SATURDAY 19 JULY 2025

SAT 00:30 Through the Night (m002fkr4)
Bruckner motets and Schubert's final mass

Manfred Honeck conducts the Munich Philharmonic Chorus in a selection of Bruckner's well-loved motets. They are joined by the German Radio Philharmonic Orchestra for Schubert's sixth and final mass setting. Penny Gore presents.

12:31 AM
Anton Bruckner (1824-1896)
Locus iste, WAB.23
Munich Philharmonic Choir, Manfred Honeck (conductor)

12:34 AM
Anton Bruckner (1824-1896)
Adagio, from String Quintet in F
German Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, Manfred Honeck (conductor)

12:49 AM
Anton Bruckner (1824-1896)
Ave Maria, WAB.6
Munich Philharmonic Choir, Manfred Honeck (conductor)

12:53 AM
Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Mass no 6 in E flat, D.950
Magdalena Lucjan (soprano), Susan Zarrabl (mezzo soprano), Martin Mitterrutzner (tenor), Lukas Slebert (bass), Krešimir Stražanac (bass baritone), Munich Philharmonic Choir, German Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, Manfred Honeck (conductor)

01:43 AM
Carl Czerny (1791-1857)
Piano Sonata No 9 in B minor, Op 145, 'Grande fantaisie en forme de Sonate'
Stefan Lindgren (piano)

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

02:21 AM
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Fantasy in C minor, K.396
Juho Pohjonen (piano)

02:31 AM
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Piano Concerto no 4 in G major, Op 58
Alexis Weissenberg (piano), Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra, Emil Chakarov (conductor)

03:03 AM
Paul Hindemith (1895-1963)
Symphonic metamorphosis of themes by Carl Maria von Weber
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Riccardo Chailly (conductor)

03:25 AM
William Byrd (1543-1623)
O Lord, how vain, for voice and 4 viols
Emma Kirkby (soprano), Rose Consort of Viols

03:32 AM
Francis Poulenc (1899-1963), orch. Lennox Berkeley
Flute Sonata
Emmanuel Pahud (flute), Swiss Romande Orchestra, Enrique Garcia-Asensio (conductor)

03:45 AM
Mihaly Mosonyi (1815-1870)
Studies for the teaching of the Interpretation of Hungarian Music
Klara Kormendi (piano)

03:58 AM
Francesco Cavalli (1602-1676)
Salve Regina (Hail, Holy Queen)
Monteverdi Choir, English Baroque Soloists, John Eliot Gardiner (conductor)

04:07 AM
Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)
Pavane pour une infante defunte
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Jorge Mester (conductor)

04:14 AM
Imogen Holst (1907-1984)
Leiston Suite for brass quartet
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Martyn Brabbins (conductor)

04:21 AM
Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741)
Concerto da Camera in D major, RV.95
Camerata Koln

04:31 AM
Eugene Bozza (1905-1991)
Jour d'été à la montagne
Giedrius Gelgotas (flute), Albertas Stupakas (flute), Valentinas Kazlauskas (flute), Linas Gailiunas (flute)

04:42 AM
Augustin Dautrecourt de Sainte-Colombe (fl.1657-1670)
Concert à Deux Violes Esgales no 44, 'Tombeau des Regrets'
Susie Napper (viol), Margaret Little (viol)

04:52 AM
Benjamin Britten (1913-1976)
Canticle III - Still falls the rain for tenor, horn and piano, Op 55
Allan Clayton (tenor), Angela Barnes (horn), Christopher Glynn (piano)

05:04 AM
Gustav Holst (1874-1934)
St Paul's Suite, Op 29 no 2
Seoul Chamber Orchestra, Yong-Yun Kim (conductor)

05:18 AM
Maurice Durufle (1902-1986)
Quatre motets sur des themes gregoriens, Op 10
Tallinn Music High School Chamber Choir, Evi Eespere (director)

05:27 AM
Johann Adolf Hasse (1699-1783)
Organ Concerto in D major
Wolfgang Brunner (organ), Salzburger Hofmusik, Wolfgang Brunner (director)

05:38 AM
Augusta Holmes (1847-1903)
Roland Furieux, Symphony after Ariosto
BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Valentina Peleggi (conductor)

06:05 AM
Sergey Rachmaninov (1873-1943)
Suite no 2 for 2 pianos, Op 17
Ouellet-Murray Duo (piano duo)


SAT 06:30 Breakfast (m002ft75)
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 (m002ft77)
Violinist Théotime Langlois de Swarte talks Proms debuts!

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

Described as "mesmerizing" by the New Yorker, the French violinist Théotime Langlois de Swarte is in town to make his Proms debut and he pops into the Saturday Morning studio with harpsichordist Justin Taylor to give us a sneak preview of his high-octane, virtuosic playing style. He chats to Tom about how to bring the dance into performing and why he's on a mission to breathe new life into centuries-old music.

British composer Tom Coult's new piece is given its world premiere at the Proms this week and he talks to Tom about why his music is all about Hendrix and harmonicas, ooziness and ghosts and the influences behind his bewitching sound worlds.

Plus Tom pays tribute to the conductor Sir Roger Norrington, who died this weekend aged 91 - Sir Roger leaves one of the richest legacies of any conductor of the 20th and 21st centuries and his landmark recordings of Beethoven symphonies remain as 'fresh as paint' today. Tom talks to Nicholas Kenyon who knew him well about his huge contribution to music, and we hear Sir Roger from the Radio 3 archives.


SAT 12:00 Earlier... with Jools Holland (m002ft79)
Jools shares his Proms highlights

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 picks some of his highlights from this year's Proms season including music by Bach, Oscar Peterson and Arvo Part, with performances by Andras Schiff and Anoushka Shankar. His guest is the pianist Joe Webb who will be performing with his trio at the Proms at The Fire Station in Sunderland. Joe chooses recordings he loves by Arthur Rubinstein, Bryn Terfel and Fats Waller.

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


SAT 13:00 Music Matters (m0024p7t)
A View From The Organ Loft

Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City

Anna is in Atlantic City, New Jersey, to visit the Boardwalk Hall organ, which holds multiple world records. Anna demonstrates how much slower she has to play a piece to make it audible in such an enormous space, and shares some of the few recordings that have been made on that instrument. She also finds that there is more to Atlantic City than its organ with 1,235 stop tabs. She explores a barbershop quartet that takes you back in time to the area’s days as a holiday resort, and discovers recordings by musicians based in and around New Jersey including composer Betty Jackson King and the Attacca Quartet. We also hear from Nathan Bryson, Curator of Organs at Boardwalk Hall, about the second, smaller organ lurking in the same hall.

Plus, an exclusive version of Widor’s Toccata for spontaneous organ duet where Anna is joined by 9-year old Nykoda…

A Tandem Production for BBC Radio 3


SAT 14:00 Record Review (m002ft7d)
BBC Proms Composer: Rameau with Joseph McHardy and Andrew McGregor

Andrew McGregor with the best new recordings of classical music.

1430
BBC Proms Composer: Jean-Philippe Rameau
Joseph McHardy picks five indispensable recordings of BBC Proms Composer Rameau

c1530
Proms Recording
To round off each edition of Record Review during the BBC Proms, Andrew introduces the Building a Library recommendation of a major work by a composer featured at this year's Proms.

Berlioz: Les nuits d'ete
Jessye Norman (soprano)
London Symphony Orchestra
Colin Davis (conductor)


SAT 16:00 Sound of Cinema (m002ft7g)
The Death of the Superhero

As new 'Superman' and 'Fantastic Four' films are released, Matthew Sweet asks if the Superhero cycle, having dominated cinema so long, has reached its end; and what role do superhero movies have when the post world war order that the superhero embodied is breaking apart?

Matthew's chosen soundtracks include music from the new Superman film, Batman, The Avengers, Spiderman and Thor.


SAT 17:00 This Classical Life (m002ft7k)
Jess Gillam with... Alexis Ffrench

Jess Gillam swaps musical choices with the pianist, composer and broadcaster Alexis Ffrench.

Alexis shares his first musical memories with Jess including a mystical voice calling him to the piano and his thoughts on blending 'classical' with other genres. The playlist includes music by Messiaen, CPE Bach and Ravel as well as Jon Hopkins and A Tribe Called Quest. Jess and Alexis compare notes on Barbara Strozzi and their shared love of Yo-Yo Ma.


SAT 18:00 Music Planet (m002ft7n)
Angeline Morrison sits in

British folk multi-instrumentalist Angeline Morrison takes the helm of this episode of Music Planet and curates a dazzling selection of global roots-based music, including archive recordings of Creole vocal music from Louisiana and a psychedelic griot song from the forthcoming album of Mauritanian musician Noura Mint Seymali .

Angeline Morrison, who will debut at the BBC Proms on the 26th of July with a special performance presenting her album The Sorrow Songs: Folk Songs of Black British Experience, has been researching the untold stories of people from the African diaspora and their place in British folk. Her latest album, Ophelia, was released last year.

Produced by Silvia Malnati

A Reduced Listening production for BBC Radio 3 To listen on most smart speakers, just say: “Ask BBC Sounds to play Music Planet.”


SAT 19:00 BBC Proms (m002ft7q)
2025

BBC Proms: The Great American Songbook and Beyond

Live at the BBC Proms: The BBC Concert Orchestra and conductor Miho Hazama are joined by Grammy-winning singing sensation Samara Joy and band, in classic songs and musical standards, paying tribute to past legends.

Presented by Petroc Trelawny, live from the Royal Albert Hall, London.

