SATURDAY 27 DECEMBER 2025
SAT 00:30 Through the Night (m002nlr0)
Bach Trumpet Concertos from Budapest
The outstanding German trumpeter Matthias Höfs plays Bach's exquisitely composed Vivaldi transcriptions and Bach's majestic cantata ‘Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen’ with the Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, joined by soprano Zuzana Kohoutová. Jonathan Swain presents.
12:31 AM
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750),Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741), transc. Matthias Höfs
Concerto in D (arr. of Vivaldi's Concerto, Op 3 no 9, RV 230), BWV.972
Matthias Höfs (trumpet), Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Budapest, János Kovács (conductor)
12:39 AM
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Orchestral Suite no 1 in C major, BWV.1066
Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Budapest, János Kovács (conductor)
01:02 AM
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750),Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741), transc. Matthias Höfs
Concerto in G (arr. of Vivaldi's Concerto, Op 3 no 3, RV 310), BWV.978
Matthias Höfs (trumpet), Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Budapest, János Kovács (conductor)
01:09 AM
Oskar Lindberg (1887-1955), arr. Matthias Höfs
Gammal fäbodpsalm
Matthias Höfs (flugelhorn), Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Budapest, János Kovács (conductor)
01:14 AM
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Cantata: Brich dem Hungrigen dein Brot, BWV.39
Zuzana Kohoutová (soprano), Dalma Krajnyak (contralto), István Kovács (bass), Hungarian Radio Chorus, Budapest, Zoltán Pad (choirmaster), Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Budapest, János Kovács (conductor)
01:38 AM
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Cantata: Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen, BWV.51
Zuzana Kohoutová (soprano), Matthias Höfs (trumpet), Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Budapest, János Kovács (conductor)
01:56 AM
Károly Goldmark (1830-1915)
String Quartet in B flat major, Op 8
Kodály Quartet
02:25 AM
Béla Bartók (1881-1945)
Andante in A major for violin and piano (1902)
Tamás Major (violin), György Oravecz (piano)
02:31 AM
Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)
Gaspard de la nuit for piano
Anna Vinnitskaya (piano)
02:53 AM
Florence Price (1887-1953)
Symphony no 3 in C minor
BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Valentina Peleggi (conductor)
03:26 AM
Thomas Tallis (1505-1585)
Spem in Alium, for 40 voices
BBC Singers, Stephen Cleobury (conductor)
03:34 AM
Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Impromptu no 4 in A flat major - from 4 Impromptus (D.899) for piano
Sook-Hyun Cho (piano)
03:41 AM
Johann Strauss II (1825-1899), arr. Arnold Schoenberg
Rosen aus dem Suden: waltz arr. Schoenberg for harmonium, piano & string quartet
Canadian Chamber Ensemble, Raffi Armenian (director)
03:50 AM
Johann Michael Bach (1648-1694)
Unser Leben wahret siebenzig Jahr
Vox Luminis, Lionel Meunier (director)
03:55 AM
Wilhelm Stenhammar (1871-1927)
Florez and Blanzeflor, Op 3
Peter Mattei (baritone), Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Manfred Honeck (conductor)
04:03 AM
Milko Lazar (b.1965)
Prelude (Allegro moderato)
Mojca Zlobko-Vajgl (harp), Bojan Gorišek (piano)
04:12 AM
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Rondo in D (K.485)
Jean Muller (piano)
04:19 AM
George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)
Water Music: Suite in G major for 'flauto piccolo' HWV.350
Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, Paul Dyer (director)
04:31 AM
Claude Debussy (1862-1918)
Reverie
Jan-Erik Gustafsson (cello), Heini Kärkkäinen (piano)
04:35 AM
Grażyna Bacewicz (1909-1969)
Suite for chamber orchestra
Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Jan Krenz (conductor)
04:43 AM
Richard Strauss (1864-1949)
Largo from 5 Klavierstücke, Op 3 no 3
Ludmil Angelov (piano)
04:52 AM
Bohuslav Martinů (1890-1959)
Part-song book - 4 madrigals for mixed chorus
Danish National Radio Choir, Stefan Parkman (conductor)
05:02 AM
Giovanni Girolamo Kapsberger (c.1580-1651)
Three works: Preludio, Toccata II; Sfessania; Passacaglia
Simone Vallerotonda (theorbo)
05:14 AM
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Variations on a theme by Haydn vers. for orchestra, Op 56a
Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Simone Young (conductor)
05:33 AM
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Piano Quintet in E flat, Op 16
Martin Frutiger (oboe), Fabio di Càsola (clarinet), Mischa Greull (horn), Matthias Racz (bassoon), Martin Lucas Staub (piano)
06:00 AM
Guillaume-Gabriel Nivers (c.1632-1714)
Officium Defunctorum
Studio 600
SAT 06:30 Breakfast (m002npsv)
Launch the day with classical music
Hannah French presents Radio 3’s Breakfast show. 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 (m002npsz)
Martin James Bartlett takes over the studio piano
Tom welcomes pianist Martin James Bartlett to the studio to play arrangements of Bach and Johann Strauss.
