wahr die sonne scheinet (encore)
Katja Maderer (soprano), Jonas Muller (baritone), Amadeus Wiesensee (piano)
01:39 AM
Clara Schumann (1819-1896)
Piano Concerto in A minor, Op 7
Alice Burla (piano), Swiss National Youth Orchestra, Mario Venzago (conductor)
02:01 AM
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791), transc. Gunther Weigelt
Adagio in B flat major (K.411)
Galliard Ensemble
02:07 AM
Benjamin Britten (1913-1976)
6 Metamorphoses after Ovid
Owen Dennis (oboe)
02:20 AM
Bela Bartok (1881-1945), arr. Leo Weiner
Ten Excerpts from For Children, Sz 42
Camerata Zurich, Igor Karsko (conductor)
02:31 AM
Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971)
Petrushka
Swiss National Youth Orchestra, Kai Bumann (conductor)
03:03 AM
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Piano Quartet in E flat (K.493)
Young Danish String Quartet, Tanja Zapolski (piano)
03:31 AM
Vitaly Hubarenko (1924-2000)
Chamber Symphony no.1 for violin and orchestra, Op.14
Andrii Murza (violin), Youth Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine, Oksana Lyniv (conductor)
03:46 AM
Olivier Messiaen (1908-1992)
La Nativité du Seigneur - Dieu parmi nous
Stan Theodas (organ)
03:55 AM
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750), arr. Ward Swingle
Prelude and Fugue in E major, BWV.878
Swiss Youth Choir, Michael Cina (drums), Nicolas Fink (conductor)
03:59 AM
Philip Sparke (b.1951)
Pantomine for Euphonium in B major
Valerian Alfare (euphonium), Edward Cervenka (piano)
04:05 AM
Wojciech Kilar (1931-2013)
Orawa
Baltic Sea Youth Philharmonic, Kristjan Jarvi (conductor)
04:14 AM
Germaine Tailleferre (1892-1983)
6 Chansons Françaises
Jenny Hogstrom (soprano), Amadeus Wiesensee (piano)
04:22 AM
Mel Bonis (1858-1938)
Suite Orientale, Op 48 no 2: Prelude & Danse d'almees
BBC Symphony Orchestra, Rumon Gamba (conductor)
04:31 AM
Paul Dukas (1865-1935)
Fanfare pour preceder la Peri
Royal Academy of Music Brass Soloists
04:33 AM
Nicolaas Arie Bouwman (1854-1941)
Thalia - overture for wind orchestra
Dutch National Youth Wind Orchestra, Jan Cober (conductor)
04:42 AM
Imant Raminsh (b.1943)
Put vejini for mixed chorus
Kamer Youth Chorus, Maris Sirmais (director)
04:46 AM
Alec Wilder (1907-1978)
Suite no.1 for tuba and piano 'Effie Suite'
Saruschan Aghamiri (tuba), Shih-Yu Tang (piano)
04:52 AM
Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741)
The Four Seasons - Winter
Davide Monti (violin), Il Tempio Armonico
05:00 AM
Cecile Chaminade (1857-1944)
Flute Concertino, Op 107
Maria Filippova (flute), Ekaterina Mirzaeva (piano)
05:09 AM
Boris Papandopulo (1906-1991)
Dodolice: traditional folk ceremony for soprano, piano and girls' choir
Slovenian Chamber Choir, Miljenka Grdan (soprano), Vladimir Krpan (piano), Vladimir Kranjcevic (conductor)
05:30 AM
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)
Violin Concerto in D major, Op.35
Rennosuke Fukuda (violin), Swiss National Youth Orchestra, Kai Bumann (conductor)
06:05 AM
Frederic Mompou (1893-1987)
Variations on a Theme by Chopin
Martin Garcia Garcia (piano)
SUN 06:30 Breakfast (m002br0y)
Birdsong to banish those morning blues
Mark Forrest presents Radio 3’s Breakfast show live from Salford with birdsong and the best in classical music. This week's dawn chorus is the distinctive song of our native lapwing - or peewit - with music including Rachel Portman. You can contact the show by emailing 3breakfast@bbc.co.uk
To listen on most smart speakers, just say 'Ask BBC Sounds to play 3 Breakfast’
SUN 09:00 Sunday Morning (m002br10)
Your perfect Sunday soundtrack
Sarah Walker with three hours of classical music to reflect, restore and refresh.
Today, Sarah shares a new release of music by the German composer Franz Lachner. We'll hear one of Wagner's greatest operatic highlights, and a glorious setting of the Magnificat by Palestrina.
There’s also musical depictions of a couple of cuckoos with different nationalities, Rossini has fun with the story of Cinderella, and we find Robert Schumann at his most romantic.
Plus, Dorothy Howell portrays a palpitating snake in music…
A Tandem Production for BBC Radio 3
SUN 12:00 Private Passions (m002br12)
Emma Rice
The theatre director Emma Rice is renowned for her bold stagings of much-loved films and books including Brief Encounter, Wuthering Heights and the Red Shoes.
For twenty years she worked as an actor, director, and eventually artistic director of Kneehigh, an international touring company based in Cornwall, known for its energetic productions with an inventive use of music and puppetry.
In 2016, Emma became artistic director of Shakespeare’s Globe, the reconstructed Elizabethan theatre on the south bank of the Thames - although her tenure there ended after two years following disagreements with the board.
She has since founded her own touring theatre company, Wise Children, whose recent productions include The Buddha of Suburbia and Alfred Hitchcock's North by Northwest.
Emma's musical passions include Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov, Mozart and Bach.
SUN 13:30 Music Map (m002br14)
A journey to Joplin's The Entertainer
Sara Mohr-Pietsch is your guide on a journey towards an American ragtime favourite - Scott Joplin's "The Entertainer", made even more popular by the 1973 classic movie The Sting.
Along the way, expect connections to the marches of John Philip Sousa, dancing two-steps from Tchaikovsky and Bach, African Juba dances kept alive by slaves in the deep south, American symphonists like Florence Price and other rags from Gershwin and Elena Kats-Chernin.
To listen to this programme (using most smart speakers), just say: "Ask BBC Sounds to play Music Map."
SUN 15:00 Choral Evensong (m002bg7b)
Jesus College, Cambridge
Last Wednesday's service from the Chapel of Jesus College, Cambridge.
Introit: My beloved spake (Hadley)
Responses: Philip Moore
Psalm 37 (Howells, Howells, Howells, Howells)
Office Hymn: Ye choirs of new Jerusalem (St Fulbert)
First Lesson: Genesis 3 vv8-21
Canticles: Stanford in B flat
Second Lesson: 1 Corinthians 15 vv12-28
Anthem: My soul, there is a country (Parry)
Hymn: Alleluya! Alleluya! Hearts to heaven and voices raise (Lux eoi)
Voluntary: Elegie (Parry)
Benjamin Sheen (Director of Music)
Michael D’Avanzo (Senior Organ Scholar)
To listen on most smart speakers just say “ask BBC Sounds to play Choral Evensong”.
SUN 16:00 Jazz Record Requests (m002br16)
Jazz For A Sunday Afternoon
Alyn Shipton presents jazz records of all styles as requested by you including classics from Count Basie, Miles Davis and Thelonious Monk plus new releases from Jacqui Dankworth & Georgia Mancio with Alan Broadbent.
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 (m002br18)
The (very) First Viennese School
Hannah French presents highlights of a concert given at last summer's Regensburg Early Music Days festival in Germany. The US-based ensemble Quicksilver performs chamber music by Legrenzi, Schmelzer, Bertali, Castello and Kerll, who were all active in Vienna in the early 17th Century.
SUN 18:00 Words and Music (m000jt65)
Only Connect
"Only connect" is the epigraph to EM Forster's novel Howards End - and as the BBC broadcasts a series of programmes for mental well-being - it provides the inspiration for this week's Words and Music. We'll hear readings which describe attempts to connect with others and the pain when those attempts fail. The solace provided by seeking a connection with nature, communication with alien species, the ingenious process of deduction, the technology that connects us to one another, the associations we draw from treasured objects. And there are musical connections from Brahms, Kate Bush, Messiaen, Suzanne Ciani and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan among others. Our readers are Mark Strong and Bettrys Jones
Readings:
EM Forster – Howards End
Robert Browning – Two in the Campagna
Samuel Taylor Coleridge – To Nature
Paul Muldoon – Milkweed and Monarch
John Masefield – Up on the downs
Adrienne Rich – Face To Face
RS Thomas – They
Wendy Cope – For My Sister, Emigrating
Arthur Conan Doyle – The Stockbroker’s Clerk
Ivor Gurney – The Telegraph Post
Jenny Erpenbeck – Go Went Gone
Anne Sexton – When Man Enters Woman
John Keats – On First Looking Into Chapman’s Homer
Naomi Mitchison – Memoirs of a Spacewoman
George Herbert – Denial
Producer: Torquil MacLeod
SUN 19:15 Sunday Feature (m002br1c)
Make Everybody as Uneasy as Possible: Edward Gorey at 100
Artist and writer Edward St John Gorey once stated his mission in life was to ‘make everybody as uneasy as possible'.
To find out if he succeeded, and to celebrate Edward’s centenary year, author, illustrator and political cartoonist Chris Riddell, dives into the world of this often overlooked figure in literature, theatre and art.
Friends, caretakers, biographers and admirers explore and critique the myths, legends and truths about the man.
The programme explores both the Gothic in the 20th century and where, and whether, Gorey sits in the Gothic canon. Through archive and extracts of his work, we hear how Edward’s intricate drawings and lively verse amassed fans all over the world, leaving a legacy as indefinable as the artist himself.
The books of presenter Chris Riddell, OBE have won many awards including the UNESCO Prize, the Greenaway Medal and the Hay Festival Medal for Illustration. His work includes Ottoline, the award-winning Goth Girl and The Edge Chronicles with Paul Stewart. Chris is also a political cartoonist whose work appears in the Observer, the Literary Review and the New Statesman. He is a past president of the Schools Library Association, and an ambassador for Booktrust and Amnesty International and was the UK Children’s Laureate 2015-2017.
