SATURDAY 26 JULY 2025
SAT 00:30 Through the Night (m002fx03)
Richard Strauss's Four Last Songs & Symphonia domestica
From Romania, a concert given by the Transylvania State Philharmonic Orchestra of Cluj-Napoca. Jonathan Swain presents.
12:31 AM
Richard Strauss (1864-1949)
Vier letzte Lieder, AV.150
Gabriela Istoc (soprano), Transylvania State Philharmonic Orchestra of Cluj-Napoca, Theo Wolters (conductor)
12:52 AM
Richard Strauss (1864-1949)
Symphonia domestica, Op 53
Transylvania State Philharmonic Orchestra of Cluj-Napoca, Theo Wolters (conductor)
01:39 AM
Richard Strauss (1864-1949)
Traumerei - from Stimmungsbilder for piano, Op 9 no 4
Richard Strauss (piano)
01:42 AM
Richard Strauss (1864-1949)
Violin Sonata in E flat major, Op 18
Thomas Zehetmair (violin), Kai Ito (piano)
02:10 AM
Richard Wagner (1813-1883)
Siegfried Idyll for small orchestra
Norwegian Radio Orchestra, Arvid Engegard (conductor)
02:31 AM
George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)
Music for the Royal Fireworks
Collegium Aureum
02:53 AM
Carl Nielsen (1865-1931)
Chaconne for piano, Op 32
Anders Kilstrom (piano)
03:03 AM
Henriette Bosmans (1895-1952)
Cello Concerto no 2
Gemma Rosefield (cello), BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Jonathan Bloxham (conductor)
03:29 AM
Petko Stainov (1896-1977)
A bright sun has risen
Petko Stainov Mixed Choir Kazanlak, Petya Pavlovich (conductor)
03:35 AM
Per Norgard (1932-2025)
Pastorale for String Trio
Trio Aristos
03:41 AM
Carl Friedrich Abel (1723-1787)
Trio for 2 flutes and continuo in G major, Op 16 No 4
La Stagione Frankfurt
03:51 AM
Josef Suk (1949-2011)
Fantastic scherzo for orchestra, Op 25
BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Richard Hickox (conductor)
04:06 AM
Alberta Suriani (1920-1977)
Partita for harp
Branka Janjanin-Magdalenic (harp)
04:16 AM
Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
Herbstlied, Op 84 no 2
Kaia Urb (soprano), Heiki Matlik (guitar)
04:20 AM
Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
Erster Verlust - First Loss, Op 99 no 1
Kaia Urb (soprano), Heiki Matlik (guitar)
04:23 AM
Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Impromptu in G flat major, D.899
Schaghajegh Nosrati (piano)
04:31 AM
Jan Dismas Zelenka (1679-1745)
1st movement (Allegro) from Sinfonia a 8 Concertanti in A minor, ZWV.189
European Union Baroque Orchestra, Roy Goodman (director)
04:39 AM
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (c.1525-1594)
Agnus Dei - super ut-re-mi-fa-sol-la (for 6 and 7 voices)
Huelgas Ensemble, Paul van Nevel (director)
04:47 AM
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
12 Variations on 'Ein Madchen oder Weibchen for cello and piano', Op 66
Antonio Meneses (cello), Menahem Pressler (piano)
04:57 AM
Georges Bizet (1838-1875)
Carmen Suite no 1
Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, Robert Stankovsky (conductor)
05:10 AM
Oskar Merikanto (1868-1924)
Improvisation, Op 76 no 3
Eero Heinonen (piano)
05:17 AM
Albertus Groneman (c.1710-1778)
Concerto in G major for flute, 2 violins & basso continuo
Jed Wentz (flute), Manfred Kraemer (violin), Laura Johnson (violin), Musica ad Rhenum
05:32 AM
Fela Sowande (1905-1987)
African suite for harp and strings (1944)
CBC Vancouver Orchestra, Mario Bernardi (conductor)
05:57 AM
Sergey Rachmaninov (1873-1943)
Etudes-Tableaux, Op 39 (excerpts - I to VI)
Nicholas Angelich (piano)
06:22 AM
Giuseppe Martucci (1856-1909)
Notturno, Op 70 no 1
Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Nello Santi (conductor)
SAT 06:30 Breakfast (m002g1g1)
Kickstart your day 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 (m002g1g5)
Tom talks to Ivan Fischer
Tom Service with guests, stories and the perfect classical soundtrack to start the weekend!
Tom catches up with the Hungarian conductor and composer Ivan Fischer as he prepares to return to the BBC Proms with the orchestra he formed over forty years ago, the Budapest Festival Orchestra. He reflects on his relationship with the people and the politics of Hungary and talks about his endless desire to innovate and extend the musical experience of audiences. He also explains why in a world of AI and fake news, the trust between orchestra and audience is more valuable and vital than ever.
Ahead of her Proms performance at the Glasshouse in Gateshead, singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Angeline Morrison chats to Tom about her project "The Sorrow Songs - Folk Songs of Black British Experience". She wrote the album to give musical voice to the stories of Black Britons from through the centuries who she discovered were missing from folk repertoire. Angeline tells Tom how her songs are already starting to make their way into the folk clubs of Cornwall.
A century ago, the first electrical recordings were released by major record labels on both sides of the Atlantic, revolutionising the listening experience, allowing people to hear far richer and more nature sounding recordings of their favourite artists and orchestras. We hear from producer and audio restorer Mark Obert-Thorn who has brought together many of the most significant recordings from that time for the Pristine label on a compilation called "1925: Landmarks from the Dawn of Electrical Recording". Mark explains why this was the single most important development in recording since its invention by Thomas Edison in 1877 and how it changed the course of musical history.
SAT 12:00 Earlier... with Jools Holland (m002b7ch)
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 Rebecca Clarke, Benny Goodman and Johannes Brahms, including performances from Clara Haskill, Stile Antico and Count Basie. His guest is the Razorlight drummer, musician and composer Andy Burrows who introduces music he loves by Elgar, Prokofiev and Goff Richards.
To listen on most smart speakers just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Earlier with Jools Holland".
SAT 13:00 Record Review (m002g1g9)
BBC Proms Composer: Arvo Pärt with Gillian Moore & Andrew McGregor
Andrew McGregor with the best new recordings of classical music.
1330
BBC Proms Composer: Arvo Pärt
Gillian Moore picks five indispensable recordings of works by BBC Proms composer Pärt.
c1430
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.
JS Bach: English Suite No. 4 in F Major, BWV 809
András Schiff, piano
SAT 15:00 BBC Proms (m002g1gf)
2025
The Traitors
A spine-tingling celebration of musical treachery inspired by worldwide TV phenomenon The Traitors, transported from the Scottish Highlands to the Royal Albert Hall for this special concert.
Claudia Winkleman is your host as the combined forces of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Singers and the BBC Symphony Chorus, directed by Karen Ní Bhroin, explore everything from epic orchestral favourites and operatic arias with betrayal at their heart, to modern day classics. Featuring Schubert’s Ave Maria, Danse Macabre and O Fortuna from Carmina Burana. These are set alongside Olivia Rodrigo’s Vampire, London Grammar’s Hell to the Liars, Billie Eilish’s Bad Guy and Sophie Ellis Bextor’s Murder on the Dancefloor, all of them heard here with a gothic, symphonic twist and featuring guest singers Andrea Lykke, HAYLA and Darrell Smith.
No Traitors concert would be complete without familiar figures and faces from the challenges and Round Tables who also loom large as the plot unfolds. This is your invitation to our musical exploration of the world of The Traitors, Faithful and Traitor alike. Don your cloak, fingerless gloves and eyeliner to lose yourself in a concert like no other.
SAT 17:30 BBC Proms (m002g1gk)
2025
BBC Proms: Angeline Morrison - The Sorrow Songs (Folk Songs of Black British Experience)
Live at the BBC Proms from the Glasshouse, British folksinger and instrumentalist Angeline Morrison is joined by singer and folk violinist Eliza Carthy, with percussionist and vocalist Alex Neilson and The Sorrow Songs Band for a programme of music recalling the stories of the people of the African diaspora and their subsequent contact with the British Isles. The concert features musical tales such as the 19th-century 'Unknown African Boy' telling of an enslaved child whose body was washed up on the Isles of Scilly. And 'Black John' - Britain's first Black horticulturalist; or 'The Beautiful Spotted Black Boy', an enslaved child whose vitiligo provoked a patchy complexion and caused him to be paraded as curiosity. Intimate, haunting and expressive this distinctive musical event from Stage Two of the Glasshouse on the banks of the Tyne in Gateshead sits firmly in a tradition, drawing on the essence of English Folk Song.
The concert is presented from the stage by Angeline Morrison and introduced by Elizabeth Alker.
SAT 19:30 BBC Proms (m002g1gp)
2025
Bach and Mendelssohn with Royal Northern Sinfonia
Live at the BBC Proms in Gateshead: Dinis Sousa conducts the Royal Northern Sinfonia and Chorus with the Huddersfield Choral Society and Voices of the River’s Edge in Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 2 in B flat major, 'Lobgesang'. In the first half, pianist David Fray is the soloist in Bach's Keyboard Concerto No. 1.
Presented by Sarah Walker, live from The Glasshouse International Centre for Music.
Johann Sebastian Bach
Keyboard Concerto No. 1 in D minor, BWV 1052
David Fray (piano)
Royal Northern Sinfonia
Dinis Sousa (conductor)
8pm
Interval: A walk around the cultural highlights of Tyne & Wear, from Bede’s monastery in Jarrow to an arts centre in a former nuclear bunker that attracted the likes of Picasso and Matisse to the region.
