SATURDAY 14 JUNE 2025

SAT 00:30 Through the Night (m002cyy7)
Brahms and Weber from Slovenia

Jascha von der Goltz conducts the RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra with Weber's Overture to Oberon and Brahms's Symphony no 3 in F major. They are joined by brother and sister, violinist Matjaž Bogataj and cellist Maruša Turjak Bogataj for Brahms's Double Concerto in A minor. Penny Gore presents.

12:31 AM
Carl Maria von Weber (1786-1826)
Overture to 'Oberon'
RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra, Jascha von der Goltz (conductor)

12:41 AM
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Double Concerto for Violin and Cello in A minor, Op 102
Matjaž Bogataj (violin), Maruša Turjak Bogataj (cello), RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra, Jascha von der Goltz (conductor)

01:15 AM
Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)
Très vif, from Sonata for Violin and Cello
Matjaž Bogataj (violin), Maruša Turjak Bogataj (cello)

01:19 AM
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Symphony no 3 in F major, Op 90
RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra, Jascha von der Goltz (conductor)

01:57 AM
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
25 Variations and fugue on a theme by G F Handel, Op 24 for piano
Claire Huangci (piano)

02:22 AM
Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643)
Laudate pueri (Psalm 113), SV 270
Collegium Vocale 1704, Collegium 1704, Vaclav Luks (conductor)

02:31 AM
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)
Romeo and Juliet – fantasy overture
Radio Bratislava Symphony Orchestra, Ludovic Rajter (conductor)

02:52 AM
Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)
Gaspard de la nuit
Nikita Magaloff (piano)

03:12 AM
Dinu Lipatti (1917-1950)
Les Tziganes, Symphonic Suite, Op 2
Romanian Radio National Orchestra, Horia Andreescu (conductor)

03:37 AM
Johann Kuhnau (1660-1722)
Tristis est anima mea
Ensemble Polyharmonique, Alexander Schneider (director)

03:43 AM
Imogen Holst (1907-1984)
Leiston Suite for brass quartet
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Martyn Brabbins (conductor)

03:49 AM
Edvard Grieg (1843-1907), orch. Hans Sitt
2 Norwegian Dances, Op 35 nos 1 & 2
Plovdiv Philharmonic Orchestra, Rouslan Raychev (conductor)

03:59 AM
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
4 Lieder from the Schemelli songbook, BWV.443, 468, 470 & 439
Bernarda Fink (mezzo soprano), Domen Marincic (gamba), Dalibor Miklavcic (organ)

04:08 AM
Ion Dumitrescu (1913-1996)
Symphonic Prelude
Romanian Youth Orchestra, Cristian Mandeal (conductor)

04:18 AM
Franz Liszt (1811-1886)
Liebestraume (orig. for piano solo)
Moshe Hammer (violin), Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi (cello), William Tritt (piano)

04:23 AM
Giuseppe Torelli (1658-1709)
Concerto a quattro in forma Pastorale per il Santo Natale, Op 8, no 6
Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, Jeanne Lamon (conductor)

04:31 AM
Fryderyk Chopin (1810-1849)
Nocturne in G major, Op 37 no 2
Ignacy Jan Paderewski (piano)

04:39 AM
Daniel Auber (1782-1871)
Overture to 'Marco Spada'
Bratislava Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, Ondrej Lenard (conductor)

04:49 AM
Arvo Part (b.1935)
Magnificat for chorus
Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, Tonu Kaljuste (conductor)

04:56 AM
Astor Piazzolla (1921-1992)
Tango Suite for two guitars (Parts 2 and 3)
Tornado Guitar Duo

05:06 AM
Antonio Salieri (1750-1825)
Sinfonia in D major 'Veneziana'
Stavanger Symphony Orchestra, Fabio Biondi (conductor)

05:16 AM
Barbara Strozzi (1619-1677)
"Lagrime mie" - Lament for Soprano and continuo from 'Diporti di Euterpe'
Susanne Ryden (soprano), Musica Fiorita, Daniela Dolci (director)

05:25 AM
Armas Jarnefelt (1869-1968)
The Sound of Home
Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Ilpo Mansnerus (conductor)

05:36 AM
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Piano Sonata no 32 in C minor, Op 111
Kotaro Fukuma (piano)

06:04 AM
Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)
Quartet for strings in G major Hob III:81 'Lobkowitz'
Fine Arts Quartet


SAT 06:30 Breakfast (m002d916)
Roll out of bed into 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 (m002d918)
Louise Alder pops in for a chat

Tom Service with guests, stories and the perfect classical soundtrack to start the weekend!

Soprano superstar Louise Alder takes time out of rehearsals at Glyndebourne to chat to Tom about her exciting summer being the Countess in Mozart's Marriage of Figaro...plus her two shows at this year's BBC Proms including headlining the Last Night of the Proms.

"Dunnn dunnnn..... dunnn dunnnn..." - an E and and F repeated.... have two notes of music ever been so instantly recognisable to so many people?! John Williams's Jaws score turns 50 this month and we explore the impact and influence of those two notes. Film music historian Jon Burlingame tells the stories behind the music of Spielberg's most famous villain - we're going to need a bigger radio show...

Tom talks to composer Colin Matthews about writing his first opera - which has its premiere at the Aldeburgh Festival this weekend. A staple in the British classical music world for decades, was an assistant to Benjamin Britten in the 1970s, he worked with Imogen Holst, founded the new music label NMC Recordings and over the years has had multiple pieces commissioned by UK orchestras and the BBC Proms. He talks to Tom about why the time was right to follow in Britten's footsteps again and write for the stage.

Plus the continuation of BBC Radio 3’s 25 for 25: Sounds of the Century – a series of brand new commissions celebrating and commemorating some of the biggest events of the 21st century so far. This week, the Signs Still Point The Way by Karl Jenkins is written in memory of the thousands of victims of the global Covid pandemic. With a text by Grahame Davies its performed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra and BBC Singers.

To listen on most smart speakers just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Saturday Morning”.


SAT 12:00 Earlier... with Jools Holland (m002d91b)
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 Chopin, Ayo Bankole and Jimmy Smith, with performances by Olivier Latry, Jacqueline du Pre and Rebeca Omordia. His guest is the musician and lyricist Chris Difford who introduces music he loves by Lord Berners, Eric Whitacre and Beethoven.

To listen on most smart speakers just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Earlier with Jools Holland".


SAT 13:00 Music Matters (m002d91d)
Knowing the Score

In the spotlight

With the help of virtuoso soloists, charismatic conductors, world champions and famous athletes, presenter Eleanor Oldroyd invites sporting stars and big names in the classical world to share their experiences and draw comparisons between their professions on the stage or in a stadium. The guests introduce music that inspires them, and Eleanor chooses pieces with a sporting theme which have meant something to her in her in her time covering 13 Summer and Winter Olympic Games for the BBC.

Focussed on those who take centre stage, the opera singers, virtuoso soloists, tennis players or athletes. Is it a lonely existence? How do you deal with the pressure of all eyes being on you? Do you have to be more selfish than the team player or ensemble musician? Pianist Paul Lewis describes the moments of preparation leading up to stepping out on stage before a concerto - how do they compare with cyclist Victoria Pendleton’s routine in the call room at the Olympic velodrome in London just before she entered the area on a mission to win a gold medal? Both have suffered injuries in their careers; how do they cope with the mental strain of being away from the concert hall or cycling track? Paul and Victoria discuss the hours of training and rehearsal, honing their individual skills for the moment when they have to perform at their peak. And after the applause and acclaim has died down, do they suffer from post-performance blues? Featuring Paul playing Beethoven's 'Emperor' piano concerto, and music with an Olympic theme, including Chariots of Fire by Vangelis, and works by some of the most famous composers who drew inspiration whilst out on two wheels.

Producer: Ben Collingwood.


SAT 14:00 Record Review (m002d91g)
Mozart's Piano Concerto No.21 in Building a Library with Joanna MacGregor and Andrew McGregor

Andrew McGregor with the best new recordings of classical music.

1405
Keelan Carew joins Andrew for a look at some of the week's new releases.

1500
Building a Library
Pianist Joanna MacGregor picks her favourite from a selection of recordings of Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 21 in C major, K.467.

Mozart was riding the crest of his popularity as a composer and pianist in Vienna when he premiered his Piano Concerto No. 21 at one of his subscription concerts in in 1785. The evening was a well-attended musical and social event, with one critic reporting that Mozart's playing “captivated every listener and established Mozart as the greatest keyboard player of his day.” Mozart's father Leopold noted that the new concerto was “astonishingly difficult.” Lively, ebullient outer movements frame a meltingly dream-like and elegant Andante.

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 (m002d91j)
Mythical Creatures

Matthew Sweet is on the hunt for mythical creatures on the big screen. Tune in to escape reality, as we explore film music that transports you to fantastical worlds; from Middle-earth with Howard Shore’s beloved music for The Hobbit, to ancient Greece with Leonard Rosenthal's epic score for Clash of the Titans. Our final destination is the Isle of Berk, the Viking setting of How To Train Your Dragon - the live action remake, scored by John Powell, is released in cinemas this week.

To listen on most smart speakers, just say: "Ask BBC Sounds to play Sound of Cinema.”


SAT 17:00 This Classical Life (m002d91l)
Jess Gillam with… Hans Christian Aavik

Jess Gillam shares favourite music with violinist Hans Christian Aavik.

The dynamic young Estonian violinist Hans Christian Aavik, a first prize winner at the Carl Nielsen International Violin Competition, joins Jess Gillam to play some of his favourite music, including Schubert and Enescu, as well as Dirty Loops and Snarky Puppy. Jess brings along some of her own favourites, including Holst, and The Flirtations.

To listen on most smart speakers just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Radio 3”


SAT 18:00 Opera on 3 (m002d91n)
Wagner's Die Walküre

From the Royal Ballet and Opera, conductor Antonio Pappano and director Barrie Kosky reunite to continue the mythical adventure that began with Das Rheingold in 2023. The second chapter of Wagner's epic Ring Cycle deals with the fallout from Ruler of the Gods Wotan's decision to steal the all-powerful but cursed ring. Caught up in the saga are his mortal children Sieglinde and her long-lost brother Siegmund, who reunite and fall in love. And his favourite daughter Brünnhilde, who when not collecting dead warriors for Wotan's celestial palace is willing to disagree with and disobey him. Royal Opera House Conductor Laureate Antonio Pappano conducts a stellar cast including Christopher Maltman, Elisabet Strid and Natalya Romaniw. Andrew McGregor presents and is joined by Flora Willson to discuss Wagner's intricate score.