Passages read from The Fatal Lozenge and The Willowdale Handcar by Julie Teal, Katherine Fenton and Mark Elstob.
Special thanks to Eric, Jeanette and Will at The Edward Gorey Charitable Trust, Erin at the Wadsworth Athenaeum, Gregory at The Edward Gorey House, Andrew Alpern, Mark Storey, Barbie Selby and Irwin Terry.
Archive research: Harry Ransom Centre - University of Texas at Austin, Columbia University, Harvard University.
“The Dick Cavett Show” Courtesy of Daphne Productions / Global ImageWorks.
“Mystery!” theme Courtesy of Normand Roger.
Producer: Mollie Davidson
Executive Producer: Rich Power
SUN 20:00 Brass Banding with Hannah Peel (m002br1f)
Triumphant timps
Hannah meets percussionist Cathryn Hurst, who got into music through banding and its supportive community. Shining a light on the competitive bands flourishing in the Midlands, we relive an exciting moment from the National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain. Plus, a premiere of Peter Graham’s new work recorded at Bradford’s Big Brass Blow Out, Errollyn Wallen’s piece for trombone ensemble and a classic brass arrangement of Elgar’s Enigma Variations.
Produced by Olivia Swift
A Reform Radio production for BBC Radio 3
SUN 21:00 20th Century Radicals (m002br1h)
Kagel: Magic Realism, With Added Pepper
Kate Molleson and Gillian Moore present BBC Radio 3's series exploring the pivotal 'modern' musical works of the 20th century, the groundbreaking composers who created them, and the radical cultural and artistic movements which gave rise to them. This is a story about a hundred years of change. Of war. Of oppression. Of steps towards equality. Of censorship. Of rapid, inescapable technological advancement. Of machines. Of transport. Of science... And it's the story of how art and music responded, the story of the composers who defined the 20th century, who created 'modern' musical art which would shock, appall and fascinate in equal measure, changing the way we listen for ever.
In this episode, Gillian explores the theatrical, satirical world of the Buenos Aires-born composer Mauricio Kagel, concentrating on his 1964 work 'Match'. Kagel was influenced by both the magic realism of his teacher, the author Jorge Luis Borges, and his own rebellions against both the regime of Juan Perón and what he saw as the bourgeois history of classical music. In the 1950s, he joined the Argentinian artistic avant-garde in fleeing to Europe where greater freedom allowed him to experiment with instrumental techniques, compositional forms and performance traditions, leading to 'Match’ in 1964, and piece written for two competing cellists, separated on stage by a percussionist umpire!
Produced by Sam Phillips
A Reduced Listening production for BBC Radio 3
To listen on most smart speakers just say, “ask BBC Sounds to play 20th Century Radicals”
SUN 22:00 Ultimate Calm (m002b7bl)
Hania Rani: Series 4
Music for disappearing into darkness ft. Hideo Kojima
Lose yourself for an hour by escaping into the unknown… Polish composer, pianist and vocalist Hania Rani invites you to disappear into darkness with her, with calming musical selections to help you let go of worldly worries. There’ll be music by Nala Sinephro, Ryuichi Sakamoto and Gustav Holst, and Hania shares some of her own recordings from a recent trip to Tokyo as well as a quote from one of her favourite novels.
Plus, we’re transported to the musical safe haven of the pioneering video game designer Hideo Kojima, creator of the Metal Gear series, among many others. A person who conjures up such chaos and excitement in his own work, Hideo introduces the music he turns to when he needs to find ultimate calm.
Produced by Kit Callin
A Reduced Listening production
SUN 23:00 The Night Tracks Mix (m001dydp)
Music for the night
Hannah Peel with a magical sonic journey for late-night listening.
SUN 23:30 Unclassified (m002br1k)
Spring Timbres
Join Elizabeth Alker with a selection of fresh music from genre-defying artists as we journey through landscapes of ambient and experimental sounds. This week, a track from Qasim Naqvi that builds on a composition he wrote for Unclassified Live and which imagines the life of the last person on earth in a far distant future; the luscious tones of Canadian composer and singer Ambre Ciel from her forthcoming album ‘Still’; and the sounds of the Californian desert beautifully evoked by Nico Georis from his Granny’s Dancehall studio in a ghost town outside Death Valley.
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 12 MAY 2025
MON 00:30 Through the Night (m002br1m)
Philippe Herreweghe conducts Schubert & Bruckner
Collegium Vocale Ghent with the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra in concert at the Philharmonie, Berlin. Presented by Jonathan Swain.
12:31 AM
Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Symphony no 4 in C minor, D. 417 'Tragic'
Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, Philippe Herreweghe (conductor)
01:00 AM
Anton Bruckner (1824-1896)
Mass no 3 in F minor, WAB 28
Hanna-Elisabeth Muller (soprano), Sophie Harmsen (mezzo soprano), Mauro Peter (tenor), Johannes Kammler (bass), Collegium Vocale Ghent, Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, Philippe Herreweghe (conductor)
01:56 AM
Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Scherzo no 1 in B flat major, D.593
Halina Radvilaite (piano)
02:02 AM
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Symphony no 8 in F major, Op 93
Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Rafael Fruhbeck de Burgos (conductor)
02:31 AM
Peter Welffens (1924-2003)
Stabat Mater
Flemish Radio Choir, Flemish Radio Orchestra, Johan Duijck (conductor)
02:48 AM
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Concerto for violin and string orchestra no 2 in E major, BWV.1042
Sigiswald Kuijken (violin), La Petite Bande
03:06 AM
Karol Szymanowski (1882-1937)
Preludes for piano, Op 1
Jerzy Godziszewski (piano)
03:26 AM
Hector Berlioz (1803-1869)
Le Carnaval romain overture, Op 9
Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Andrew Davis (conductor)
03:35 AM
Johannes Bernardus van Bree (1801-1857)
Allegro for 4 string quartets in D minor
Viotta Ensemble, Viktor Liberman (conductor)
03:47 AM
Cesar Franck (1822-1890)
Choral for organ no 3 in A minor, M.40
Ljerka Ocic-Turkulin (organ)
03:59 AM
Johann Joachim Quantz (1697-1773)
Trio in E flat major, QV 218
Nova Stravaganza
04:08 AM
Johanna Muller-Hermann (1868-1941)
Fünf Lieder, Op 2 (selection)
Soraya Mafi (soprano), Simon Lepper (piano)
04:17 AM
Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
Manfred - incidental music Op 115 (Overture)
Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra, Rosen Milanov (conductor)
04:31 AM
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (c.1525-1594)
Quem vidistis, pastores
Elmer Iseler Singers
04:35 AM
Pablo de Sarasate (1844-1908)
Zigeunerweisen, Op 20 vers. for violin and orchestra
Frank Peter Zimmermann (violin), Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, Guido Ajmone Marsan (conductor)
04:45 AM
Johan Duijck (b.1954)
Cantiones Sacrae in honorem Thomas Tallis, Op 26, Book 1
Flemish Radio Choir, Johan Duijck (conductor)
04:55 AM
Robert de Visee (c.1655-1733)
La grotte de Versailles de Mr J.B. Lully
Yasunori Imamura (theorbo)
04:58 AM
Maurice Dela (1919-1978)
Sonatine
Peter Oundjian (violin), William Tritt (piano)
05:10 AM
Francesco Maria Veracini (1690-1768)
Overture No. 6 in G minor, 'Dresden'
La Cetra Baroque Orchestra Basle, Maurice Steger (conductor)
05:21 AM
Louis Spohr (1784-1859)
Six German songs for soprano, clarinet and piano, Op 103
Julia Paszthy (soprano), Laszlo Horvath (clarinet), Laszlo Baranyay (piano)
05:44 AM
William Walton (1902-1983)
Variations on a theme by Hindemith
BBC Philharmonic, Juanjo Mena (conductor)
06:06 AM
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Trio for piano and strings in C major, K.548
Trio Orlando
MON 06:30 Breakfast (m002br05)
Launch the day with classical music
Tom McKinney presents Radio 3’s Breakfast show live from Salford. With birdsong, Bach Before 7 and the best in classical music. You can contact the show by emailing 3breakfast@bbc.co.uk
To listen on most smart speakers, just say: 'Ask BBC Sounds to play 3 Breakfast’.
MON 09:30 Essential Classics (m002br07)
Celebrating classical greats
Georgia Mann plays the best in classical music, with discoveries and surprises rubbing shoulders with familiar favorites.
1000 Playlist starter – listen and send us your ideas for the next step in our musical journey today.
1030 Song of the Day – harnessing the magic of words, music and the human voice.
1115 Playlist reveal – a sequence of music suggested by you in response to our starter today.
1145 Slow Moment – time to take a break for a moment's musical reflection.
1230 Album of the Week.
To listen on most smart speakers say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Essential Classics”
MON 13:00 Classical Live (m002br09)
Elisabeth Leonskaja live at London’s Wigmore Hall and Tchaikovsky’s 4th Symphony
Linton Stephens 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 Wigmore Hall in London from the legendary pianist Elisabeth Leonskaja, who plays Schubert’s first set of Impromptus. Before that, she’s joined by Mihály Berecz for a selection of the Hungarian Dances composed by Brahms for piano duet.
The BBC Philharmonic Orchestra is in focus across the week on Classical Live and today we hear them play Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4 in a concert performance from Stoke-on-Trent. And there’s chamber music from Edinburgh’s Queen's Hall, including Haydn from the Leonkoro Quartet and Janacek from violinist Alina Ibragimova and pianist Cédric Tiberghien.
1pm - Live from Wigmore Hall, London, presented by Petroc Trelawny.