Writer and researcher Katy Hamilton joins Tom to pick through some choice post-Christmas musical leftovers, and offer an insight into how composers recycle their work.
And there’s another chance to hear some of the best new recordings of 2025, with one or two surprise guests introducing their own tracks.
SAT 12:00 Earlier... with Jools Holland (m001zvdz)
Jools shares music with Jim Moir (aka Vic Reeves)
In his new show for Saturday lunchtimes, Jools shares his lifelong passion for classical music. With fascinating guests each week who bring their own favourite music and occasionally perform live in Jools's studio.
Today, Jools's choices include music by Felix Mendelssohn and Percy Grainger, with performances from Myra Hess, Oscar Peterson, Walter Gieseking and The Skatalites. His guest is artist and comedian Jim Moir, also known by his stage name of Vic Reeves, who introduces music by Olivier Messiaen, Maurice Ravel and Ralph Vaughan Williams.
SAT 13:00 Music Matters (m002npt3)
In the Beginning
The Sea
James MacMillan and guests explore how composers capture the ocean’s power, mystery, and ecological themes. Topics include orchestration techniques in La Mer, the sea as a symbol of divine creation in Vaughan William’s A Sea Symphony, and minimalist approaches to vastness in John Luther Adams Become Ocean, highlighting music’s connection to nature. Former Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams reads his own poetry which is written to evoke a rising spring of creative inspiration.
SAT 14:00 Record Review (m002npt7)
Schumann's Kreisleriana in Building a Library with Lucy Parham and Andrew McGregor
A personal recommendation for Schumann's Kreisleriana, plus new releases and the Radio 3 Disc of the Week recommendation
Presented by Andrew McGregor
2.00pm
Pianist Tom Poster's personal pick of the best releases of the last twelve months
3.00pm
Building a Library
Pianist Lucy Parham with a personal recommendation for Schumann's kaleidoscopic piano piece, Kreisleriana, which the composer based on one of E.T.A. Hoffmann's literary creations
Recommended version: Vladimir Horowitz (Sony Classical)
3.45pm
Record of the Week
Andrew's pick of the best of the best
SAT 16:00 Sound of Cinema (m002nptc)
Edith speaks to Natalie Holt
Join Edith Bowman for a handpicked celebration of film scores and soundtracks, featuring festive highlights. This week’s Harmonising Hollywood comes from composer Sheridan Tongue, who explores Carter Burwell’s haunting score for Martin McDonagh’s The Banshees of Inisherin. Plus, Scottish jazz pianist and composer Fergus McCreadie shares his Pick of the Flicks. Alongside the latest soundtrack releases and some seasonal favourites, we'll also have a special interview with the composer of Loki and Obi Wan Kenobi- Natalie Holt.
SAT 17:00 This Classical Life (m002npth)
Jess Gillam with... William Marsey
Jess Gillam swaps favourite music with the composer William Marsey. William’s music is regularly heard across the globe in concerts by orchestras including the LA Philharmonic, the Halle, and Royal Northern Sinfonia. As well as composing, William also runs Listenpony - a London-based concert series, commissioning body and record label - with Freya Waley Cohen and Josephine Stephenson.