Nacio Herb Brown, arr Jason Charos and Andrew Cottee: You Stepped out of a Dream
Hoagy Carmichael, arr David Mason: Stardust
Davis, Ramirez and Sherman, arr Andrew Cottee: Loverman (Oh Where can You Be)
Erroll Garner, arr Paul Sikivie: Misty
Thelonius Monk: Worry Later (San Francisco Holiday)
Billie Holiday and Max Waldron, arr Donavan Austin: Left Alone
Axel Stordahl and Paul Weston: Day by Day

Interval
Jazz singer and broadcaster Clare Teal joins Petroc Trelawny live at the Royal Albert Hall to reflect on Samara Joy's Proms debut and to discuss the enduring fascination of The Great American Songbook

Betty Carter, arr Jason Charos and Andrew Cottee: Beware my Heart
Duke Ellington, arr Samara Joy and Donavan Austin: I Got it Bad and That Ain't Good
Sun Ra, Samara Joy, Jae Mayo & Kendric McCallister, arr. Evan Sherman, David Mason, Connor Rohrer: Peace of Mind/Dreams Come True
Samara Joy and Kendric Mccallister, arr. McCallister: Five Stages of Love (Love’s Impression)
Teddy Wilson and Harold Adamson: It's the Little Things that Mean So Much
Thelonius Monk, arr David Mason: Ugly Beauty
Jobim, arr Jason Charos and Andrew Cottee: Chega de Saudade (No More Blues)

Singer Samara Joy
Samara Joy Octet:
• Connor Rohrer – piano
• Evan Sherman – drums
• Paul Sikivie – bass
• David Mason – alto saxophone/flute
• Kendric McCallister – tenor saxophone
• Jason Charos – trumpet
• Donavan Austin - trombone

BBC Concert Orchestra
Miho Hazama, conductor

A No. 1 album and a double Grammy-win in 2023 put Samara Joy on the map, establishing the young American artist as ‘the next jazz sensation’ and ‘a legend in the making’, regularly compared to Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan. Fresh from another double win at this year’s Grammys, Joy makes a much-anticipated Proms debut, introducing audiences to her electric combination of youthful energy and old-soul musical style with classic songs and unique twists on instrumental classics from across jazz and its fringes, from bossa nova to the Great American Songbook. She salutes figures including Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, Charles Mingus and Oscar Peterson.


SAT 21:45 Sunday Feature (m001n267)
Nu Yorica

Recorded on location in Lower Manhattan, the Bronx and Spanish Harlem ('El Barrio'), jazz writer and broadcaster Kevin Le Gendre explores the history, art and politics of the Latin music scene in New York City from the 1950s to the present – the city that gave birth to salsa.

New York's Latino community has always been a source of artistic richness, with messages of political identity and social struggle never far from the sheer excitement of the music. To be Nu Yorican was to be born in New York City from Puerto Rican descent, drawing on the sounds and rhythms of Cuba and blending them with the sounds of jazz and soul into a unique set of musical forms and styles that took the world by storm.

The hugely vibrant music scene of ’El Barrio’, which produced a wealth of amazing artists in the 1950s and ‘60s from Tito Puente and Ray Barreto to Eddie Palmieri and Joe Bataan, gave birth to a uniquely Nu Yorican music that became a worldwide sensation - salsa. Drawing on its limitless musical energy, the Fania Records label became the Motown of US Latin music, reaching huge listening audiences and drawing on an incredible roster of artists. On the streets of Harlem and the Bronx, in the jazz clubs and dance-halls, Latino and African American musicians played together and mixed styles – the fusion of Latin music with jazz and soul - to create thrilling hybrids such as Afro-Cuban, Latin-Jazz and Latin Soul as well as salsa itself.

The Latino community in New York drew from the African American experience politically as well as musically. Both groups were subject to racism, poor housing, high unemployment and over-policing. Both groups organised coordinated breakfast and welfare programmes, health centres, libraries and places of cultural learning. Political consciousness, through the medium of poetry and spoken word, offered a route out of the gang culture, which was rife in Spanish Harlem (as we hear from Joe Bataan, Felipe Luciano and others). This feature also tells the story of San Juan Hill, once home to a huge Latino community, demolished by Robert Moses to make way for the Lincoln Centre. The 1961 movie adaptation of West Side Story was filmed in the rubble.

Hearing from musicians living and playing in New York, some going back to the origins of salsa, this deeply musical feature showcases the energy and style of Nu Yorican music in all its forms and musical hybrids as Kevin explores the role of music in building a narrative of community.

Contributors include the founder of Latin soul Joe Bataan, former member of the Last Poets Felipe Luciano, spoken word artist and director of The Nu Yorican Poets Café Caridad de la Luz (aka ‘La Bruja’), Fania Records producer and arranger Harvey Averne, historian Johanna Fernandez, veteran percussionist and Tito Puente’s conga player Chembo Corniel, Latin House and Nu Yorican Soul producer ‘Little’ Louie Vega and British curator of Fania Records archive Dean Rudland, composer and salsa bandleader Bobby Sanabria and Latin-soul aficionado Lenny Thomas.

Presented by Kevin Le Gendre
Produced by Simon Hollis

A Brook Lapping Production for BBC Radio 3


SAT 22:30 New Music Show (m002ft7s)
The Poet’s Favourite Places

Tom Service plays the latest in new music, including 'The Poet's Favourite Places', a new choral work by Julian Philips (performed by Exaudi, in an exclusive recording for the New Music Show), music by Zubin Kanga from this year's New Music BIennial in Bradford, and a tribute to Danish composer Per Nørgård, who died recently.

SUNDAY 20 JULY 2025

SUN 00:30 Through the Night (m002ft7v)
The Sound of the North

The St Gallen Symphony Orchestra is joined by violinist Henning Kraggerud for a concert of Norwegian, Danish and Icelandic music. Presented by Jonathan Swain.

12:31 AM
Niels Gade (1817-1890)
Echoes of Ossian, Op 1
St Gallen Symphony Orchestra, Modestas Pitrenas (conductor)

12:45 AM
Edvard Grieg (1843-1907), arr. Henning Kraggerud and Bernt Simen Lund
Violin Sonata No 3 in C minor, Op 45 arr for violin and orchestra
Henning Kraggerud (violin), St Gallen Symphony Orchestra, Modestas Pitrenas (conductor)

01:09 AM
Henning Kraggerud (b.1973)
Improvisation
Henning Kraggerud (violin)

01:14 AM
Anna Thorvaldsdottir (b.1977)
Aeriality
St Gallen Symphony Orchestra, Modestas Pitrenas (conductor)

01:28 AM
Niels Gade (1817-1890)
Symphony No 1 in C minor, Op 5 'On Sjølund’s Beautiful Plains'
St Gallen Symphony Orchestra, Modestas Pitrenas (conductor)

02:01 AM
Franz Berwald (1796-1868)
Septet in B flat major
Niklas Andersson (clarinet), Henrik Blixt (bassoon), Hans Larsson (horn), Jannica Gustafsson (violin), Hakan Olsson (viola), Jan-Erik Gustafsson (cello), Maria Johansson (double bass)

02:25 AM
Johan Halvorsen (1864-1935)
Triumphal Entry of the Boyars
Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, Uri Mayer (conductor)

02:31 AM
Johannes Ockeghem (1410-1497)
Missa prolationum
Hilliard Ensemble, Paul Hillier (director)

03:05 AM
Mikhail Mikhaylovich Ippolitov-Ivanov (1859-1935)
Caucasian Sketches - orchestral suite, Op 10
Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, Uri Mayer (conductor)

03:27 AM
Fryderyk Chopin (1810-1849)
Variations in E major on a German National Air (op.posth)
Ludmil Angelov (piano)

03:35 AM
Franz Liszt (1811-1886)
Orpheus - symphonic poem S.98 for orchestra
Hungarian State Orchestra, Janos Ferencsik (conductor)

03:47 AM
Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber (1644-1704)
Violin Sonata No 6 in C minor
Daniel Sepec (violin), Hille Perl (viola da gamba), Lee Santana (theorbo), Michael Behringer (organ)

04:00 AM
Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958)
Fantasia on a theme by Thomas Tallis for double string orchestra
BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Tadaaki Otaka (conductor)

04:18 AM
Francesco Corbetta (1615-1681)
Folias
Simone Vallerotonda (guitar)

04:25 AM
Stanislaw Moniuszko (1819-1872)
Mazurka from the opera 'Halka'
Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Szymon Kawalla (conductor)

04:31 AM
Antonio Soler (1729-1783)
Fandango
Fredrik From (violin), Benjamin Scherer Questa (violin), Teodoro Bau (viola d'arco), Hager Hanana (cello), Joanna Boslak-Gorniok (harpsichord), Dagmara Kapczyńska (harpsichord), Gwennaelle Alibert (harpsichord), Bolette Roed (recorder), Komale Akakpo (dulcimer)

04:38 AM
Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868)
Quartet for flute, clarinet, horn and bassoon no 6 in F major
Vojtech Samec (flute), Jozef Luptacik (clarinet), Jozef Illes (french horn), Frantisek Machats (bassoon)

04:49 AM
Dora Pejacevic (1885-1923), Rainer Maria Rilke (author)
Liebeslied, Op 39
Katia Markotich (mezzo soprano), HRT Symphony Orchestra, Mladen Tarbuk (conductor)

04:55 AM
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Concerto for violin and string orchestra no 1 in A minor, BWV.1041
Sigiswald Kuijken (violin), La Petite Bande, Sigiswald Kuijken (director)

05:09 AM
Nicolas Gombert (c.1495-c.1560)
Media vita in morte sumus a6
BBC Singers, Bo Holten (conductor)

05:16 AM
Alexander Glazunov (1865-1936)
Lyric poem in D flat major, Op 12
West Australian Symphony Orchestra, Vladimir Verbitsky (conductor)

05:27 AM
Guillaume Tessier (fl.1550-1600)
In a grove most rich of shade - from "A Musicall Banquet"
Paul Agnew (tenor), Christopher Wilson (lute)

05:30 AM
Benjamin Britten (1913-1976)
Piano Concerto, Op 13
Robert Leonardy (piano), Saarbrucken Radio Symphony Orchestra, Stanislaw Skrowaczewski (conductor)

06:03 AM
Valborg Aulin (1860-1928)
Quartet for strings in F major
Tale String Quartet


SUN 06:30 Breakfast (m002fwm3)
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. 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 (m002fwm5)
Your perfect Sunday soundtrack

This week Sarah's choices include gentle mysteries from Dvořák’s Legends, a luminous performance of Mozart’s much-loved “Easy” Sonata in C from pianist Maria Joao Pires, and a passionate Romance for strings by Gerald Finzi.

Sarah’s Choral Reflection takes a hauntingly beautiful Icelandic turn with þorkell sigurbjornsson’s Nú hverfur sól í haf - Now the sun disappears into the sea.

There's also glistening miniatures from Grieg and Eric Coates, as well as spiritual jazz from Alice Coltrane.

Plus, a work by Cecilia McDowall portrays strange, magnificent waterfalls within a world of ice.