8.20pm
Felix Mendelssohn
Symphony No. 2 in B flat major, 'Lobgesang'
Adèle Charvet (mezzo soprano)
Benjamin Hulett (tenor)
Voices of the River’s Edge
Huddersfield Choral Society
Chorus of Royal Northern Sinfonia
Royal Northern Sinfonia
Dinis Sousa (conductor)
Mendelssohn’s Second Symphony is a ‘Hymn of Praise’, an expression of joy and faith, and replete with dances, fanfares and hymns. The dark, sober beauty of Bach’s Keyboard Concerto in D minor offers a stark contrast.
SAT 21:45 The Lebrecht Interview (m002g1gt)
Cellist Alisa Weilerstein
Norman Lebrecht talks to Alisa Weilerstein, who at the age of 43 is one of the world's leading cellists. Alisa recalls growing up in a musical family in her native America and explains how she's managed to deal with her diabetes since the age of 9 and making her debut at the age of 13 playing Tchaikovsky's Rococo Variations with the Cleveland Orchestra. Alisa talks about her admiration for fellow cellist Jacqueline du Pré and what she learnt from rehearsing Shostakovich's first cello concerto with its dedicatee, Mstislav Rostropovich. She is passionate about championing contemporary music having commissioned and premiered a number of pieces, and talks about her collaborations with a wide range of living composers. And beyond music, one of her major passions: the history of Russia, which she studied at degree level at Columbia University.
SAT 22:30 New Music Show (m002g1gz)
Constellations at BCMG
Tom Service presents world premieres by Cyborg Pianist Zubin Kanga and composer Anne Castex from the Constellations concert, a bold collaboration between Kanga, the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group, and the French contemporary music ensemble L'Instant Donné. Plus bárru bára - new music by Jason Yarde for the Norwegian Naval Forces Band, Nicholas Korth's Inscapes for tenor, natural horn and strings, the European premiere of Thomas Larcher's cello concerto, returning into darkness, and Pasale Criton's Alter, performed last year by Juliet Fraser at Donaueschingen.
SUNDAY 27 JULY 2025
SUN 00:30 Through the Night (m002g1h3)
Chopin, Granados and Albéniz
Pianist Charles Richard-Hamelin plays a recital of Chopin, Granados and Albéniz in the Church of Saint-Henri de Mascouche, Québec. John Shea presents.
12:31 AM
Enrique Granados (1867-1916)
Allegro de concierto, Op 46
Charles Richard-Hamelin (piano)
12:39 AM
Enrique Granados (1867-1916)
Valses poeticos, Op 43
Charles Richard-Hamelin (piano)
12:52 AM
Isaac Albeniz (1860-1909)
La Vega
Charles Richard-Hamelin (piano)
01:08 AM
Fryderyk Chopin (1810-1849)
Allegro de concert, Op 46
Charles Richard-Hamelin (piano)
01:21 AM
Fryderyk Chopin (1810-1849)
Selection of Waltzes
Charles Richard-Hamelin (piano)
01:48 AM
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Intermezzo in A major, Op 118 no 2
Charles Richard-Hamelin (piano)
01:55 AM
Joaquin Rodrigo (1901-1999)
Concierto serenata for harp and orchestra
Nicanor Zabaleta (harp), Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra, Gennadi Rozhdestvensky (conductor)
02:17 AM
Grzegorz Gerwazy Gorczycki (1665-1734)
Te lucis ante terminum
Aldona Bartnik (soprano), Agnieszka Ryman (soprano), Matthew Venner (counter tenor), Maciej Gocman (tenor), Tomas Kral (bass), Jaromir Nosek (bass), Period Instruments Ensemble, Andrzrej Kosendiak (director)
02:20 AM
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Theme with variations from Sextet in B flat major, Op 18
Wiener Streichsextett (sextet)
02:31 AM
Jean Sibelius (1865-1957)
Symphony no 5 in E flat major, Op 82
BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Thomas Sondergard (conductor)
03:03 AM
Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683-1764)
Rameau Opera Gala Part 1 (excerpts)
Anders J. Dahlin (tenor), Alain Buet (bass), Les Ambassadeurs, Alexis Kossenko (conductor)
03:35 AM
Bohuslav Martinu (1890-1959)
Sonatina for clarinet & piano
Valentin Uriupin (clarinet), Yelena Komissarova (piano)
03:47 AM
Ole Buck (b.1945), John Keats (author)
Two Faery Songs: "O shed no tear"; "Ah! Woe is me!"
Danish National Radio Choir, Kaare Hansen (conductor)
03:54 AM
Elisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre (1665-1729)
Sonata in D major for 2 violins and continuo
Musica Fiorita, Daniela Dolci (director)
04:03 AM
Camille Saint-Saens (1835-1921)
Mon coeur s'ouvre from 'Samson et Dalila' (arr for trumpet & orchestra)
Jouko Harjanne (trumpet), Norwegian Radio Orchestra, Ari Rasilainen (conductor)
04:09 AM
Erik Satie (1866-1925), arr. Darius Milhaud
Jack-in-the-box pantomime
CBC Vancouver Orchestra, Mario Bernardi (conductor)
04:16 AM
Gerald Finzi (1901-1956)
White-flowering days (A Garland for the Queen), Op 37 no 8
BBC Singers, Bo Holten (conductor)
04:20 AM
Claude Debussy (1862-1918)
Jardins sous la pluie (Estampes, L.100)
Karina Sabac (piano)
04:24 AM
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)
Polonaise from "Eugene Onegin", Op 24
Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, Uri Mayer (conductor)
04:31 AM
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Adagio from Piano Trio no 4 in B flat, Op 11 'Gassenhauer'
Swiss Piano Trio
04:36 AM
Germaine Tailleferre (1892-1983)
Sonata for harp
Godelieve Schrama (harp)
04:47 AM
Elisabeth Kuyper (1877-1953)
Der Pfeil und das Lied; Marien Lied; Ich komme Heim (Op 17 nos 1, 2 & 3)
Irene Maessen (soprano), Frans van Ruth (piano)
04:54 AM
Alexander Borodin (1833-1887)
In the steppes of central Asia (V sredney Azii) - symphonic poem
Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, Uri Mayer (conductor)
05:02 AM
Joan Baptista Pla i Agusti (1720-1773)
Sonata in C major for flute, violin and basso continuo
La Guirlande
05:10 AM
Hubert Parry (1848-1918)
Lord, let me know mine end (no 6 from Songs of farewell for mixed voices)
Gabrieli Consort, Paul McCreesh (director)
05:21 AM
Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971), arr. Igor Stravinsky
Concerto in E flat 'Dumbarton Oaks' arr. for two pianos
James Anagnoson (piano), Leslie Kinton (piano)
05:37 AM
Eustache du Caurroy (1549-1609)
11 Fantasias on 16th-Century songs
Hesperion XX, Jordi Savall (viol), Jordi Savall (director)
06:04 AM
Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)
Cello concerto no 2 in D major, H.7b.2
Primoz Zalaznik (cello), RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra, Gunter Pichler (conductor)
SUN 06:30 Breakfast (m002g3nd)
Embrace the morning calm of classical music and birdsong
Emma Clarke presents Radio 3's Breakfast show. This morning's dawn chorus features the rock pipit, with brand new music from South African cellist and composer Abel Selaocoe, and there's a quiet moment with a stunning arrangement of Vaugh Williams' Lark Ascending, along with romance of one of Puccini's most famous arias.
To get in touch, email 3breakfast@bbc.co.uk
To listen on most smart speakers, just say 'Ask BBC Sounds to play 3 Breakfast’
SUN 09:00 Sunday Morning (m002g3nj)
Your perfect Sunday soundtrack
Sarah Walker with three hours of classical music to reflect, restore and refresh.
Today, Sarah is in Newcastle for an exciting weekend of BBC Proms, and her choices include a glorious Magnificat by C.P.E. Bach, Mozart in a relaxed mood with a set of variations, and an orchestration by the founder of the Proms of a tempestuous Polish Dance.
She also has music for the summer season, including a Midsummer Vigil from Hugo Alfen, and a beautiful arrangement of Gershwin by American pianist Earl Wild.
This week’s Choral Reflection takes us to renaissance Italy to hear a joyful motet by Palestrina that depicts Mary being taken up to heaven as the angels rejoice.
Plus, we journey to tropical Java to watch a puppet show…
A Tandem Production for BBC Radio 3
SUN 12:00 Private Passions (m002g3nm)
Kathleen Marshall
The American director and choreographer Kathleen Marshall has been nominated for nine Tony awards, winning three times for Broadway productions of Wonderful Town, The Pajama Game and Anything Goes. She was the first woman to complete a trio of achievements - directing a play, directing a musical and choreographing a musical on Broadway.
She also won an Olivier Award for her 2021 production of Anything Goes in London. It was the first big musical to open after numerous Covid lockdowns, and received an ecstatic welcome from audiences and critics alike, hungry to get back into a theatre and enjoy a hugely uplifting show. More recently she has directed Irving Berlin’s Top Hat in Chichester.
Her musical choices include Mozart, Chopin, Tchaikovsky and Duke Ellington.
SUN 13:30 Music Map (m002g3np)
A journey to the Jazz Suite 1 by Shostakovich
Sara Mohr-Pietsch navigates a path towards the Jazz Suite 1 by Dmitri Shostakovich. It was commissioned in 1934 by a Leningrad dance band, and he scored it for an extraordinary ensemble including a banjo and an electric Hawaiian lap guitar. On the way we encounter other music for banjo and Hawaiian guitar, plus pieces reflecting some of the other influences in the suite including traditional Jewish music. There are also performances from Shostakovich's circle of friends at the time, including a Haydn cello concerto played by Mstislav Rostropovich.
To listen to this programme (using most smart speakers), just say: 'Ask BBC Sounds to play Music Map.'