Wagner: Die Walküre

Wotan ..... Christopher Maltman (baritone)
Brünnhilde ..... Elisabet Strid (soprano)
Sieglinde ..... Natalya Romaniw (soprano)
Siegmund ..... Stanislas de Barbeyrac (tenor)
Fricka ..... Marina Prudenskaya (mezzo-soprano)
Hunding ..... Soloman Howard (bass)
Helmwige ..... Maida Hundeling (soprano)
Ortlinde ..... Katie Lowe (soprano)
Gerhilde ..... Lee Bisset (soprano)
Waltraute ..... Claire Barnett-Jones (mezzo-soprano)
Siegrune ..... Catherine Carby (mezzo-soprano)
Rossweisse ..... Alison Kettlewell (mezzo-soprano)
Grimgerde ..... Monika-Evelin Liiv (mezzo-soprano)
Schwertleite ..... Rhonda Browne (mezzo-soprano)
Actor ..... Illona Linthwaite
Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
Antonio Pappano (conductor)


SAT 22:30 New Music Show (m002d91q)
New Music Biennial

Elizabeth Alker and Linton Stephens present recordings from this year's New Music Biennial which is staged across two weekends over the Summer in London and Bradford, the UK's City of Culture for 2025. Bradford was the location for last weekend's event and from there we'll hear specially commissioned works by Xenia Pestova Bennett, Daniel Kidane and Mark David Boden among others, performed in four venues across town including St George's Hall, The Underground, Bradford Cathedral and the city's brand new arts space Loading Bay.

SUNDAY 15 JUNE 2025

SUN 00:30 Through the Night (m002d91s)
Sibelius: Finlandia, Violin Concerto & Fifth Symphony

The Ensemble Symphonique Neuchâtel performs orchestral music by Sibelius at a concert given in Switzerland with soloist Sergey Khachatryan in the Violin Concerto. Jonathan Swain presents.

12:31 AM
Jean Sibelius (1865-1957)
Finlandia, Op 26
Ensemble Symphonique Neuchâtel, Victorien Vanoosten (conductor)

12:39 AM
Jean Sibelius (1865-1957)
Violin Concerto in D minor, Op 47
Sergey Khachatryan (violin), Ensemble Symphonique Neuchâtel, Victorien Vanoosten (conductor)

01:14 AM
Saint Grigor Narekatsi (951-1003)
Havoun, havoun
Sergey Khachatryan (violin)

01:18 AM
Jean Sibelius (1865-1957)
Symphony no 5 in E flat major, Op 82
Ensemble Symphonique Neuchâtel, Victorien Vanoosten (conductor)

01:49 AM
Jean Sibelius (1865-1957)
Finlandia - hymn tune arr. for chamber choir (from the symphonic poem)
Finnish Radio Chamber Choir, Jukka-Pekka Saraste (conductor)

01:51 AM
Einojuhani Rautavaara (1928-2016)
Och gladjen den dansar
Finnish Radio Chamber Choir, Eric-Olof Soderstrom (conductor)

01:55 AM
Einojuhani Rautavaara (1928-2016)
Cantus Arcticus, Concerto for Birds and Orchestra, Op 61
Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Jukka-Pekka Saraste (conductor)

02:13 AM
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Violin Sonata no 2 in A major, Op 12 no 2
Mats Zetterqvist (violin), Mats Widlund (piano)

02:31 AM
Guillaume-Gabriel Nivers (c.1632-1714)
Officium Defunctorum
Studio 600

03:00 AM
John Tavener (1944-2013)
The Hidden Treasure
Mucha Quartet

03:27 AM
Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
3 Studies for piano, Op 104b
Sylviane Deferne (piano)

03:36 AM
Modest Mussorgsky (1839-1881)
A Night on Bare Mountain
Hungarian Radio Orchestra, Tamas Vasary (conductor)

03:48 AM
Henry Purcell (1659-1695)
Sonata no 6 for 2 violins and continuo in G minor, Z.807
Il Tempo Ensemble

03:55 AM
Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
Three Romances Op 94
Hyong-Sup Kim (oboe), Ja-Eun Ku (piano)

04:06 AM
Richard Strauss (1864-1949)
Aria: "Was erblicke ich?" from the opera 'Daphne', Op 82
Ben Heppner (tenor), Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Andrew Davis (conductor)

04:15 AM
Gertrude van den Bergh (1793-1840)
Rondeau, Op 3
Frans van Ruth (piano)

04:23 AM
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute) - Overture, K.620
BBC Philharmonic, Gianandrea Noseda (conductor)

04:31 AM
Johannes Ockeghem (1410-1497)
De Profundis clamavi for 5 voices
BBC Singers, Bo Holten (conductor)

04:37 AM
Dietrich Buxtehude (1637-1707)
Chaconne in E minor, BuxWV.160
Prospero Consort, Lukas Stamm (conductor)

04:43 AM
Ludwig Norman (1831-1885), arr. Niklas Willen
Andante Sostenuto
Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Niklas Willen (conductor)

04:53 AM
Karol Szymanowski (1882-1937)
20 Mazurkas for piano, Op 50 nos 1, 2 & 13
Ashley Wass (piano)

05:02 AM
Marcel Tournier (1879-1951)
Images for harp and string quartet, Op 35
Erica Goodman (harp), Amadeus Ensemble

05:12 AM
Edward Elgar (1857-1934)
Sea Pictures, Op 37
Margreta Elkins (mezzo soprano), Queensland Symphony Orchestra, Werner Andreas Albert (conductor)

05:35 AM
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Suite no 2 in B minor, BWV.1067
Les Passions de L'Ame, Meret Luthi (director)

05:54 AM
Erik Satie (1866-1925), orch. Claude Debussy
Gymnopédies no 3 and no 1
Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Katowice, Alexander Humala (conductor)

06:01 AM
Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
6 Moments musicaux for piano, D.780
Martin Helmchen (piano)


SUN 06:30 Breakfast (m002dcd0)
Breakfast with the best classical music

Mark Forrest presents Radio 3’s Breakfast show live from Salford with birdsong and the best in classical music. This week's dawn chorus features ornithology's most embarrassing dad dresser - the ruff - with music including Ronald Binge's Elizabethan Serenade. And there's another Father's Day treat with Shostakovich's Second Piano Concerto - conducted by his son Maxim with his grandson Dmitri Jnr as soloist.

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 (m002dcd2)
Your perfect Sunday soundtrack

Sarah Walker with three hours of classical music to reflect, restore and refresh.

Today, Sarah shares exuberant British music by Elgar and Walton. There are sumptuous melodies from Coleridge-Taylor, Handel, and Ryuichi Sakamoto, and the beautiful vocal tones of Stile Antico singing music by Palestrina.

There’s also captivating drama with a movement of a Brahms Symphony played by the Berlin Philharmonic under Sir Simon Rattle, a feverish whirling dance from Debussy, and Sarah looks back to her Easter on the West coast of Wales with music by Filkin’s Drift.

Plus, Benjamin Britten turns all playful…

A Tandem Production for BBC Radio 3


SUN 12:00 Private Passions (m002dcd4)
Suzanne Vega

The American singer songwriter Suzanne Vega released her first studio album almost exactly 40 years ago – and it soon found an audience, particularly here in the UK where it sold more than 300, 000 copies.

Listeners responded to her understated, acoustic sound and thoughtful lyrics, in songs such as Marlene on the Wall and Luka. Another of her songs, Tom’s Diner, took on a life of its own. It’s been sampled by dozens of artists and one remix became a global hit.

Suzanne recently released her tenth studio album, Flying with Angels, and will be embarking on a major tour with dates in England and Scotland later this year.
Her mix of music includes Bartok, Rachmaninov, Philip Glass and Debussy.

Producer: Clare Walker


SUN 13:30 Music Map (m002dcd6)
A journey to Haydn's Sunrise Quartet

Sara Mohr-Pietsch with an exploration of musical connections that lead to Joseph Haydn's String Quartet in B flat major, Op.76 No.4 - The Sunrise.

It was composed in 1797, while still employed by the Hungarian Prince Nikolaus Esterhazy. This particular quartet gets its nickname from the opening of the whole piece - a rising violin theme over sustained chords that is said to represent the rising sun. On the way to the Haydn, we'll hear more sunrise-inspired music by Grieg, Ravel, Telemann, Lill Boulanger, Richard Strauss, Ola Gjeilo, William Lawes, Ida Moberg, Duke Ellington and Hannah Peel, as well as other pieces with interesting nicknames by Chopin, William Grant Still and Antoine Brumel. And we end with a complete performance of the Haydn from The Takacs Quartet.

To listen to this programme (using most smart speakers), just say: "Ask BBC Sounds to play Music Map."


SUN 15:00 Choral Evensong (m002cyx1)
Buckfast Abbey

Choral Vespers from Buckfast Abbey on the Wednesday in the Octave of Pentecost.

Prelude: Prélude sur le 'Veni Creator' (Boulnois)
Incipit: Deus in adiutorium (Plainsong)
Hymn: Veni creator spiritus (Plainsong)
Psalms 109, 110, 111, 112 (Plainsong/George Malcolm, Plainsong, Plainsong/Andrew Reid, Plainsong)
Reading: Acts 2 vv1-11
Magnificat Primi toni a 8 (Victoria)
Motet: The spirit of the Lord (Matthew Martin)
Voluntary: Fugue sur le 'Veni Creator' (Boulnois)

Matthew Searles (Master of the Music)
Charles Maxtone-Smith (Organist)

Recorded 6 March.

To listen on most smart speakers just say “ask BBC Sounds to play Choral Evensong”.


SUN 16:00 Jazz Record Requests (m002dcd8)
Remembering Art Pepper, Wes Montgomery and Ella Fitzgerald

Alyn Shipton presents jazz records of all styles as requested by you including music featuring Art Pepper, Wes Montgomery, Ella Fitzgerald, John Taylor and more.
Get in touch: jrr@bbc.co.uk or use #jazzrecordrequests on social

To listen on most smart speakers just say “ask BBC Sounds to play Jazz Record Requests”


SUN 17:00 The Early Music Show (m002dcdb)
And we were enchanted...

Ensemble Augelletti perform at the Beverley Early & East Riding Early Music Festival, celebrating a local music lover - John Courtney, whose diaries give us insight into 18thC music making in the town.

John Courtney (1734-1806) was a local Beverley gentleman with a love of music, dancing, and playing cards. Declaring that ‘musick is better than cards by far’, he eagerly participated in music making with local musicians and had an organ built in his house for this purpose. He also frequented concerts and plays in Beverley and London, hearing some of the most exciting performers of the time. Regularly recording these musical exploits in a diary, Courtney leaves us with a fascinating insight into Georgian music making in Beverley and London. In this programme Ensemble Augelletti explore the music-making in Courtney’s world.

The concert includes pieces by Handel, Sammartini, Boyce, Giardini, and Bach.