A Tandem Production for BBC Radio 3


SUN 11:00 BBC Proms (m002fwm7)
2025

BBC Proms: Vivaldi and Bach

Live at the BBC Proms: Théotime Langlois de Swarte and his ensemble Le Consort perform Vivaldi, Bach, Avison, Legrenzi, Marcello and Matteis Jr.

Presented by Sara Mohr-Pietsch, live from the Royal Albert Hall, London

Nicola Matteis Jr: Fantasia No. 2 (Two Fantasies for Solo Violin)
Antonio Vivaldi: Violin Concerto in D Minor, RV 813
Giovanni Legrenzi: La divisione del mondo (1675) - 'Occhi miei si dormire'
Marco Uccellini: Aria sopra La Bergamasca Op.3 No.5
Alessandro Marcello, transcribed J.S Bach: Oboe Concerto in D Minor - Adagio
Johann Sebastian Bach: Air (Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D major, BWV 1068)
Antonio Vivaldi: Trio sonata in D minor RV.63, Op.1 No.12 (La Folia)

c.11.50am
Interval: Keyboard player and choir director Joseph McHardy joins Sara Mohr-Pietsch live in the Radio 3 box to discuss the music of two of the towering composers of the Baroque era - Vivaldi and Bach.

c.12.10pm
Antonio Vivaldi: Concerto in A minor RV.356, Op.3 No.6
Johann Sebastian Bach: Concerto in G minor BWV.1056 - Largo
Antonio Vivaldi: Concerto in G minor RV.157
Antonio Vivaldi: Concerto in G minor RV.315, Op.8 No.2 (Summer)

Still in his twenties, French violinist Théotime Langlois de Swarte combines supple athleticism with precocious musical intelligence. He makes a much-anticipated Proms debut as soloist with his ensemble Le Consort in a programme built around violin concertos by Vivaldi and the repertoire that first lit the touchpaper for the talented young musician as a teenager. The programme also includes works by Avison, Legrenzi, Marcello and Matteis Jr.


SUN 13:30 Music Map (m002fwm9)
A journey to Palestrina's Missa Papae Marcelli

Sara Mohr-Pietsch charts a path to Palestrina's Missa Papae Marcelli, which reputedly saved polyphonic music from being banned by the Catholic Church in the 1560s.

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


SUN 15:00 Choral Evensong (m002fkhb)
Selwyn College, Cambridge

Last Wednesday's service from the Chapel of Selwyn College, Cambridge.

Introit: Come, my way, my truth, my life (Becky McGlade)
Responses: Sanders
Psalms 82, 83, 84, 85 (Robinson, MacDonald, Parry, Day)
First Lesson: Proverbs 1 vv20-33
Canticles: Runnymede Service (Downes)
Second Lesson: Matthew 8 vv1-17
Anthem: Expectans expectavi (Charles Wood)
Hymn: All my hope on God is founded (Michael)
Voluntary: Organ Sonata No 6 in D minor (Fugue) (Mendelssohn)

Sarah MacDonald (Director of Music)
Shanna Hart, Stanley Godfrey (Assistant Organists)

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


SUN 16:00 Jazz Record Requests (m002fwmc)
John Coltrane - Barbara Dennerlein - Miles Davis

Alyn Shipton presents jazz records of all styles as requested by you including music by John Coltrane, Quincy Jones, Barbara Dennerlein, Sidney Bechet 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 (m002fwmf)
Cantoría at the York Early Music Festival

Hannah French presents a concert given by the young Spanish early music ensemble Cantoría at the recent York Festival of Early Music.

The joy and optimism of Spanish popular music is blended with the mysticism and devotion of jácaras and villancicos in the Spanish Baroque. Cantoría is an ensemble of vocalists and violinists, who bring these fascinating 17th-century works to life. Known as villancicos, the pieces are full of colour, syncopation, humour, and biblical stories, once used by bishops to draw the faithful to Mass, ensuring they left the churches with a smile.


SUN 18:00 Words and Music (m001j4rv)
The Emperor's New Clothes

Jane Austen’s Catherine in Northanger Abbey wonders what she should wear to the ball, while Dickens’ Miss Havisham still wears her wedding clothes years after she was ditched. Aldous Huxley considers the folds in his trousers, and Diogenes folds his cloak in two for summer. Jenny Joseph threatens to wear purple when she is old, and the Emperor parades without any clothes at all. And in London Fashion Week we celebrate the wild and wonderful life and work of the late Vivienne Westwood. There’s music from Prokofiev’s Cinderella, Richard Strauss’ Salome, Anoushka Shankar, PJ Harvey and JS Bach. Our readers are Julia Winwood and Jonathan Keeble.

Producer in Salford: Nick Holmes


SUN 19:30 BBC Proms (m002fwmj)
2025

BBC Proms: Ravel's Piano Concerto for the Left Hand

Live at the BBC Proms: Mark Wigglesworth conducts the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra with a Proms debut for Nicholas McCarthy, the world's only professional one-handed pianist.

Presented by Martin Handley, live from the Royal Albert Hall, London.

Shostakovich, arr. Atovmyan: Suite for Variety Orchestra
Ravel: Piano Concerto for the Left Hand

c. 8.20pm
Interval: The writer and musicologist Daniel Grimley joins Martin Handley, live at the Royal Albert Hall, to discuss how William Walton overcame writer's block while composing his Symphony No. 1, and how the work secured his place as the heir to both Elgar and Sibelius.

c. 8.45pm
Walton: Symphony No. 1 in B flat minor

Nicholas McCarthy (piano)
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
Conductor Mark Wigglesworth

All swagger, originality and ‘orgiastic power’, one of the great 20th-century symphonies, Walton’s Symphony No. 1, put the composer on the map – as the heir to both Elgar and Sibelius. Ravel’s jazz-infused, darkly atmospheric Piano Concerto for the Left Hand also breaks new ground: only one hand plays, though the ear hears all the richness of two. McCarthy – the world’s only professional one-handed concert pianist – makes his Proms debut. The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra opens its first Prom under new Chief Conductor Mark Wigglesworth with Shostakovich’s jovial Suite for Variety Orchestra, packed with tunes from the composer’s music for ballet, theatre and cinema.


SUN 22:00 Night Tracks (m00236jn)
Music for the darkling hour

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


SUN 23:30 Unclassified (m002fwmn)
Dream Logic

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 21 JULY 2025

MON 00:30 Through the Night (m002fwmq)
Croatian Music from Zagreb

The Sebastian Quartet performs works by Croatian composers from the 19th Century to the present day. Jonathan Swain presents.

12:31 AM
Franjo Dugan (1874-1948)
Golden Wings
Sebastian String Quartet

12:33 AM
Rabanus Maurus (c. 780-856)
Veni, Creator Spiritus
Sebastian String Quartet

12:34 AM
Davorin Kempf (1947-2022)
Prelude Chorale and Fugue
Sebastian String Quartet

12:43 AM
Rudolf Matz (1901-1988)
Burgenland Quartet
Sebastian String Quartet

12:58 AM
Vjekoslav Rosenberg Ruzic (1870-1954)
Dance Scenes
Sebastian String Quartet

01:12 AM
Camille Saint-Saens (1835-1921)
String Quartet No. 2 in G, op. 153
Sebastian String Quartet

01:41 AM
Fryderyk Chopin (1810-1849)
Etude in F major, Op 10 no 8
Ivo Pogorelich (piano)

01:44 AM
Dora Pejacevic (1885-1923)
Symphony no 1 in F sharp minor, Op 41
Croatian Radio-Television Symphony Orchestra, Mladen Tarbuk (conductor)

02:31 AM
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Septet in E flat, op. 20
Moritz Roelcke (clarinet), Herve Joulain (horn), Igor Ahss (bassoon), Gwendolyn Masin (violin), Rumen Cvetkov (viola), Benedict Klockner (cello), Lars Olaf Schaper (double bass)

03:11 AM
Sergey Rachmaninov (1873-1943)
Suite no 2 for 2 pianos, Op 17
Ouellet-Murray Duo (piano duo)

03:35 AM
Edvard Grieg (1843-1907)
Symphonic dance no 2 (Allegro grazioso) Op 64 no 2
Norwegian Radio Orchestra, Ingar Bergby (conductor)

03:42 AM
Henry Purcell (1659-1695), John Playford (1623-1686)
Charon the peaceful shade invites
Anders J. Dahlin (tenor), Les Ambassadeurs, Alexis Kossenko (director)

03:50 AM
Henry Eccles (c.1675-1745)
Sonata for double bass and piano
Gary Karr (double bass), Harmon Lewis (piano)

03:59 AM
George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)
Water Music: Suite in G major for 'flauto piccolo' HWV 350
Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, Paul Dyer (director)

04:09 AM
Orlande de Lassus (1532-1594)
3 motets: Jubilate Deo; Io ti voria; Tristis est anima mea
Netherlands Chamber Choir, Paul van Nevel (conductor)

04:15 AM
Gabriel Faure (1845 - 1924)
Nocturne in E minor, Op 107
Stefan Lindgren (piano)

04:22 AM
Johann Strauss II (1825-1899)
Der Zigeunerbaron - overture
Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Orchestra, Raffi Armenian (conductor)

04:31 AM
Carl Friedrich Abel (1723-1787)
Symphony in E flat major, Op 10 no 3
La Stagione Frankfurt, Michael Schneider (conductor)

04:40 AM
Maxim Berezovsky (1745-1777)
Do not reject me (Ps.70)
Seven Saints Chamber Choir, Dimitar Grigorov (conductor)

04:49 AM
Franz Liszt (1811-1886)
Hungarian Rhapsody no 2 in C sharp minor
Ladislav Fantzowitz (piano)

04:58 AM
Carl Nielsen (1865-1931)
Pan og Syrinx (Pan and Syrinx) Op 49 FS.87
Danish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Michael Schonwandt (conductor)

05:07 AM
Bohuslav Martinu (1890-1959)
Variations on a theme by Rossini for cello and piano
Leonid Gorokhov (cello), Irina Nikitina (piano)

05:15 AM
Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868)
Overture to "Il Barbiere di Siviglia"
KBS Symphony Orchestra, Chi-Yong Chung (conductor)

05:23 AM
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Magnificat in D major, BWV 243
Hana Blazikova (soprano), Margot Oitzinger (mezzo soprano), Robin Blaze (counter tenor), Thomas Hobbs (tenor), Peter Kooij (bass), Collegium Vocale Gent, Collegium Vocale Gent Orchestra, Philippe Herreweghe (conductor)

05:50 AM
Fryderyk Chopin (1810-1849)
Ballade for piano no 4 in F minor. Op.52
Zbigniew Raubo (piano)

06:02 AM
Niccolo Paganini (1782-1840)
Concerto for violin and orchestra No.1 in D major, Op 6
Jaap van Zweden (violin), Netherlands Radio Symphony Orchestra, Kenneth Montgomery (conductor)


MON 06:30 Breakfast (m002fwms)
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 (m002fwmv)
The very best of classical music

Georgia Mann plays the best in classical music, with discoveries and surprises rubbing shoulders with familiar favourites.