Williams chooses music by Sibelius, Anja Garbarek, Tallis and Cocteau Twins, while Jess picks tracks by Bela Fleck, CPE Bach and Brahms.
To listen on most smart speakers just say 'Ask BBC Sounds to play Radio 3'.
SAT 18:00 Opera on 3 (m002nptm)
Mozart's Cosi fan tutte
Mozart's opera Cosi fan tutte from La Scala, Milan.
Presented by Kate Molleson in conversation with Sarah Lenton.
A jaded old 'philosopher' bets his two younger friends that, within 24 hours, their respective lovers will be unfaithful to them. The two men set out to prove him wrong but what do you know...?
The title of Mozart's comedy, Così fan tutte – Women are all like that (where 'that' means being unfaithful) – is a bit of a spoiler. But nothing can spoil an evening in the company of some of Mozart's greatest music where orchestra and voices fuse in a beguiling succession of solo numbers and ensembles to create subtle psychological characterisation and an unsettling, ambiguous tension between comic and serious.
Fiordiligi - Elsa Dreisig
Dorabella - Nina van Essen
Despina - Sandrine Piau
Guglielmo - Luca Micheletti
Ferrando - Giovanni Sala
Don Alfonso - Gerald Finley
Chorus & Orchestra of Teatro alla Scala, Milan
Alexander Soddy, conductor
SAT 21:30 Music Planet (m002nptr)
Best of 2025
As the year draws to a close, Lopa Kothari and Kathryn Tickell get together for a special roundtable show celebrating their favourite releases and sessions of the year, including exclusive tracks from Trio Da Kali and Rita Payés and a standout live moment from young flamenco star Angeles Toledano.
Produced by Silvia Malnati
A Reduced Listening production for BBC Radio 3
SAT 22:30 New Music Show (m002nptw)
Skaņu Mežs: Experimental Music in Latvia
Tom Service presents recorded highlights from this year's Skaņu Mežs festival for experimental music that took place in Riga, Latvia, in October.
With music from:
John Butcher [solo sax]
Joan La Barbara [solo vocals]
Shabaka Hutchings / Hamid Drake [saxophone / drums]
Balss Lūzums [choral, cello and electronics]
R3YWYA [electronics]
Laine Luize Freidenberga / Ernests Vilsons [solo double bass]
Pierce Warnecke & Matthew Biederman - field recordings
SUNDAY 28 DECEMBER 2025
SUN 00:30 Through the Night (m002npv0)
Mitsuko Uchida: Schoenberg, Beethoven and Brahms
Schoenberg's Theme and Variations opens this concert from the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, followed by Mitsuko Uchida with Beethoven's third piano concerto and Brahms's youthfully conceived Serenade no 1 in the second half. Jonathan Swain presents.
12:31 AM
Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951)
Theme and Variations, Op 43b
Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, Vladimir Jurowski (conductor)
12:44 AM
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Piano Concerto no 3 in C minor, Op 37
Mitsuko Uchida (piano), Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, Vladimir Jurowski (conductor)
01:23 AM
Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951)
Piano Pieces, Op 19 no 2 (encore)
Mitsuko Uchida (piano)
01:24 AM
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Serenade no 1 in D major, Op 11
Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, Vladimir Jurowski (conductor)
02:10 AM
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714-1788)
Flute Sonata in G major, Wq.133/H.564 'Hamburger Sonata'
Wilbert Hazelzet (flute), Andreas Staier (fortepiano)
02:18 AM
Anton Webern (1883-1945)
Passacaglia, Op 1
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Osmo Vänskä (conductor)
02:31 AM
Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683-1764)
In convertendo, grand motet
Schola Cantorum Basiliensis Vocal Ensemble, Schola Cantorum Basiliensis Instrumental Ensemble, Jörg-Andreas Bötticher (conductor), Jörg-Andreas Bötticher (harpsichord)
02:58 AM
Rebecca Clarke (1886-1979)
Viola Sonata in E minor
Lise Berthaud (viola), Xénia Maliarevitch (piano)