Presented by Hannah French


SUN 18:00 Words and Music (m002dcdd)
Virginia Woolf

"Mrs. Dalloway said she would buy the flowers herself" is the first line of one of the finest novels of the 20th century; Virginia Woolf’s Mrs Dalloway, which tracks a single day in June as the wife of an MP organises a party and a war veteran visits the park. The novel is celebrated each year in mid June with "Dalloway Day" organised by the Royal Society of Literature - this year it's 100 years since the book was published. We'll hear a selection of readings from Woolf’s writing, including a recently discovered poem, extracts from biographies by Quentin Bell and Hermione Lee, and reminiscences of Cecil Beaton and Duncan Grant. Music inspired by her work includes Max Richter’s ballet score 'Woolf Works', and there are pieces she had in her own record collection. Like Mrs Dalloway, we move from day to night, from Virginia’s youth, to her later musings. Our readers are Adjoa Andoh and Emma D’Arcy
Producer in Salford: Jessica Treen

Readings:
A Sketch of the Past - Virginia Woolf
Mrs Dalloway - Virginia Woolf
Hyde Gate Gate News - Virginia Woolf, Vanessa Bell and Thoby Stephen
To The Lighthouse - Virginia Woolf
Virginia Woolf: A Biography - Quentin Bell
Hiccoughs (recently discovered poem) - Virginia Woolf
The Years - Virginia Woolf
Mrs Dalloway: Biography of a Novel - Mark Hussey
Orlando (Drama on 3 Adaptation - Zena Edwards
Virginia Woolf - Horizon Issue III - Duncan Grant
Letter to Virginia Woolf - T. S. Eliot
Words Fail Me (BBC Archive Recording) - Virginia Woolf
The Years - Virginia Woolf
Virginia Woolf - Hermoine Lee
Novels Thick and Thing (BBC Archive Recording) - Hugh Walpole
Mrs Dalloway - Virginia Woolf
The Book of Beauty - Cecil Beaton
Virginia Woolf - Hermoine Lee
Lettter to Virginia Woolf - Vita Sackville West
No Obligation - Vita Sackville West
Mrs Dalloway - Virginia Woolf
A Sketch of the Past - Virginia Woolf


SUN 19:15 Between the Ears (m002dcdg)
Dead Man’s Handshake

Between the Ears descends into the pitch-black underworld of Britain's ancient, flooded limestone caves. On a cold day in 1978, three experienced cave divers entered an underwater tunnel at Keld Head, in the Yorkshire Dales. Hours later, one of them had disappeared, seemingly without a trace. With first-hand testimony from cave diver Geoff Yeadon, who led the expedition, and a specially commissioned soundtrack by analogue tape composer Howlround, Dead Man’s Handshake is a haunting voyage into the depths, where rescue is almost impossible.

As diver Michael Thomas warns: “If you play this game long enough in places where humans aren't adapted to live, you will meet trouble. And soon the Grim Reaper is sitting on your shoulder, having a little chat.”

Featuring the voices of cave divers Geoff Yeadon, Martyn Farr, Geoff Crossley, Michael Thomas, and Graham Balcombe. With special thanks to John Gardner of the British Caving Library Audio Archive and to Keith Edwards and Tom Perou.

The producer is Leo Hornak, music is Howlround and Rowan Bishop.

An Ictus Media production.


SUN 19:45 Sunday Feature (m002dcdj)
New Generation Thinkers: How Lullabies Work

Oskar Jensen recently became a father, which rather raised the stakes of his previously academic interest in lullabies. With a noisy boy to get to sleep, he has turned from historian to (lamentably amateur) practitioner. In search of whatever it is that has made lullabies work over the centuries, he explores the history, the music, and the ongoing uses of these deceptively simple songs, from their earliest incarnations in eighteenth-century cheap print, to their travels across the world. His song of choice is Hush-a-Bye Baby.

Oskar is joined by academics Julia Partington, an expert on music education, especially in infancy; Vic Gammon, a researcher and musician who has published prolifically on the history of vernacular song; and Nancy Kerr - singer, songwriter, fiddler, and lecturer in folk music at Newcastle University. In fact, all four involved in the programme sing... and probably will.

Presenter: Oskar Jensen
Producer: Julian May


SUN 20:00 Brass Banding with Hannah Peel (m002dcdl)
From Tokyo to Tongwynlais

Hannah meets Japanese baritone player Shoko Doherty who has brought her Welsh band on tour to Tokyo. Exploring the cross-cultural connection between the two countries, she recommends a meaningful piece that reflects her international journey with brass bands. An exploration of Wales brings us to a brand new rendition of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, arranged by Tenor Horn soloist Owen Farr. Plus a new piece from Andrea Price inspired by Greek mythology, and Judith Bingham’s euphonium concerto which takes us on a gondolier ride through Venetian history.

Produced by Olivia Swift
A Reform Radio production for BBC Radio 3


SUN 21:00 20th Century Radicals (m002dcdn)
Cardew: Democracy and U-turns

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. In this episode, Kate explores the highly-charged political music of English experimental composer Cornelius Cardew, leading to full performance of his work The Great Learning: Paragraph 7. We will dip into Hungarian performance art, the niche Hillbilly free minimalism movement, and an Italian improvisation tribe. Plus Kate finds out how Cardew abandoned the avant-garde and turned on his previous mentor Stockhausen.

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 (m002bjlm)
Hania Rani: Series 4

Bask in light-filled sounds ft. Cate Le Bon

Polish composer, pianist, and vocalist Hania Rani invites you to revel in radiant music filled with light and warmth, bringing the kind of calm that comes from basking in a sunbeam, with luminous songs by Raphael Roginski, Eiko Ishibashi and Caterina Barbieri.

Plus, we visit the musical safe haven of the Welsh musician, songwriter and producer Cate Le Bon. Cate shares a piece of music that she believes to be the best remedy for anxious feelings, which she listens to almost every day.

Produced by Kit Callin
A Reduced Listening production


SUN 23:00 The Night Tracks Mix (m0019cqh)
Music for the night

Sara Mohr-Pietsch with a magical sonic journey for late-night listening. With tracks by Hinako Omori, Arooj Aftab, William Grant Still and Thomas Tallis.

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SUN 23:30 Unclassified (m002dcds)
Ghost Signals

Join Elizabeth Alker with a selection of fresh music from genre-defying artists as we journey through landscapes of ambient and experimental sounds. Along the way, we'll hear from emerging independent producers whose work plays with orchestral textures and classical form as well as the latest sounds from a new generation of contemporary composers who look to embrace the spirit of rock, pop and electronica.

Produced by Geoff Bird
A Reduced Listening production for BBC Radio 3

To listen on most smart speakers just say “ask BBC Sounds to play Unclassified”

MONDAY 16 JUNE 2025

MON 00:30 Through the Night (m002dcdv)
Handel's Esther - the first English oratorio

Solomon's Knot performs Handel's oratorio Esther at the 2024 Saar International Music Festival. Esther's story of persecution, hardship and divine rescue is brought to life in the late gothic Basilica of St. Wendelin from the 14th century. Jonathan Swain presents.

12:31 AM
George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)
Esther Act 1
Zoë Brookshow (soprano), Xavier Hetherington (tenor), Joseph Doody (tenor), Alex Ashworth (bass), David de Winter (tenor), Thomas Herford (tenor), Clare Lloyd-Griffiths (soprano), Kate Symonds Joy (mezzo soprano), James Hall (tenor), Jonathan Sells (bass), Solomon's Knot, Jonathan Sells (director)

01:09 AM
George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)
Esther Act 2
Zoë Brookshaw (soprano), Xavier Hetherington (tenor), Joseph Doody (tenor), Alex Ashworth (bass), David de Winter (tenor), Thomas Herford (tenor), Clare Lloyd-Griffiths (soprano), Kate Symonds Joy (mezzo soprano), James Hall (tenor), Jonathan Sells (bass), Solomon's Knot, Jonathan Sells (director)

01:37 AM
George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)
Esther Act 3
Zoë Brookshow (soprano), Xavier Hetherington (tenor), Joseph Doody (tenor), Alex Ashworth (bass), David de Winter (tenor), Thomas Herford (tenor), Clare Lloyd-Griffiths (soprano), Kate Symonds Joy (mezzo soprano), James Hall (tenor), Jonathan Sells (bass), Solomon's Knot, Jonathan Sells (director)

02:12 AM
George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)
Aria with Variations, HWV 430 'Harmonious Blacksmith'
Marian Pivka (piano)

02:18 AM
Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
Allegro vivace, 1st movement from Symphony no 4 in A major, Op 90 'Italian'
WDR Radio Orchestra, Rasmus Baumann (conductor)

02:31 AM
Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (1710-1736)
Violin Concerto in B flat major
Andrea Keller (violin), Concerto Koln

02:44 AM
Ernest Chausson (1855-1899)
Poeme de l'amour et de la mer, Op 19 vers. for voice and orchestra
Iwona Socha (soprano), Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Marcin Nalecz-Niesiolowski (conductor)

03:11 AM
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Sonata for piano in C minor, K.457
Denis Burshtein (piano)

03:35 AM
Edvard Grieg (1843-1907)
Peer Gynt Suite no 1, Op 46
BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Grant Llewellyn (conductor)

03:52 AM
Richard Strauss (1864-1949)
6 Lieder
Arleen Auger (soprano), Irwin Gage (piano)

04:10 AM
Carl Friedrich Abel (1723-1787)
Symphony in B flat major, Op 10 no 2
La Stagione Frankfurt, Michael Schneider (conductor)

04:21 AM
Carl Nielsen (1865-1931)
Adagio con sentimento religioso, 2nd movement from String Quartet, Op 44
Young Danish String Quartet

04:31 AM
Louise Farrenc (1804-1875)
Overture no 2, Op 24
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Anja Bihlmaier (conductor)

04:38 AM
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Cantata BWV.134: 'Wir danken und preisen' (duet)
Maria Sanner (contralto), Anders J. Dahlin (tenor), Les Ambassadeurs, Alexis Kossenko (director)

04:44 AM
Nicolaas Arie Bouwman (1854-1941)
Thalia - overture for wind orchestra
Dutch National Youth Wind Orchestra, Jan Cober (conductor)

04:53 AM
Aaron Copland (1900-1990)
Danzon Cubano vers. for 2 pianos
Aglika Genova (piano), Liuben Dimitrov (piano)

05:00 AM
Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767)
Sonata in F minor, from ''Der Getreue Music-Meister"
Michael Schneider (recorder), Rainer Zipperling (cello), Harold Hoeren (harpsichord), Camerata Koln

05:10 AM
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
3 Songs for chorus, Op 42
Danish National Radio Choir, Stefan Parkman (conductor)

05:20 AM
Bedrich Smetana (1824-1884)
String Quartet no 1 in E minor 'From My Life'
Vertavo String Quartet

05:49 AM
Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Symphony no 8 in B minor, D.759, 'Unfinished'
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy (conductor)

06:11 AM
Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)
Keyboard Trio in E major, Hob XV:28
Hiroko Sakagami (piano), Matthias Enderle (violin), Patrick Demenga (cello)


MON 06:30 Breakfast (m002d9y2)
Birdsong and Bach to banish those morning blues

Tom McKinney presents Radio 3’s Breakfast show live from Salford, including BBC Radio 3’s 25 for 25: Sounds of the Century – a series of brand new commissions celebrating and commemorating some of the biggest events of the 21st century so far. This week, The Signs Still Point The Way by Karl Jenkins is written in memory of the thousands of victims of the global Covid pandemic. With a text by Grahame Davies its performed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra and BBC Singers.

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 (m002d9y4)
The ideal mix of classical 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”


MON 13:00 Classical Live (m002d9y6)
Pianist Mariam Batsashvili live from London's Wigmore Hall

Linton Stephens showcases the best performances by BBC orchestras, choirs, ensembles and other great performing groups from Europe and around the globe.