Johannes Brahms
Hungarian Dances (selection)
Elisabeth Leonskaja (piano)
Mihály Berecz (piano)
Franz Schubert
Four Impromptus, D899, Op. 90
Elisabeth Leonskaja (piano)
***
Maurice Ravel
La Valse
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
Juanjo Mena (conductor)
Joseph Haydn
String Quartet in F Major Op 50 No 5, ‘The Dream’
Leonkoro Quartet
Leos Janacek
Violin Sonata
Alina Ibragimova (violin)
Cédric Tiberghien (piano)
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Symphony No. 4 in F minor, Op. 36
BBC Philharmonic
John Storgards (conductor)
Gerald Barry
Triorchic Blues
Alina Ibragimova (violin)
Cédric Tiberghien (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 (m002br0c)
Max Bruch (1838-1920)
On a Quest
Donald Macleod charts Bruch’s restless early years of musical soul-searching.
“Only true melody outlasts all changes and shifts of time” – so said this week’s composer, Max Bruch, the creator of what may be the world’s best-loved violin concerto. But Bruch would hate us to think of him as a one hit wonder. He even came to resent the very sound of his first Violin concerto, the only piece by which he’s often remembered. All this week, Donald Macleod colours in Bruch’s life story and reveals the breadth of his output, including some of his lesser-heard music.
Today, we explore Bruch’s musical youth and precocity, hungry for new experiences and living out of a suitcase. This period saw his first dalliances with many forms like chamber music and opera, but despite his own virtuosity, it would be his final fling with solo piano, before he condemned "that dull rattle trap”.
Frühlingslied, Op 7 No 5 (arr. for violin and piano)
Anna Sophie Dauenhauer, violin
Lukas Maria Kuen, piano
Septet, Op Posth (iii. Scherzo)
Berlin Philharmonic Octet
Klavierstücke, Op 12 (excerpt)
Christof Keymer, piano
Piano Trio, Op 5
Nash Ensemble
Die Loreley: Overture
Bamberg Symphony Orchestra
Robert Trevino, conductor
String Quartet No 2 in E major, Op 10 (i – Allegro maestoso)
Mannheim String Quartet
Produced by Amelia Parker for BBC Audio Wales and West
MON 17:00 In Tune (m002br0g)
The classical soundtrack for your evening
Katie Derham introduces a live performance from pianist Thomas Kelly and she speaks to Emma House, curator of a new exhibition about Cecil Beaton at the Garden Museum.
MON 19:00 Classical Mixtape (m002br0j)
Music for Togetherness
As part of the BBC's Wellbeing Week, Radio 3 Unwind's Niall Breslin curates a mixtape on the theme of Togetherness.
From instruments weaving around each other in Bach's concerto for two violins, and sibling pianists Katia and Marielle Labèque playing Fauré's piano duet, made famous by the radio programme "Listen with Mother", to the communal celebration of a new year with Auld Lang Syne, today's Classical Mixtape celebrates being together in myriad musical ways.
Stephen Sondheim's witty "The little things we do together" from his musical "Company" cynically enjoys the secrets of a good marriage, and William Grant Still's beautiful "Lyric Quartet" is lovingly dedicated to a friend. John Williams' rousing fanfare for the Olympic Games in 1984 reminds us how sport brings so many of us together, followed by Gershwin's "Walking the dog", a promenade with man's best friend. A more philosophical togetherness is portrayed in Youmi Kimura's "Always with me", from the soundtrack to the Studio Ghibli film "Spirited Away", about the companionship of an inner light. The sequence ends with with a similar concept and another nod towards sport (for many at least), in a stirring rendition of Rodgers and Hammerstein, performed by Jennifer Johnston, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Choir and Orchestra under Ian Tracey, all of whom come from the city that has adopted that anthem as its own - "Walk on, walk on, with hope in your heart, and you'll never walk alone".
Producer: Helen Garrison
MON 19:30 Radio 3 in Concert (m002br0l)
French National Orchestra
Martin Handley kicks off a week of concerts celebrating some of the world-class orchestras visiting the BBC Proms this summer. Today the French National Orchestra is joined by Alexandre Kantorow to perform Chopin's lyrical Piano Concerto No 2, before the orchestra takes centre stage with excerpts from Prokofiev's ever-popular ballet Romeo and Juliet. Recorded at Auditorium, Radio France Broadcasting House, Paris.
Chopin: Piano Concerto No 2 in F minor, Op. 21
Interval music
Prokofiev: Excerpts from Romeo and Juliet
(Romeo at the Fountain; Morning Dance; Juliet as a young girl; The Montagues and the Capulets; Madrigal; Romeo and Juliet before parting; Dance of the Antilles Girls; Minuet; Masks; The Death of Tybalt; Romeo at the Tomb of Juliet)
Alexandre Kantorow (piano)
French National Orchestra
Cristian Macelaru (conductor)
MON 21:45 The Essay (m002br0n)
The Song Detectorists
1. Norfolk
Matthew Bannister travels across England to find out about the music discovered in County Record Offices and reimagined for the 21st Century by the folk musician and academic Nancy Kerr.
Matthew Bannister is in Norwich to visit the Norfolk County Record Office where researchers have found some remarkable manuscripts including an 18th century music book from a village band in Mileham and a ballad written by a woman ousted from her home in the 17th century. Nancy Kerr has made new musical arrangements for her band The Melrose Quartet. As dusk falls, Matthew visits the remains of the magnificent Hales Hall deep in the Norfolk countryside.
We hear from Stephen Rose of Royal Holloway and Bridget Yates a local researcher and music performed by the Melrose Quartet: Nancy Kerr, James Fagan, and Jess and Richard Arrowsmith.
Matthew Bannister has been the host of Folk on Foot, a podcast which explores folk music and its connection with landscape in the UK, since 2018 and has often wondered about where “folk music” comes from. When he heard about Nancy Kerr’s involvement in a new project, Music Heritage, Place he wanted to know more.
Researchers from Royal Holloway and Newcastle University have been collaborating on an AHRC funded project sending out researchers, the “song detectorists”, to sift through the archives held in County Record Offices across England looking for music. They’ve returned with musical gems that Nancy Kerr has arranged and the discoveries are offering new insights into the way that music was shared and enjoyed in the past outside of the places historians and musicologists have traditionally expected to find it.
Presenter: Matthew Bannister
Producer: Natalie Steed
A Rhubarb Rhubarb Production for BBC Radio 3
MON 22:00 Night Tracks (m002br0r)
Reflective music for the day’s end
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 (m00230gw)
Kit Downes' Flowers
‘Round Midnight is presented by award-winning saxophonist Soweto Kinch. This weekday late-night show celebrates the thriving UK jazz scene and spotlights the best new music alongside incredible heritage acts.
Pianist Kit Downes has been one of the most in-demand players in UK jazz over the past two decades, and he is Soweto's guest this week giving out his Flowers. This feature gives artists the chance to celebrate fellow musicians they feel deserve recognition and respect. The first bouquet goes to fellow piano player Craig Taborn.
Plus, there's music from Waaju and BBC Introducing act SwanNek, as well as two pieces in tribute to John Coltrane, whose birthday would've been today.
TUESDAY 13 MAY 2025
TUE 00:30 Through the Night (m002br0w)
Fidelio from the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden
Antonio Pappano conducts a starry cast including Lise Davidsen as Leonore and Jonas Kaufmann as Florestan in Beethoven's dramatic opera. Presented by Jonathan Swain.
12:31 AM
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Fidelio, Op.72 final vers (1814) - act 1
Lise Davidsen (soprano), Jonas Kaufmann (tenor), Georg Zeppenfeld (bass), Michael Kupfer-Radecky (baritone), Amanda Forsyth (soprano), Robin Tritschler (tenor), Egils Silins (bass baritone), Filipe Manu (tenor), Timothy Dawkins (bass), Royal Opera House Chorus, Royal Opera House Orchestra, Antonio Pappano (conductor)
01:48 AM
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Fidelio, Op.72 final vers (1814) - act 2
Lise Davidsen (soprano), Jonas Kaufmann (tenor), Georg Zeppenfeld (bass), Michael Kupfer-Radecky (baritone), Amanda Forsyth (soprano), Robin Tritschler (tenor), Egils Silins (bass baritone), Filipe Manu (tenor), Timothy Dawkins (bass), Royal Opera House Chorus, Royal Opera House Orchestra, Antonio Pappano (conductor)
02:38 AM
Fritz Kreisler (1875-1962)
Rondino on a theme by Beethoven
Taik-Ju Lee (violin), Young-Lan Han (piano)
02:42 AM
Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741)
Concerto da Camera in C major, RV.88
Camerata Koln
02:50 AM
Gustav Holst (1874-1934), arr. Walsh
St Paul's Suite (arr for guitar quartet)
Guitar Trek
03:03 AM
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Divertimento in E flat major, K113
Saarbrucken Radio Symphony Orchestra, Myung-Whun Chung (conductor)
03:18 AM
Hubert Parry (1848-1918)
Lord, let me know mine end (no 6 from Songs of farewell for mixed voices)
Gabrieli Consort, Paul McCreesh (director)
03:29 AM
Fryderyk Chopin (1810-1849)
Piano Sonata no 3 in B minor, Op 58
Jakub Kuszlik (piano)
03:56 AM
Sigurd Lie (1871-1904)
Symphony in A minor
Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra, Terje Boye Hansen (conductor)
04:31 AM
Antonin Dvorak (1841-1904)
Two Slavonic Dances, Op 46 - no 8 in G minor and no 3 in A flat major
Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Arvid Engegard (conductor)
04:39 AM
Camilla de Rossi (fl.1707-1710)
Duol sofferto per Amore' (excerpt Sant'Alessio )
Martin Oro (counter tenor), Musica Fiorita, Daniela Dolci (director)
04:45 AM
Richard Strauss (1864-1949)
Festmusik der Stadt Wien AV.133 for brass and percussion
Tom Watson (trumpet), Royal Academy of Music Brass Soloists
04:56 AM
Claude Debussy (1862-1918), orch. Maurice Ravel
Tarantelle styrienne
Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, Kazuhiro Koizumi (conductor)
05:02 AM
Heinrich Schutz (1585-1672)
Vater Abraham, erbarme dich mein, SWV.477
La Capella Ducale, Musica Fiata Koln, Roland Wilson (director)
05:16 AM
Ferenc Farkas (1905-2000)
5 Ancient Hungarian Dances for wind quintet
Tae-Won Kim (flute), Hyong-Sup Kim (oboe), Pil-Kwan Sung (oboe), Hyon-Kon Kim (clarinet), Sang-Won Yoon (bassoon)
05:26 AM
Samo Vremsak (1930-2004)
Three Poems by Tone Kuntner
Chamber Choir AVE, Andraz Hauptman (conductor)
05:31 AM
Arthur Sullivan (1842-1900)
The Tempest - incidental music, Op 1
BBC Philharmonic, Richard Hickox (conductor)
05:59 AM
Camille Saint-Saens (1835-1921)
Piano Trio No 1 in F major, Op 18
Stefan Lindgren (piano), Ulf Forsberg (violin), Mats Rondin (cello)
TUE 06:30 Breakfast (m002br3w)
Boost your morning with classical music
Tom McKinney presents Radio 3’s Breakfast show live from Salford. With birdsong, Bach Before 7 and the best in classical music. You can contact the show by emailing 3breakfast@bbc.co.uk
To listen on most smart speakers, just say 'Ask BBC Sounds to play 3 Breakfast’
TUE 09:30 Essential Classics (m002br3y)
A feast of great music
Georgia Mann plays the best in classical music, with discoveries and surprises rubbing shoulders with familiar favorites.