03:21 AM
John Foulds (1880-1939)
Holiday Sketches, Op 16
Cynthia Fleming (violin), Katharine Wood (cello), BBC Concert Orchestra, Ronald Corp (conductor)
03:37 AM
Chan Ka Nin (b.1949)
Four seasons suite
Ottawa Winds, Michael Goodwin (conductor)
03:49 AM
Anton Milling (18th century)
Concerto for Viola da Gamba and Strings in D minor
Teodoro Baù (viola da gamba), Aira Maria Lehtipuu (violin), Kore Orchestra
03:59 AM
Paul Jeanjean (1874-1928)
Prelude and Scherzo for bassoon and piano
Bálint Mohai (bassoon), Monika Michel (piano)
04:08 AM
Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990)
Candide: Glitter and be gay
Tracy Dahl (soprano), Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, Mario Bernardi (conductor)
04:13 AM
Girolamo Frescobaldi (1583-1643)
Toccata sopra i pedali dell'Organo e senza
Angela Tomanic (organ)
04:20 AM
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Oboe Concerto in G minor
Hans-Peter Westermann (oboe), Camerata Köln
04:31 AM
Elfrida Andrée (1841-1929)
Concert Overture in D major
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Chloé van Soeterstèd (conductor)
04:43 AM
Sergey Prokofiev (1891-1953)
Sarcasmes Op 17
Roger Woodward (piano)
04:52 AM
John Blow (1649-1708)
Venus and Adonis (dance extracts)
Consort of Musicke, Anthony Rooley (director)
04:59 AM
Imogen Holst (1907-1984)
Leiston Suite for brass quartet
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Martyn Brabbins (conductor)
05:05 AM
Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)
String Quartet in G minor, Op 74, No 3 'Rider' (2nd movt)
Artis Quartet
05:11 AM
Philip Glass (b.1937)
Music in similar motion for ensemble
Ricercata Ensemble, Ivan Siller (director)
05:24 AM
Max Bruch (1838-1920)
Scottish fantasy, Op 46
James Ehnes (violin), Orchestre symphonique de Montreal, Mario Bernardi (conductor)
05:54 AM
Plamen Djourov (b.1949)
Alto Saxophone Concerto
Boris Petrov (alto saxophone), Bulgarian National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Plamen Djourov (conductor)
06:17 AM
Ilja Zeljenka (1932-2007)
Sinfonietta no 2
Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, Mário Košik (conductor)
SUN 06:30 Breakfast (m002nps2)
Boost your morning with classical music
Mark Forrest presents Radio 3’s Breakfast show live from Salford. With 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’
SUN 09:00 Sunday Morning (m002nps4)
Three hours of classical sparkle
This week, Sarah Walker brings a warming musical glow to the final Sunday of 2025. From sunshine-filled Fauré and the spirited brilliance of Emilie Mayer to Percy Grainger’s much-loved Irish Tune and Rimsky-Korsakov’s shimmering world of Sheherazade.
There’s also a moment of Elizabethan lute-playing from John Dowland, a cheerful Christmastide chorus from Vaughan Williams, and a luminous late-morning highlight from Samuel Coleridge-Taylor with his romantic Ballade in A minor.
Plus, today’s Choral Reflection takes Sarah to the wintery climes of Iceland for a stirring performance of a piece by celebrated musician Bára Grimsdóttir, sung by Reykjavik based Mótettukórimm.
A Tandem Production for BBC Radio 3.
SUN 12:00 Private Passions (m0024xl6)
Rupert Everett
Rupert Everett left school at 16 to train as an actor and first shot to wider fame in 1984 as a dashing public schoolboy in the film Another Country.
Since then his career has been defiantly unpredictable: he’s starred in Hollywood films, taken leading roles on stage in the West End and on Broadway, and directed, written and played the lead in a passion project about Oscar Wilde’s final years.
He’s made documentaries and written three candid and acclaimed memoirs. Most recently he’s turned to short stories with a collection called The American No, drawing on ideas he had pitched to film producers, all of which were rejected.
His musical passions include works by Handel, Purcell, Wagner and Mahler.