We begin the programme with a live concert from London’s Wigmore Hall. Pianist Mariam Batsashvili’s recital combines works ideally suited to her poetic artistry. She moves from the haunting music of Bach’s Third Concerto and Chopin’s translucent Andante spianato to Haydn’s joyful Sonata in D and the earthy drama of Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsodies.

Elsewhere we have music from the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, who perform Rachmaninov's energetic Symphonic Dances and Szymanowski's emotional intense and unpredictable Violin Concerto No.1 with soloist, Bondori Kim.

Live from Wigmore Hall, introduced by Hannah French.

Johann Sebastian Bach
Concerto No. 3 in D minor (after Marcello Oboe Concerto in D minor) BWV974

Fryderyk Chopin
Andante spianato et grande polonaise brillante Op. 22

Joseph Haydn
Piano Sonata in D HXVI/37

Franz Liszt
Hungarian Rhapsody No. 11 in A minor S244
Hungarian Rhapsody No. 12 in C sharp minor S244

Mariam Batsashvili (piano)

***

Sergei Rachmaninov
Symphonic Dances Op. 45
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Stephanie Childress (conductor)

Joseph Haydn
String Quartet No. 61 in D minor, Op. 76/2, Hob. III:76 ('Fifths')
Goldmund Quartet

James MacMillan
Miserere
Tenebrae
Nigel Short (conductor)

Karol Szymanowski
Violin Concerto No 1 Op. 35
Bondori Kim (violin)
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Marta Gardolińska (conductor)

Fergus McCreadie
Fantasy for cello and piano
Santiago Canon-Valencia (cello)
Fergus McCreadie (piano)

To listen on most smart speakers just say “ask BBC Sounds to play Classical Live”


MON 16:00 Composer of the Week (m002d9y8)
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (c.1525-1594)

Rome, Here I Come

Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (c.1525-1594) was one of the most influential composers in European classical music. With his countless masses, motets and madrigals, infused with a deep sense of spirituality and musical beauty, Palestrina was named the 'Saviour of Church Music' at a revolutionary time when Rome was rewriting the rules of music composition. But what do we know about this mysterious character, between historical fact and hagiographic myth? Donald Macleod follows the clues, to try and reconstruct the story of a fascinating composer, on the (approximately) 500th anniversary of his birth.

In this first episode, Donald Macleod invites you to Renaissance Rome, starting in a small town outside of the Eternal City, where our investigation into the origins of Giovanni da Palestrina begins...

Sicut cervus
I. Sicut cervus
II. Sitivit anima mea
Stile Antico

Laudate pueri
I. Laudate pueri Dominum
II. Quis sicut Dominus Deus
El León de Oro
Peter Phillips, conductor

Pueri hebraeorum (arr for dobro)
Noël Akchoté, dobro guitar

Puer qui natus est
The Sixteen
Harry Christophers, conductor

Missa Assumpta est Maria
I. Kyrie
II. Gloria
La Chapelle Royale
Philippe Herreweghe, director

Josquin des Prez: O virgo prudentissima
I. O virgo prudentissima
The Gesualdo Six
Owain Park, director

Josquin des Prez: Fortuna d’un gran tempo
La Reverdie

Costanzo Festa: Sancta Maria succurre miseris
Cantica Symphonia
Kees Boeke, director

Sacred Madrigals, Book 2 (Delle madrigali spirituali libro secondo)
Città di Dio
Corvina Consort
Zoltán Kalmanovits, director

Ricercar del primo tuono
Jean Rondeau, harpsichord

Magnificat Primi toni
Voces8

Presenter by Donald Macleod
Produced by Julien Rosa
A BBC Audio Wales & West production for BBC Radio 3


MON 17:00 In Tune (m002d9yb)
Classical music live in the studio

Live music and interviews from the world's finest classical musicians.


MON 19:00 Classical Mixtape (m001qfvc)
Relax into your day with classical music

Take time out with a 30-minute soundscape of classical music, with gorgeous sounds ranging from the 18th century right up to the present day. Featuring music by Domenico Scarlatti, Joseph Bologne, Pyotr Tchaikovsky, Gerald Finzi and Judith Bingham - plus a dramatic tango by Carlos Gardel made famous by the 1994 film True Lies.

Producer: Christina Kenny


MON 19:30 Radio 3 in Concert (m002d9yg)
Mendelssohn and Wagner from the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra

American operatic superstar Jamie Barton makes her debut with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra in Wagner's sumptuous Wesendonck Lieder, settings of five poems by one of the several women with whom the composer fell deeply in love - his patron's wife, Mathilde Wesendonck. Written as he began working on his opera Tristan and Isolde, the songs share the opera's philosophical grounding and its intensity of passion.

Felix Mendelssohn's music provides the perfect counterbalance, and the concert begins and ends with two of his most beloved works: the Overture to his incidental music to A Midsummer Night's Dream and the Symphony No. 4, inspired by his travels in Italy.

Also on the programme is Roxanna Panufnik's imaginative orchestral versions of three songs by Alma Mahler, Alma's Songs without Words.

Recorded on 28th May 2025 at Symphony Hall in Birmingham.

Presented by Mark Forrest.

***

Felix Mendelssohn
A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Overture)

Richard Wagner
Wesendonck Lieder

Interval music:
Fanny Mendelssohn
Songs without words (selection)
Olga Pashcenko (pianoforte)

Roxanna Panufnik
Alma's Songs without Words

Felix Mendelssohn
Symphony No. 4, 'Italian'

Jamie Barton (mezzo-soprano)
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
Pierre Bleuse (conductor)

To listen on most smart speakers just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Radio 3 in Concert".


MON 21:45 The Essay (m002d9yj)
Unsung Heroes

1. Who Wrote Carmen?

In this opening essay, writer and sometime librettist Stephen Wyatt makes the case for a proper consideration of librettists and lyricists - the 'unsung heroes' behind the creation of operas and musicals. It's not just about giving credit where credit is due, it's about understanding and appreciating how musical theatre is created. He points out the skills involved in providing the underlying structure of words that every opera, operetta and musical needs to have and asks why these skills are so underappreciated. Is the appeal of music so strong that it drowns out all other considerations?

Production Coordinator: Nina Semple
Sound: Sean Kerwin

Producer: Torquil MacLeod
Executive Producer: Peter Hoare

A Pier production for BBC Radio 4


MON 22:00 Night Tracks (m002d9yl)
Sublime sounds for nightfall

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 (m002d9yn)
Jon Batiste’s 4/4

‘Round Midnight is presented by award-winning saxophonist Soweto Kinch. This weekday late-night show celebrates the thriving UK jazz scene and spotlights the best new music alongside incredible acts from past decades.

Soweto’s guest this week is the internationally celebrated singer, pianist, multi-instrumentalist and composer Jon Batiste. His eclectic, inventive and musically expansive compositions have seen him nominated for five Grammy Awards from twenty nominations. His recording and performance credits include with Stevie Wonder, Prince, Lenny Kravitz, and Roy Hargrove, and his film credits include as the co-composer of Pixar’s animated film Soul.

The Creative Director of the National Jazz Museum in Harlem, Jon Batiste's musical roots run deep; he is a member of the musical dynasty the Batiste family, which includes Milton Batiste of the Olympia Brass Band, Lionel Batiste of the Treme Brass Band, and Russell Batiste Jr.

From Monday to Thursday this week, Jon will be taking us round his record collection, choosing four releases that have help shaped his sound and musical outlook. To begin he selects an album from an American piano titan written in homage to London town.

Plus there’s music from Phi-Psonics, Hazel Scott, and Alina Bzhezhinska.

TUESDAY 17 JUNE 2025

TUE 00:30 Through the Night (m002d9yq)
Rasch and Beethoven

Vladimir Jurowski conducts the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in Beethoven's Symphony no 9, alongside a new work by the German composer, Torsten Rasch. Jonathan Swain presents.

12:31 AM
Torsten Rasch (b.1965)
Pataphor
Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, Vladimir Jurowski (conductor)

12:44 AM
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Symphony no 9 in D minor, Op 125 'Choral'
Hanna-Elisabeth Müller (soprano), Emily D'Angelo (mezzo soprano), Christopher Sokolowski (tenor), Christof Fischesser (bass), Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, Berlin Radio Chorus, Vladimir Jurowski (conductor)

01:51 AM
Franz Schubert (1797-1828), Friedrich Schiller (author)
Die Burgschaft (D.246)
Christoph Pregardien (tenor), Andreas Staier (pianoforte)

02:09 AM
Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901)
La Forza del Destino, Overture
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Riccardo Chailly (conductor)

02:17 AM
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Country dance no.1 (Allegro molto moderato) for wind quintet
Yur-Eum Woodwind Quintet

02:20 AM
Franz Liszt (1811-1886)
A la Chapelle Sixtine (Miserere de Allegri et Ave verum corpus de Mozart)
Jos Van Immerseel (piano)

02:31 AM
Claude Debussy (1862-1918)
String Quartet in G minor, Op 10
Van Kuijk Quartet

02:57 AM
Francois Couperin (1668-1733)
Pieces de clavecin: ordre No 8 in B minor
Rosalind Halton (harpsichord)

03:30 AM
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (c.1525-1594)
Missa sine nomine
Silvia Piccollo (soprano), Annemieke Cantor (alto), Marco Beasley (tenor), Daniele Carnovich (bass), Diego Fasolis (conductor)

03:45 AM
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Brandenburg concerto No 3 in G major BWV 1048
European Union Baroque Orchestra, Lars Ulrik Mortensen (conductor)

03:56 AM
Kurt Weill (1900-1950)
Surabaya Johnny from "Happy End"
Helene Gjerris (mezzo soprano), Esbjerg Ensemble, Jorgen Lauritsen (director)

04:03 AM
Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
St.Paul - Overture, Op 36
Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, Kenneth Montgomery (conductor)

04:10 AM
Ernest Bloch (1880-1959)
From Jewish Life, B.54
Nicolas Altstaedt (cello), Alexander Lonquich (piano)

04:20 AM
Ester Magi (1922-2021)
Bucolic
Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, Arvo Volmer (conductor)

04:31 AM
Johann Christoph Pezel (1639-1694)
Four Intradas for brass
Hungarian Brass Ensemble

04:38 AM
Jean Francaix (1912-1997)
Serenade for small orchestra
Canadian Chamber Ensemble, Raffi Armenian (director)

04:47 AM
Leonardo de Lorenzo (1875-1962)
Capriccio brillante for 3 flutes, Op 31
Vladislav Brunner Sr. (flute), Juraj Brunner (flute), Milan Brunner (flute)

04:57 AM
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714-1788)
Sinfonia in D, Wq.176
Arte dei Suonatori, Marcin Swiatkiewicz (harpsichord)

05:08 AM
John Ansell (1874-1948)
Nautical Overture
West Australian Symphony Orchestra, David Measham (conductor)

05:16 AM
Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767)
Sonata in F minor TWV.41:f1 for bassoon and continuo
Luka Mitev (bassoon), Helena Kosem Kotar (piano)

05:26 AM
Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887-1959)
Guitar Concerto
Lukasz Kuropaczewski (guitar), Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Jose Maria Florencio (conductor)

05:46 AM
Michael Tippett (1905-1998)
Five Spirituals from 'A Child of our Time' for chorus
BBC Singers, Stephen Cleobury (conductor)

05:58 AM
Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)
Symphony no.92 (H.1.92) in G major, 'Oxford'
Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, Peeter Lilje (conductor)

06:26 AM
Lili Boulanger (1893-1918)
Nocturne for flute and piano
Valentinas Gelgotas (flute), Audrone Kisieliute (piano)


TUE 06:30 Breakfast (m002d7ch)
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’


TUE 09:30 Essential Classics (m002d7ck)
Refresh your morning with classical 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 (m002d7cm)
Johannes Brahms Violin Concerto with Ning Feng and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra.