1000 Playlist starter – listen and send us your ideas for the next step in our musical journey today.

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 (m002fwmx)
Highlights from the First Night of the Proms

Elizabeth Alker 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 highlights from the the 2025 First Night of the Proms. The BBC Symphony Orchestra and conductor Sakari Oramo perform Sibelius’s Violin Concerto with soloist Lisa Batiashvili. We will also hear British classics from Bliss and Vaughan Williams.

Elsewhere, we will hear performances from the Regensburg Early Music Festival. Today, The Beggar’s Ensemble play music by Joseph-Nicolas-Pancrace, Jean-Marie Leclair and Jean-Philippe Rameau. There is also a spotlight on alumni of Radio 3's prestigious New Generation Artists scheme across the week with performances from guitarist Sean Shibe, pianist Beatrice Rana and tenor Allan Clayton, who features in this evening's Prom.

Jean Sibelius
Violin Concerto in D minor
Lisa Batiashvili (violin)
BBC Symphony Orchestra
Sakari Oramo (conductor)

Johannes Brahms
Piano Sonata No. 2 in F sharp minor
Beatrice Rana (piano)

Ralph Vaughan Williams
Sancta civitas
BBC Symphony Chorus
London Youth Choirs
BBC Symphony Orchestra
Sakari Oramo (conductor)

Joseph-Nicolas-Pancrace Royer
Ritournelle, from 'Phyrrus'
The Beggar’s Ensemble
Augustin Lusson (violin and direction)

Agustín Barrios Mangoré
La Catedral
Sean Shibe (guitar)

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 (m002fwmz)
Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)

The Russian Summer

Donald Macleod explores Tchaikovsky’s life away from home. He spent significant parts of his peak years travelling or staying with friends, and a remarkable amount of his music was composed whilst staying with friends, on holiday or concert tours, or sometimes as a fugitive on the run. This evolved into a full decade of rootless wandering, which is peculiar given his frequent homesickness for Russia.

Today, we look at Tchaikovsky’s early Grand Tour of northern Europe, taking in Germany, France, the Ukraine, Belgium, Finland and the UK, where he heard Handel’s Messiah performed in the Crystal Palace.

Souvenir de Hapsal, Op 2 (No 3, Chant sans paroles )
Mami Shikimori, piano

Overture in C Minor
Moscow Symphony Orchestra
Sergei Skripka, conductor

Symphony No 1 in G Minor, Op 13, "Winter Daydreams"
I. Allegro tranquillo (Dreams of a Winter Journey)
Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra
Mariss Jansons, conductor

Cherevichki, Op. 4:
Act I Scene 2: Scene and Duet: What's all this noise? (Oksana, Vakula)
Ekaterina Morosova, soprano (Oksana)
Valeri Popov, tenor (Vakula)
Teatro Lirico Orchestra
Gennady Rozhdestvensky, conductor

Symphony No 2 in C Minor, Op 17, "Little Russian"
IV. Finale: Moderato assai - Allegro vivo
London Symphony Orchestra
Geoffrey Simon, conductor

Produced by Iain Chambers for BBC Audio Wales & West


MON 17:00 In Tune (m002fwn1)
Drivetime classical

Marios Papadopoulos, pianist and founder of the Oxford Piano Festival, performs live. Plus Katie Derham speaks to Alison Buchanan, Artistic Director of Pegasus Opera Company, as well as Odaline de la Martinez who will be conducting the 'Opera Royale'.


MON 19:00 Classical Mixtape (m002fwn3)
Classical music to inspire you

Take time out with a 30-minute soundscape of classical music, including a glorious violin concerto by Bach, the Sanctus from Ethel Smyth's Mass in D, Rachmaninov's prelude for piano in D minor and Hawes' serene first movement from his Highgrove Suite for harp and orchestra. Ravel's witty Quartet in F major starts the second half of the mixtape, followed by the brightness of Shostakovich's Prelude in A major.

Producer: Zara Siddiqi


MON 19:30 BBC Proms (m002fwn5)
2025

Mahler’s Seventh

Live at the BBC Proms: The BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, conductor John Storgårds and tenor Allan Clayton perform the world premiere of Tom Coult's Monologues for the Curious plus Mahler’s Seventh Symphony.

Presented by Tom Service, live from the Royal Albert Hall, London

Tom Coult: Monologues for the Curious (BBC commission: world premiere)

c.7.55pm
Interval: Gillian Moore joins Tom Service live at the Royal Albert Hall to look ahead to the big highlights in the upcoming week at the BBC Proms, including star violinist Augustin Hadelich playing Mendelssohn, the Ensemble intercontemporain performing Berio and Boulez, and the world premiere of Mark Simpson's ZEBRA, a new concerto for maverick guitarist and former BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist Sean Shibe.

c.8.15pm
Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 7

Allan Clayton, tenor
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
John Storgårds, conductor

Night-time darkness and blazing musical sunlight collide in Mahler’s Symphony No. 7 – a musical epic that packs the whole world into five contrasting movements. Vast orchestral forces – including mandolin, cowbells and guitar – conjure a shifting landscape of waltzes, serenades, fanfares, marches and mysterious ‘night-wandering’ – by turns romantic and humorous, sardonic and sincere. To open, John Storgårds conducts the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra and tenor Allan Clayton in the world premiere of award-winning composer Tom Coult’s Monologues for the Curious, inspired by the ghost stories of M. R. James.


MON 22:00 Night Tracks (m002fwn7)
Nocturnal music to bewitch the senses

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 (m002fwn9)
Annie Whitehead’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.

This week Soweto is joined by leading UK trombonist Annie Whitehead. After leaving school at 16 to join Ivy Benson’s pioneering all female big band, Annie has gone on to forge a career as a formidable instrumentalist, working with fellow UK based artists including Penguin Cafe Orchestra, Chris McGregor’s Brotherhood of Breath, Lol Coxhill, and Working Week, as well as releasing as a solo artist.

From Monday this Thursday Annie will be taking us round her record collection and sharing some of the music that has helped shape her musical journey so far. Tonight, she begins with a release arranged by one of jazz’s greatest composers.

Plus there’s music from Robin Jones Seven, Poppy Daniels, and Marla Kether with Naima Adams.

To listen on most smart speakers, just say: 'Ask BBC Sounds to play Round Midnight.'

TUESDAY 22 JULY 2025

TUE 00:30 Through the Night (m002fwnc)
Works by Brahms and the Schumanns

From the Dreigestirn Summer Festival in Boswil, Switzerland. Pianist Diana Ketler and friends with works by Robert and Clara Schumann and Brahms. Jonathan Swain presents.

12:31 AM
Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
Fantasiestücke, Op 111 no 2
Diana Ketler (piano)

12:36 AM
Clara Schumann (1810-1856)
Quatre pièces fugitives, Op 15
Diana Ketler (piano)

12:48 AM
Clara Schumann (1810-1856)
Impromptu in E major
Diana Ketler (piano)

12:52 AM
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Violin Sonata no 1 in G major, Op 78
Suyeon Kang (violin), Diana Ketler (piano)

01:19 AM
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Clarinet Quintet in B minor, Op 115 for viola and string quartet
Timothy Ridout (viola), Stefan Tarara (violin), Markus Fleck (violin), Anna Brugger (viola), Flurin Cuonz (cello)

01:57 AM
Robert Schumann (1810-1856), Heinrich Heine (author)
Liederkreis, Op 24
Jan Van Elsacker (tenor), Claire Chevallier (fortepiano)

02:17 AM
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897), arr. Antonin Dvorak
5 Hungarian dances (nos 17-21) orch. Dvorak (orig. pf duet)
Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Eivind Aadland (conductor)

02:31 AM
Fryderyk Chopin (1810-1849)
Piano Sonata no 2 in B flat minor, Op 35
Zheeyoung Moon (piano)

02:54 AM
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
String Quartet no 10 in E flat major, Op 74 "Harp" (1809)
Florian Kellerhals (violin), Harald Grimsrud (violin), Elisabeth Sijpkens (viola), Hjalmar Kvam (cello)

03:25 AM
Walter Braunfels (1882-1954)
Symphonic variations on a French children's song, Op 15
BBC Concert Orchestra, Johannes Wildner (conductor)

03:41 AM
Ivan Spassov (1934-1996)
Solveig's Songs
Sofia Chamber Choir, Vassil Arnaudov (conductor)

03:50 AM
Pietro Andrea Ziani (c.1616-1684)
Sonata XI in G minor for 2 violins & 2 violas
Musica Antiqua Koln, Reinhard Goebel (conductor)

03:59 AM
Antonin Dvorak (1841-1904)
Slavonic Dance in E minor, Op 72 no 2
BBC Symphony Orchestra, Jiri Belohlavek (conductor)

04:06 AM
Gabriel Faure (1845 - 1924)
Nocturne for piano no 6 in D flat major, Op 63
Jean-Yves Thibaudet (piano)

04:15 AM
Dmitry Shostakovich (1906-1975), arr. Levon Atovmyan and Blaserserenaden Zurich
5 works for violin and piano arr. for flute, bassoon and harp
Andrea Kolle (flute), Maria Wildhaber (bassoon), Sarah Verrue (harp)

04:25 AM
Victor Herbert (1859-1924)
March of the Toys from the operetta "Babes in Toyland"
Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, Uri Mayer (conductor)

04:31 AM
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714-1788)
Sinfonia in D major, Wq.176
Arte dei Suonatori, Marcin Swiatkiewicz (harpsichord)

04:41 AM
Bernhard Lewkovitch (1927-2024)
Tre madrigal di Torquato Tasso Op 13
Camilla Toldi Bugge (soprano), Johanne Bock (mezzo soprano), Jutland Chamber Choir, Mogens Dahl (conductor)

04:50 AM
Gheorghi Arnaoudov (b.1957)
Le Rappel des Rameaux (Sound wrappings II), for piano solo
Mario Angelov (piano)

05:00 AM
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)
Eugene Onegin, Op 24 (Act 2: Introduction & waltz)
BBC Philharmonic, Vassily Sinaisky (conductor)

05:08 AM
Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Sonata for arpeggione and piano in A minor, D.821
Toke Moldrup (cello), Per Salo (piano)

05:18 AM
Louis Spohr (1784-1859)
Fantasia, Theme and Variations on a theme of Danzi in B flat Op.81
Laszlo Horvath (clarinet), New Budapest Quartet

05:26 AM
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Am Abend aber desselbigen Sabbats, BWV.42 - cantata
Voces Suaves, Cafebaum

05:54 AM
Gaspar Sanz (1640-1710)
Suite española for guitar
Tomaz Rajteric (guitar)

06:05 AM
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Symphony no 25 in G minor, K.183
Danish Radio Sinfonietta, Adam Fischer (conductor)


TUE 06:30 Breakfast (m002fx07)
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 (m002fx09)
Relax into the day with classical

Georgia Mann plays the best in classical music, with discoveries and surprises rubbing shoulders with familiar favourites.