Presenter Michael Berkeley
Producer Clare Walker
SUN 13:30 Music Map (m002nps6)
Rachmaninov's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini
Sara Mohr-Pietsch traces a path towards Rachmaninov's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, a single-movement work for piano and orchestra, based on one of Paganini's Caprices for solo violin. On the way, we hear other rhapsodies by Gershwin and Brahms, sets of variations by Handel and Elgar,and music inspired by lakes.
To listen to this programme (using most smart speakers), just say: 'Ask BBC Sounds to play Music Map.'
SUN 15:00 Choral Evensong (m002ngcc)
St Martin-in-the-Fields
A service of Choral Evensong with Carols for Christmas Eve from St Martin-in-the-Fields, London.
Introit: Mid-winter (Bob Chilcott)
Carol: Joy to the world (Antioch, arr. Rutter)
Responses: Forbes L'Estrange
Psalm 85 (Lucy Walker)
First Lesson: Zechariah 2 vv1-13
Carol: Infant Holy (Bob Chilcott) (World Premiere)
Canticles: Christiana Canticles (John Rutter)
Second Lesson: Revelation 1 vv1-8
Anthem: What sweeter music (John Rutter)
Prayer Anthem: The Shepherd’s Carol (Bob Chilcott)
Carol: Ding, dong! merrily on high (Trad. French, arr. Wood)
Carol: God rest you merry gentlemen (Trad. English, arr. Willcocks)
Voluntary: Prelude on God rest you merry gentlemen (John Rutter)
St Martin’s Voices
Andrew Earis (Director of Music)
Andreana Chan (Organist)
Recorded 2 December.
To listen on most smart speakers just say 'ask BBC Sounds to play Choral Evensong'.
SUN 16:00 Jazz Record Requests (m002nps8)
Best of 2025
Alyn Shipton rounds off 2025 with listeners' choices of the finest releases of the year, in all styles of jazz from historic reissues to the newest sounds around including music from Pharoah Sanders, Bill Evans, Keith Jarrett, Shear Brass, Alison Rayner & McCoy Tyner.
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 (m002npsb)
The Spohr Collection
Hannah French is joined by Baroque flaustist Ashley Solomon to explore some of the extraordinary flutes in the collection of the German musical instrument enthusiast Peter Spohr. Over the past few years Ashley has been granted access to Peter's remarkable collection, and has recorded three discs of music played on them. The instruments are made from various materials including solid ivory, ebony and boxwood, and each possesses a beautiful but different sound, giving them their own unique personality.
We'll hear Ashley playing a selection of flutes from the Spohr Collection, in music by Vivaldi, Quantz, Hotteterre, Mozart and Telemann among others.
SUN 18:00 Words and Music (m001y982)
Byron
Bryon's dramatic narrative poems Childe Harold's Pilgrimage, Manfred and The Corsair have inspired symphonies and ballets by composers including Verdi, Liszt, Robert Schumann, Tchaikovsky, Berlioz , Hugo Wolf and Elgar.
On April 19th 1824, he died aged 36 in Missolonghi in Greece during a violent electrical storm. He was on his way to fight against Turkey but became seriously ill.
Although his death was two centuries ago, his life and writing seem much more of our times - from his fame and infamy described as ‘mad, bad and dangerous to know’, his life as a ‘celebrity’ mobbed by fans and renowned across Europe, his bisexuality, his writing in Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage on his horror at being shown the damage caused by Lord Elgin’s removal of the Parthenon marbles in Greece - to his poem Darkness written after the volcano Mount Tambora erupted in Indonesia, which reads like a premonition of the wild fires and famine we see today.
Robert Glenister reads from poems, diaries, journals and his opening speech in the House of Lords on the plight of the Luddites alongside music inspired by his works.
Producer: Fiona McLean
Readings:
SUN 19:15 Sunday Feature (m002npsf)
Wolf Biermann - the German Bob Dylan exiled by the GDR
The incredible events that led to folk musician and protest singer Wolf Biermann - hailed as the German Bob Dylan - to be exiled from the GDR. Biermann’s expulsion in 1976 fuelled his popularity and triggered a mass protest movement that led to the exodus of many prominent artists and intellectuals from East Germany, along with the imprisonment of many freedom-of-speech campaigners. Biermann’s expulsion has been cited widely as one of the factors that led to the fall of the Berlin Wall thirteen years later.