1000 Playlist starter – listen and send us your ideas for the next step in our musical journey today.
1030 Song of the Day – harnessing the magic of words, music and the human voice.
1115 Playlist reveal – a sequence of music suggested by you in response to our starter today.
1145 Slow Moment – time to take a break for a moment's musical reflection.
1230 Album of the Week.
To listen on most smart speakers say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Essential Classics”
TUE 13:00 Classical Live (m002br40)
Alina Ibragivoma plays Beethoven’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.
Our Artist Spotlight this week shines on the brilliant and hugely versatile violinist Alina Ibragimova, a former member of the BBC New Generation Artists scheme. Today we hear her as the soloist in Beethoven’s Violin Concerto in a concert performance given at the Philharmonie in Berlin.
The BBC Philharmonic Orchestra is in focus across the week on Classical Live and today they play rarely heard music by the British composer Arthur Bliss, his Metamorphic Variations. And there’s chamber music from Edinburgh’s Queen's Hall, including Mendelssohn from the Leonkoro Quartet and Boccherini from guitarist Sean Shibe with the Van Kuijk Quartet.
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. Today, Novello award winning composer Gavin Higgins commemorates the closure of the Kellingley Colliery in North Yorkshire, which marked the end of deep-pit coal mining in the UK, in his piece for 2015, Cortège for a Coal Mine.
Maurice Ravel
Bolero
BBC Philharmonic
Juanjo Mena (conductor)
Luigi Boccherini
Quintet no. 4 in D major G.449 (Fandango) for guitar and strings
Sean Shibe (guitar)
Van Kuijk Quartet
Louise Farrenc
Overture in E minor, Op. 23
German Symphony Orchestra, Berlin
Vaclav Luks (conductor)
Ludwig van Beethoven
Violin Concerto in D major
Alina Ibragimova (violin)
German Symphony Orchestra, Berlin
Vaclav Luks (conductor)
25 for 25:
Gavin Higgins
Cortège for a Coal Mine
BBC Symphony Orchestra
Lee Reynolds (conductor)
Felix Mendelssohn
String Quartet in E minor, Op. 44 No. 2
Leonkoro Quartet
Arthur Bliss
Metamorphic Variations
BBC Philharmonic
Michael Seal (conductor)
Giacomo Puccini
I Crisantemi
Leonkoro Quartet
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 (m002br42)
Max Bruch (1838-1920)
Making an Impression
Donald Macleod explores Bruch’s journey towards his biggest hit, his first Violin Concerto.
“Only true melody outlasts all changes and shifts of time” – so said this week’s composer, Max Bruch, the creator of what may be the world’s best-loved violin concerto. But Bruch would hate us to think of him as a one hit wonder. He even came to resent the very sound of his first Violin concerto, the only piece by which he’s often remembered. All this week, Donald Macleod colours in Bruch’s life story and reveals the breadth of his output, including some of his lesser-heard music.
Today, Bruch begins to make his way in the professional world, though not always smoothly, and lands what looks like a pretty plum job at the court in Koblenz. There are a few bumps in his personal life , but he’s beginning to get ideas for the work that would make his name throughout the world…
Swedish Dances, No 10 (Frisch, nicht zu schnell)
Dene Olding, violin
Piers Lane, piano
Musicaklang, Op 71 No 5
Bath Camerata
Nigel Perrin, conductor
Symphony No 1 (5th movement - Finale)
Bamberg Symphony
Robert Trevino, conductor
Schön Ellen, Op 24
Claudia Braun, soprano
Thomas Laske, baritone
Kantorei Barmen-Gemarke
Kantorei Velbert
Wuppertal Symphony Orchestra
George Hanson, conductor
Violin Concerto No 1 in G minor
Randall Goosby, violin
Philadelphia Orchestra
Yannick Nezet-Seguin, conductor
Produced by Amelia Parker for BBC Audio Wales and West
TUE 17:00 In Tune (m002br44)
Live classical music for your commute
Katie Derham introduces live music from baritone Benjamin Appl, who has presented a documentary to celebrate the centenary of Fischer-Dieskau’s birth. He's joined in the studio by pianist James Baillieu, who also plays on Benjamin's forthcoming album For Dieter: The Past and the Future. Plus, Katie speaks to oboist Adrian Wilson about Ensemble 360, who are celebrating their 20th anniversary with multiple performances at the Sheffield Chamber Music Festival.
TUE 19:00 Classical Mixtape (m002br46)
Music and Nature
As part of the BBC's Wellbeing Week, Radio 3 Unwind's Niall Breslin curates a mixtape on the theme of Music and Nature. In this edition, expect soaring birds, spring sounds, a calm sea in summer and snowdrops in the winter.
Produced by Zerlina Vulliamy.
TUE 19:30 Radio 3 in Concert (m002br48)
Danish National Symphony Orchestra
Martin Handley continues a week of concerts celebrating some of the world-class orchestras visiting the BBC Proms this summer. Today the Danish National Symphony Orchestra is joined by pianist Khatia Buniatishvili to perform Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No 2, before the orchestra takes centre stage with Bent Sørensen's Evening Land and Mahler's Symphony No 1. Recorded at DR Concert House, Copenhagen.
Bent Sørensen: Evening Land
Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No 2 in C minor, Op. 18
Interval music:
Dvorak: 4 Romantic Pieces, Op. 75
Renaud Capuçon (violin)
Khatia Buniatishvili (piano)
c.
8.45pm
Mahler: Symphony No 1 in D major
Khatia Buniatishvili (piano)
Danish National Symphony Orchestra
Fabio Luisi (conductor)
TUE 21:45 The Essay (m002br4b)
The Song Detectorists
2. Wakefield
Matthew Bannister visits Nostell Priory, a grand Palladian house just outside Wakefield, which was the home of Louisa Winn from about 1819. Louisa was an accomplished musician and transcriber who collected some of her favourite tunes in a book - including piano arrangements of Rossini operas and an intriguing French Canadian song that hints at global connections.
In the grand saloon, Matthew meets Simon McCormack the house’s curator who shows him Louisa Winn’s piano and allows him to pluck a harp string. Andrew Frampton, a pianist and researcher at Newcastle University takes Matthew to the West Yorkshire Archive Service in Wakefield. to see Louisa’s music book and some of her sketches of Mont Blanc. Andrew plays some of her music, recorded especially at SJE Arts, and we hear from Nancy Kerr about her fascination with the song Danse Canadienne which is performed by the Melrose Quartet: Nancy Kerr, James Fagan, and Jess and Richard Arrowsmith.
Matthew Bannister is the host of Folk on Foot, a podcast which explores folk music and landscape in the UK, and has often wondered about where “folk music” comes from. When he heard about Nancy Kerr’s involvement in a new project, Music Heritage, Place he wanted to know more.
Royal Holloway and Newcastle University have been sending out researchers, the “song detectorists”, to sift through the archives held in English County Record Offices looking for music. They’ve returned with musical gems that Nancy Kerr has arranged and the discoveries are offering new insights into the way music was shared and enjoyed in the past outside of the places historians and musicologists have traditionally expected to find it
Presenter: Matthew Bannister
Producer: Natalie Steed
A Rhubarb Rhubarb Production for BBC Radio 3
TUE 22:00 Night Tracks (m002br4d)
A bewitching night time soundtrack
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 (m00230ng)
BBC Introducing track by nova.sol
‘Round Midnight is presented by award-winning saxophonist Soweto Kinch. This weekday late-night show celebrates the thriving UK jazz scene and spotlights the best new music alongside incredible acts from past decades.
Soweto's guest this week is the pianist Kit Downes. He's here to celebrate the unsung heroes and living legends that have inspired him. Tonight he has chosen British singer, and recent collaborator, Norma Winstone and a track of hers with the late John Taylor.
Plus, there's a free-funk piece by Ronald Shannon Jackson, alongside music from Vinícius Mendes, Andy Hay and another BBC Introducing find from Stoke artist Sambambo.
WEDNESDAY 14 MAY 2025
WED 00:30 Through the Night (m002br4j)
Esa-Pekka Salonen's 'kínēma' and Sibelius's Second Symphony
The Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra performs two works by conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen, alongside Sibelius's second symphony. Jonathan Swain presents.