SUN 15:00 BBC Proms (m002g3nr)
2025
Sean Shibe and Friends
Guitarist Sean Shibe, a former Radio 3 New Generation Artist, is joined by starry cast of friends at the Glasshouse, Gateshead, for a performance of 'Le marteau sans maître' (The Hammer Without A Master) a chamber cantata drawing on words by the great French surrealist poet Rene Char. The work, which is regarded as one of Pierre Boulez's most significant and influential compositions is heard here as part of the Proms' Boulez centenary celebrations. Also on the programme is music by James Dillon and Cassandra Miller. Presented by Sarah Walker.
James Dillon: 12 Caprices
Cassandra Miller: Bel Canto
INTERVAL: Pierre Boulez conducts the Cleveland Orchestra in Debussy's orchestral masterwork, Jeux. Plus a few words from Boulez himself, from the BBC Archives.
Pierre Boulez: Le marteau sans maître
Sean Shibe (guitar)
Ema Nikolovska (mezzo-soprano)
Adam Walker (flute)
Matthew Hunt (clarinet)
Mira Benjamin (violin)
Emma Wernig (viola)
Colin Alexander (cello)
George Barton (percussion)
Sam Wilson (percussion)
Iris van den Bros (percussion)
Alphonse Cemin (conductor)
SUN 17:00 The Early Music Show (m002g3nt)
Heaven and Hell. Helen Charlston and Toby Carr at the York Early Music Festival
Hannah French presents the first of two programmes from mezzo-soprano Helen Charlston and lutenist Toby Carr at the recent York Early Music Festival, in which they explore music associated with Heaven and Hell.
Today, Hannah chats to Helen about all things heavenly, and we'll hear music by Purcell, Barbara Strozzi, Charpentier and Honoré D'Ambruys, alongside a contemporary piece for solo lute by Elliot Park.
SUN 18:00 Words and Music (m0023q85)
The Circus
Roll up roll up, it’s time for the Circus. This week’s Words and Music brings us the thrill of the Big Top. Readers Luke Treadaway and Phoebe Campbell take us through Angela Carter's encounter between a pig Sybil, a strong man and a tiger in Nights at the Circus, via evocations from Dickens, Kakfa and the Goncourt Brothers to the "rapture and admiration" of Just William watching them put up the tent. We'll hear an extract from Seventy Years a Showman by ‘Lord’ Gorge Sanger and poems celebrating the circus coming to town, with "the monkey and its bear" and "the lion in its lair"; and the "red and white clown." And we experience the thrill of a trapeze artist from Circus of Wonders by Elizabeth Macneal.
With music from Khachaturian’s Masquerade Suite, Les Toreadors from Bizet's Carmen and the haunting Jugglers with Torches by Svein Hundsnes, we also hear Being for the Benefit of Mr Kite, the Beatles' song which was inspired by a poster for Pablo Fanque's circuses, as well as Willkommen from Kander & Ebb’s musical Cabaret and Send in the Clowns sung by Judy Collins.
Producer: Belinda Naylor
Readings:
Hard Times by Charles Dickens
The Circus by Eleanor Farjeon
Margate Circus Poster
After the Circus by Raymond Holden
Amores III by Ovid
The Zemganno Brothers by Edmond de Goncourt
When the Circus Comes to Town by E. Richard Shipp
Billy Smart’s Circus Poster
Up in the Gallery by Franz Kafka
Circus of Wonders by Elizabeth Macneal
My Future by Robert William Service
The Museum Extraordinary Things by Alice Hoffman
Seventy Years a Showman by ‘Lord’ George Sanger
Nights at the Circus by Angela Carter
William Again by Richmal Crompton
The Circus of Mirrors by Julie Owen Moylan
The Springboard Jump from Odes funambulesques by Théodore Banville
The Circus by C J Dennis
Bigtop Circus (Triolet) by Robert Paul Chaney
SUN 19:30 BBC Proms (m002g3nw)
2025
Mozart and Bruckner
The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, conductor Ryan Wigglesworth and pianist Mariam Batsashvili perform Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor and Bruckner's Symphony No. 7 in E.
Presented by Andrew McGregor, live from the Royal Albert Hall, London.
Ryan Wigglesworth: for Laura, after Bach (BBC commission: world premiere)
Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor
c.
8.05pm
Interval
Pianist and conductor Yshani Perinpanayagam joins Andrew with her personal picks of forthcoming BBC Proms
c.
8.25pm
Bruckner: Symphony No. 7 in E major
Mariam Batsashvili, piano
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Ryan Wigglesworth, conductor
A melody heard in a dream, a tribute to a dying genius, a vision of cosmic beauty: Bruckner’s Symphony No. 7 is the composer’s musical memorial to Richard Wagner. It’s a homage that elevated the Austrian composer to new heights, a musical walk around a magnificent cathedral. A contemporary tribute opens tonight’s Prom: Ryan Wigglesworth’s for Laura, after Bach, dedicated to the memory of former BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra Leader Laura Samuel and inspired by her recording of a Bach Partita, played at her funeral. Mozart’s stormy Piano Concerto No. 20 completes the programme, with Georgian pianist and former BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist Mariam Batsashvili as the soloist.
SUN 22:15 Night Tracks (m002g3ny)
Immersive music for late night listening
Sara Mohr-Pietsch presents an adventurous, immersive soundtrack for late-night listening, from classical to contemporary and everything in between.
SUN 23:30 Unclassified (m002g3p0)
Wild Aesthetic
Join Elizabeth Alker with a selection of fresh music from genre-defying artists as we journey through landscapes of ambient and experimental sounds. We'll hear new music from offbeat Suffolk eccentrics Wevie Stonder, an extraordinary ten-minute radiophonic lullaby from Leo Chadburn - and a chance to hear a particularly dreamy slice of Max Richter's Sleep cycle, ten years on from its original release.
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 28 JULY 2025
MON 00:30 Through the Night (m002g3p2)
Heavenly Delights
The St Gallen Symphony Orchestra and conductor Modestas Pitrėnas in works by Webern, Britten and Mahler. John Shea presents.
12:31 AM
Anton Webern (1883-1945), arr. G. Schwarz
Langsamer Satz
St Gallen Symphony Orchestra, Modestas Pitrenas (conductor)
12:44 AM
Benjamin Britten (1913-1976)
Simple Symphony for String Orchestra, Op 4
St Gallen Symphony Orchestra, Modestas Pitrenas (conductor)
01:02 AM
Gustav Mahler (1860-1911)
Symphony no 4 in G major
Tatjana Schneider (soprano), St Gallen Symphony Orchestra, Modestas Pitrenas (conductor)
02:01 AM
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Chaconne from the Partita no 2 in D minor, BWV.1004
Alena Baeva (violin)
02:17 AM
Gustav Mahler (1860-1911)
Piano Quartet in A minor
Marianna Shirinyan (piano), Nevena Tochev (violin), Alessandro D'Amico (viola), Rafael Rosenfeld (cello)
02:31 AM
Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741)
The Four Seasons, Concertos Op 8 nos 1-4
Barbara Jane Gilby (violin), Tasmanian Symphony Chamber Players, Geoffrey Lancaster (conductor)
03:11 AM
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
8 Pieces for Piano, Op 76
Robert Silverman (piano)
03:39 AM
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
3 chorales from the Schemelli collection
Marco Fink (bass baritone), Bernarda Fink (mezzo soprano), Domen Marincic (gamba), Dalibor Miklavcic (organ)
03:46 AM
Hugo Wolf (1860-1903)
Italian Serenade
Ljubljanski Godalni Quartet
03:54 AM
Giuseppe Torelli (1658-1709)
Sonata in D for Trumpet, Strings and Basso Continuo
Sebastian Philpott (trumpet), European Union Baroque Orchestra, Lars Ulrik Mortensen (conductor)
04:01 AM
Giovanni Bottesini (1821-1889)
Tarantella
Gary Karr (double bass), Harmon Lewis (piano)
04:07 AM
Franz Schubert (1797-1828), Friedrich Schiller (author)
Die Gotter Griechenlands, D.677b
Christoph Pregardien (tenor), Andreas Staier (pianoforte)
04:13 AM
Gaspar Sanz (1640-1710)
Xácaras and Canarios (Instrucción de música sobre la guitara española" )
Eduardo Eguez (guitar)
04:22 AM
Gabriel Faure (1845 - 1924)
Pavane for orchestra, Op 50
BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Grant Llewellyn (conductor)
04:31 AM
Francesco Geminiani (1687-1762)
Concerto Grosso in G minor
Andrew Manze (violin), Academy of Ancient Music, Andrew Manze (director)
04:39 AM
Johan Peter Emilius Hartmann (1805-1900)
Etudes instructives, Op 53 (1851)
Nina Gade (piano)
04:49 AM
Traditional Swiss, arr. Peter Brutsch
S isch äben e Mönsch uf Ärde (Guggisberglied)
Swiss Youth Choir, Nicolas Fink (conductor)
04:59 AM
Camille Saint-Saens (1835-1921)
Havanaise, Op 83, arr. for violin and piano
Vilmos Szabadi (violin), Marta Gulyas (piano)
05:07 AM
Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
The Hebrides, Op 26, overture in B minor, Fingal's Cave
WDR Symphony Orchestra, Cologne, Marek Janowski (conductor)
05:17 AM
Henry Purcell (1659-1695)
Rejoice in the Lord alway (Z.49) "Bell Anthem"
Robert Lawaty (counter tenor), Robert Pozarski (tenor), Miroslaw Borczynski (bass), Sine Nomine Chamber Choir, Concerto Polacco Baroque Orchestra, Marek Toporowski (director)
05:26 AM
Zoltan Kodaly (1882-1967)
Hary Janos Suite, Op 35a
Hungarian Radio Orchestra, Tamas Vasary (conductor)
05:49 AM
Clara Schumann (1810-1856)
4 Pieces Fugitives for piano, Op 15
Angela Cheng (piano)
06:03 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)
MON 06:30 Breakfast (m002g5gg)
Ease into 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 (m002g5gj)
Great classical music for your morning
Georgia Mann plays the best in classical music, with discoveries and surprises rubbing shoulders with familiar favourites.