Journalists Paul Hanford and Rosalie Delaney dive into a world of dissidents and music, state control and protest, leading us through first-hand witness accounts - including from Biermann himself - archive material, and location recordings, including Biermann’s apartment in Berlin, Chausseestrasse 131. This is where the singer lived under 24-hour surveillance by the Stasi - East Germany’s notorious secret police - all the while playing his songs to visitors, including Western counter-cultural figures Joan Baez and Allen Ginsberg. In Germany, Biermann is considered to be a cultural icon whose songs, often passed in secret between people via tape copies, gave hope to a generation living under a regime.
Produced by Rosalie Delaney and Paul Hanford. A Munck Studios Production.
SUN 20:00 Record Review (m002npsh)
Schumann's Kreisleriana
A chance to hear Lucy Parham's personal recommendation for Schumann's kaleidoscopic piano piece Kreisleriana and more of yesterday's Record Review new releases.
SUN 21:00 20th Century Radicals (m002npsk)
Daphne Oram: Nature and machine are one
Kate Molleson and Gillian Moore introduce BBC Radio 3's series exploring the pivotal 'modern' musical works of the 20th century, the groundbreaking composers who created them, and the radical cultural and artistic movements which gave rise to them. This week, Kate explores the visionary music of Daphne Oram, electronic composer and co-founder of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, leading to a full listen to her 1972 work Bird of Parallax. En route, we’ll visit the Brussels World Fair of 1958, consider the merging of nature and machine, and explore how Oram and other composers sought to intertwine sound and vision.
Produced by Sam Phillips
A Reduced Listening production for BBC Radio 3
To listen on most smart speakers just say, “ask BBC Sounds to play 20th Century Radicals”
SUN 22:00 Night Tracks (m0025mz4)
Immersive music for moonlight
Sara Mohr-Pietsch presents an adventurous, immersive soundtrack for late-night listening, from classical to contemporary and everything in between.
SUN 23:30 Unclassified (m002jfz9)
Dissolving Patterns
Join Elizabeth Alker with a selection of fresh music from genre-defying artists as we journey through landscapes of ambient and experimental sounds. This week she offers up a stunning arrangement of Bryce Dessner’s ‘Towards the Forest’ played by the mighty Gautier Capuçon; a track from the latest Black Country, New Road’s dramatic, genre-hopping album ‘Forever Howlong’; and Daryl Henner’s gorgeous and gorgeously-titled electronic soundscape ‘We Ditched School and Climbed Over the Neighbour’s Fence to Swim in their Pool All Day’.
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 29 DECEMBER 2025
MON 00:30 Through the Night (m002npsm)
Julia Fischer plays Britten's Violin Concerto
Julia Fischer performs a brilliant rendition of Britten's violin concerto: a virtuosic, challenging work and not often played. The Lucerne Symphony Orchestra play Shostakovich's Symphony no 11, subtitled 'The Year 1905' commemorating the storming of the Tsar's Palace in that year. Jonathan Swain presents.