12:31 AM
Esa-Pekka Salonen (b.1958)
Tiu
Miikka Saarinen (trumpet), Tomas Gricius (trumpet), Jonas Silinskas (trumpet), Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Esa-Pekka Salonen (conductor)
12:43 AM
Esa-Pekka Salonen (b.1958)
kínēma, five scenes for solo clarinet and string orchestra
Christoffer Sundqvist (clarinet), Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Esa-Pekka Salonen (conductor)
01:13 AM
Jean Sibelius (1865-1957)
Symphony no 2 in D major, Op 43
Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Esa-Pekka Salonen (conductor)
01:56 AM
Jean Sibelius (1865-1957), arr. Otto Taubmann
Canzonetta, rondo of the lovers – from 'Kuolema' ('Death', incidental music)
Arto Noras (cello), Tapani Valsta (piano)
01:59 AM
Ernst Mielck (1877-1899)
String Quintet in F major, Op 3
Erkki Palola (violin), Anne Paavilainen (violin), Matti Hirvikangas (viola), Teema Kupiainen (viola), Risto Poutanen (cello)
02:23 AM
Toivo Kuula (1883-1918)
Tranquillamente from 3 Satukuvaa (Fairy tale pictures) for piano, Op 19 no 3
Liisa Pohjola (piano)
02:31 AM
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Magnificat in D major, BWV 243
Antonella Balducci (soprano), Ulrike Clausen (alto), Frieder Lang (tenor), Fulvio Bettini (baritone), Chorus of Swiss-Italian Radio, Ensemble Vanitas Lugano, Diego Fasolis (conductor)
02:58 AM
Fryderyk Chopin (1810-1849)
12 Studies Op 10 for piano
Lukas Geniusas (piano)
03:29 AM
Adam Jarzebski (1590-1649)
Corona Aurea: concerto a 2 for cornett and violin
Bruce Dickey (cornetto), Lucy van Dael (violin), Richte van der Meer (cello), Reiner Zipperling (cello), Jacques Ogg (harpsichord), Anthony Woodrow (double bass)
03:35 AM
Edvard Grieg (1843-1907)
Norwegian Dance (Allegro marcato), Op 35 no 1
Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Andrew Litton (conductor)
03:41 AM
Dora Pejacevic (1885-1923), Rainer Maria Rilke (lyricist)
Mädchengestalten, Op 42
Franziska Heinzen (soprano), Benjamin Mead (piano)
03:51 AM
Manuel Maria Ponce (1882-1948)
Guitar Preludes Nos 1, 2, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11
Heiki Matlik (guitar)
03:58 AM
Claude Debussy (1862-1918)
Prelude a l'apres-midi d'un faune
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Ilan Volkov (conductor)
04:09 AM
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
String Quartet in D major, K 155
Australian String Quartet
04:19 AM
John Field (1782-1837)
Aria; Nocturne & Chanson
Barry Douglas (piano), Camerata Ireland
04:27 AM
Erkki Melartin (1875-1937)
Leivo , Op 138 no 2
Sauli Tiilikainen (baritone), Markus Lehtinen (piano)
04:31 AM
Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741)
Concerto VIII in A minor for 2 violins, strings and continuo, RV 522
Paul Wright (violin), Sayuri Yamagata (violin), Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, Paul Dyer (conductor)
04:42 AM
Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)
Piano Sonata in G major, H.
16.27
Niklas Sivelov (piano)
04:53 AM
Peter Erasmus Lange-Muller (1850-1926)
Tre Madonnasange, Op 65
Danish National Radio Choir, Stefan Parkman (conductor)
04:59 AM
Isaac Albeniz (1860-1909)
Cordoba (Nocturne) from Cantos de Espana, Op 232 no 4
Henry-David Varema (cello), Heiki Matlik (guitar)
05:06 AM
Hector Berlioz (1803-1869)
Waverley - overture, Op 1
Radio Bratislava Symphony Orchestra, Ondrej Lenard (conductor)
05:17 AM
Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757)
Sonata in G minor (K 88) arranged for 2 harpsichords
Dagmara Kapczyńska (harpsichord), Gwennaelle Alibert (harpsichord)
05:26 AM
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Piano Sonata no 15 in D major, Op 28 'Pastoral'
Ji-Yeong Mun (piano)
05:52 AM
Henriette Bosmans (1895-1952)
Cello Concerto no 2
Gemma Rosefield (cello), BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Jonathan Bloxham (conductor)
06:18 AM
Michael Haydn (1737-1806)
Ave Regina for double choir, MH.140
Ex Tempore, Florian Heyerick (director)
WED 06:30 Breakfast (m002br1p)
Start the day with classical music
Tom McKinney presents Radio 3’s Breakfast show live from Salford. With birdsong, Bach Before 7 and the best in classical music. You can contact the show by emailing 3breakfast@bbc.co.uk
To listen on most smart speakers, just say 'Ask BBC Sounds to play 3 Breakfast’
WED 09:30 Essential Classics (m002br1r)
Your perfect classical playlist
Georgia Mann plays the best in classical music, with discoveries and surprises rubbing shoulders with familiar favorites.
1000 Playlist starter – listen and send us your ideas for the next step in our musical journey today.
1030 Song of the Day – harnessing the magic of words, music and the human voice.
1115 Playlist reveal – a sequence of music suggested by you in response to our starter today.
1145 Slow Moment – time to take a break for a moment's musical reflection.
1230 Album of the Week.
To listen on most smart speakers say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Essential Classics”
WED 13:00 Classical Live (m002br1t)
Ades, Ravel and Respighi live from the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
Linton Stephens showcases the best performances by BBC orchestras, choirs, ensembles and other great performing groups from Europe and around the globe.
The BBC Philharmonic Orchestra is in focus across the week on Classical Live and today there’s a chance to hear them live in concert from their studio in MediaCity, Salford. On the programme are pieces by Adès, Ravel and Respighi all responding directly to the music of the Baroque and before.
Violinist and former Radio 3 New Generation Artist Alina Ibragimova is our featured artist throughout the week – today she plays Mozart 3rd Violin Concerto with the German Chamber Philharmonic Bremen. Plus there’s chamber music from Edinburgh’s Queen’s Hall, with the Van Kuijk Quartet playing Mendelssohn.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Violin Concerto No. 3 in G major, K216
Alina Ibragimova (violin)
German Chamber Philharmonic Bremen
Maxim Emelyanychev (conductor)
1.30pm – The BBC Philharmonic Orchestra live from MediaCity, Salford
Thomas Adès
Three Studies from Couperin
Maurice Ravel
Le Tombeau de Couperin
Ottorino Respighi
Ancient Airs and Dances, Set 2
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
Elena Schwartz (conductor)
Peter Graham
Force of Nature
David Childs (euphonium)
Black Dyke Band
Nicholas Childs (conductor)
To listen to this programme (using most smart speakers) just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Classical Live".
WED 15:00 Choral Evensong (m002br1w)
Trinity College, Cambridge
Live from the Chapel of Trinity College, Cambridge on the Feast of Matthias the Apostle.
Introit: Gaudeamus omnes (Byrd)
Responses: Byrd
Psalm 80 (Marlow, after Gibbons)
First Lesson: 1 Samuel 16 vv1-13a
Office hymn: Let the round world with songs rejoice (Deus tuorum militum)
Canticles: Evening Canticles in A minor (David Maw)
Second Lesson: Matthew 7 vv15-27
Anthem: Laudibus in sanctis (Byrd)
Hymn: The highest and the holiest place (St James)
Voluntary: Fantazia of foure parts (Gibbons)
Steven Grahl (Director of Music)
Augustine Cox (Organ Scholar)
To listen on most smart speakers just say “ask BBC Sounds to play Choral Evensong”.
WED 16:00 Composer of the Week (m002br1y)
Max Bruch (1838-1920)
Love and Liverpool
Donald Macleod follows Bruch as he grapples with a new life chapter on British shores.
“Only true melody outlasts all changes and shifts of time” – so said this week’s composer, Max Bruch, the creator of what may be the world’s best-loved violin concerto. But Bruch would hate us to think of him as a one hit wonder. He even came to resent the very sound of his first Violin concerto, the only piece by which he’s often remembered. All this week, Donald Macleod colours in Bruch’s life story and reveals the breadth of his output, including some of his lesser-heard music.
Today, Bruch crosses the Channel and makes his way north to Liverpool to take up the post of conductor of the city’s Philharmonic Society. At first he’s resentful and lonely, but not for long. In his early 40s, Bruch at last finds love.
12 Scottish Folksongs: No 2- Johnie und Jenny
Darmstadt Concert Choir
Wolfgang Seelinger, conductor
Songs, Op 49 No 4 – Serenade (dedicated to Clara)
Duo Dauenhauer Kuen
Anna Sophie Dauenhauer, violin
Lukas Maria Kuen, piano
Piano Quintet in G minor (iii. Scherzo and iv Allegro Agitato)
Goldner String Quartet
Piers Lane, piano
Gruss an die Heilige Nacht (Greeting to the Holy Night)
Katharina Kammerloher, alto
Peter Dicke, organ
WDR Rundfunkchor Köln
Kölner Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester
Helmuth Froschauer, conductor
Kol Nidrei
Steven Isserlis (cello)
Connie Shih (piano)
Olivia Jageurs (harp)
Scottish Fantasy for violin and orchestra (iv. Allegro guerriero)
Nicola Benedetti, violin
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Rory Macdonald, conductor
Produced by Amelia Parker for BBC Audio Wales and West
WED 17:00 In Tune (m002br20)
Wind down from the day with classical
Katie Derham has live music in the In Tune studio from the Sitkovetsky Trio and mandolin player, Avi Avital.
WED 19:00 Classical Mixtape (m002br22)
Music for Solitariness
As part of the BBC's Wellbeing Week, Radio 3 Unwind's Niall Breslin introduces a mixtape on the theme of Solitariness.