1000 Playlist starter – listen and send us your ideas for the next step in our musical journey today.
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 (m002g5gl)
Great Summer music making with highlights from the Proms
Richard Strauss, Igor Stravinsky and Felix Mendelssohn from the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Maurice Ravel plus the rarely heard Charlotte Sohy from the Orchestre National de France, all at the Royal Albert Hall for the BBC Proms; plus early music highlights from the recent Regensburg Festival in Germany marking the 500th anniversary of Palestrina’s birth. Also in today's programme, Mark Forrest introduces specially made recordings from former Radio 3 New Generation Artists.
Including:
Richard Strauss
Til Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks
BBC Symphony Orchestra
Sakari Oramo (conductor)
Igor Stravinsky
Song of the Nightingale
BBC Symphony Orchestra
Sakari Oramo (conductor)
Felix Mendelssohn
Violin Concerto in E minor
Augustin Hadelich (violin)
BBC Symphony Orchestra
Sakari Oramo (conductor)
Maurice Ravel
Rapsodie espagnole
Orchestra National de France
Cristian Macelaru (conductor)
Charlotte Sohy
Danse mystique
Orchestra National de France
Cristian Macelaru (conductor)
Regensburg Festival
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
Veni, creator spiritus
Dum complerentur
Regensburger Domspatze
Christian Heiss (conductor)
MON 16:00 Composer of the Week (m002g5gn)
Arvo Pärt
Pushing Boundaries
Kate Molleson traces Pärt’s avant-garde spirit as he comes of age in Soviet era Estonia.
Composer of the Week celebrates the 90th birthday of Arvo Pärt, one of the world’s most-performed and recognisable living composers. A composer who had the courage to defy Soviet edicts, to spend years searching for answers, to invent a personal language that pivots on past and present, on sound, silence and clarity. Throughout the week, Kate Molleson explores Pärt’s landmark works and extraordinary story in conversation with his son Michael. And researchers from the Arvo Pärt Centre in Laulasmaa, Estonia provide exclusive insights into Pärt’s more personal archive.
Today, Kate and Michael discuss Pärt’s creative beginnings, from writing children’s songs to seeking out “forbidden” modernist music as a student. His avant-garde curiosity would lead him to write the first 12-tone work in Estonia, but also get him into trouble with the Composers’ Union.
Littlemore Tractus (excerpt)
Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir
Tallinn Chamber Orchestra
Tõnu Kaljuste, conductor
The Deer’s Cry
VOCES8
Songs from Childhood (I Am Already Big; Mommy’s Kiss)
Artur Aadma, vocals
Hele Ann Vrager, vocals
Estonian Radio Children’s Choir
Mihkel Poll, piano
Symphony No 1 (“Polyphonic” (i. Canons)
NFM Wroclaw Philharmonic
Tonu Kaljuste, conductor
Sonatina No 1 (ii. Larghetto)
Jeroen van Veen, piano
Nekrolog
Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra
Paavo Järvi, conductor
Collage über BACH
Tapiola Sinfonietta
Jean-Jacques Kantorow, conductor
Produced by Amelia Parker for BBC Audio Wales and West
MON 17:00 In Tune (m002g5gq)
Music news and live classical music
Petroc Trelawny is joined live in the studio by Vadym Kholodenko ahead of his BBC Prom performance. We also hear from vocalist, Arooj Aftab ahead of her Prom debut
MON 19:00 Classical Mixtape (m002g5gs)
30 minutes of music celebrating Euro 2025
Whilst football fans around the country continue to celebrate the Lionesses' historic victory over Spain in the Euro 2025 final, today's Classical Mixtape honours their achievement with a half hour sequence of back-to-back music associated with, or inspired by the beautiful game.
The mix opens with the broadcast premiere of English composer Shirley Thompson's "Momentum: Concerto for football and orchestra", written for the 2022 women's Euros, which the Lionesses also won. Other works include the seminal recording of Pavarotti singing Puccini's "Nessun Dorma" and Fauré's "Pavane", both famously used in past BBC TV coverage of the men's FIFA World Cup, and a number from the stage musical of "Bend it like Beckham" by Howard Goodall. Football loving composer Shostakovich's piano miniature "Football" sits alongside Michael Nyman's aptly named "After Extra Time" from "Final Score", and Poulenc's Laudamus Te from his setting of the Gloria is said to have been inspired by seeing a group of monks playing a match. The mixtape ends with an orchestral arrangement of Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline", which has become the fans’ favourite anthem for the England women’s football team.
Listen out for the samba "Mas que nada", usually associated with football in Brazil, but somehow capturing the mood and the moves when break out star Michelle Agyemang danced her way up to the podium to receive the award for Euro 2025's young player of the tournament.
Producer: Helen Garrison
MON 19:30 BBC Proms (m002g5gv)
2025
Beethoven and Birtwistle
The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and Ryan Wigglesworth perform Beethoven's Symphony No. 3 and Birtwistle's Earth Dances.
Presented by Andrew McGregor, live from the Royal Albert Hall, London.
Birtwistle: Earth Dances
c.
8.10pm
Interval: Helen Gordon, author of Notes From Deep Time, describes her researches into the earth's crust and the layers which have inspired the Harrison Birtwistle composition. She describes visiting 3 billion year old rocks in Scotland, volcanoes in Naples and earthquake monitoring in California.
c.
8.30pm
Beethoven: Symphony No. 3 in E flat major, ‘Eroica’
Harrison Birtwistle’s monumental Earth Dances returns to the Proms for the first time this century. This contemporary orchestral masterpiece boasts tectonic shifts that surge and fissure with inexorable, elemental force. Ryan Wigglesworth and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra pair it with the mould-breaking orchestral pinnacle of another age. Grander than anything that came before, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3, the ‘Eroica’, ushers in Romanticism, revolutionising both the form itself and expectations of what a symphony can – and should – be.
MON 22:00 Night Tracks (m002g5gx)
Dissolve into a nocturnal soundworld
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 (m002g5gz)
The Stepney Sisters’ 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.
In a special edition of our 4/4 feature, Eibur, Charlene and Chanté Stepney share some of the albums that were shaped and produced by their late father, the seminal Chicago composer, musician, and dedicated parent Charles Stepney. Amidst his expansive repertoire, Charles is responsible for well-loved orchestrations and melodies for some of the leading artists of the day including Earth, Wind and Fire, Rotary Connection, Ramsey Lewis and The Dells. Never one to be boxed in, his compositions and productions transcended genres, while maintaining a signature Stepney sound.
The Stepney Sisters will be sharing a new project Rotary Connection 222 created in tribute to and to honour the legacy of Charles Stepney. They will be performing at We Out Here festival in Dorset this August, featuring a band formed by the sisters and Chicago bassist and bandleader Junius Paul.
To begin their week taking us into the musical world of Charles Stepney, the Stepney Sisters choose an album by one of music’s timeless voices, which was produced by and features Charles Stepney on the organ.
Also in the programme, music from Ineza, Tim Boniface, and Courtney Pine.
TUESDAY 29 JULY 2025
TUE 00:30 Through the Night (m002g5h1)
Elgar and Tchaikovsky from Transylvania
The Transylvania State Philharmonic Orchestra is joined by Octavian Lup for Elgar's magnificent Cello Concerto. John Shea presents.
12:31 AM
Edward Elgar (1857-1934)
Cello Concerto in E minor, Op 85
Octavian Lup (cello), Transylvania State Philharmonic Orchestra of Cluj-Napoca, Junping Qian (conductor)
01:00 AM
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)
Symphony no 4 in F minor, Op 36
Transylvania State Philharmonic Orchestra of Cluj-Napoca, Junping Qian (conductor)
01:44 AM
Traditional
Steaua sus rasare (from Trei cantece de stea din Dobrogea)
Angela Gheorghiu (soprano), Romanian Madrigal Choir, Romanian National Radio Orchestra, Tiberiu Soare (conductor)
01:47 AM
George Enescu (1881-1955)
Violin Sonata torso, from incomplete Sonata
Clara Cernat (violin), Thierry Huillet (piano)
02:02 AM
Constantin Dimitrescu (1847-1928)
Cello Concerto in B minor
Marin Cazacu (cello), Romanian Radio Chamber Orchestra, Horia Andreescu (conductor)
02:31 AM
Pierre de la Rue (1452-1518)
Missa Sancto Job
Orlando Consort
03:06 AM
Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)
Piano Trio in A minor
Grieg Trio
03:33 AM
Germaine Tailleferre (1892-1983)
Sonata for harp
Godelieve Schrama (harp)
03:43 AM
Richard Strauss (1864-1949)
Horn Concerto no 2 in E flat major
Markus Maskuniitty (horn), Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Junichi Hirokami (conductor)
04:04 AM
John Cage (1912-1992)
In a Landscape
Fabian Ziegler (percussion)
04:14 AM
Lili Boulanger (1893-1918)
Nocturne for flute and piano
Valentinas Gelgotas (flute), Audrone Kisieliute (piano)
04:18 AM
Ester Magi (1922-2021)
Duo rahvatoonis for flute and violin
Jaan Õun (flute), Ulrika Kristian (violin)
04:20 AM
Carl Friedrich Abel (1723-1787)
Symphony in E flat major, Op 10 no 3
La Stagione Frankfurt, Michael Schneider (conductor)
04:31 AM
Leslie Pearson (b.1931)
Dance Suite, after Arbeau
Graham Ashton Brass Ensemble
04:40 AM
Elisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre (1665-1729)
Overture to 'Céphale et Procris'
Concerto Copenhagen, Lars Ulrik Mortensen (conductor)
04:44 AM
Mauricio Sotelo (b.1961)
Escultura de roja luz interna
Chen Halevi (clarinet), Daniel Borovitzky (piano), Gringolts Quartet, Agustin Diassera (percussion)
04:58 AM
Giuseppe Sammartini (1695-1750)
Recorder Concerto in F major
Bolette Roed (recorder), Arte dei Suonatori
05:11 AM
Dora Pejacevic (1885-1923)
Nocturne for orchestra
Croatian Radio-Television Symphony Orchestra, Pavle Despalj (conductor)
05:16 AM
Francois Couperin (1668-1733)
Douzieme concert a deux violes (from 'Les Gouts reunis, Paris 1724)
Violes Esgales
05:25 AM
Ludwig Schuncke (1810-1834)
Grande Sonata for piano in G minor (dedicated to Robert Schumann), Op 3
Sylviane Deferne (piano)
05:48 AM
Henry Purcell (1659-1695)
Come, ye sons of Art, away (Ode for the birthday of Queen Mary, Z323)
Anna Mikolajczyk (soprano), Henning Voss (contralto), Robert Lawaty (counter tenor), Miroslaw Borczynski (bass), Sine Nomine Chamber Choir, Concerto Polacco Baroque Orchestra, Marek Toporowski (director)
06:11 AM
Benjamin Britten (1913-1976)
Simple Symphony for String Orchestra, Op 4
St Gallen Symphony Orchestra, Modestas Pitrenas (conductor)
TUE 06:30 Breakfast (m002g1qy)
Wake up 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 (m002g1r1)
The best classical morning 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”.