Linton Stephens showcases the best performances by BBC orchestras, choirs, ensembles and other great performing groups from Europe and around the globe.

All week, Linton is featuring brilliant performances from the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. The programme opens with Brahms technically demanding Violin Concerto performed by soloist Ning Feng. Plus, we will hear Tubin's expressive Concerto for Double Bass performed by Gyunam Kim.

We are also shining a light on piano music composed by Johann Sebastian Bach. Today German pianist Schaghajegh Nosrati performs Partita No. 4 in D, BWV 828.

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, Karl Jenkins and Welsh poet and author Grahame Davies commemorate those who lost their lives to the global Covid pandemic. 'The Signs Still Point The Way ' is performed by the BBC Singers and BBC Symphony Orchestra.

Johannes Brahms
Violin Concerto
Ning Feng (violin)
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Antony Hermus (conductor)

Felix Mendelssohn
String Quartet No 2 in A min Op.13
Elias String Quartet

25 for 25:
Karl Jenkins
The Signs Still Point The Way
BBC Symphony Orchestra
BBC Singers

Johann Sebastian Bach
Partita No. 4 in D, BWV 828
Schaghajegh Nosrati (piano)

Eduard Tubin
Concerto for Double Bass
Gyunam Kim (double Bass)
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Anu Tali (conductor)

Benjamin Britten
Suite on English folk tunes
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Ryan Wigglesworth (conductor)

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 (m002d7cp)
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (c.1525-1594)

What a Mass

Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (c.1525-1594) was one of the most influential composers in European classical music. With his countless masses, motets and madrigals, infused with a deep sense of spirituality and musical beauty, Palestrina was named the 'Saviour of Church Music' at a revolutionary time when Rome was rewriting the rules of music composition. But what do we know about this mysterious character, between historical fact and hagiographic myth? Donald Macleod follows the clues, to try and reconstruct the story of a fascinating composer, on the (approximately) 500th anniversary of his birth.

In this second episode, as young Palestrina makes a name for himself in Rome, Donald Macleod opens the venerable score of the Mass which is considered to have marked a turning point in music history.

Missa Ecce sacerdos magnus
from Missarum liber primus (First Book of Masses)
III. Sanctus
Coro polifonico dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia
Roberto Gabbiani, conductor

Quam pulchri sunt gressus tui
The King’s Singers

Pulchra es, amica mea (arr Volbers for recorder ensemble)
Max Volbers, Anne-Suse Enßle, Elisabeth Wirth, Felix Gutschi, Jonathan Volbers, recorders

Carl Nielsen: 3 Motets, FS139
No 1, Afflictus sum
Ars Nova Copenhagen
Paul Hillier, conductor

Missa Papae Marcelli
I. Kyrie
II. Gloria
The Tallis Scholars
Peter Phillips, director

Le Vergini (from Petrarch)
from Primo libro de madrigali, a 5 voci (First Book of Madrigals, for 5 voices)
Vergine bella… Vergine saggia…
Akademia - Ensemble Vocal Régional de Champagne Ardenne
Françoise Lasserre, conductor

Vestiva i colli
Les Sonadori

Third Book of Lamentations
Sabbato Sancto: Lectio III, Incipit oratio Ieremiae prophetae
Westminster Cathedral Choir
Martin Baker, conductor

Presenter by Donald Macleod
Produced by Julien Rosa
A BBC Audio Wales & West production for BBC Radio 3


TUE 17:00 In Tune (m002d7cs)
Live music at drivetime

Live music and interviews from the world's finest classical musicians.


TUE 19:00 Classical Mixtape (m002d7cv)
Take 30 minutes out with a relaxing classical mix

Take time out with a 30-minute soundscape of classical music.


TUE 19:30 Radio 3 in Concert (m002d7cx)
Antonio Pappano conducts the LSO

Portraying the story a prankster who comes to sticky end, the illustrations of Till Eulenspiegel that were published in the 1890s appear to have caught Richard Strauss’ imagination and resulted in the tone poem in which he depicted the the exploits of the protagonist. Complementing Till Eulenspiegel is another of Richard Strauss' orchestral masterpieces - Ein Heldenleben - an autobiographical work that began life as an heroic symphony which the composer evolved so as to avoid comparison with Beethoven's 'Eroica'. Composed for smaller orchestral forces, Mozart's wrote his fifth violin concerto when aged just 19 - a period during which he was concertmaster of the Salzburg court orchestra. It's performed tonight by Lisa Batiashvili.

Recorded in May at The Barbican in London, and presented by Martin Handley.

Richard Strauss: Till Eulenspiegel
Mozart: Violin Concerto No 5

Interval
Beethoven: Symphony No. 3 in E-Flat Major, Op. 55, "Eroica" - IV. Finale: Allegro molto
[Aarr. J.N. Hummel for flute and piano trio]
Uwe Grodd (flute)
Gould piano Trio

c. 8.45

Richard Stauss: Ein Heldenleben

Lisa Batiashvili (violin)
London Symphony Orchestra
Sir Antonio Pappano (conductor)

Ask your smart speaker to play 'Radio 3 In Concert'.


TUE 21:45 The Essay (m002d7cz)
Unsung Heroes

2. When the Librettist Was King

Award-winning writer Stephen Wyatt is on a mission. He thinks that the contribution of the librettist to opera and musical theatre is too often under-appreciated or just plain ignored. But it was different situation back in the 17th century. At the start of operatic history, the librettist was king. Giovanni Francesco Busenello, who wrote the libretto for The Coronation of Poppaea, was a leading literary figure in Venice with far higher status than the opera’s composer, Claudio Monteverdi. Stephen explores what made Busenello’s work so exceptional and why subsequent generations of librettists were eclipsed by the composers they worked with and never received the same degree of popular acclaim.

Production Coordinator: Nina Semple
Sound: Sean Kerwin

Producer: Torquil MacLeod
Executive Producer: Peter Hoare

A Pier production for BBC Radio 4


TUE 22:00 Night Tracks (m002d7d2)
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.


TUE 23:30 'Round Midnight (m002d7d4)
A new Rivkala release

‘Round Midnight is presented by award-winning saxophonist Soweto Kinch. This weekday late-night show celebrates the thriving UK jazz scene and spotlights the best new music alongside incredible acts from past decades.

Multi-award-winning virtuoso singer, pianist, composer and multi-instrumentalist Jon Batiste has a second album to share with us tonight, for 4/4. This time, he goes for a record by one of the queens of improvisational jazz singing.

Also in the programme, music from The Circling Sun, Lewis Daniel, and Rave At Your Fictional Borders.

WEDNESDAY 18 JUNE 2025

WED 00:30 Through the Night (m002d7d6)
Rachmaninov's Third Piano Concerto from Stockholm

Leif Ove Andsnes plays Rachmaninov's third concerto for the piano, regarded as among the hardest compositions written for the instrument. Jonathan Swain presents.

12:31 AM
Sergey Rachmaninov (1873-1943)
Piano Concerto no 3 in D minor
Leif Ove Andsnes (piano), Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Daniel Harding (conductor)

01:13 AM
Fryderyk Chopin (1810-1849)
Mazurka in D
Leif Ove Andsnes (piano)

01:16 AM
Leos Janacek (1854-1928)
Taras Bulba
Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Daniel Harding (conductor)

01:40 AM
Claude Debussy (1862-1918)
La Mer
Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Daniel Harding (conductor)

02:05 AM
Sergey Rachmaninov (1873-1943)
Bogoroditse Devo
Polyphonia, Ivelin Dimitrov (conductor)

02:08 AM
Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971)
The Firebird - concert suite
Slovak Philharmonic, Daniel Raiskin (conductor)

02:31 AM
Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)
String Quartet in G minor, Op 20, no 3
Quatuor Mosaiques

02:50 AM
Makoto Ozone (b.1961)
Mogami
Makoto Ozone (piano), Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, Duncan Ward (conductor)

03:27 AM
Camille Saint-Saens (1835-1921)
Oboe Sonata in D major, Op 166
Roger Cole (oboe), Linda Lee Thomas (piano)

03:39 AM
Gustav Holst (1874-1934), arr. Claude Rippas
St Paul's Suite, Op 29 no 2
Hexagon Ensemble

03:51 AM
Niels Gade (1817-1890)
Echoes of Ossian, Op 1
St Gallen Symphony Orchestra, Modestas Pitrenas (conductor)

04:06 AM
Amy Beach (1867-1944)
Piano Trio in A minor, Op 150
Trio Fortuny

04:21 AM
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Komm, Jesu, komm, BWV.229
Tenebrae, Nigel Short (conductor)

04:31 AM
Juan Crisostomo Arriaga (1806-1826)
Los Esclavos Felices - overture
Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Juanjo Mena (conductor)

04:38 AM
Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643)
Ave Maris Stella
RIAS Chamber Chorus, Berlin, Capella de la Torre, Robert Hollingworth (conductor)

04:48 AM
Nigel Westlake (b.1958)
Winter in the Forgotten Valley
Guitar Trek, Timothy Kain (guitar), Fiona Walsh (guitar), Richard Strasser (guitar), Peter Constant (guitar)

05:01 AM
Jacobus Clemens non Papa (c.1510-1556)
O Maria Vernans Rosa
Monteverdi Choir, John Eliot Gardiner (conductor)

05:06 AM
Frank Martin (1890-1974)
Ballade for Flute and Piano
Lukasz Dlugosz (flute), Zdzislawa Rychlewska (piano)

05:14 AM
Benjamin Britten (1913-1976)
Missa Brevis in D, Op 63
Katya Dimanova (soloist), Evgenia Tasseva (soloist), Velin Liev (organ), Polyphonia, Ivelin Dimitrov (conductor)

05:28 AM
Camille Saint-Saens (1835-1921)
Carnival of the Animals
Andrei Ionita (cello), Daria Tudor (piano), Anna Hashimoto (clarinet), Florian Mitrea (piano), Valentin Serban (violin), Elisabeta Nedelciu (violin), Alexandru Spinu (viola), Vlad Silaev (double bass), Ioana Balasa (flute), Ilinca Lorentz (percussion), Bogdan Constantin (percussion)

05:51 AM
Dame Ethel Mary Smyth (1858-1944)
Concerto for Violin and Horn In A
Renaud Capucon (violin), Stefan Dohr (horn), German Symphony Orchestra, Berlin, Pablo Heras-Casado (conductor)

06:17 AM
Henry Purcell (1659-1695)
The Married Beau, or The Curious Impertinent (incidental music), Z.603
CBC Vancouver Orchestra, Monica Huggett (conductor)


WED 06:30 Breakfast (m002d7gf)
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’


WED 09:30 Essential Classics (m002d7gk)
A classical soundtrack for your morning

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 (m002d7gp)
James MacMillan conducts his Concerto for Orchestra ‘Ghosts’ with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra

Linton Stephens showcases the best performances by BBC orchestras, choirs, ensembles and other great performing groups from Europe and around the globe.