12:31 AM
Benjamin Britten (1913-1976)
Violin Concerto, Op 15
Julia Fischer (violin), Lucerne Symphony Orchestra, Michael Sanderling (conductor)
01:04 AM
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Sarabande from Partita no 2 in D minor, BWV.1004
Julia Fischer (violin)
01:07 AM
Dmitry Shostakovich (1906-1975)
Symphony no 11 in G minor, Op 193 'The Year 1905'
Lucerne Symphony Orchestra, Michael Sanderling (conductor)
02:12 AM
Antal Doráti (1906-1988)
La cigale et la fourmie, from 'Cinq pièces pour le hautbois, No.1'
Eva Steinaa (oboe)
02:15 AM
Benjamin Britten (1913-1976)
Lachrymae (reflections on a song of Dowland) arr. for viola and strings
Rivka Golani (viola), Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Andrew Davis (conductor)
02:31 AM
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Jesu, meine Freude - motet BWV.227
Choir of Latvian Radio, Aivars Kalejs (organ), Orchestra of Latvian Radio, Sigvards Kļava (conductor)
02:52 AM
Francis Poulenc (1899-1963)
Les Biches, suite from the ballet (1939-1940)
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Bernard Haitink (conductor)
03:12 AM
Hyacinthe Jadin (1776-1800)
Sonata No.1 in E flat major, Op 3
Patrick Cohen (fortepiano)
03:31 AM
Percy Grainger (1882-1961)
Hill-Song No 1
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Geoffrey Simon (conductor)
03:44 AM
Grzegorz Gerwazy Gorczycki (1665-1734)
Litaniae de providential divina
Olga Pasiecznik (soprano), Marta Bobertska (soprano), Piotr Lykowski (counter tenor), Wojciech Parchem (tenor), Mirosław Borczyński (baritone), Sine Nomine Chamber Choir, Concerto Polacco, Marek Toporowski (conductor)
03:56 AM
Thomas Adès (b.1971)
Dawn - Chacony for orchestra at any distance
Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, Thomas Adès (conductor)
04:05 AM
Johanna Müller-Hermann (1868-1941)
Fünf Lieder, Op 2 (nos 1, 3, 5 & 2)
Soraya Mafi (soprano), Simon Lepper (piano)
04:14 AM
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750), arr. Igor Stravinsky
Prelude and Fugue in E minor, BWV 855; Improvisation
Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, Brad Mehldau (piano), Clark Rundell (conductor)
04:21 AM
Marcel Tournier (1879-1951)
Vers la source dans le bois
Rita Costanzi (harp)
04:26 AM
George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)
Aria 'As cheers the sun' from "Joshua", Act 2
Emma Kirkby (soprano), Academy of Ancient Music, Andrew Manze (director)
04:31 AM
Missy Mazzoli (b.1980)
Sinfonia (for Orbiting Spheres)
Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Pekka Kuusisto (conductor)
04:41 AM
Carl Nielsen (1865-1931)
Serenata in vano, FS 68 (for clarinet, horn, bassoon, cello & double bass)
Festival Ensemble of the Festival of the Sound, James Campbell (conductor)
04:48 AM
Modest Mussorgsky (1839-1881)
Pimen's Monologue from 'Boris Godunov'
Robert Holl (bass), Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, Kenneth Montgomery (conductor)
04:54 AM
Philippe Racine (b.1958)
Mais, hier…
Felix Renggli (flute), Gilles Vonsattel (piano)
05:04 AM
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Academic Festival Overture, Op 80
Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Tamás Vásáry (conductor)
05:15 AM
Karin Rehnqvist (b.1957)
Take the Milky Way
Helsinki Chamber Choir, Finnish Baroque Orchestra, Nils Schweckendiek (conductor)
05:29 AM
Sergey Rachmaninov (1873-1943)
Variations on a theme of Corelli, Op 42
Natalya Pasichnyk (piano)
05:46 AM
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
String Quartet in E flat major, Op 127
Oslo Quartet
MON 06:30 Breakfast (m002npsp)
Start the day with classical music
John Toal presents Radio 3’s Breakfast show live from Salford. With 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 (m002npsr)
The ideal mix of classical music
Georgia Mann plays the best classical music for your morning, with discoveries and surprises rubbing shoulders with familiar favourites. Including the Playlister challenge: our regular listener-created sequence inspired by a different piece of music each day. Plus a new classical release in focus for Album of the Week.
1000 Playlister starter: listen and send us your ideas for the next step in today's musical journey. Text 83111 or email essentialclassics@bbc.co.uk.