TUE 13:00 Classical Live (m002g1r3)
Scottish Chamber Orchestra perform Rameau and Saint-Saens
Highlights from this year's BBC Proms, including French music from the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and early music from the Regensberg Festival featuring The Beggar's Ensemble. Also in today's programme, Mark Forrest introduces specially made recordings from former Radio 3 New Generation Artists.
Including
Jean-Philippe Rameau: Les Indes galantes suite
Scottish Chamber Orchestra
Maxim Emelyanychev (conductor)
Camille Saint-Saens: PIano Concerto No. 5 in F major, 'Egyptian'
Alexander Kantorow (piano)
Scottish Chamber Orchestra
Maxim Emelyanychev (conductor)
Emilie Mayer
String Quartet in G minor, Op. 14
Consone Quartet
Regensberg Festival
Jean-Marie Leclair
Prelude from 'Scylla et Glaucus'
The Beggar's Ensemble
Augustin Lusson (conductor)
Jean Philppe Rameau
Dances from ‘Zoroastre’ and ‘Nais’
The Beggar's Ensemble
Augustin Lusson (conductor)
TUE 16:00 Composer of the Week (m002g1r5)
Arvo Pärt
Searching in Silence
Kate Molleson explores Pärt's ideological point of no-return and the remarkable hiatus which followed it.
Composer of the Week celebrates the 90th birthday of Arvo Pärt, one of the world’s most-performed and recognisable living composers. A composer who had the courage to defy Soviet edicts, to spend years searching for answers, to invent a personal language that pivots on past and present, on sound, silence and clarity. Throughout the week, Kate Molleson explores Pärt’s landmark works and extraordinary story in conversation with his son Michael. And researchers from the Arvo Pärt Centre in Laulasmaa, Estonia provide exclusive insights into Pärt’s more personal archive.
Today, we hear about the work which would become a watershed in Pärt’s life and career – his Credo. Kate and Michael talk about the aftershock of its daring premiere and the remarkable decision Pärt made next: to stop composing. Plus, Maarja Tyler gives us a glimpse into Pärt’s musical greetings.
Ukuaru Waltz
Tähe-Lee Liiv,piano
Festina Lente
Orchester der Beethovenhalle Bonn
Dennis Russell Davies, conductor
Credo
MDR Leipzig Radio Symphony Chorus and Orchestra
Kristjan Järvi, conductor
Quintettino (ii. Langsam)
Berlin Philharmonic Wind Quintet
Symphony No 3 –2nd movements
NFM Wrocław Orchestra
Tõnu Kaljuste, conductor
When Sarah Was Ninety Years Old (excerpt)
The Hilliard Ensemble
Paul Hillier, conductor
Magnificat
SANSARA
Tom Herring, conductor
Produced by Amelia Parker for BBC Audio Wales and West
TUE 17:00 In Tune (m002g1rc)
Live classical music for your drive
Petroc Trelawny speaks with conductor Sofi Jeannin ahead of Edinburgh International Festival's opening weekend. Pianist Simon Crawford-Phillips remembers the late Amelia Freedman, creator of the Nash Ensemble. We also hear from trumpeter Ibrahim Maalouf ahead of his Prom debut.
TUE 19:00 Classical Mixtape (m002g1rh)
Classical music for focus or relaxation
Take time out with a 30-minute soundscape of classical music from your favourite composers such as Telemann, Whitacre, Mozart, Bonis, and Brahms.
Producer: Zara Siddiqi
TUE 19:30 BBC Proms (m002g1rm)
2025
Arooj Aftab and Ibrahim Maalouf
Vocalist Arooj Aftab and trumpeter Ibrahim Maalouf in a sizzling collaboration with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and conductor Jules Buckley.
Presented by Lopa Kothari at the Royal Albert Hall, London.
Arooj Aftab, vocals
Ibrahim Maalouf, trumpet
BBC Singers
BBC Symphony Orchestra
Jules Buckley, conductor
Grammy-winning artist Arooj Aftab is breaking new ground with her captivating, eclectic melting-pot of influences from jazz, folk, pop, blues and South Asian classical. For her Proms debut tonight, Aftab collaborates with Jules Buckley and the BBC Symphony Orchestra to explore her distinctive sound on a symphonic scale.
French-Lebanese trumpeter, composer and producer Ibrahim Maalouf opens the concert in collaboration with the BBC Singers and BBC SO. His unique sound blends a wide range of influences from Middle Eastern melodies to jazz, Latin jazz and African rhythms, performed with a custom-made quarter-tone trumpet designed by Maalouf’s father.
Interval: British-Iranian experimental composer Shiva Feshareki joins Lopa Kothari to discuss what makes Arooj Aftab's music so captivating.
TUE 22:00 Night Tracks (m002g1rr)
Eclectic music 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 (m002g1rv)
New Brad Mehldau
‘Round Midnight is presented by award-winning saxophonist Soweto Kinch. This weekday late-night show celebrates the thriving UK jazz scene and spotlights the best new music alongside incredible acts from past decades.
The Stepney Sisters, the three daughters of the late pioneering composer, producer and musician Charles Stepney, are back with their second 4/4 selection of the week. Tonight, they choose a record that is deeply personal to them and that offers a window into Charles Stepney’s compositional process.
Also in the programme, music from Jasper Høiby, Queenstown Collective, and Sun-Mi Hong.
WEDNESDAY 30 JULY 2025
WED 00:30 Through the Night (m002g1rx)
Cindy McTee, Prokofiev and Brahms from Monte Carlo
Pianist Seong-Jin Cho joins the Monte Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra and conductor Leonard Slatkin in Prokofiev's 2nd Piano Concerto. The programme opens with Cindy McTee's Till a Silence Fell, from Symphony No. 1, a piece commissioned by Slatkin and the National Symphony Orchestra. John Shea presents.
12:31 AM
Cindy McTee (b.1953)
Till a Silence Fell, from Symphony No. 1
Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra, Leonard Slatkin (conductor)
12:43 AM
Sergey Prokofiev (1891-1953)
Piano Concerto no 2 in G minor, Op 16
Seong-Jin Cho (piano), Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra, Leonard Slatkin (conductor)
01:17 AM
Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Six Moments musicaux, D.780: no 3 in F minor
Seong-Jin Cho (piano)
01:20 AM
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Symphony no 4 in E minor, Op 98
Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra, Leonard Slatkin (conductor)
02:05 AM
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Quintet for piano, oboe, clarinet, bassoon and horn in E flat major, K.452
Douglas Boyd (oboe), Hans Christian Braein (clarinet), Kjell Erik Arnesen (french horn), Per Hannisdal (bassoon), Andreas Staier (piano)
02:31 AM
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Quartet for strings in B flat major, Op 130
Vertavo String Quartet
03:13 AM
Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
Kreisleriana, Op 16
Vesselin Stanev (piano)
03:42 AM
Dmitri Kabalevsky (1904-1987)
Colas Breugnon (Overture)
Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, Uri Mayer (conductor)
03:48 AM
Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958)
Romance for viola and piano
Steven Dann (viola), Bruce Vogt (piano)
03:54 AM
Edward Pallasz (1936-2019)
Epitafium
Polish Radio Choir, Wlodzimierz Siedlik (conductor)
04:03 AM
Ivan Jarnovic (1747-1804)
Fantasia and Rondo in G major
Vladimir Krpan (piano)
04:08 AM
Emils Darzins (1875-1910)
Melanholiskais valsis (Melancholy waltz) for orchestra
Latvian National Symphony Orchestra, Leonids Vigners (conductor)
04:16 AM
Fryderyk Chopin (1810-1849), arr. Niccolo Paganini
Nocturne in D major (original in E flat), Op 9 no 2
Vilmos Szabadi (violin), Marta Gulyas (piano)
04:20 AM
Carl Friedrich Abel (1723-1787)
Symphony in D major, Op 10 no 5
La Stagione Frankfurt, Michael Schneider (conductor)
04:31 AM
Johann Strauss II (1825-1899)
Schatz-Walzer ('Treasure Waltz') from Der Zigeunerbaron, Op 418
Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, Raffi Armenian (conductor)
04:40 AM
Hugo Alfven (1872-1960)
Pictures from the Archipelago, Three Piano Pieces, Op 17
Valma Rydstrom (piano)
04:49 AM
Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901), Dante (author)
Pater noster for chorus
Radio France Chorus, Donald Palumbo (conductor)
04:58 AM
Lucas Ruiz de Ribayaz (1626-c1677)
5 pieces: Achas; Bacas; Ruggiero; Xacaras; Espanoletas
Margret Koll (arpa doppia)
05:07 AM
Henryk Gorecki (1933-2010)
Harpsichord Concerto, Op 40
Helga Varadi (harpsichord), Camerata Zurich, Igor Karsko (conductor)
05:16 AM
Claude Debussy (1862-1918)
Première rapsodie arr. for clarinet and orchestra
Kari Kriikku (clarinet), Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Jukka-Pekka Saraste (conductor)
05:25 AM
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Am Abend aber desselbigen Sabbats, BWV.42 - cantata
Voces Suaves, Cafebaum
05:53 AM
Bernhard Molique (1802-1869), transc. Giulio Regondi, arr. Joseph Petric and Erica Goodman
6 Songs without words
Joseph Petric (accordion), Erica Goodman (harp)
06:06 AM
Camille Saint-Saens (1835-1921)
Le Carnaval des animaux
Festival Ensemble of the Festival of the Sound, James Campbell (director)
WED 06:30 Breakfast (m002g1vl)
Start your 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 (m002g1vn)
The ideal mix 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”.