All week, Linton is featuring brilliant performances from the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. Today we will hear pianist and director Ryan Wigglesworth collaborating with the orchestra to perform Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 24 in C minor. Plus, later in the programme Scottish composer and conductor James MacMillan conducts his own work, the hauntingly beautiful Concerto for Orchestra ‘Ghosts’.

We are also shining a light on piano music composed by Johann Sebastian Bach. Today pianist David Fray joins the Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra in a performance of Bach's Keyboard Concerto No. 4 in A, BWV 1055.

Wolfganag Amadeus Mozart
Piano Concerto No 24 in C minor, K.491
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Ryan Wigglesworth (piano/director)

Peter Maxwell-Davies
Lullaby for Lucy
Edinburgh University Chamber Choir
Glasgow Chamber Choir
Michael Bawtree (conductor)

Ludwig Van Beethoven/Mordechai Rechtman
Sextet in E Flat Major, Op 71
Orsino Ensemble

Johann Sebastian Bach
Keyboard Concerto No. 4 in A, BWV 1055
David Fray (piano)
Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra

James MacMillan
Concerto for Orchestra ‘Ghosts’
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
James MacMillan (conductor)

To listen on most smart speakers just say “ask BBC Sounds to play Classical Live”


WED 15:00 Choral Evensong (m002d7gt)
King's College, Cambridge

Live from the Chapel of King’s College, Cambridge.

Introit: Lord, grant grace (Gibbons)
Responses: Byrd
Psalms 93, 94 (Marlow, after Gibbons)
First Lesson: Exodus 3 vv1-12
Canticles: Service for trebles (Weelkes)
Second Lesson: Acts 7 vv30-38
Anthem: Great King of Gods (Gibbons)
Hymn: Eternal Ruler of the ceaseless round (Song 1)
Voluntary: Fantasia for double organ (Gibbons)

Daniel Hyde (Director of Music)
Harrison Cole (Assisting Organist)

To listen on most smart speakers just say “ask BBC Sounds to play Choral Evensong”.


WED 16:00 Composer of the Week (m002d7gy)
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (c.1525-1594)

Saving Music

Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (c.1525-1594) was one of the most influential composers in European classical music. With his countless masses, motets and madrigals, infused with a deep sense of spirituality and musical beauty, Palestrina was named the 'Saviour of Church Music' at a revolutionary time when Rome was rewriting the rules of music composition. But what do we know about this mysterious character, between historical fact and hagiographic myth? Donald Macleod follows the clues, to try and reconstruct the story of a fascinating composer, on the (approximately) 500th anniversary of his birth.

In this third episode, Palestrina is employed by popes and princes, with his fame spreading beyond Rome: Donald Macleod sees how he is now working on the reformation of music after the Council of Trent.

Motecta festorum totius anni cum Communi Sanctorum – liber primus
Misso Herodes
The Sixteen
Harry Christophers, conductor

Nicola Vicentino: Jerusalem convertere
Vox Hesperia
Romano Vettori, director

Cristóbal de Morales: Gaude et laetare, Ferrariensis civitas
The Brabant Ensemble
Stephen Rice, director

Motecta festorum totius anni cum Communi Sanctorum – liber primus
Fuit homo missus a Deo
The Sixteen
Harry Christophers, conductor

Missa Papae Marcelli
IV. Sanctus
Oxford Camerata
Schola Cantorum of Oxford
Jeremy Summerly, conductor

Ricercar del secondo tuono
Jean Rondeau, harpsichord

Missa sine nomine a 6 (arr Johann Sebastian Bach)
II. Gloria
Concerto Palatino
Bruce Dickey, director

Johann Sebastian Bach: Mass in B minor, BWV 232
Osanna, Benedictus, Agnus Dei and Dona Nobis Pacem
Thomas Hobbs, tenor
Collegium Vocale Gent
Philippe Herreweghe, director

Robert Morton: Il sera pour vous conbatu - L'homme armé (instrumental version)
Boston Camerata
Boston Shawm & Sackbut Ensemble
Joel Cohen, conductor

Missa L'homme armé a 5 (Masses, Book 3)
I. Kyrie
II. Gloria
San Petronio Cappella Musicale Soloists
Sergio Vartolo, director

Adoramus te Christe (arr Leopold Stokowski for orchestra)
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
José Serebrier, conductor

O admirabile commercium
Westminster Cathedral Choir
Martin Baker, conductor

Presenter by Donald Macleod
Produced by Julien Rosa
A BBC Audio Wales & West production for BBC Radio 3


WED 17:00 In Tune (m002d7h2)
21. music live in session

Live music and interviews from the world's finest classical musicians.


WED 19:00 Classical Mixtape (m002d7h6)
Classical music for focus or relaxation

Take time out with a 30-minute soundscape of classical music.


WED 19:30 Radio 3 in Concert (m002d7hb)
VOCES8 20th anniversary concert

VOCES8 celebrates two decades of inspiring music-making with its Barbican debut.

The multi-award winning vocal group will be joined on stage by the VOCES8 Scholars, former members of the ensemble and special guests, the BBC Singers in a typically diverse range of music. With music by their acclaimed former and current composers-in-residence Ola Gjeilo, Jonathan Dove, Roxanna Panufnik and Ken Burton, as well as arranger-in-residence Jim Clements, this is just the kind of programme that has won VOCES8 such a huge fan base around the world.

Introduced by Martin Handley and recorded at London's Barbican Centre on 08 June.

Giovanni Croce: Buccinate in neomenia tuba
Rachmaninoff: Bogoroditse Devo
Jake Runestad: Let My Love Be Heard
Eric Whitacre: All seems beautiful to me
Caroline Shaw: and the swallow
Paul Smith: Nunc Dimittis
Elgar: Nimrod (Lux Aeterna)
Nat King Cole arr. Jim Clements: Straighten Up and Fly Right
Kate Rusby arr. Jim Clements: Underneath the Stars
Porter, Cole / Kander, John & Ebb, Fred / arr. Alexander L'Estrange: I Get a Kick out of New York

Interval

Orlando Gibbons: O Clap your hands - with V8 alumni
Ola Gjeilo: Serenity - with VOCES8 Scholars and violinist Jack Liebeck
Davis, Taylor Scott Davis: Effortlessly - with VOCES8 Scholars and violinist Jack Liebeck
Kristina Arakelyan: An Ode to the World - sung by BBC Singers
Jonathan Dove: Vertue - VOCES8 with BBC Singers
Roxanna Panufnik: Love Endureth - VOCES8 with BBC Singers
William Harris: Faire is the Heaven
Ken Burton: A Prayer
Charles Wood: Hail Gladdening Light


WED 21:45 The Essay (m002d7hg)
Unsung Heroes

3. Adaptations

Award-winning writer Stephen Wyatt is on a mission. He thinks that the contribution of the librettist to opera and musical theatre is too often under-appreciated or just plain ignored. It’s true that many operas and musicals are derived from existing plays, novels and films. But it would be wrong to assume that our ignored librettists are just hacks and that adapting an existing work is an "easy" option. Far from it. Stephen looks at how librettist Francesco Maria Piave and Giuseppe Verdi radically reworked La Dame aux camélias, a novel and play by Alexandre Dumas fils, to create one of the best-loved operas in the repertoire - La Traviata - and the long and tortuous process by which Christopher Isherwood’s Berlin stories were reimagined as the musical Cabaret.

Production Coordinator: Nina Semple
Sound: Sean Kerwin

Producer: Torquil MacLeod
Executive Producer: Peter Hoare

A Pier production for BBC Radio 4


WED 22:00 Night Tracks (m002d7hl)
Blissful sounds for night owls

Sara Mohr-Pietsch presents an adventurous, immersive soundtrack for late-night listening, from classical to contemporary and everything in between.


WED 23:30 'Round Midnight (m002d7hq)
Fresh from Kokoroko

‘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.

Jon Batiste is back with his third 4/4 album pick of the week. Tonight, in keeping with his Tuesday night selection, Jon chooses another record by a jazz vocal great.

Plus there’s music from Randy Weston, Omar, and Slow Karma.

THURSDAY 19 JUNE 2025

THU 00:30 Through the Night (m002d7hv)
Clara Schumann and Bruckner

Markus Poschner conducts the German Symphony Orchestra, Berlin in Bruckner's 'Romantic' Fourth Symphony, and Jean-Frédéric Neuburger joins them for Clara Schumann's Piano Concerto. Jonathan Swain presents.

12:31 AM
Clara Schumann (1819-1896)
Piano Concerto in A minor, Op 7
Jean-Frederic Neuburger (piano), German Symphony Orchestra, Berlin, Markus Poschner (conductor)

12:52 AM
Clara Schumann (1819-1896), Heinrich Heine (author)
Ich stand in dunklen Träumen, Op 13 no 1
Jean-Frederic Neuburger (piano)

12:55 AM
Anton Bruckner (1824-1896)
Symphony no 4 in E flat major, 'Romantic'
German Symphony Orchestra, Berlin, Markus Poschner (conductor)

02:01 AM
Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
Marchenbilder for viola and piano, Op 113
Pinchas Zukerman (viola), Marc Neikrug (piano)

02:17 AM
Anton Bruckner (1824-1896)
Os justi ('The mouth of the righteous')
Mnemosyne Choir, Caroline Westgeest (director)

02:22 AM
Lepo Sumera (1950-2000)
Pala aastast 1981 (A Piece from 1981)
Kadri-Ann Sumera (piano)

02:31 AM
Maurice Durufle (1902-1986)
Requiem, Op 9
Jacqueline Fox (alto), Stephen Charlesworth (bass), BBC Singers, David Goode (organ), Stephen Cleobury (conductor)

03:12 AM
Gareth Walters (1928-2012)
Divertimento for Strings
Manitoba Chamber Orchestra, Roy Goodman (conductor)

03:28 AM
Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757)
3 Keyboard Sonatas (Kk.443; Kk.208; Kk.29)
Claire Huangci (piano)

03:39 AM
Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741)
Concerto in F major for treble recorder, RV.442
Michael Schneider (recorder), Camerata Koln

03:48 AM
Arvo Part (b.1935)
Spiegel im Spiegel
Morten Carlsen (viola), Sergej Osadchuk (piano)

03:55 AM
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Ch'io mi scordi di te ...? Non temer, amato bene, K.505
Andrea Rost (soprano), Zoltan Kocsis (piano), Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra, Zoltan Kocsis (conductor)

04:06 AM
Vatroslav Lisinski (1819-1854)
Vecer (Evening) - orchestral idyll
Croatian Radio-Television Symphony Orchestra, Enrico Dindo (conductor)

04:13 AM
Franciszek de Godzinsky (1878-1954)
Valse orientale
Arto Satukangas (piano)