1000 Playlist starter – listen and send us your ideas for the next step in our musical journey today.

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 (m002fx0c)
Walton's Symphony No. 1 in B flat minor from the BBC Proms

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

Throughout the week, we will feature highlights from the BBC Proms 2025. In today's programme, Walton's dramatic and powerful Symphony No. 1 in B flat minor is performed by the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and conductor Mark Wigglesworth plus soloist Nicholas McCarthy joins the orchestra to play Ravel's Piano Concerto for the Left Hand.

Elsewhere, performances from the Regensburg Early Music Festival will be featured, thanks to our partnership with the European Broadcasting Union. Plus there is a spotlight on former Radio 3 New Generation Artists across the week with performances from guitarist Sean Shibe and violinist Alina Ibragimova.

Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco
Guitar Quintet, Op. 143
Sean Shibe (guitar)
Van Kuijk Quartet

Georg Philipp Telemann
Oboe Concerto in C minor, TWV 51:c1
Zefiro Ensemble
Alfredo Bernardini (oboe and direction)

William Walton
Symphony No. 1 in B flat minor
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
Mark Wigglesworth (conductor)

Carl Maria Von Weber
Grand Duo Concertant Op.48
Mark Simpson (clarinet)
Richard Uttley (piano)

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Violin Concerto No. 3 in G, K. 216
Alina Ibragimova (violin)
German Chamber Philharmonic Bremen
Maxim Emelyanychev (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 (m002fx0f)
Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)

Adventures in Italy

Donald Macleod explores Tchaikovsky’s life away from home. He spent significant parts of his peak years travelling or staying with friends, and a remarkable amount of his music was composed whilst staying with friends, on holiday or concert tours, or sometimes as a fugitive on the run. This evolved into a full decade of rootless wandering, which is peculiar given his frequent homesickness for Russia.

Today, we look at Tchaikovsky’s travels through various locations across Italy. The composer sought the southern sunshine partly as solace following his brief, disastrous marriage, accounts of which read as a not-very-inspired screenplay.

6 Morceaux, composés sur un seul theme, Op 21 (No 1, Prelude in B Major)
Andrey Yaroshinsky, piano

Piano Concerto No 1 in B-Flat Minor, Op 23:
II. Andantino semplice - Prestissimo - Tempo I
III. Allegro con fuoco
Vladimir Ashkenazy, piano
London Symphony Orchestra
Lorin Maazel, conductor

Eugene Onegin, Op 24:
Act III Scene 2, Onegin! Ya togda molozhe (Tatjana, Onegin)
Teresa Kubiak, soprano (Tatyana)
Bernd Weikl, baritone (Eugene Onegin)
Royal Opera House Orchestra, Covent Garden
Georg Solti, conductor

Swan Lake:
Act IV: Scene: Allegro agitato
Act IV: Finale
Russian State Symphony Orchestra
Dmitry Yablonsky, conductor

Symphony No 4 in F Minor, Op 36:
III. Scherzo - Pizzicato ostinato - Allegro
IV. Finale - Allegro con fuoco
Colorado Symphony Orchestra
Marin Alsop, conductor

Produced by Iain Chambers for BBC Audio Wales & West


TUE 17:00 In Tune (m002fx0h)
Live classical performance and interviews

Sarah Walker chats to Susan Stroman about a concert version of the musical 'The Little Dancer' at Theatre Royal Drury Lane on the 27 July. Sarah also speaks to Cristian Macelaru, Music Director of Orchestre National de France, ahead of their BBC Prom.
Plus pianist Martin James Bartlett performs live.


TUE 19:00 Classical Mixtape (m002fx0k)
Find focus with classical music

Relax into a seamless flow of calming classical music by composers whose work spans over two centuries - from Franz Schubert, born in 1797, to Ólafur Arnalds, born in 1986. This edition of Classical Mixtape also includes contemplative works by Johannes Brahms, Gustav Mahler, Amy Beach, Brian Eno, Oliver Davis and Fredrik Sjølin of the Danish String Quartet.

Producer: Christina Kenny.


TUE 19:30 BBC Proms (m002fx0m)
2025

Berlioz’s ‘Symphonie fantastique’

Live at the BBC Proms: The BBC Philharmonic Orchestra and conductor Anja Bihlmaier with guitarist Sean Shibe perform the world premiere of ZEBRA by Mark Simpson plus music by Strauss and Berlioz.

Presented by Tom Service, live from the Royal Albert Hall, London

Richard Strauss: Death and Transfiguration
Mark Simpson: ZEBRA (or, 2-3-74: The Divine Invasion of Philip K. Dick) BBC commission: world premiere

c.8.30pm
Interval: Composer Mark Simpson joins cultural historian Matthew Sweet and presenter Tom Service to discuss the writing of Philip K Dick, the American science-fiction author whose work has inspired films including Blade Runner and Minority Report, and Simpson's piece ZEBRA

c.8.50pm
Hector Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique

Sean Shibe, electric guitar
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
Anja Bihlmaier, conductor

A concert of larger-than-life sounds, stories and characters has Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique at its heart. Heady, opium-fuelled visions create a kaleidoscopic sequence: a swirling ballroom, a march to the scaffold and a witches’ sabbath, all set to the obsessive pulse of unrequited love. Sci-fi legend Philip K. Dick inspires Mark Simpson’s ZEBRA, a new concerto for maverick guitarist and former BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist Sean Shibe. The concert opens with Strauss’s Death and Transfiguration – no less than a musical struggle between life and death, climaxing in a promise of eternal peace.


TUE 22:15 Night Tracks (m002fx0p)
Bewitching sounds for after dark

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 (m002fx0r)
Highlights from Giacomo Smith’s 1925

‘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.

British trombonist Annie Whitehead is back with a second 4/4 selection of the week. Tonight, she chooses an album helmed by an artist she deeply admires.

There’s also music from Necktr, Yiasena, Emily Tran, and from Giacomo Smith's 1925, a band brought together by the Italian born, American clarinettist and saxophonist to summon the sound of 1920s Harlem, as part of BBC Radio 4's "New York 1925" series. That's available to listen to on BBC Sounds now.

The band featured Giacomo Smith, trumpeter Laura Jurd, trombonist Daniel Higham, banjoist Alexander Boulton, pianist Joe Webb, drummer Corrie Dick, and Soweto on saxophone.

To listen on most smart speakers, just say: 'Ask BBC Sounds to play Round Midnight.'

WEDNESDAY 23 JULY 2025

WED 00:30 Through the Night (m002fx0t)
Schubert, Schumann and Mendelssohn

Antje Weithaas and soloists from the Pau Casals Festival Orchestra play chamber music by Schubert, Schumann and Mendelssohn. Jonathan Swain presents.

12:31 AM
Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Piano Trio in E flat major, D.897 'Notturno'
Antje Weithaas (violin), Erica Wise (cello), Arash Rokni (piano)

12:41 AM
Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
String Quartet no 1 in A minor, Op 41 no 1
Antje Weithaas (violin), Raquel Areal (violin), Ayaka Taniguchi (viola), Ema Krečič (cello)

01:08 AM
Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
Octet in E flat major, Op 20
Jiska Lambrecht (violin), Marcus Backerud (violin), Tsukushi Sasaki (violin), Benjamin Gunst (violin), Raquel de Benito (viola), Darío Francesc Garrido (viola), Davide Carlassara (cello), Erica Wise (cello)

01:41 AM
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
28 Variations on a theme by Paganini for piano, Op 35
Nicholas Angelich (piano)

02:05 AM
Fanny Mendelssohn (1805-1847)
Two songs (Suleika; Über allen Gipfeln ist Ruh)
Sophie Klussmann (soprano), Gilles Vonsattel (piano)

02:10 AM
Clara Schumann (1810-1856)
Variations on a theme by Robert Schumann for piano in F sharp minor, Op 20
Angela Cheng (piano)

02:19 AM
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Academic Festival Overture, Op 80
Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Tamas Vasary (conductor)

02:31 AM
Antonin Dvorak (1841-1904)
Mass in D major, Op 86
Ludmila Vernerova (soprano), Olga Kodesova (alto), Vladimir Okenko (tenor), Ilja Prokop (bass), Miluska Kvechova (organ), Czech Radio Choir, Pilzen Radio Orchestra, Lubomir Matl (conductor)

03:11 AM
Grace Williams (1906-1977)
Sea Sketches
Manitoba Chamber Orchestra, Roy Goodman (conductor)

03:30 AM
Henry Purcell (1659-1695)
Rejoice in the Lord alway, Z.49 (Bell Anthem)
Alex Potter (counter tenor), Samuel Boden (tenor), Matthew Brook (bass), Collegium Vocale Gent, Philippe Herreweghe (director)

03:38 AM
Bela Bartok (1881-1945), arr. Igor Karsko
Circle (after Bartok’s 44 Duos for Violin, Sz 98, and Mikrokosmos, Sz 107)
Camerata Zurich, Helga Varadi (harpsichord), Igor Karsko (conductor)

03:55 AM
Paul Dukas (1865-1935)
Villanelle for horn and orchestra
Esa Tukia (horn), Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Michael Adelson (conductor)

04:03 AM
Andreas Hammerschmidt (1611/2-1675)
Suite in D minor for gambas, 'Erster Fleiss'
Hesperion XX, Jordi Savall (director)