WED 13:00 Classical Live (m002g1vq)
BBC Scottish Symphony with Bruckner at the Proms
Mozart and Bruckner from the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra in the Royal Albert Hall, plus chamber music from former Radio 3 New Generation Artists introduced by Mark Forrest.
including
Wolfgang Amdeus Mozart
Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor K. 466
Mariam Batsashvilli (piano)
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Ryan Wigglesworth (conductor)
Anton Bruckner
Symphony No. 7 in E major
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Ryan Wigglesworth (conductor)
WED 15:00 Choral Evensong (m002g1vv)
Hereford Cathedral
Live from Hereford Cathedral during the Three Choirs Festival, with the choirs of Hereford, Gloucester and Worcester Cathedrals.
Introit: Jerusalem on high (Ouseley)
Responses: Cecilia McDowall
Psalm 147 (Boyce)
First Lesson: 1 Samuel 7 vv1-17
Canticles: Magdalen College Service (Leighton)
Second Lesson: Luke 21 vv20-28
Anthem: Blessed city, heavenly Salem (Bairstow)
Hymn: God of grace and God of glory (Neander)
Voluntary: Thema met variaties (Andriessen)
Geraint Bowen (Conductor)
Peter Dyke (Organist)
To listen on most smart speakers just say “ask BBC Sounds to play Choral Evensong”.
WED 16:00 Composer of the Week (m002g1vz)
Arvo Pärt
A Window Opens
Michael Pärt tells Kate Molleson about his father’s musical breakthrough.
Composer of the Week celebrates the 90th birthday of Arvo Pärt, one of the world’s most-performed and recognisable living composers. A composer who had the courage to defy Soviet edicts, to spend years searching for answers, to invent a personal language that pivots on past and present, on sound, silence and clarity. Throughout the week, Kate Molleson explores Pärt’s landmark works and extraordinary story in conversation with his son Michael. And researchers from the Arvo Pärt Centre in Laulasmaa, Estonia provide exclusive insights into Pärt’s more personal archive.
Today, we hear about the breakthrough moment in 1976 when Pärt discovered the musical language he had sacrificed years of silence searching for. Michael tells us about this technique, tintinnabuli, which has informed his father’s composing ever since and creates his trademark sonority. And archivist Kristina Kõrver reveals a crucial ingredient in Pärt’s journey – his musical diaries.
Arbos (for recorders)
The Flautadors
Für Alina
Alice Sara Ott, piano
Summa
Attacca Quartet
Fratres
Cellists of the Berlin Philharmonic
Tabula Rasa (i. Ludus)
Gidon Kremer, violin
Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra
Saulus Sondeckis, conductor
Missa Syllabica
Theatre of Voices
Paul Hillier, conductor
Produced by Amelia Parker for BBC Audio Wales and West
WED 17:00 In Tune (m002g1w3)
Classical artists live in the studio
Petroc Trelawny with live music from pianist Andrey Gugnin and Tõnu Kaljuste talks about his upcoming Prom.
WED 19:00 Classical Mixtape (m002g1w5)
The perfect classical half hour
Take time out with a 30-minute soundscape of classical music including the Overture to Mozart's The Magic Flute, Voces8 singing Paul Mealor and a Piano Trio courtesy of Brahms.
Produced by Zerlina Vulliamy.
WED 19:30 BBC Proms (m002g1w7)
2025
Rachmaninov’s Second Piano Concerto
Live at the BBC Proms: The BBC National Orchestra of Wales and Tadaaki Otaka are joined by Vadym Kholodenko to perform Rachmaninov’s Second Piano Concerto.
Presented by Hannah French, live from the Royal Albert Hall, London
Grażyna Bacewicz: Concerto for String Orchestra
Sergey Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor
c.
8.20pm
Interval
Composer Roxanna Panufnik joins Hannah to put Lutosławsk's Concerto for Orchestra into context
c.
8.40pm
Witold Lutosławski: Concerto for Orchestra
Vadym Kholodenko, piano
The BBC National Orchestra of Wales
Tadaaki Otaka, conductor
A Romantic classic meets two 20th-century masterworks in a concert of widescreen orchestral drama. From its thunderous opening chords to its heartbreaking slow movement, Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 2 is an emotional tour de force. Vadym Kholodenko joins the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and Conductor Laureate Tadaaki Otaka. Framing the concerto are two orchestral showpieces: Bacewicz’s vibrant Concerto for String Orchestra – whose motoric outer movements contrast with a sublime Andante – and the daring invention of Lutosławski’s folk-inspired Concerto for Orchestra.
WED 22:00 Night Tracks (m002g1w9)
Meditative music for night owls
Sara Mohr-Pietsch presents an adventurous, immersive soundtrack for late-night listening, from classical to contemporary and everything in between.
WED 23:30 'Round Midnight (m002g1wc)
A Swinging Song from Olivia Cuttill
‘Round Midnight is presented by award-winning saxophonist Soweto Kinch. This weekday late-night show celebrates the thriving UK jazz scene and spotlights the best new music alongside incredible acts from past decades.
The Stepney Sisters return tonight with their third record of the week, and tonight it’s by an American saxophonist who explores electronic amplification, with arrangements by Charles Stepney.
Also in the programme, music from The Sorcerers, Alison Young, and Saskia Horton, Jan Brzezinski, and Plumm.
THURSDAY 31 JULY 2025
THU 00:30 Through the Night (m002g1wf)
String Quartets by Lalo, Donizetti and Renato Rozic
From Zagreb, the Sebastian String Quartet performs a premiere by Renato Rozic and quartets by Donizetti and Lalo. John Shea presents.
12:31 AM
Miroslav Martinjak (b.1951)
O, Merciful Creator, Hear
Sebastian String Quartet
12:32 AM
Renato Rozic (b.1958)
Sonata Concertante, Op 47
Sebastian String Quartet
12:52 AM
Gaetano Donizetti (1797-1848)
String Quartet no 17 in D major
Sebastian String Quartet
01:10 AM
Edouard Lalo (1823-1892)
String Quartet in E flat major, Op 45
Sebastian String Quartet
01:39 AM
Blagoje Bersa (1873-1934)
Spectres and Sunny Fields
Croatian Radio-Television Symphony Orchestra, Enrico Dindo (conductor)
02:12 AM
Traditional, arr. Vladimir Ruzdjak
Green Woods
Vladimir Ruzdjak (baritone), Zagreb Soloists
02:16 AM
Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Impromptu in B flat major, Op post 142 no 3
Els Biesemans (fortepiano)
02:31 AM
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Cantata no 36c (BWV.36c) "Schwingt freudig euch empor"
Tuva Semmingsen (mezzo soprano), Mona Julsrud (soprano), Jerker Dahlin (tenor), Frank Havroy (bass), Oslo Cathedral Choir, Christian Schneider (oboe d'amore), Terje Kvam (choirmaster), Erik Niord Larsen (oboe d'amore), Kjell Arne Jorgensen (violin), Miranda Playfair (violin), Dan Styffe (bass), Hans Knut Sveen (harpsichord)
03:01 AM
William Walton (1902-1983)
Concerto in B minor for violin and orchestra
James Ehnes (violin), Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Bramwell Tovey (conductor)
03:31 AM
Fryderyk Chopin (1810-1849)
Polonaise in B flat major, Op 71 no 2
Theodor Leschetizky (piano)
03:37 AM
Albertus Groneman (c.1710-1778)
Concerto in G major for solo flute, two flutes, viola & basso continuo
Jed Wentz (flute), Marion Moonen (flute), Cordula Breuer (flute), Musica ad Rhenum
03:46 AM
Camille Saint-Saens (1835-1921)
Dalila's aria: 'Mon coeur s'ouvre' (from "Samson et Dalila", Act 2 Scene 3)
Helja Angervo (soprano), Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Ulf Soderblom (conductor)
03:53 AM
Georges Bizet (1838-1875), arr. Ernest Guiraud
L'Arlesienne - suite no 2
RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra, Marko Munih (conductor)
04:07 AM
Franz Xaver Sterkel (1750-1817)
Duet no 2 for 2 violas
Milan Telecky (viola), Zuzana Jarabakova (viola)
04:16 AM
Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber (1644-1704)
Kyrie from Missa Sancti Henrici
James Griffett (tenor), Michael Schopper (bass), Regensburger Domspatzen, Collegium Aureum, Herbert Metzger (organ), Georg Ratzinger (conductor)
04:24 AM
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Intermezzo in E major, Op 116 no 4
Barry Douglas (piano)
04:31 AM
Aram Khachaturian (1903-1978)
Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia (from Spartacus Ballet Suite no 2)
West Australian Symphony Orchestra, David Measham (conductor)
04:37 AM
Niccolo Paganini (1782-1840)
Moses Fantaisie (after Rossini) for cello and piano
Monika Leskovar (cello), Ivana Schwartz (piano)
04:45 AM
Adolf Schulz-Evler (1852-1905), Johann Strauss II (1825-1899)
Concert arabesque on themes by Johann Strauss for piano
Benjamin Grosvenor (piano)
04:55 AM
Wilhelm Friedemann Bach (1710-1784)
Symphony in F major, F.67
Il Giardino Armonico, Giovanni Antonini (director)
05:09 AM
Frano Matusic (b.1961)
Two Croatian Folksongs
Dubrovnik Guitar Trio
05:16 AM
Rolf Liebermann (1910-1999)
Suite on six Swiss folk songs
Swiss Chamber Philharmonic, Patrice Ulrich (conductor)
05:27 AM
Alban Berg (1885-1935)
7 Early songs, arr. for voice and orchestra
Barbara Bonney (soprano), Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Riccardo Chailly (conductor)
05:43 AM
Anonymous
Sonata in G major from 'Maria Lancellotti's Book of Psalms'
Komale Akakpo (cimbalom)
05:53 AM
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Piano Concerto no 5 in E flat major, Op 73 'Emperor'
Susanna Stefani (piano), Norwegian Radio Orchestra, Oleg Caetani (conductor)
THU 06:30 Breakfast (m002g22m)
Brighten your 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 (m002g22q)
Refresh your morning with classical music
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”.