04:17 AM
Francois Couperin (1668-1733)
Rondeau: Le Tic-toc-choc (or Les maillotins)
Colin Tilney (harpsichord)

04:21 AM
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714-1788)
Sinfonia in G, Wq.173
Arte dei Suonatori, Marcin Swiatkiewicz (harpsichord)

04:31 AM
Claude Debussy (1862-1918), transc. Nina Cole
Prelude à la Damoiselle elue
Roger Cole (oboe), Linda Lee Thomas (piano)

04:35 AM
Alessandro Scarlatti (1660-1725)
Recorder Concerto in A minor
Leonard Schelb (recorder), Raphael Alpermann (harpsichord), Akademie fur Alte Musik Berlin, Bernhard Forck (conductor)

04:45 AM
Maciej Radziwill (1749-1800)
Divertimento in D major
Polish Radio Orchestra, Warsaw, Michal Klauza (conductor)

04:51 AM
Richard Wagner (1813-1883)
Good Friday music from 'Parsifal'
Felix Mottl (piano)

05:01 AM
Diego Ortiz (c.1510-1570),Pierre Sandrin (c.1490-c.1561)
Improvisations on Ortiz and Sandrin
Paolo Pandolfo (viola da gamba), Thomas Boysen (theorbo), Alvaro Garrido (percussion)

05:15 AM
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Prelude and fugue in E flat major BWV.552, 'St Anne'
Velin Iliev (organ)

05:31 AM
Ignacy Jan Paderewski (1860-1941)
Polish Fantasy, Op 19
Lukasz Krupinski (piano), Santander Orchestra, Lawrence Foster (conductor)

05:53 AM
Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Arpeggione Sonata in A minor
Martin Zeller (soloist), Els Biesemans (fortepiano)

06:17 AM
Johann Rosenmuller (1619-1684)
De profundis - Psalm 129 (130)
Johanna Koslowsky (soprano), David Cordier (counter tenor), Gerd Turk (tenor), Stephan Schreckenberger (bass), Carsten Lohff (organ), Cantus Colln, Konrad Junghanel (lute), Konrad Junghanel (conductor)


THU 06:30 Breakfast (m002d7k3)
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’


THU 09:30 Essential Classics (m002d7k5)
The very best of classical music

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 (m002d7k7)
Jean Sibelius Violin Concerto with Bomsori Kim and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra

Linton Stephens showcases the best performances by BBC orchestras, choirs, ensembles and other great performing groups from Europe and around the globe.

All week, Linton is featuring brilliant performances from the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. The programme opens with Arvo Pärt's beautiful Fratres. Plus, we will hear Andy Akiho's vibrant and dynamic Percussion concerto with soloist Colin Currie and Sibelius virtuosic Violin Concerto with violinist Bomsori Kim.

We are also shining a light on piano music composed by Johann Sebastian Bach. Today pianist Dmitry Shishkin performs Ciaccona, BWV 1004.

Arvo Pärt
Fratres
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Anu Tali (conductor)

Johann Sebastian Bach (arr. Ferruccio Busoni)
Ciaccona, BWV 1004
Dmitry Shishkin (piano)

Fergus McCreadie
Life Cycle
Fergus McCreadie
Chaos Quartet

Jean Sibelius
Violin Concerto
Bomsori Kim (violin)
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Ryan Wigglesworth (conductor)

Max Bruch
Adagio appassionato, Op. 57
Esther Yoo (violin)
Zee Zee (piano)

George Frideric Handel
Trio Sonata in G, HWV 399
Collegium Marianum

Andy Akiho
Percussion concerto
Colin Currie (percussion)
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Mihhail Gerts (conductor)

Traditional Scottish/Nikiforos Chrysoloras/Michael Eastwood
Scottish Medley
WDR Radio Orchestra, Cologne
Rumon Gamba (conductor)

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 (m002d7k9)
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (c.1525-1594)

Father of the Chapel

Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (c.1525-1594) was one of the most influential composers in European classical music. With his countless masses, motets and madrigals, infused with a deep sense of spirituality and musical beauty, Palestrina was named the 'Saviour of Church Music' at a revolutionary time when Rome was rewriting the rules of music composition. But what do we know about this mysterious character, between historical fact and hagiographic myth? Donald Macleod follows the clues, to try and reconstruct the story of a fascinating composer, on the (approximately) 500th anniversary of his birth.

In this fourth episode, a lifelong friendship, a papal jubilee, and a revamped St Peter's, but also some hard-hitting losses... Donald Macleod sees why Palestrina is considering becoming a priest.

Missa Ut re mi fa sol la (Hexachord Mass)
I. Kyrie
The Sixteen
Harry Christophers, conductor

Io son ferito (instrumental version)
Oliver Webber, violin
Steven Devine, harpsichord

Missa Brevis
II. Gloria
III. Credo
Choir of King’s College, Cambridge
Sir David Willcocks, conductor

Canite tuba (arr for brass ensemble)
Onyx Brass

Felix Mendelssohn: 3 Motets, Op 39
No 1, Veni Domine (Hear my prayer, O Lord), MWV B24
St Albans Abbey Girls Choir
Peter Holder, organ
Tom Winpenny, conductor

Deh hor foss’io col vago della luna (on a text by Petrarch)
Dulces Exuviae
Roman Bockler, baritone
Bor Zuljan, lute

Offertoria totius anni
Jubilate Deo (arr A. Frackenpohl for brass ensemble)
Canadian Brass
The Berlin Philharmonic Brass

Stabat Mater
Gabrieli
Paul McCreesh, conductor

Missa pro defunctis
IV. Sanctus - Benedictus
Chanticleer

Presenter by Donald Macleod
Produced by Julien Rosa
A BBC Audio Wales & West production for BBC Radio 3


THU 17:00 In Tune (m002d7kc)
Drivetime classical

Live music and interviews from the world's finest classical musicians.


THU 19:00 Classical Mixtape (m002d7kf)
The perfect classical half hour

Take time out with a 30-minute soundscape of classical music.


THU 19:30 Radio 3 in Concert (m002drdw)
Mozart's Symphony No 40 from Royal Northern Sinfonia

Franz Schubert: Overture in the Italian Style No 2
Hector Berlioz: Les nuits d’été
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Symphony No 40

Véronique Gens (soprano)
Royal Northern Sinfonia
Riccardo Minasi (conductor)

Recorded at The Glasshouse, Newcastle on the 8th June and presented by Mark Forrest

Guest conductor Riccardo Minasi joins Royal Northern Sinfonia and singing royalty Véronique Gens in a programme exploring love and loss.

According to Schubert’s biographer, the Overture in the Italian Style No 2 only exists because of a musical bet. Watching a performance of the Rossini’s opera Tancredi with friends, Schubert declared he would have no difficulty in writing overtures of this sort. His friends took the wager and promised a glass of good wine if he succeeded. Challenge accepted, he set about immediately composing an overture for orchestra and soon followed it with a second.

The title ‘Summer Nights’ (Les nuits d’été) may suggest the sultriness of a long, hot summers evening, but Berlioz’s piece is more subtle than that. Summer here is a setting for a meditation on love, loss, heartbreak and hope, all wrapped up in absolutely sublime music, sung by soprano, Véronique Gens.

Mozart’s Symphony is full of his characteristic grace, but is at the same time one of his most tragic pieces – dark and yearning. You can tell he’s smiling on the outside, but underlying it is sadness and anger.


THU 21:45 The Essay (m002d7kk)
Unsung Heroes

4. Working with the composer

Award-winning writer Stephen Wyatt is on a mission. He thinks that the contribution of the librettist to opera and musical theatre is too often under-appreciated or just plain ignored. Like any creative collaboration, the relationship between composer and librettist can be an uphill struggle or it can be a harmonious meeting of minds. Either can potentially yield memorable results and here Stephen contrasts the examples of Beethoven’s opera Fidelio and Rossini’s The Barber of Seville. While it took Beethoven ten years and a grand total of three librettists to complete his only opera, Rossini and his librettist Cesare Sterbini knocked off The Barber of Seville in just three weeks. But in both cases the librettists came up with the goods and were (ultimately) able to give the composers exactly what they needed.

Production Coordinator: Nina Semple
Sound: Sean Kerwin

Producer: Torquil MacLeod
Executive Producer: Peter Hoare

A Pier production for BBC Radio 4


THU 22:00 Night Tracks (m002d7km)
Meditative music for late night solace

Sara Mohr-Pietsch presents an adventurous, immersive soundtrack for late-night listening, from classical to contemporary and everything in between.


THU 23:30 'Round Midnight (m002d7kp)
One from Elaine Correa

‘Round Midnight is presented by award-winning saxophonist Soweto Kinch. This weekday late-night show celebrates the thriving UK jazz scene and spotlights the best new music alongside incredible acts from past decades.

From Monday to Thursday this week, the prolific composer and multi-instrumentalist Jon Batiste has been selecting four records that have resonated with him, for 4/4. Concluding his week, he reflects on a live album that has deep personal significance to him.

Jon Batiste’s latest album “The New Orleans Collection” is out now via UMG Recordings. He will be performing at the Royal Festival Hall on Sat 21 June as part of Little Simz’s Meltdown Festival 2025.

Also in the programme, there’s music from Carla Bley, Cozmos, and Amy Gadiaga.

FRIDAY 20 JUNE 2025

FRI 00:30 Through the Night (m002d7kr)
Bruckner's Symphony no 7 from Oslo

Ingo Metzmacher conducts the Oslo Philharmonic in excerpts from Wagner's opera Parsifal, followed by Bruckner's 7th symphony whose second movement is a homage to to Wagner himself. Jonathan Swain presents.