04:18 AM
Camille Saint-Saens (1835-1921)
Oboe Sonata in D major, Op 166
Roger Cole (oboe), Linda Lee Thomas (piano)

04:31 AM
Arvo Part (b.1935)
Magnificat
Jauna Muzika, Vaclovas Augustinas (conductor)

04:37 AM
Michael Praetorius (1571-1621)
Renaissance Concerto for brass ensemble
Hungarian Brass Ensemble

04:42 AM
Marianne Martinez (1744-1812)
Sinfonia in C major
BBC Concert Orchestra, Johannes Wildner (conductor)

04:53 AM
Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767)
Recorder Concerto in C major, TWV 51:C1
Giovanni Antonini (recorder), Il Giardino Armonico, Giovanni Antonini (director)

05:10 AM
Johann Gottfried Muthel (1728-1788)
Jesu, meine Freude, arr. for organ
Ludger Lohmann (organ)

05:17 AM
Paul Hindemith (1895-1963)
Kammermusik no 2 Op 36 no 1 for piano and 12 instruments
Ronald Brautigam (piano), Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Riccardo Chailly (conductor)

05:37 AM
Gustav Uwe Jenner (1865-1920)
Trio in E flat major for clarinet, horn and piano
James Campbell (clarinet), Martin Hackleman (horn), Jane Coop (piano)

06:04 AM
Francis Poulenc (1899-1963)
Concert champetre for harpsichord and orchestra
Jory Vinikour (harpsichord), Radio France Philharmonic Orchestra, Marc Minkowski (conductor)


WED 06:30 Breakfast (m002ftlj)
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 (m002ftll)
Celebrating classical greats

Georgia Mann plays the best in classical music, with discoveries and surprises rubbing shoulders with familiar favourites.

1000 Playlist starter – listen and send us your ideas for the next step in our musical journey today.

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 (m002ftln)
Shostakovich's Suite for Variety Orchestra from the BBC Proms

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

Throughout the week, we will feature highlights from the BBC Proms 2025. In today's programme, there is another chance to hear the BBC Philharmonic and conductor Anja Bihlmaier perform Lev Atovmyan's arrangement of Dmitry Shostakovich's Suite for Variety Orchestra.

Elsewhere, performances from the Regensburg Early Music Festival will be featured, thanks to our partnership with the European Broadcasting Union. Today, the Zefiro Ensemble and director Alfredo Bernardini perform Mozart's Galimathias musicum in D major. There is also a spotlight on Radio 3 New Generation Artists across the week with performances from the Leonkoro Quartet and pianist Beatrice Rana.

Dmitry Shostakovich (arr. Atovmyan)
Suite for Variety Orchestra
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
Mark Wigglesworth (conductor)

Maurice Ravel
La Valse (piano version)
Beatrice Rana (piano)

Samuel Barber
Violin Concerto, op. 14
Randall Goosby (violin)
German Symphony Orchestra, Berlin
Ryan Bancroft (conductor)

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Galimathias musicum in D, K. 32 15
Zefiro Ensemble
Alfredo Bernardini (oboe and direction)

Robert Schumann
String Quartet in A, Op. 41 No. 3
Leonkoro Quartet

To listen to this programme (using most smart speakers) just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Classical Live".


WED 15:00 Choral Evensong (m002ftlq)
Salisbury Cathedral

From Salisbury Cathedral during the Southern Cathedrals Festival, with the choirs of Chichester, Salisbury and Winchester Cathedrals.

Introit: A hymne to Christ (Imogen Holst)
Responses: Leighton
Psalms 114, 115 (Tonus Peregrinus, South, Cooper)
First Lesson: Isaiah 26 vv1-9
Office hymn: Love divine (Blaenwern)
Magnificat: Jackson in G
Second Lesson: Romans 8 vv12-27
Nunc dimittis (Holst)
Anthem: Bring us, O Lord God (Harris)
Hymn: In a world where people walk in darkness (Let us light a candle)
Voluntary: Benedictus (W Lloyd Webber)

David Halls (Director of Music)
John Challenger (Organist and Assistant Director of Music)

Recorded 17 July.

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


WED 16:00 Composer of the Week (m002ftls)
Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)

The lost decade 1878-1888 (Part 1)

Donald Macleod explores Tchaikovsky’s life away from home. He spent significant parts of his peak years travelling or staying with friends, and a remarkable amount of his music was composed whilst staying with friends, on holiday or concert tours, or sometimes as a fugitive on the run. This evolved into a full decade of rootless wandering, which is peculiar given his frequent homesickness for Russia.

Today, we look at the first part of T’s so-called Lost Decade of wandering – primarily in Italy – and we explore the unconventional relationship he had with his chief benefactor, Nadezhda von Meck.

Suite No 1 in D Major, Op 43:
I. Introduzione e fuga: Andante sostenuto - Moderato e con anima
Detroit Symphony Orchestra
Neeme Järvi, conductor

6 Romances, Op 38: No 6, Pimpinella (arr. E. Firsova)
Anna Netrebko, soprano
St. Petersburg Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra
Valery Gergiev, conductor

The Maid of Orleans, Op 4, Act I:
Aria: Da, chas nastal - Ja, es ist Zeit … Lebt wohl, ihr Berge
Brigitte Fassbaender, mezzo-soprano (Joan of Arc)
Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra
Hans Graf, conductor

Capriccio Italien, Op 45
Academy of St. Martin in the Fields Orchestra
Neville Marriner, conductor

Mazeppa: Act II, Scene 2:
O, Mariya, Mariya! (Mazepa)
Sergey Leiferkus, baritone (Mazepa)
Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra
Neeme Järvi, conductor

Vesper Service, Op 52:
Blagoslovi, dushe moya, Ghospoda (Bless the Lord, O my soul) - Ghospodi, vozzvah (Lord, I Call to Thee)
Leningrad Glinka State Academic Choir
Alexander Tchernushenko, director

Produced by Iain Chambers for BBC Audio Wales & West


WED 17:00 In Tune (m002ftlw)
Discover classical music and artists

Katie Derham with live music in the studio from pianist Julia Hamos.
Plus Adam Szabo, Director of the BBC Philharmonic, chats to Katie about working with the orchestra and BBC Radio 5 Live on a new radio show 'The 2005 Ashes: Settling The Score’, telling the story of the 2005 Ashes series between Australia and England.


WED 18:30 BBC Proms (m002ftly)
2025

French Night with the Orchestre National de France

Live at the BBC Proms: Cristian Măcelaru conducts the Orchestre National de France in French music including Ravel's La valse, with soloist Randall Goosby in Chausson's Poeme.

Presented by Penny Gore, live from the Royal Albert Hall, London

Maurice Ravel: Rapsodie espagnole
Joseph Bologne: Violin Concerto in G major, Op. 8

c.7.10pm
Interval:
Penny Gore is joined by the the director and composer Jeremy Sams together with Leopold Tobisch of Radio France to find out more about the music scene in France, Penny and Jeremy also delve into the life of Charlotte Sohy whose Danse Mystique is receiving its UK premiere in tonight's Prom.

c.7.30pm
Charlotte Sohy: Danse mystique (UK premiere)
Ernest Chausson: Poème
Maurice Ravel: La valse

Randall Goosby, violin
Orchestre National de France
Cristian Măcelaru, conductor

Praised by the The New York Times for his ‘exquisite tone and virtuosity’, American violinist Randall Goosby makes his Proms debut in pioneering 18th-century composer Joseph Bologne’s graceful Violin Concerto in G major, Op. 8, and Chausson’s Poème, a passionate musical love letter. Cristian Măcelaru conducts the Orchestre National de France in a French-themed programme, including two orchestral masterpieces by Ravel – the colourful Rapsodie espagnole and the haunting ghost-waltz La valse – as well as Charlotte Sohy’s rhapsodic Danse mystique.


WED 21:00 Night Tracks (m002ftm0)
A meditative moonlight soundtrack

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


WED 22:15 BBC Proms (m002ftm2)
2025

Boulez and Berio: 20th-Century Giants

Live at the BBC Proms: Ensemble intercontemporain conducted by Pierre Bleuse in a concert of sonic theatre with live electronics in music by Pierre Boulez and Luciano Berio.

Presented by Tom Service, live from the Royal Albert Hall, London.

Berio: Sequenza V
Boulez: Dialogue de l’ombre double
Berio: Recital I (for Cathy)

Sarah Aristidou, soprano
Jérôme Comte, clarinet
Lucas Ounissi, trombone
IRCAM, live electronics
Ensemble intercontemporain
Pierre Bleuse, conductor

This season we celebrate the careers of 20th-century game-changers Pierre Boulez and Luciano Berio, whose inventive, iconoclastic legacies continue to echo through the sounds, styles and techniques of today. The Ensemble intercontemporain – founded by Boulez in 1976 – and Pierre Bleuse celebrate the pair in a concert full of sonic theatre. Boulez’s tour de force for clarinet, the shadow-duet Dialogue de l’ombre double, meets Berio’s allusive, tragicomic music-drama Recital I, which remixes opera’s history via the composer’s own distinctive imagination. Tragicomedy also streaks through Berio’s Sequenza V, which prompts a solo trombonist to explore a plethora of unlikely playing (and vocal) techniques.


WED 23:45 'Round Midnight (m002ftm4)
One from Amy Winehouse

‘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.

Annie Whitehead returns with another album from her collection and tonight she chooses a live trio record led by a leading German trombonist.

Also in the programme, music from Harriet Riley & Alex Gardener, Brandon Woody, and Liana Flores.

To listen on most smart speakers, just say: 'Ask BBC Sounds to play Round Midnight.'

THURSDAY 24 JULY 2025

THU 00:30 Through the Night (m002ftm6)
Mozart from Warsaw

Mozart's Late Symphonies with the Polish Radio Orchestra and conductor Michał Klauza. Jonathan Swain presents.