THU 13:00 Classical Live (m002g22s)
Royal Northern Sinfonia with Mendelssohn at the Proms
Bach and Mendelssohn from the Royal Northern Sinfonia at the Proms and concert recordings from former Radio 3 New Generation Artist and Proms artist Martin Frost.
Introduced by Elizabeth Alker and including:
Johann Sebastian Bach
Keyboard Concerto in D minor, BWV. 1052
David Fay (piano)
Royal Northern Sinfonia
Dinis Sousa (conductor)
Felix Mendelssohn
Symphony No. 2 in B flat, 'Lobgesang'
Adele Charvet (mezzo-soprano)
Benjamin Hulett (tenor)
Huddersfield Choral Society
Chorus of Royal Northern Sinfonia
Royal Northern Sinfonia
Dinis Sousa (conductor)
Joaquin Turina
La oracion del torero
RTVE Symphony Orchestra
Martin Frost (conductor)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Piano Concerto No. 13 in C, K.415
Kristian Bezuidenhout (piano)
Consone Quartet
THU 16:00 Composer of the Week (m002g22v)
Arvo Pärt
New Horizons
Kate Molleson and Michael Pärt discuss his family’s forced emigration and their journey into the unknown.
Composer of the Week celebrates the 90th birthday of Arvo Pärt, one of the world’s most-performed and recognisable living composers. A composer who had the courage to defy Soviet edicts, to spend years searching for answers, to invent a personal language that pivots on past and present, on sound, silence and clarity. Throughout the week, Kate Molleson explores Pärt’s landmark works and extraordinary story in conversation with his son Michael. And researchers from the Arvo Pärt Centre in Laulasmaa, Estonia provide exclusive insights into Pärt’s more personal archive.
Today, Kate and Michael look back on the moment it became impossible for his parents to stay in their homeland and the extraordinary scene of Pärt’s forbidden music accidentally resonating around the departure hall of a Belarusian border check point. Journeying into the unknown, the family had to start afresh in Berlin, where Pärt’s music found a global audience and new collaborators.
Hymn to a Great City
Katia and Marielle Labèque, piano
De Profundis
Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir
Christopher Bowers-Broadbent, organ
Tõnu Kaljuste, conductor
Cantus in Memoriam Benjamin Britten
Stuttgart State Orchestra
Dennis Russell Davies, conductor
Spiegel im Spiegel
Vladimir Spivakov, violin
Sergej Bezrodny, piano
Passio (excerpt)
The Hillard Ensemble
Paul Hillier, conductor
Berlin Mass (2nd Alleluia; Veni, Sancte Spiritus; Credo)
Polyphony
Andrew Lucas, organ
Stephen Layton, conductor
Produced by Amelia Parker for BBC Audio Wales and West
THU 17:00 In Tune (m002g22x)
Live music and chat with classical artists
Petroc Trelawny with live music from countertenor Hugh Cutting and pianist George Ireland, who are performing in August as part of the Edinburgh International Festival. Conductor Sian Edwards talks to Petroc about conducting the London Philharmonic Orchestra in Verdi's Falstaff at Glyndebourne.
THU 18:30 BBC Proms (m002g22z)
2025
Rachmaninov and Copland
Live at the BBC Proms: The BBC Philharmonic Orchestra with conductor Joshua Weilerstein and clarinet player Martin Fröst play Rachmaninov, Copland, Artie Shaw and Elsa Barraine.
Presented by Katie Derham, live from the Royal Albert Hall, London
Elsa Barraine: Symphony No. 2
Aaron Copland: Clarinet Concerto
Artie Shaw: Clarinet Concerto
c.
7.15pm
Interval: The writer Leah Broad transports Katie Derham from the Royal Albert Hall to the thrum of urban America, talking about the jazz scene, and discussing the rich contribution that European composers like Rachmaninov made to the American musical scene.
c.
7.35pm
Sergey Rachmaninov: Symphonic Dances
Martin Fröst, clarinet
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
Joshua Weilerstein, conductor
The thrum of urban America – jazz clubs and bustling sidewalks, pulsing Latin rhythms and night-time lights – runs through this Prom given by Joshua Weilerstein and the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra. Rachmaninov’s enigmatic final masterpiece, the Symphonic Dances, blends Russian soul with bold colours from the composer’s adopted homeland. Copland’s Clarinet Concerto draws on the virtuoso skills of jazz legend Benny Goodman, while bandleader Artie Shaw wrote his Clarinet Concerto for his own considerable skills as a player. Elsa Barraine’s tautly lyrical Symphony No. 2 opens the programme.
THU 21:00 Night Tracks (m002g232)
Blissful sounds for after-hours
Sara Mohr-Pietsch presents an adventurous, immersive soundtrack for late-night listening, from classical to contemporary and everything in between.
THU 22:15 BBC Proms (m002g235)
2025
Arvo Pärt at 90
Live at the BBC Proms: Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir conducted by Tõnu Kaljuste with a programme including Pärt, Bach, Rachmaninov and Grigorjeva.
Presented by Hannah French, live from the Royal Albert hall, London.
Arvo Pärt: Da pacem Domine; Veni creator; Magnificat; The Deer’s Cry; Für Jan van Eyck*
*UK premiere
Galina Grigorjeva Svyatki: ‘Spring is coming’
Rachmaninov: All-Night Vigil (Vespers) – ‘Slava v vyshnikh Bogu’; ‘Bogoroditse Devo’
J. S. Bach: Motet ‘Ich lasse dich nicht’, BWV 1165
Arvo Pärt: Peace upon you, Jerusalem; De profundis; Vater unser
Tormis: Curse upon Iron
Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir
Kadri Toomoja Organ
Tõnu Kaljuste, conductor
Sound and silence, stillness and motion are woven together in the music of Arvo Pärt. Celebrate the 90th birthday of ‘the father of Holy Minimalism’ with a Late-Night Prom from acclaimed Pärt interpreters Tõnu Kaljuste and the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir – named one of the world’s best choirs by BBC Music Magazine.
The programme also includes excerpts from Rachmaninov’s exquisite Vespers and music from Pärt’s fellow Estonian Veljo Tormis and from Ukraine-born, Estonia-resident Galina Grigorjeva.
THU 23:45 'Round Midnight (m002g239)
Fresh from Monzanto Sound
‘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.
Eibur, Charlene and Chanté Stepney have a fourth and final record to share for this week's special edition of 4/4 celebrating the life and music of the late influential composer, arranger and musician Charles Stepney. And tonight, they have collectively chosen an album that was produced, arranged and conducted by Charles for one of his close collaborators, whose five-octave range and whistle notes have captured generations of listeners.
The Stepney Sisters with Rotary Connection 222 will be performing on Saturday 16th August at We Out Here Festival.
Also in tonight’s programme, music from Harry Brunt, LCSM (Likwid Continual Space Motion), and Jamile.
FRIDAY 01 AUGUST 2025
FRI 00:30 Through the Night (m002g23f)
Wagner, Brahms and Mozart from Warsaw
Mikhail Mering conducts the Polish Radio Orchestra in Warsaw in Wagner's Siegfried Idyll, Brahms's Variations on a Theme by Haydn and Mozart's Symphony no 36 'Linz'. John Shea presents.