From Noel Coward enjoying his travels unhindered by attachments, and J.S. Bach's sublime writing for solo violin, to William Grant Still's poignant "Song for the lonely", today's Classical Mixtape reflects on the experience of being alone. Many will recall the long running children's TV dramatisation of Robinson Crusoe, with its memorable theme music, but there is less well-known music in this half hour mix, such as Margaret Hubicki's "Lonely piper", and Rebecca Dale's magical setting of Wordsworth celebrating the joys of solitude "I wandered lonely as a cloud". Kurt Weill's "Lonely house" sweetens into solitary dreaming from Debussy, and the sequence ends with a heart-breaking folk song setting from the Auvergne about an abandoned shepherdess, lushly orchestrated by Joseph Cantaloube.
Producer: Helen Garrison
WED 19:30 Radio 3 in Concert (m002br24)
Budapest Festival Orchestra
Ian Skelly continues a week-long series of concerts by some of the world-class orchestras performing at this year's BBC Proms. Tonight, Ivan Fischer and the Budapest Festival Orchestra perform the music of Johannes Brahms recorded at Victoria Hall in Geneva.
Johannes Brahms: Hungarian Dance No 10
Johannes Brahms: Concerto No 2 in B flat major Op.83 for piano and orchestra
Interval music TBA
Johannes Brahms: Hungarian Dance No 7
Johannes Brahms: Symphony No 2 in D major Op. 73
Vadym Kholodenko (piano)
Budapest Festival Orchestra
Ivan Fischer (conductor)
To listen on most smart speakers just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Radio 3 in Concert".
WED 21:45 The Essay (m002br26)
The Song Detectorists
3. Cornwall
Matthew Bannister is in a pub near Redruth with the singer and Cornish music researcher Hilary Coleman. She tells him about the tradition of carol singing, especially amongst tin miners, which survives in Cornwall today.
She and Matthew visit Kresen Kernow, to look at “Eleanor Morgan’s book”,one of the sources used by the Cornish carol collector Davies Gilbert for his carol collection which was published in 1822.
The identity of Eleanor Morgan remains a tantalising mystery. Caro Lesemann-Elliot from Royal Holloway talks about Davies Gilbert’s failure to credit the people whose music he collected.
There’s a version of one of the carols: Hark Hark, What News the Angels Bring.that emerged in Australia. Tin miners from Cornwall emigrated to Australia in the 19th century taking their carols with them. Nancy Kerr brings the original Cornish and migrated Australian versions back together.
Matthew Bannister has been the host of Folk on Foot, a podcast which explores folk music and its connection with landscape in the UK, since 2018 and has often wondered about where “folk music” comes from. When he heard about Nancy Kerr’s involvement in a new project, Music Heritage, Place he wanted to know more.
Royal Holloway and Newcastle University have been sending out researchers, the “song detectorists”, to sift through the archives held in English County Record Offices looking for music. They’ve returned with musical gems that Nancy Kerr has arranged and the discoveries are offering new insights into the way music was shared and enjoyed in the past outside of the places historians and musicologists have traditionally expected to find it
Presenter: Matthew Bannister
Producer: Natalie Steed
A Rhubarb Rhubarb Production for BBC Radio 3
WED 22:00 Night Tracks (m002br28)
Sublime sounds for nightfall
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 (m00230k5)
Fresh Josephine Davies
'Round Midnight is presented by award-winning saxophonist Soweto Kinch. This weekday late-night show celebrates the thriving UK jazz scene and spotlights the best new music alongside incredible acts from past decades.
The pianist and composer Kit Downes has been picking a tune to play each evening in Flowers - paying tribute to contemporaries, living legends and unsung heroes. Tonight he chooses something from Ole Morten Vågen & The Trondheim Jazz Orchestra.
Plus there's tracks from Sokkyo, Rue and Outside Broadcast.
THURSDAY 15 MAY 2025
THU 00:30 Through the Night (m002br2d)
Gershwin's Piano Concerto and Dvořák's 'New World' Symphony
Pietari Inkinen conducts the German Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, Saarbrücken Kaiserslautern in Dvořák's Ninth Symphony 'From the New World' and Rudolf Buchbinder is the soloist in Gershwin's Piano Concerto in F. Jonathan Swain presents.
12:31 AM
George Gershwin (1898-1937)
Piano Concerto in F
Rudolf Buchbinder (piano), German Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, Saarbrücken Kaiserslautern, Pietari Inkinen (conductor)
01:01 AM
Alfred Grunfeld (1852-1924)
Soirée de Vienne, Op 56
Rudolf Buchbinder (piano)
01:06 AM
Antonin Dvorak (1841-1904)
Symphony no 9 in E minor, Op 95 'From the New World'
German Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, Saarbrücken Kaiserslautern, Pietari Inkinen (conductor)
01:47 AM
Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Piano Sonata no 21 in B flat major, D.960
Rudolf Buchbinder (piano)
02:27 AM
Lucas Ruiz de Ribayaz (1626-c1677)
Xaracas
Accentus Austria, Thomas Wimmer (director)
02:31 AM
Gabriel Faure (1845 - 1924)
Violin Sonata no 1 in A major, Op 13
Elena Urioste (violin), Michael Brown (piano)
02:54 AM
Camille Saint-Saens (1835-1921)
Symphony no 3 in C minor, Op 78 "Organ Symphony"
Kaare Nordstoga (organ), Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Michel Plasson (conductor)
03:30 AM
Nicolas Gombert (c.1495-c.1560)
Musae Jovis a 6
BBC Singers, Bo Holten (conductor)
03:37 AM
Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767)
Trio no 5 from Essercizii Musici, for recorder, violin and continuo
Camerata Koln
03:48 AM
Alice Mary Smith (1839-1884)
The Masque of Pandora (Overture)
BBC Concert Orchestra, Bramwell Tovey (conductor)
03:59 AM
Carl Maria von Weber (1786-1826)
Aufforderung zum Tanz
Niklas Sivelov (piano)
04:08 AM
Traditional, arr. Steven Wingfield
3 Bulgarian Dances arr. Wingfield for violin and guitar
Moshe Hammer (violin), William Beauvais (guitar)
04:15 AM
Tumasch Dolf (1889-1963)
La Patria (The Homeland)
Savognin Men's Chorus, Ruedi Netzer (director)
04:19 AM
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
5 movements from "Les petits riens" ballet music, K.299b
Danish Radio Sinfonietta, Adam Fischer (conductor)
04:31 AM
Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179)
Instrumental piece
Sequentia, Ensemble for Medieval Music
04:36 AM
Nino Janjgava (b.1964)
Alleluias 1, 5 & 11
Ars Nova Copenhagen, Paul Hillier (conductor)
04:41 AM
John Tavener (1944-2013)
The Lamb
Ars Nova Copenhagen, Paul Hillier (conductor)
04:45 AM
Nicola Matteis Sr. (c. 1650-after 1713)
Passagio rotto - Fantasia for violin
Anaïs Chen (violin)
04:50 AM
Tauno Pylkkanen (1918-1980)
Suite for oboe and strings, Op 32
Aale Lindgren (oboe), Finnish Radio Orchestra, Petri Sakari (conductor)
04:58 AM
Sergey Prokofiev (1891-1953)
Cinderella Fantasy Suite
Aglika Genova (piano), Liuben Dimitrov (piano)
05:11 AM
Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)
Trumpet Concerto in E flat major, H.7e.1
Geoffrey Payne (trumpet), Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Michael Halasz (conductor)
05:27 AM
Hugo Alfven (1872-1960)
En bat med blommor (A boat with flowers), Op 44
Peter Mattei (baritone), Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Manfred Honeck (conductor)
05:37 AM
Einojuhani Rautavaara (1928-2016)
Cantus Arcticus, Concerto for Birds and Orchestra, Op 61
Argovia Philharmonic, Rune Bergmann (conductor)
05:55 AM
Jean Sibelius (1865-1957)
6 Impromptus, Op 5
Juhani Lagerspetz (piano)
06:12 AM
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Suite for cello solo no 1 in G major, BWV.1007, arranged for viola
Maxim Rysanov (viola)
THU 06:30 Breakfast (m002br88)
Wake up your senses with classical music
Tom McKinney presents Radio 3’s Breakfast show live from Salford. With birdsong, Bach Before 7 and the best in classical music. You can contact the show by emailing 3breakfast@bbc.co.uk
To listen on most smart speakers, just say 'Ask BBC Sounds to play 3 Breakfast’
THU 09:30 Essential Classics (m002br8b)
Great classical music for your morning
Georgia Mann plays the best in classical music, featuring new discoveries, some musical surprises and plenty of familiar favourites.
1000 Playlist starter – listen and send us your ideas for the next step in our musical journey today.
1030 Song of the Day – harnessing the magic of words, music and the human voice.
1115 Playlist reveal – a sequence of music suggested by you in response to our starter today.
1145 Slow Moment – time to take a break for a moment's musical reflection.
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.
1230 Album of the Week.
To listen on most smart speakers say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Essential Classics”
THU 13:00 Classical Live (m002br8d)
The BBC Philharmonic Orchestra plays Bruckner’s 6th Symphony
Linton Stephens showcases the best performances by BBC orchestras, choirs, ensembles and other great performing groups from Europe and around the globe.
Our Artist Spotlight this week shines on the brilliant and hugely versatile violinist Alina Ibragimova, a former member of the BBC New Generation Artists scheme. Today we hear her with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra in Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 5, and alongside long-term musical collaborator Cédric Tiberghien in Enescu’s third violin sonata.
The BBC Philharmonic Orchestra is in focus across the week on Classical Live and today they play Bruckner’s Symphony No. 6 with Chief Conductor John Storgårds, as well as music by Bacewicz and Boulanger. Plus there’s chamber music from Edinburgh’s Queen’s Hall, with the Van Kuijk Quartet joined by guitarist Sean Shibe to play Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco's Guitar Quintet.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Violin Concerto No. 5 in A major, K219
Alina Ibragimova (violin)
Scottish Chamber Orchestra
Maxim Emelyanychev (conductor)
Grażyna Bacewicz
Pensieri Notturni
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
Anja Bihlmaier (conductor)
Lili Boulanger
D’un matin de printemps
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
Anja Bihlmaier (conductor)
Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco
Guitar Quintet, Op. 143
Sean Shibe (guitar)
Van Kuijk Quartet
Anton Bruckner
Symphony No. 6
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
John Storgards (conductor)
Georges Enescu
Violin Sonata No. 3 in A minor, Op. 25
Alina Ibragimova (violin)
Cédric Tiberghien (piano)
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 (m002br8g)
Max Bruch (1838-1920)
Berlin and the Brood
Donald Macleod takes us inside the Bruch family home and explores his different sides as a family man and teacher.