12:31 AM
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Symphony no 39 in E flat major, K.543
Polish Radio Orchestra in Warsaw, Michał Klauza (conductor)

12:58 AM
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Symphony no 40 in G minor, K.550
Polish Radio Orchestra in Warsaw, Michał Klauza (conductor)

01:27 AM
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Symphony no 41 in C major, K.551 'Jupiter'
Polish Radio Orchestra in Warsaw, Michał Klauza (conductor)

02:00 AM
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
String Quartet no 19, K.465 "Dissonance"
Ysaye Quartet

02:31 AM
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Cantata BWV.21 'Ich hatte viel Bekummernis'
Thomas Hobbs (tenor), Hana Blazikova (soprano), Peter Kooij (bass), Collegium Vocale Gent, Collegium Vocale Gent Orchestra, Philippe Herreweghe (conductor)

03:08 AM
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Violin Sonata no 6 in A major, Op 30 no 1
Mats Zetterqvist (violin), Mats Widlund (piano)

03:31 AM
Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924)
Crisantemi (Chrysanthemums)
Moyzes Quartet

03:37 AM
Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757)
Sonata in C major, K.86
Eduardo Lopez Banzo (harpsichord)

03:45 AM
Giuseppe Martucci (1856-1909)
Notturno, Op 70 no 1
Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Nello Santi (conductor)

03:52 AM
Claude Debussy (1862-1918)
Sonata for cello and piano in D minor
Zara Nelsova (cello), Grant Johannesen (piano)

04:03 AM
Rued Langgaard (1893-1952)
3 Rose Gardens Songs (1919)
Danish National Radio Choir, Kaare Hansen (conductor)

04:14 AM
Gabriel Faure (1845-1924)
Nocturne in C sharp minor, Op 74
Stephane Lemelin (piano)

04:22 AM
Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)
Alborada del gracioso 'Miroirs'
BBC Philharmonic, Juanjo Mena (conductor)

04:31 AM
Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741)
Violin Concerto, Op 8 no 12, RV.178
Fabio Biondi (violin), Europa Galante, Fabio Biondi (director)

04:40 AM
Karol Szymanowski (1882-1937)
Prelude and fugue in C sharp minor
Jerzy Godziszewski (piano)

04:48 AM
Dietrich Buxtehude (1637-1707)
Kantate no 5 Ad Pectus - Sicut modo geniti
La Cetra Vocalensemble Basel, La Cetra Barockorchester Basel, Carlos Federico Sepulveda (conductor)

04:58 AM
George Enescu (1881-1955)
Konzertstuck in F major for viola and piano (1906)
Gyozo Mate (viola), Balazs Szokolay (piano)

05:07 AM
Luka Sorkocevic (1734-1789), arr. Frano Matusic
Symphony no 3 in D major
Dubrovnik Guitar Trio

05:14 AM
Leopold Ebner (1769-1830)
Trio in B flat major
Zagreb Woodwind Trio

05:22 AM
Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
Piano Sonata in E major, Op 6
Sveinung Bjelland (piano)

05:46 AM
Lars-Erik Larsson (1908-1986), Sigfrid Siwertz (lyricist)
De nakna tradens sanger, Op 7 (Songs of the Naked Trees)
Swedish Radio Choir, Gote Widlund (conductor)

06:02 AM
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897), arr. Edmund Rubbra
25 Variations and fugue on a theme by G F Handel, Op 24
Norwegian Radio Orchestra, Johannes Fritzsch (conductor)


THU 06:30 Breakfast (m002ftwx)
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 (m002ftwz)
A feast of great music

Georgia Mann plays the best in classical music, with discoveries and surprises rubbing shoulders with familiar favourites.

1000 A special, sports themed edition of Playlister challenge, celebrating the 20th anniversary of what many consider to be the greatest cricket series of all time – England’s first Ashes win over Australia for 18 years. The radio programme "Test Match Special" has teamed up with the BBC Philharmonic to record a new version of the theme tune "Soul Limbo", and Georgia is asking listeners to come up with suggestions for a playlist to follow on from that to create a curated sequence of music.

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”.


THU 13:00 Classical Live (m002ftx1)
Berlioz's Symphonie fantastique from the BBC Proms

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

Throughout the week, we will feature highlights from the BBC Proms 2025. In today's programme, the BBC Philharmonic and conductor Anja Bihlmaier perform Berlioz's iconic 19th-century tone-poem, Symphonie fantastique.

Elsewhere, performances from the Regensburg Early Music Festival will be featured, thanks to our partnership with the European Broadcasting Union. Today, La Cetra Basel and conductor Christian Heiss perform Baroque vocal music and the Zefiro Ensemble play music by Johann Joseph Fux and Antonio Vivaldi. Plus a continued spotlight on former Radio 3 New Generation Artists across the week with Proms artist, the violinist Lisa Batiashvili.

Hector Berlioz
Symphonie fantastique
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
Anja Bihlmaier (conductor)

Johann Joseph Fux
Concerto in D, E. 112 ('Le dolcezze e l'amarezze della notte')
Zefiro Ensemble
Alfredo Bernardini (oboe and direction)

Felix Mendelssohn [1809-1847]
Cello Sonata No. 2 in D major, Op. 58
Sol Gabetta (cello)
Bertrand Chamayou (piano)

Ludwig van Beethoven
Violin Concerto in D, op. 61
Lisa Batiashvili (violin)
Munich Philharmonic Orchestra
Lahav Shani (conductor)

Antonio Vivaldi
Violin Concerto in D, RV 234 ('L'Inquietudine')
Zefiro Ensemble
Alfredo Bernardini (oboe and direction)

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 (m002ftx3)
Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)

The lost decade 1878-1888 (Part 2)

Donald Macleod explores Tchaikovsky’s life away from home. He spent significant parts of his peak years travelling or staying with friends, and a remarkable amount of his music was composed whilst staying with friends, on holiday or concert tours, or sometimes as a fugitive on the run. This evolved into a full decade of rootless wandering, which is peculiar given his frequent homesickness for Russia.

Today, we look at the second half of the so-called Lost Decade of Tchaikovsky’s life. We find the composer no longer travelling so far and wide across Europe, but largely back in Russia, though still not settling down…

Les saisons (The Seasons), Op 37a:
VIII. August: The Harvest
Ilya Rashkovskiy, piano

Fantaisie de Concert in G Major, Op 56:
I. Quasi rondo
Bernd Glemser, piano
Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra
Antoni Wit, conductor

Piano Trio in A Minor, Op 50:
II B. Variazione Finale e Coda: Allegro risoluto e con fuoco - Andante con moto - Lugubre
Bekova Sisters

Suite No 4 in G Major, Op 61, "Mozartiana":
II. Menuet
III. Preghiera
Swiss Romande Orchestra
Ernest Ansermet, conductor

Manfred Symphony, Op 58:
II. Vivace con spirito
Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra
Ondrej Lenárd, conductor

Produced by Iain Chamber for BBC Audio Wales & West


THU 17:00 In Tune (m002ftx5)
Wind down from work with classical music

Katie Derham with live music from pianist Mariam Batsashvili, ahead of her BBC Prom.
And there's more live music from rising star violinist Kryštof Kohout and pianist Edward Leung.


THU 19:00 Classical Mixtape (m002ftx7)
Expand your horizons with classical music

Half an hour of back to back classical music to help you wind down, including works by Herbert Howells, Fanny Mendelssohn and Arthur Sullivan, alongside an improvisation in the style of Bach by Gabriela Montero, and a haunting melody from a film score by Ennio Morricone.

Producer: Helen Garrison


THU 19:30 BBC Proms (m002ftx9)
2025

Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto

The BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sakari Oramo with violinist Augustin Hadelich in Mendelssohn's E minor concerto. Plus music by Strauss, Stravinsky, and Anthony Davis.

Presented by Ian Skelly at the Royal Albert Hall, London.

Igor Stravinsky: Song of the Nightingale
Felix Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto in E minor

c.8.20pm
Interval: The figure of the prankster, who appears in both pieces following the interval, is explored by Seán Williams, Lecturer in German and European Cultural History at the University of Sheffield.

c.8.40pm
Anthony Davis: Tales (Tails) of the Signifying Monkey (European premiere)
Richard Strauss: Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks

Augustin Hadelich, violin
BBC Symphony Orchestra
Sakari Oramo, conductor

Mischievous tricksters and magical fairy tales meet in a fantastical programme from Sakari Oramo and the BBC Symphony Orchestra. Incorrigible troublemaker Till Eulenspiegel is up to no good in the witty, light-footed antics of Strauss’s tone-poem. A clever monkey faces off against a lion in the UK premiere of American composer Anthony Davis’s Tales (Tails) of the Signifying Monkey and a nightingale must charm Death to spare the Emperor of China in Stravinsky’s The Song of the Nightingale. At the heart of the programme is one of the great Romantic violin concertos: Augustin Hadelich is the soloist in Mendelssohn’s vivacious, melody-filled masterpiece.


THU 22:00 Night Tracks (m002ftxc)
Music for the darkling hour

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 (m002ftxf)
A live track 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.

All this week trombonist Annie Whitehead has been spotlighting some of her best loved records for 4/4. Tonight she concludes her picks with a release by an eminent pianist and organist.

Also in the programme there's music from Chucho Valdes, Amy Gadiaga, and BABO MORENO.

FRIDAY 25 JULY 2025

FRI 00:30 Through the Night (m002ftxh)
2023 BBC Proms: Sibelius Symphony No 1

The BBC Philharmonic and Chief Conductor John Storgårds are joined by Canadian violinist James Ehnes in Walton’s fiercely direct Violin Concerto. The concert opens with a world premiere by Irish composer Gerald Barry, focusing on Franz Kafka’s obsession with wearing earplugs to silence the noise around him. Jonathan Swain presents.