12:31 AM
Richard Wagner (1813-1883)
Prelude to Parsifal
Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Ingo Metzmacher (conductor)

12:43 AM
Richard Wagner (1813-1883)
Good Friday from Parsifal
Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Ingo Metzmacher (conductor)

12:54 AM
Anton Bruckner (1824-1896)
Symphony no 7
Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Ingo Metzmacher (conductor)

01:58 AM
Frederick Delius (1862-1934)
To be sung of a summer night on the water for chorus
Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, Paul Hillier (conductor)

02:04 AM
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Cello Sonata in E minor, Op 38
Ellen Margrete Flesjo (cello), Havard Gimse (piano)

02:31 AM
Max Bruch (1838-1920)
Scottish fantasy, Op 46
James Ehnes (violin), Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Mario Bernardi (conductor)

03:01 AM
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714-1788)
Harpsichord Concerto in D minor, Wq 17
Andrea Buccarella (harpsichord), Kore Orchestra

03:23 AM
Thomas Adès (b.1971)
Aquifer
Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Simon Rattle (conductor)

03:41 AM
Marianne Martinez (1744-1812)
Two arias from 'Sant’Elena al Calvario'
Ilona Domnich (soprano), BBC Concert Orchestra, Jane Glover (conductor)

03:56 AM
Willy Hess (1906-1997)
Suite in B flat major for piano solo, Op 45
Desmond Wright (piano)

04:07 AM
Alonso Mudarra (c.1510-1580)
Claros y frescos rios
Montserrat Figueras (soprano), Hesperion XX, Jordi Savall (director)

04:11 AM
Henry Purcell (1659-1695)
Chacony a 4 for strings in G minor, Z730
Simon Standage (violin), Ensemble Il tempo

04:16 AM
Edison Denisov (1929-1996)
Clarinet Sonata
Andrzej Ciepliński (clarinet)

04:23 AM
Hanna Havrylets (1958-2022)
Choral for strings
German Philharmonic String Orchestra, Wolfgang Hentrich (conductor)

04:31 AM
Orlande de Lassus (1532-1594)
Excerpts from Prophetiae Sibyllarum
Ensemble Irini, Lila Hajosi (conductor)

04:38 AM
Orlande de Lassus (1532-1594)
Excerpts from Prophetiae Sibyllarum
Ensemble Irini, Lila Hajosi (conductor)

04:45 AM
Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868)
Prelude, theme and variations for horn and piano
Mindaugas Gecevicius (horn), Ala Bendoraitiene (piano)

04:55 AM
Samuel Barber (1910-1981)
Knoxville: Summer of 1915, Op 24
Maria Bengtsson (soprano), Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, Antonello Manacorda (conductor)

05:13 AM
Manuel Infante (1883-1958)
Three Andalucian dances
Aglika Genova, Liuben Dimitrov (piano duo)

05:27 AM
Susan Spain-Dunk (1880-1962)
Stonehenge
BBC Concert Orchestra, Anna-Maria Helsing (conductor)

05:47 AM
Clara Schumann (1810-1856)
Piano Trio in G minor, Op 17
Erika Radermacher (piano), Eva Zurbrugg (violin), Angela Schwartz (cello)

06:15 AM
Gustav Holst (1874-1934)
Wind Quintet in A flat major, Op 14
Cinque Venti


FRI 06:30 Breakfast (m002d7n7)
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’.


FRI 09:30 Essential Classics (m002d7n9)
Relax into the day with classical

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 (m002d7nc)
The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra perform Zakir Hussain's Concerto for tabla, sitar, bansuri and orchestra

Linton Stephens showcases the best performances by BBC orchestras, choirs, ensembles and other great performing groups from Europe and around the globe.

All week, Linton is featuring brilliant performances from the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, including Mendelssohn's Hebrides Overture (Fingal's Cave) Op. 26 and Peter Maxwell-Davies' An Orkney Wedding, with Sunrise. Plus, we will hear Zakir Hussain's Concerto for tabla, sitar, bansuri and orchestra, which perfectly blends Eastern and Western classical traditions.

We are also shining a light on piano music composed by Johann Sebastian Bach. Today pianist David Fray joins the Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra in a performance of Bach's Keyboard Concerto No. 1 in D minor, BWV 1052.

Johann Sebastian Bach
Keyboard Concerto No. 1 in D minor, BWV 1052
David Fray (piano)

Felix Mendelssohn
Hebrides Overture (Fingal's Cave) Op. 26
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Taavi Oramo (conductor)

Amy Beach
Quintet in F sharp minor for Piano and Strings, Op. 67
Hyunjong Reents-Kang (violin)
Ingolf Turban (violin)
Isabel Charisius (viola)
Thomas Demenga (cello)
Hiroko Sakagami (piano)

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Symphony No. 34
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Ryan Wigglesworth (conductor)

Zakir Hussain
Concerto for tabla, sitar, bansuri and orchestra
Fazal Qureshi (tabla)
Niladri Kumar (sitar)
Rakesh Chaurasia (bansuri)
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Alpesh Chauhan (conductor)

Peter Maxwell-Davies
An Orkney Wedding, with Sunrise
Chris Gibbs (bagpipes)
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Martyn Brabbins (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 (m002d7nf)
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (c.1525-1594)

Crowning Gloria

Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (c.1525-1594) was one of the most influential composers in European classical music. With his countless masses, motets and madrigals, infused with a deep sense of spirituality and musical beauty, Palestrina was named the 'Saviour of Church Music' at a revolutionary time when Rome was rewriting the rules of music composition. But what do we know about this mysterious character, between historical fact and hagiographic myth? Donald Macleod follows the clues, to try and reconstruct the story of a fascinating composer, on the (approximately) 500th anniversary of his birth.

In this fifth episode, Donald Macleod explores how Palestrina reinvents himself with a new marriage, new trades, and new music of course, but also by joining a collective that celebrates his legacy.

Il primo libro di madrigal (First Book of Madrigals)
Sestina. Mai fu piu crud’o spietata morte
Concerto Italiano
Rinaldo Alessandrini, conductor

Ad te levavi
Choir of Clare College, Cambridge
Graham Ross, conductor/harpsichord

Johann Joseph Fux: Gradus ad Parnassum
Fugue
Andreas Staier, harpsichord

Francesco Soriano: Alpha à 6
Lambert Colson, cornett
Bernard Fouccroulle, organ
InAlto

Canticum Canticorum (Song of Solomon)
Osculetur me osculo oris sui
Ensemble Vocal Régional de Champagne-Ardenne
Akademia
Françoise Lasserre, conductor

Missa Memor esto verbi tui a 5
III. Credo
Choir of Clare College, Cambridge
Graham Ross, conductor/organ

Stabile/Soriano/Dragoni/Palestrina/Giovannelli/Santini/Mancini: Missa Cantantibus organis (from the motet Cantantibus Organis by Palestrina)
Sanctus (composed by Curzio Mancini)
Officium Ensemble
Wilfried Rombach, conductor

Sacred Madrigals, Book 2 (Delle madrigali spirituali libro secondo)
E questo spirto
Corvina Consort
Zoltán Kalmanovits, conductor

Libera me Domine
Hilliard Ensemble

Hans Pfitzner: Palestrina
Act III, Scene 3: Nun schmiede mich
Peter Schreier, tenor (Palestrina)
Chorus of the Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin
Staatskapelle Berlin
Otmar Suitner, conductor

Ave Maria
The Sixteen
Harry Christophers, conductor

Presenter: Donald Macleod
Producer: Julien Rosa
Production Coordinator: Ellie Phillips
Sound Engineer: TBC
Studio Recording: Susan Thomas
Composer of the Week is a BBC Audio Wales & West production for BBC Radio 3


FRI 17:00 In Tune (m002d7nh)
Live classical performance and interviews

Live music and interviews from the world's finest classical musicians.


FRI 19:00 Classical Mixtape (m002d7nk)
30 minutes of classical inspiration

Take time out with a 30-minute soundscape of classical music.


FRI 19:30 Friday Night is Music Night (m002d7nm)
Midsummer from Snape

The Iceland Philharmonic Choir join the BBC Concert Orchestra and Chief Conductor Anna-Maria Helsing at the Maltings in Snape for a concert of Nordic summer music.

Presented by Sarah Walker.

Hugo Alfvén: Midsommarvaka (Midsummer Vigil)/Swedish Rhapsody No 1, op. 19
Nielsen: Fynsk Forår, op. 42, "Som en græsgrøn plet" (Like a grassy green spot)
Páll Ísólfsson: Brennið þið, vitar (Let the lighthouse shine)
Jón Ásgeirsson: Maístjarnan (The Star of May)
Mendelssohn: A Midsummer Night's Dream: Wedding March
Heikki Aaltoila: Akselin ja Elinan häävalssi (The Wedding Waltz of Akseli and Elina) from the film Täällä Pohjantähden alla (Here Beneath a North Star)
Hugo Alfvén: Och jungfrun hon går i ringen (And the Maiden, She Goes in a Ring)
Mia Makeroff: Butterfly
Jaakko Mäntyjärvi: El Hambo
Hugo Alfvén: Vallflickans dans (Dance of the Herdsmaiden) from Bergakungen (The Mountain King) Suite, op. 37 No 4

INTERVAL

Wilhelm Peterson-Berger: 1. Summer Song; 2. At Frösö Church (Frösöblomster)
Jón Nordal: Vorkvæði um Ísland
Snorri Sigfús Birgisson: Afmorsvísa
Nils Lindberg: Shall I compare thee to a summer's day
Karin Rehnqvist: Hymn
Max Richter: On the Nature of Daylight
Grieg: Olav Trygvason, Op. 50, Scene 3 - Giv alla Guder gammens og gledesskal (Give to all Gods a Grace-Cup of Gratitude)

Iceland Philharmonic Choir
Conductor Magnus Ragnarsson
BBC Concert Orchestra
Conductor Anna-Maria Helsing


FRI 21:45 The Essay (m002d7np)
Unsung Heroes

5. What makes a good libretto?

Award-winning writer Stephen Wyatt is on a mission. He thinks that the contribution of the librettist to opera and musical theatre is too often under-appreciated or just plain ignored. But what makes a good libretto? It isn’t necessarily its literary merit. What’s most important is the overall structure. Here Stephen gives some examples where the conflicting intentions of composer and librettist have meant that beautiful words and glorious music end up in dramatic dead ends. But an expert librettist in tune with their musical collaborator can make excellence seem effortless. Stephen singles out WS Gilbert as sitting at the pinnacle of the librettist’s art and suggests that if you want know what a good libretto looks like, you need look no further than Gilbert and Sullivan’s comic opera The Mikado.

Production Coordinator: Nina Semple
Sound: Sean Kerwin

Producer: Torquil MacLeod
Executive Producer: Peter Hoare

A Pier production for BBC Radio 4


FRI 22:00 Late Junction (m002d7nr)
Sarahsson’s mixtape

Verity Sharp shares a kaleidoscopic mixtape from composer, producer and performance artist Sarahsson. Through spirited live performances as well as in her recorded work, Sarahsson tries to reach what she refers to as the “one tiny point in the middle of a nuclear explosion where everything happens all at once, bittersweet and fierce, a moment when opposites collide into one. The nexus point.” Her sonic identity is a force to be reckoned with, flitting across the boundaries of numerous genres (from metal, electronic, gore and folk to classical) and finding inspiration in the sounds encountered in the outside world - from billowing marsh reedbeds to waste removal trucks. Ahead of her performance at Bristol Beacon on Friday 22 August as part of Late Junction’s showcase at the BBC Proms, Sarahsson pieces together a mind-bending mixtape, shining a light on experimental makers - past and present - and left-field sounds from her home city of Bristol.

Elsewhere in the show: sounds inspired by the flow of water from an Argentinian master guitar player; a composition made from acoustic sources struck with knitting needles, bouncy balls, chains, chopsticks, vibraphone mallets and more; and Verity’s selection from Brìghde Chaimbeul’s forthcoming third album.

Produced by Cat Gough
A Reduced Listening production for BBC Radio 3

To listen on most smart speakers just say “ask BBC Sounds to play Late Junction”


FRI 23:30 'Round Midnight (m002d7nt)
New Music Biennial

‘Round Midnight is presented by award-winning saxophonist Soweto Kinch. This weekday late-night show celebrates the thriving UK jazz scene and spotlights the best new music alongside incredible acts from past decades.

Tonight, Soweto shares highlights from the New Music Biennial 2025; a three-day festival in celebration of some of the UK’s most exciting composers. This year's performances took place as part of Bradford 2025 City of Culture, with partners including the PRS Foundation and BBC Radio 3.

The New Music Biennial is also coming to London’s Southbank Centre on 4-6 July 2025.