“Only true melody outlasts all changes and shifts of time” – so said this week’s composer, Max Bruch, the creator of what may be the world’s best-loved violin concerto. But Bruch would hate us to think of him as a one hit wonder. He even came to resent the very sound of his first Violin concerto, the only piece by which he’s often remembered. All this week, Donald Macleod colours in Bruch’s life story and reveals the breadth of his output, including some of his lesser-heard music.
Today we enter his new chapter as a father of four, and professor of composition in Berlin. As well as the Bruchs' family dramas and regular open house soirees, we hear how he finally returned to writing chamber music, discovering the joy of writing for new instruments through his children.
8 Pieces for Clarinet, viola and piano, Op 83 No 2
Philon Trio
In der Nacht, Op 72
Darmstadt Concert Choir
Wolfgang Seeliger, conductor
4 Pieces, Op 70 (i. Aria)
Nash Ensemble
Octet (i. allegro moderato)
Kodály Quartet
Auer String Quartet
Zsolt Fejervari, double bass
Concerto for Two Pianos (iv. Andante- Allegro)
Katia and Marielle Labeque, piano
Philharmonia Orchestra
Semyon Bychkov, conductor
Double Concerto for clarinet and viola
Jean-Luc Votano, clarinet
Arnaud Thorette, viola
Orchestre Philharmonique De Liège
Pascal Rophé, conductor
Produced by Amelia Parker for BBC Audio Wales and West
THU 17:00 In Tune (m002br8j)
The biggest names in classical music
Katie Derham is joined by pianist Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, who performs live. Plus, Edward Seckerson talks about the 60th anniversary of Leonard Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms.
THU 19:00 Classical Mixtape (m002br8l)
Music for Love and Kindness
As part of the BBC's Wellbeing Week, Radio 3 Unwind's Niall Breslin curates a mixtape on the theme of Love and Kindness.
From the delicate caress of Liszt's Liebestraume to the serene beauty of Debussy's Claire de Lune, this mixtape weaves a rich tapestry of romantic love. Today's mixtape also celebrates the enduring power of platonic love and friendship, beautifully embodied by Elgar's Theme and Variations, each of which is dedicated to a cherished friend. Takemistsu's tender guitar transcription of What a Friend adds a layer of warmth, reminding us of the bonds that shape our lives.
But perhaps the most heart-warming element to today's mixtape is its tribute to kindness itself, perfectly captured in the iconic theme from the Christmas classic, It's a Wonderful Life - a timeless reminder of the redemptive quality of kindness.
Producer: Zara Siddiqi
THU 19:30 Radio 3 in Concert (m002br8n)
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
Ian Skelly concludes a week of concerts celebrating some of the world-class orchestras visiting the BBC Proms this summer. Tonight, the Vienna Philharmonic perform first symphonies by two composers who became masters of the form: Robert Schumann and Anton Bruckner. Recorded at the Philharmonie, Berlin.
Robert Schumann: Symphony No 1 ('Spring') in B flat major
Interval music tba
Anton Bruckner: Symphony No 1 in C minor (Vienna version)
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
Christian Thielemann (conductor)
To listen on most smart speakers just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Radio 3 in Concert".
THU 21:45 The Essay (m002br8q)
The Song Detectorists
4. Hampshire
Matthew Bannister visits the village of Nether Wallop in Hampshire which was the home of Richard Pyle, a wool trader who collected music into a tune book that is kept at the Hampshire Archives in Winchester. He meets Sarah Lewin the archivist there who is also a musician with a group that reenacts historical music.
Stephen Rose from Royal Holloway University explains why the tune book is so important demonstrating that a small English country village was musically connected to places far beyond its county borders.
Nancy Kerr has created a set for her band the Melrose Quartet that explores the music in the book including a new version of what Richard Pyle calls Evening Hymn which is an arrangement of Tallis' Canon. New words draw on Nether Wallop’s location in the Test Valley, where Richard Adam’s novel Watership Down was set. The new version becomes Silverweed Hymn to Richard Pyle's canon.
Matthew Bannister has been the host of Folk on Foot, a podcast which explores folk music and its connection with landscape in the UK, since 2018 and has often wondered about where “folk music” comes from. When he heard about Nancy Kerr’s involvement in a new project, Music Heritage, Place he wanted to know more.
Royal Holloway University and Newcastle University have been sending out researchers, the “song detectorists”, to sift through the archives held in English County Record Offices looking for music. They’ve returned with musical gems that Nancy Kerr has arranged and the discoveries are offering new insights into the way music was shared and enjoyed in the past outside of the places historians and musicologists have traditionally expected to find it
Presenter: Matthew Bannister
Producer: Natalie Steed
A Rhubarb Rhubarb Production for BBC Radio 3
THU 22:00 Night Tracks (m002br8s)
Harmonious music for nighttime listening
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 (m0022zp3)
The return of Samara Joy
'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.
Kit Downes has been Soweto's Flowers guest this week selecting contemporaries to celebrate. He finishes his stint as our jazz florist by picking the trio Punkt. Vrt. Plastik - comprising Kaja Draksler, Petter Eldh and Christian Lillinger.
Outpost of Dreams, Kit’s new album with Norma Winstone, is out now. His live album Dr. Snap, recorded at the BIMHUIS in Amsterdam, is also out now. And Kit has another record called Breaking the Shell with guitarist Bill Frisell and drummer Andrew Cyrille out this week.
Plus, there's music from Reinier Baas & Ben Van Gelder, Nihilism, Olivia Cuttill and Barbara Thompson.
FRIDAY 16 MAY 2025
FRI 00:30 Through the Night (m002br8x)
Baroque Delights from Switzerland
The orchestra of the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis performs works by Handel and Galuppi and are joined by countertenor Flavio Ferri-Benedetti for Vivaldi's Nisi Dominum in G minor, RV 608. Jonathan Swain presents.
12:31 AM
Baldassare Galuppi (1706-1785)
Concerto no 4 in C minor
Schola Cantorum Basiliensis Orchestra, Vaclav Luks (conductor)
12:43 AM
Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741)
Nisi Dominus in G minor, RV 608
Flavio Ferri-Benedetti (counter tenor), Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, Vaclav Luks (conductor)
01:04 AM
George Frideric Handel (1685-1759), arr. Johann Georg Pisendel
Suite from Giulio Cesare in Egitto, HWV 17
Schola Cantorum Basiliensis Orchestra, Vaclav Luks (conductor)
01:25 AM
Edvard Grieg (1843-1907)
Violin Sonata no 2 in G major, Op 13
Alina Pogostkina (violin), Sveinung Bjelland (piano)
01:46 AM
Baldassare Galuppi (1706-1785)
Sonata for keyboard no 1 in B flat major
Leo van Doeselaar (organ)
01:51 AM
Camille Saint-Saens (1835-1921)
Piano Concerto no 5 in F major, Op 103 "Egyptian"
Pascal Roge (piano), UNAM Philharmonic Orchestra, Ronald Zollman (conductor)
02:19 AM
Ludwig Senfl (c.1486-1543)
Credo, Missa dominicalis (L’homme armé)
Schola Cantorum Basiliensis Vocal Ensemble
02:31 AM
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)
Romeo & Juliet fantasy overture
Romanian National Radio Orchestra, Alexander Rudin (conductor)
02:52 AM
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Piano Sonata no 30 in E major, Op 109
Christian Ihle Hadland (piano)
03:10 AM
Arthur de Greef (1862-1940)
Cinq Chants D'Amour for soprano and orchestra
Charlotte Riedijk (soprano), Flemish Radio Orchestra, Yannick Nezet-Seguin (conductor)
03:30 AM
Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)
String Quartet no 62 in C Major, Op 76 no 3 'Emperor'
Sebastian String Quartet
03:55 AM
George Walker (1922-2018)
Lyric for Strings
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Alpesh Chauhan (conductor)
04:03 AM
Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767)
Trio no 8 from Essercizii Musici
Camerata Koln, Michael Schneider (recorder), Rainer Zipperling (cello), Yasunori Imamura (theorbo), Sabine Bauer (harpsichord), Harald Hoeren (organ)
04:11 AM
Antonin Dvorak (1841-1904)
Slavonic Dance in E minor, Op 72 no 2
BBC Symphony Orchestra, Jiri Belohlavek (conductor)
04:18 AM
Monk of Salzburg (c.1340-c.1392)
In aller werlt mein liebster hort
Ensemble fur Fruhe Musik Augsburg
04:24 AM
Fryderyk Chopin (1810-1849)
Prelude in D flat major, Op 28 no 15, 'Raindrop'
Zheeyoung Moon (piano)
04:31 AM
Malcolm Arnold (1921-2006)
Peterloo Overture, Op 97
BBC Philharmonic, Ben Gernon (conductor)
04:41 AM
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
12 Variations for piano in B flat major K 500
Simon Crawford-Phillips (piano)
04:51 AM
Miklos Kocsar (b.1933)
Scale, tear! (Halog, hasadj meg!) - folk prayers
Hungarian Radio Choir, Peter Erdei (conductor)
04:57 AM
Richard Wagner (1813-1883)
Prelude to Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg
Norwegian Radio Orchestra, Arvid Engegard (conductor)
05:08 AM
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Adagio from Trio for violin, cello & piano in B flat major, Op 11
Beaux Arts Trio
05:14 AM
Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741)
Concerto da Camera in C major RV.87
Camerata Koln
05:22 AM
Samuel Barber (1910-1981)
Agnus Dei for chorus
BBC Singers, Stephen Cleobury (conductor)
05:30 AM
Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)
Valses nobles et sentimentales
Swiss National Youth Orchestra, Kai Bumann (conductor)
05:47 AM
Antonio Soler (1729-1783)
Four Keyboard Sonatas (Nos 87, 84, 24 & 88)
Christian Zacharias (piano)
06:08 AM
Michael Tippett (1905-1998)
Concerto for Double String Orchestra
Zurich Chamber Orchestra, Duncan Ward (conductor)
FRI 06:30 Breakfast (m002bsks)
The finest classical music to elevate your morning
Tom McKinney presents Radio 3’s Breakfast show live from Salford. With birdsong, Bach Before 7 and the best in classical music. You can contact the show by emailing 3breakfast@bbc.co.uk
To listen on most smart speakers, just say 'Ask BBC Sounds to play 3 Breakfast’
FRI 09:30 Essential Classics (m002bskv)
The best classical morning music
Georgia Mann plays the best in classical music, with discoveries and surprises rubbing shoulders with familiar favorites.