12:31 AM
Gerald Barry (b.1952)
Kafka’s Earplugs
BBC Philharmonic, John Storgards (conductor)

12:45 AM
William Walton (1902-1983)
Violin Concerto
James Ehnes (violin), BBC Philharmonic, John Storgards (conductor)

01:16 AM
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Allegra assai, from Violin Sonata no 3 in C major, BWV.1005
James Ehnes (violin)

01:19 AM
Jean Sibelius (1865-1957)
Symphony no 1 in E minor, Op 39
BBC Philharmonic, John Storgards (conductor)

01:57 AM
Carl Nielsen (1865-1931)
Dance of the Cockerels, from Maskarade
BBC Philharmonic, John Storgards (conductor)

02:03 AM
Edvard Grieg (1843-1907)
Ballade in G minor, Op 24
Leif Ove Andsnes (piano)

02:24 AM
Thomas Weelkes (1576-1623)
Thule, the period of cosmographie - for 6 voices
BBC Singers, Bo Holten (director)

02:31 AM
Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683-1764)
Zais Prologue
Jane Marsh (soprano), Mieke van der Sluis (soprano), Max von Egmond (bass), Collegium Vocale Gent, La Petite Bande, Gustav Leonhardt (conductor)

03:05 AM
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Divertimento in B flat major for violin, cello and piano, K.254
Trio Orlando

03:27 AM
Heinrich Schutz (1585-1672)
Ich bin eine rufende Stimme, SWV383 & O lieber Herre Gott, wecke uns auf, SWV381
Danish National Radio Chorus, Stefan Parkman (conductor)

03:35 AM
Anton Webern (1883-1945)
Passacaglia, Op 1
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Osmo Vanska (conductor)

03:47 AM
Fryderyk Chopin (1810-1849)
Polonaise in F sharp minor, Op 44
Erik Suler (piano)

03:58 AM
Edvard Grieg (1843-1907), arr. Alan Civil
Suite for Brass Quintet
Brass Consort Koln

04:09 AM
Jean Sibelius (1865-1957)
Serenade no 2 in G minor for violin & orchestra, Op 69b
Judy Kang (violin), Orchestre Symphonique de Laval

04:18 AM
Franz Liszt (1811-1886)
Mephisto Waltz no 1, S514
Janina Fialkowska (piano)

04:31 AM
Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868)
Overture to La Gazza Ladra
Danish Radio Concert Orchestra, Roman Zeilinger (conductor)

04:41 AM
Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741)
Concerto da Camera in F major RV.99
Camerata Koln

04:49 AM
Michael Tippett (1905-1998)
Five Spirituals from 'A Child of our Time' for chorus
BBC Singers, Stephen Cleobury (conductor)

05:01 AM
Clara Schumann (1810-1856)
Variations on a theme by Robert Schumann for piano in F sharp minor, Op 20
Angela Cheng (piano)

05:10 AM
Jean Francaix (1912-1997)
Le Gai Paris for wind ensemble
Hungarian Radio Orchestra

05:21 AM
Pierre de Manchicourt (1510-1564)
Nunc enim si centum lingue sint
Corona Coloniensis, Peter Seymour (conductor)

05:28 AM
Eugen Suchon (1908-1993)
The Night of the Witches, symphonic poem
Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, Mario Kosik (conductor)

05:49 AM
Nino Rota (1911-1979)
Concerto for bassoon and orchestra
Christopher Millard (bassoon), CBC Vancouver Orchestra, Mario Bernardi (conductor)

06:07 AM
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Piano Sonata no 7 in D major, Op 10 no 3
Ingrid Fliter (piano)


FRI 06:30 Breakfast (m002fwzl)
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 (m002fwzn)
Your perfect classical playlist

Ian Skelly plays the best in classical music, with discoveries and surprises rubbing shoulders with familiar favourites.

1000 Playlist starter – listen and send us your ideas for the next step in our musical journey today.

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 (m002fwzq)
Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges' Violin Concerto in G major from the BBC Proms

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

Throughout the week, we will feature highlights from the BBC Proms 2025. In today's programme, the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra and conductor Anja Bihlmaier perform Straus' iconic 19th-century tone-poem, Death and Transfiguration. Plus there is another chance to hear Orchestre national de France and conductor Cristian Măcelaru perform Ravel's La valse and Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges' Violin Concerto in G major, Op. 8 with soloist, Randall Goosby.

Elsewhere, performances from the Regensburg Early Music Festival will be featured, thanks to our partnership with the European Broadcasting Union. Today, the Zefiro Ensemble play music by Reinhard Keiser and Francesco Geminiani. There is also a spotlight on Radio 3 New Generation Artists across the week with a performance of Liszt from Mariam Batsashvili.

Richard Strauss
Death and Transfiguration
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
Anja Bihlmaier (conductor)

Francesco Geminiani
Concerto grosso No. 12 in D minor, Op. 5 ('La Follia')
Zefiro Ensemble
Alfredo Bernardini (oboe and direction)

Joseph Bologne,
Chevalier de Saint-Georges
Violin Concerto in G major, Op. 8
Randall Goosby (violin)
Orchestre national de France
Cristian Măcelaru (conductor)

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Symphony No 34 in C major, K.338
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Ryan Wigglesworth (conductor)

Franz Liszt
Hungarian Rhapsodies Nos. 11 & 12
Mariam Batsashvili (piano)

Maurice Ravel
La valse
Orchestre national de France
Cristian Măcelaru (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 (m002fwzs)
Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)

Final Journeys

Donald Macleod explores Tchaikovsky’s life away from home. He spent significant parts of his peak years travelling or staying with friends, and a remarkable amount of his music was composed whilst staying with friends, on holiday or concert tours, or sometimes as a fugitive on the run. This evolved into a full decade of rootless wandering, which is peculiar given his frequent homesickness for Russia.

Today, we look at the course of the last five years of Tchaikovsky’s life: these were incredibly productive years which saw the creation of a series of astonishing works which remain beloved today, such as his Sixth Symphony, the Pathétique, the opera The Queen of Spades and the ballet, The Nutcracker.

Symphony No 5 in E Minor, Op 64:
IV. Finale: Andante maestoso-Allegro vivo
Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra
Antoni Wit, conductor

The Queen of Spades (Pique Dame), Op 68: Act I Scene 1:
Ya imeni yeyo znayu i ne khochu uznat (Hermann, Tomskij, Tschekalinskij, Surin)
Mne strashno! (Lisa, Countess, Hermann, Jeletzkij, Tomskij)
Julia Varady, soprano (Lisa)
Elena Obratsova, mezzo-soprano (Gräfin)
Alexander Voroshilo, baritone (Graf Tomski)
Vladimir Atlantov, tenor (Hermann)
Bavarian State Orchestra
Algis Zhuraitis, conductor

String Sextet in D, Souvenir de Florence, Op 70:
III. Allegretto moderato
Vienna Chamber Orchestra
Philippe Entremont, conductor

The Nutcracker, Op 71: Act II Tableau 3:
Variation 2: Dance of the Sugar-Plum Fairy
Final waltz and apotheosis
Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra
Neeme Järvi, conductor

Symphony No 6 in B Minor, Op 74, "Pathétique":
III. Allegro molto vivace
Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra
Roger Norrington, conductor

Produced by Iain Chambers for BBC Audio Wales & West


FRI 17:00 In Tune (m002fwzv)
Classical artists live in session

Katie Derham welcomes the Gildas Quartet to In Tune.


FRI 18:30 BBC Proms (m002fwzx)
2025

Beethoven’s Fifth

The Scottish Chamber Orchestra and Maxim Emelyanychev perform Rameau, Capperauld and Beethoven's 5th Symphony, and are joined by Alexandre Kantorow for Saint‐Saëns's ‘Egyptian’ Concerto.

Presented by Ian Skelly, live from the Royal Albert Hall, London

Jean‐Philippe Rameau: Les Indes galantes – suite
Camille Saint‐Saëns: Piano Concerto No. 5 in F major, ‘Egyptian’

c. 7.30pm
Interval
The composer Jay Capperauld joins Ian Skelly live at the Royal Albert Hall to discuss the importance of death masks in 19th Century culture.

c.7.50pm
Jay Capperauld: Bruckner’s Skull
Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony No. 5 in C minor

The lure of the East runs through this Prom given by Maxim Emelyanychev and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. French pianist and star of the Paris 2024 Olympics opening ceremony, Alexandre Kantorow is the soloist in Saint-Saëns’s ‘Egyptian’ Piano Concerto – a vivid musical travelogue, lively with chirping crickets and croaking frogs – while a selection from Rameau’s ballet Les Indes galantes offers sonic snapshots from Peru, Turkey, Persia and America. Fate knocks loudly at the door in Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, answered with defiant musical optimism, but it’s Death who gets the final word in Jay Capperauld’s Bruckner’s Skull.


FRI 21:15 New Generation Artists (m002fx01)
2025 Proms season showcase: Emma Rawicz and Fergus McCreadie

As part of a special series showcasing current members of Radio 3's New Generation Artists scheme, presenter Emily Jeffery introduces performances specially recorded during the 2025 Norfolk and Norwich Festival, and at the Radio 3 New Generation Artists residency at Snape Maltings, Aldeburgh, by the saxophonist Emma Rawicz and pianist Fergus McCreadie.

Rawicz: Xanadu 1
Emma Rawicz (saxophone)
Scottie Thompson (piano)
Freddie Jensen (jazz bass)
Marc Michel (drums)

McCreadie: Life Cycle
Fergus McCreadie (piano)
Chaos Quartet

The BBC New Generation Artists scheme was founded in 1999 to support some of the world’s finest young instrumentalists, singers and ensembles at the start of their international careers, through performance and broadcast opportunities. The distinguished list of alumni now numbers well over a hundred, among them many of the most exciting musicians working on the world stage today.


FRI 21:45 BBC Proms (m002fwzz)
2025

JADE & Royal Northern Sinfonia

Brit-Award winner (and proud native of the North East) JADE collaborates with conductor Robert Ames and Royal Northern Sinfonia at the BBC Proms in Gateshead.

Presented by Elizabeth Alker, Greg James and Sian Eleri from The Glasshouse International Centre for Music.

In a cultural homecoming, Brit Award-winning artist JADE, a proud North East native known to many as Little Mix’s Jade Thirlwall, returns to headline a one-night-only collaboration with Royal Northern Sinfonia created especially for the BBC Proms.

The performance – JADE’s solo debut in the North East of England – features material from her forthcoming debut album, hits from her back catalogue and a handful of unexpected covers – all reimagined in an orchestral setting conducted by Robert Ames.

With brand new orchestral arrangements made by Robert Ames, Sasha Scott, Matt Rogers, Cee Haines, Ian Anderson, Bronte Tucker, Chester Trible and Christian Balvig.


FRI 23:00 BBC Proms (m002bslb)
2025

‘Round Midnight Prom: Theo Croker, Joe Webb & Rivkala

‘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.

In a special extended 90-minute edition of the programme, Soweto presents live music from our ‘Round Midnight Prom, recorded at The Fire Station in Sunderland last night.

The line up featuring some of jazz’s exciting musicians - rising North East artist Rivkala, Welsh pianist Joe Webb and his trio performing a tribute to Oscar Peterson in his centenary year, headlined by future-facing US trumpeter Theo Croker. Listen in to hear the magic of our Prom!

To listen on most smart speakers, just say: 'Ask BBC Sounds to play Round Midnight.'