12:31 AM
Richard Wagner (1813-1883)
Siegfried Idyll
Polish Radio Orchestra in Warsaw, Mikhail Mering (conductor)
12:52 AM
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Variations on a Theme by Haydn, Op 56a
Polish Radio Orchestra in Warsaw, Mikhail Mering (conductor)
01:11 AM
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Symphony no 36 in C major, K.425 'Linz'
Polish Radio Orchestra in Warsaw, Mikhail Mering (conductor)
01:40 AM
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Piano Quintet in F minor, Op 34
Boris Berman (piano), Alexander String Quartet
02:24 AM
Richard Wagner (1813-1883), arr. Marcin Zdunik, Mathilde Wesendonck (text)
Im Treibhaus (Wesendonck-Lieder)
Agata Zubel (soprano), Warsaw Cellonet Group, Andrzej Bauer (director)
02:31 AM
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)
Violin Concerto in D major, Op 35
Kathy Kang (violin), Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Dmitri Kitaenko (conductor)
03:09 AM
Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757)
Stabat mater for 10 voices, organ & basso continuo in C minor
Danish National Radio Chorus, Soren Christian Vestergaard (organ), Bo Holten (conductor)
03:32 AM
Paul Hindemith (1895-1963)
Harp Sonata
Rita Costanzi (harp)
03:45 AM
John Field (1782-1837)
Rondo for piano and strings in A flat major, H.18A
Eckart Selheim (pianoforte), Collegium Aureum, Franzjosef Maier (director)
03:54 AM
Claude Debussy (1862-1918), orch. Luc Brewaeys
Des pas sur la neige (Preludes Book 1, no 6)
Royal Flemish Philharmonic, Daniele Callegari (conductor)
03:59 AM
Robert Schumann (1810-1856), arr. Stefan Bojsten
Hor' ich das Liedchen klingen - from Dichterliebe, Op 48 no 10
Olle Persson (baritone), Dan Almgren (violin), Torleif Thedeen (cello), Stefan Bojsten (piano)
04:03 AM
Fryderyk Chopin (1810-1849)
Ballade no 4 in F minor, Op 52
Seung-Hee Hyun (piano)
04:15 AM
Johann Rosenmuller (1619-1684)
Sonata Duodecima a 5 Stromenti da Arco & Altri
OH! Orkiestra Historyczna, Martyna Pastuszka (conductor)
04:21 AM
Toivo Kuula (1883-1918)
South Ostrobothnian Dances, Op 17 (excerpts)
Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Kari Tikka (conductor)
04:31 AM
Fanny Mendelssohn (1805-1847)
Excerpts from Songs Without Words, Op 6
Sylviane Deferne (piano)
04:41 AM
Franz Doppler (1821-1883)
Fantaisie pastorale hongroise, Op 26 (version for flute & piano)
Ian Mullin (flute), Richard Shaw (piano)
04:52 AM
Bela Bartok (1881-1945)
Romanian folk dances Sz.68 orch. from Sz.56 (Orig. for piano)
BBC National Orchestra of Wales, James Clark (conductor)
04:59 AM
Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)
Shéhérazade - song cycle
Sophie Koch (soprano), Musikkollegium Winterthur Orchestra, Roberto Gonzalez-Monjas (conductor)
05:15 AM
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875-1912)
Four African Dances, Op 58
Samuel Nebyu (violin), Charles Abramovic (piano)
05:33 AM
Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Sonata in C minor, D.958
Louis Schwizgebel (piano)
06:04 AM
Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)
Symphony no 64 in A major, Hob: I/64, 'Tempora mutantur'
Danish Radio Sinfonietta, Rolf Gupta (conductor)
06:24 AM
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (c.1525-1594)
Fundamenta ejus - motet for 4 voices
Chorus of Swiss Radio, Lugano, Lorenzo Ghielmi (organ), Diego Fasolis (conductor)
FRI 06:30 Breakfast (m002g268)
Start the day on the right note 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 (m002g26b)
A classical soundtrack for your morning
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 (m002g26d)
Beethoven and Vaughan Williams from the BBC Scottish Symphony at the Proms
The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall with highlights from the BBC Proms including their performance of Beethoven's Eroica Symphony and we eavesdrop on the recent Regensburg Festival of Early Music with concert perfomances of items by Bach, Leclair and Palestrina, introduced by Elizabeth Alker.
Including:
Regensburg Festival
Jean-Marie Leclair
Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 7 No. 2
Augustin Lusson (violin)
The Beggar's Ensemble
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
Regina Caeli, laetare
Regensburger Domspatze
La Cetra Basel
Christian Heiss (conductor)
Giovanni Gabrieli
Canzon duodecima
La Cetra Basel
Christian Heiss (conductor)
Johann Sebastian Bach
Cantata - "Lass Furstin, lass noch einen Strahl", BWV. 198
Solomon's Knot
Ludwig van Beethoven
Symphony No. 3 in E flat Op. 55
BBC Scottish Smphony Orchestra
Ryan Wigglesworth (conductor)
FRI 16:00 Composer of the Week (m002g26g)
Arvo Pärt
Home At Last
Kate Molleson asks Michael Pärt about his father’s return to Estonia and his growing legacy.
Composer of the Week celebrates the 90th birthday of Arvo Pärt, one of the world’s most-performed and recognisable living composers. A composer who had the courage to defy Soviet edicts, to spend years searching for answers, to invent a personal language that pivots on past and present, on sound, silence and clarity. Throughout the week, Kate Molleson explores Pärt’s landmark works and extraordinary story in conversation with his son Michael. And researchers from the Arvo Pärt Centre in Laulasmaa, Estonia provide exclusive insights into Pärt’s more personal archive.
Today, we bring the biography full circle. After 30 years in exile, Pärt reconnects with his homeland, and finds a forest haven for his musical legacy – the Arvo Pärt Centre. Kate and Michael discuss the impact of Pärt’s homecoming, archivist Karin Rõngelep tells us about his music’s impact on listeners, and we hear some of Pärt’s more recent music.
Estonian Lullaby
Women of Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir
Tallinn Chamber Orchestra
Tõnu Kaljuste, conductor
Vater Unser
Raschèr Saxophone Quartet
My Heart’s in the Highlands
David James, countertenor
Christopher Bowers-Broadbent, organ
Orient and Occident
Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra
Tõnu Kaljuste, conductor
Which Was the Son Of…
Polyphony
Stephen Layton, conductor
Littlemore Tractus
Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir
Tallinn Chamber Orchestra
Tõnu Kaljuste, conductor
And I Heard a Voice
Ars Nova Copenhagen
Paul Hillier, conductor
Produced by Amelia Parker for BBC Audio Wales and West
FRI 17:00 In Tune (m002g26j)
Ease into your evening with classical music
Violinist Liya Petrova performs live in studio with Pavel Kolesnikov ahead of her upcoming BBC Prom with the BBC Singers, BBC National Orchestra of Wales and Nil Venditti on Monday. Also, Kahchun Wong talks to Petroc Trelawny about his upcoming BBC Prom with the Halle.
FRI 19:00 Classical Mixtape (m002g26l)
30 minutes of classical inspiration
Take time out with a 30-minute soundscape of classical music.
FRI 19:30 BBC Proms (m002g26n)
2025
Yunchan Lim Plays Rachmaninov
Live at the BBC Proms: The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra & the BBC Singers with conductor Kazuki Yamada & pianist Yunchan Lim perform Adams, Rachmaninov & Berio
Presented by Hannah French, live from the Royal Albert Hall, London
John Adams: The Chairman Dances
Sergey Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 4 in G minor
8.15pm
Interval: Gillian Moore joins Hannah French to uncover the story of Berio's eclectic Sinfonia
8.35pm
Luciano Berio: Sinfonia
Yunchan Lim, piano
BBC Singers
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
Kazuki Yamada, conductor
After a ‘dazzling’ Proms debut last year, pianist and global phenomenon Yunchan Lim returns, joining Kazuki Yamada and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra for Rachmaninov’s final piano concerto. Rich in scope and ambition, tinged with the jazz rhythms and harmonies of the composer’s new homeland, it’s a technical tour de force
Musical visions from the New World continue in the two other works: John Adams’s ‘foxtrot for orchestra’ The Chairman Dances, a surreal set-piece from his hit opera Nixon in China, in which a young Mao Zedong dances with the future Madame Mao; and Berio’s iconic Sinfonia (dedicated to Leonard Bernstein) – an explosive, psychedelic remix of classical music’s past that asks big questions about its future
FRI 22:00 Late Junction (m002g26q)
Vocal weavings, fresh rituals
Verity Sharp presents a walk through soundscapes, musings on accidental utterances and folkloric reimaginings of cult classic soviet film scores in another ear-bending journey through sound.
Featuring Viv Corringham’s latest in a series of ‘Soundwalkscapes’, in which voice and field recordings blend to draw the listener towards the rhythm of the everyday. Shouts, squeaks and moans take centre stage in Luke Calzonetti’s ‘Blue Voice’ as we ponder these noises devoid of their context; caught somewhere between psychological study and cartoon slapstick. There’s also a fresh, melodic and folk-tinged interpretation of the long lost cult Slovakian cult film ‘Dragon’s Return’ from Oren Ambarchi and Fredrik Rasten.
Elsewhere in the show there’s distorted post-punk afrobeat fusion from Al Karpenter, rousing chants of funeral rites from the Afro-Colombian Pacific and Alexander Holm’s curated stroll through his memory driven sonic rituals.
Produced by Alex Yates
A Reduced Listening production for BBC Radio 3
To listen on most smart speakers just say “ask BBC Sounds to play Late Junction”
FRI 23:30 'Round Midnight (m002g26s)
Naïssam Jalal in concert
‘Round Midnight is presented by award-winning saxophonist Soweto Kinch. This weekday late-night show celebrates the thriving UK jazz scene and spotlights the best new music alongside incredible acts from past decades.
Soweto presents highlights from French flautist Naïssam Jalal's set at Cully Jazz Festival 2025 in Switzerland, alongside cellist Clément Petit.
The duo performed music from Naïssam's album Healing Rituals.
Elsewhere in the programme, Soweto has tracks from Alfa Mist, Ahmad Jamal and seed.
To listen on most smart speakers, just say: 'Ask BBC Sounds to play Round Midnight.'