1000 Playlist starter – listen and send us your ideas for the next step in our musical journey today.
1030 Song of the Day – harnessing the magic of words, music and the human voice.
1115 Playlist reveal – a sequence of music suggested by you in response to our starter today.
1145 Slow Moment – time to take a break for a moment's musical reflection.
1230 Album of the Week.
To listen on most smart speakers say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Essential Classics”
FRI 13:00 Classical Live (m002bskx)
Beethoven’s ‘Kreutzer’ Sonata and Elgar’s 1st Symphony
Linton Stephens showcases the best performances by BBC orchestras, choirs, ensembles and other great performing groups from Europe and around the globe.
The BBC Philharmonic Orchestra is in focus across the week on Classical Live and today there’s a chance to hear them playing two pieces by Elgar – his Cockaigne Overture ‘In London Town’ and Symphony No. 1 – as well as music by Eric Coates.
Violinist and former Radio 3 New Generation Artist Alina Ibragimova has been in our Artist Spotlight all week, and today she joins her long-term musical collaborator, pianist Cédric Tiberghien, for a performance of Beethoven’s so-called ‘Kreutzer’ sonata. That’s from a series of concerts recorded for Classical Live at Edinburgh’s Queen's Hall, which we revisit to hear guitarist Sean Shibe playing music written specially for him by Thomas Adès.
Edward Elgar
Cockaigne Overture ‘In London Town’
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
Ben Gernon (conductor)
Ludwig van Beethoven
Violin Sonata in A major, Op. 47 ‘Kreutzer’
Alina Ibragimova (violin)
Cédric Tiberghien (piano)
Edward Elgar
Symphony No. 1 in A flat major, Op. 55
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
Mark Wigglesworth (conductor)
Thomas Adès
Forgotten Dances for solo guitar
Sean Shibe (guitar)
Eric Coates
Four Centuries (Suite)
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
John Wilson (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 (m002bskz)
Max Bruch (1838-1920)
A Happy Place
Donald Macleod transports us to Bruch’s spiritual home and creative haven.
“Only true melody outlasts all changes and shifts of time” – so said this week’s composer, Max Bruch, the creator of what may be the world’s best-loved violin concerto. But Bruch would hate us to think of him as a one hit wonder. He even came to resent the very sound of his first Violin concerto, the only piece by which he’s often remembered. All this week, Donald Macleod colours in Bruch’s life story and reveals the breadth of his output, including some of his lesser-heard music.
Today, we hear the works inspired by Bruch’s spiritual home, a country house called the Igeler Hof in the Rhineland Hills. Since his childhood, visits there anchored him creatively, formed the backdrop for one of his most important friendships, and he held the place in his heart, even in his dying days.
Sommerlust im Walde, Op 71 No 1
Darmstadt Concert Choir
Wolfgang Seeliger, conductor
String Quartet No 1 (iii.Allegro molto enérgico)
Mannheim String Quartet
Symphony No 3 (iii. Scherzo Vivace)
Hungarian State Orchestra
Manfred Honeck, conductor
Das Lied von der Glocke (final movements)
Ute Selbig, soprano
Elisabeth Graf, alto
Matthias Bleidorn, tenor
André Eckert, bass
Singakademie Dresden
Dresdner Philharmonie
Hans-Christoph Rademann, conductor
Odysseus Prelude
Bamberg Symphony Orchestra
Robert Trevino, conductor
In Memoriam, Op 65
Kerson Leong, violin
Philharmonia
Patrick Hahn, conductor
Produced by Amelia Parker for BBC Audio Wales and West
FRI 17:00 In Tune (m002bsl1)
Classical music live in the studio
Katie Derham is joined by pianist Roman Rabinovich, who will perform live in the studio. Katie will also talk to Siobhan Clough, Assistant Music Director and violinist in the Paraorchestra and CEO, Jonathan Harper. Both Jonathan and Siobhan will join Katie to talk about 'The Bradford Progress', a weekend of musical performances travelling through the district that highlights the creativity and diversity of Bradford’s local musicians.
FRI 19:00 Classical Mixtape (m002bsl3)
Music for Rest and Recovery
As part of the BBC's Wellbeing Week, Radio 3 Unwind's Niall Breslin curates a mixtape on the theme of Rest and Recovery.
We start off with a Berceuse, or lullaby, by Amy Beach to sink us straight into a restful state. Edward MacDowell’s Starlight is a picture of the sea on a starry night – being by water often brings about a sense of awe, shifting us into an almost-meditative state that promotes relaxation. We travel on to the Isles of Greece with John Foulds, a timeless piece of light music drenched in sunshine to calm our nervous systems, and Voces8 provide us with the chance to rest and reflect in their transcendent setting of Sigur Ros’ Fljotavik.
Produced by Ella Lee
FRI 19:30 Friday Night is Music Night (m00236mf)
from Snape Maltings
Soprano Eleanor Dennis and bassoonist John McDougall are soloists with the BBC Concert Orchestra and conductor John Andrews in a concert recorded in August at the Maltings, Snape.
Presented by Katie Derham.
Shostakovich: Festive Overture
Mozart: Per Pietà ben mio (Cosi fan Tutte)
Peter Hope: Kaleidoscope
Elgar: Romance
Coates: I Heard You Singing
Arnold: Four Cornish Dances
INTERVAL
Rossini: Overture to The Thieving Magpie
Trad, arr Hawes: The Last Rose of Summer
Trad arr.Britten: O Waly Waly
Sarah Rodgers: Seascapes
Percy Fletcher: A Sentimental Shanty (Nautical Sketches)
Fučík: The Old Grumbly Bear
Vaughan Williams: Linden Lea
Trad arr.Britten: Down By The Salley Gardens
Coates: Knightsbridge March (London Suite)
FRI 21:45 The Essay (m002bsl6)
The Song Detectorists
5. Newcastle
Matthew Bannister is allowed a very rare glimpse of Henry Atkinson’s tune book from 1695. He’s with Steph Carter and Kirsten Gibson from Newcastle University. The book is kept at the Northumberland Archives at the Woodhorn Museum on the site of an old coal mine in Ashington.
Henry Atkinson was a hostman, a member of a cartel of businessmen in Newcastle who controlled the buying and selling of coal. He was also a musician and collected his favourite fiddle tunes handwritten in a small book. Although considered very precious now Steph and Kirsten tell Matthew that books like Henry Atkinson’s were quite common. Music making was a sociable activity and many more people were musically active far away from the big cultural centres of London and the University towns than has been previously understood.
Music from the book has been arranged by Nancy Kerr and is performed by The Melrose Quartet: Nancy Kerr, James Fagan, and Jess and Richard Arrowsmith.
Matthew Bannister has been the host of Folk on Foot, a podcast which explores folk music and its connection with landscape in the UK, since 2018 and has often wondered about where “folk music” comes from. When he heard about Nancy Kerr’s involvement in a new project, Music Heritage, Place he wanted to know more.
Royal Holloway University and Newcastle University have been collaborating on an AHRC funded project sending out researchers, the “song detectorists”, to sift through the archives held in County Record Offices across England. They’ve returned with musical gems that Nancy Kerr has arranged and the discoveries are offering new insights into the way that music was shared and enjoyed in the past.
Presenter: Matthew Bannister
Producer: Natalie Steed
A Rhubarb Rhubarb Production for BBC Radio 3
FRI 22:00 Late Junction (m002bsl8)
Forest songs and the sound of metal
Verity Sharp tunes into the wild and wondrous sounds of music’s hinterlands. We hear new work from Baltimore-based duo Matmos, who continue their playful sonic experiments with commonplace objects, this time sculpting an album entirely from the resonances of metallic materials. Japanese free jazz icon Akira Sakata and Greek avant-garde guitarist Giotis Damianidis also present their first-ever duo recording, captured live in Brussels after years of intuitive collaboration.
Plus, experimental soundscapes from Latin America: Bogotá-born sound artist Colombian Drone Mafia joins forces with Mexican composer and violinist Gibrana Cervantes, and producer Aboutface shares an intercultural collaboration with the Indigenous Wampís community in the Peruvian Amazon, supporting efforts against illegal deforestation and ecocide.
Produced by Gabriel Francis
A Reduced Listening production for BBC Radio 3
To listen on most smart speakers just say, “ask BBC Sounds to play Late Junction”
FRI 23:30 'Round Midnight (m0022zql)
Meshell Ndegeocello in conversation
Soweto is joined for an extended conversation by luminary American vocalist, poet and bassist Meshell Ndegeocello.
Meshell’s latest album “No More Water: The Gospel of James Baldwin” pays homage to the life and works of leading American writer and civil rights activist James Baldwin.
In this conversation, Soweto and Meshell discuss the creative origins of the album, the enduring legacy of Baldwin, and Meshell shares some of the music that has inspired her expansive sound.