1030 Album of the Week: an exciting new classical release in focus throughout the week.
1115 Playlister reveal: an uninterrupted sequence of music suggested by you in response to today's starter piece.
1200 Feast of a Piece: indulge your ears with an orchestral masterpiece.
To listen on most smart speakers say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Essential Classics”
MON 13:00 Classical Live (m002npsw)
Berlioz's L'Enfance du Christ
Elizabeth Alker brings you an afternoon of exclusive music-making. Beginning the programme today, the Zurich Chamber Orchestra and conductor Daniel Hope perform Grieg's vivacious Holberg Suite, his homage to the music of past times. Also in the programme Berlioz's poignant L'Enfance du Christ which also began its life inspired by an idea about music of the past. It is sung by a fabulous line-up of world class soloists with the conductor Paul McCreesh and the NFM Wrocław Philharmonic Orchestra. Plus, we celebrate the New Generation Artist class of 2023-2025. Today, pianist Alim Beisembayev plays Liszt and the Chaos Quartet perform Caroline Shaw. And by way of a contrast the Capricornus Consort, Basel, peruse the pages of the Music Book for Anna Magdalena Bach.
Edvard Grieg
Holberg Suite, Op. 40
Zurich Chamber Orchestra
Daniel Hope (conductor)
Franz Liszt
Ètudes d’exécution transcendante, S. 139
- Paysage
- Mazeppa
- Feux follets
Alim Beisembayev (piano)
Johann Sebastian Bach
Fantasia and Fugue in G minor, BWV 542
Capricornus Consort, Basel
Péter Barczi (violin and artistic leader)
Hector Berlioz
L'Enfance du Christ, Op. 25
Frances Gregory (mezzo-soprano, La vierge Marie)
Ashley Riches (bass-baritone, Joseph)
Florian Störtz (bass-baritone, Le père de famille)
Neal Davies (bass-baritone, Hérode)
Pawel Zdebski (tenor, Centurion)
Michal Pytlewski (bass, Polydorus)
National Forum of Music Chorus
Lionel Sow (artistic direction of the NFM Chorus)
NFM Wrocław Philharmonic Orchestra
Paul McCreesh (conductor)
Caroline Shaw
Entr'Acte
Chaos String Quartet
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 (m001pv1g)
Icons of British Light Music
Born of the Theatre
Donald Macleod explores how light music emerged from the theatre pits of late-19th-century Britain and began to find audiences in concert halls, music halls and at home, focusing on the composers Edward German and Haydn Wood.
The names of the composers of British light music - Coates, Ketèlby, Farnon, Dring or Tomlinson - might not be as well known as those of Mozart, Beethoven or Bach, but some of their music will be just as familiar to most listeners, and it still provides the soundtrack to many people’s everyday lives through, among other things, the theme music to their favourite TV and radio programmes. Over the course of this week, Donald Macleod tracks the rise and fall of light music in Britain over roughly 100 years, from the mid-19th century to the mid-20th. He’ll be exploring the social history which led to this genre flourishing, from the late-Victorian theatre crowds in want of more popular fare after the successes of Gilbert and Sullivan’s operettas, to the orchestras which sprang up to entertain the burgeoning UK seaside resorts. Along the way, Donald will examine the explosion of music in people’s homes, as at first pianos and other instruments, and then radio and television sets, became affordable to households across the country, and the transition from silent movies to the talkies. Donald will also explore the challenges which the genre faced as audiences moved towards new ways of listening in the 20th century and the pioneers who have sought to keep this music alive.
In Monday’s episode, Donald explores the music of Edward German and Haydn Wood, who emerged from the theatres of Victorian Britain to bring a new, lighter, more tuneful style of music to concert halls and music halls up and down the country. He also explores the impact of the new, more affordable upright piano - a 'must have' for every home.
Ronald Binge
Elizabethan Serenade
New London Orchestra
Ronald Corp, conductor
Edward German
'If You Wish to Appear As An Irish Type' from Emerald Isle
Richard Suart, baritone
The National Symphony Orchestra
David Steadman, conductor
Edward German
Nell Gwyn Suite: Overture
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
John Wilson, conductor
Edward German
Welsh Rhapsody
Scottish National Orchestra
Sir Alexander Gibson, conductor
Haydn Wood
Roses of Picardy
Gerald Finley, bass-baritone
Stephen Higgins, piano
Haydn Wood
Mannin Veen
Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra
Adrian Leaper, conductor
MON 17:00 Words and Music (m001yqy3)
Mills
From The Watermill by composer Ronald Binge to Windy Miller, Don Quixote tilting at windmills and the windmills of your mind. Readers Jane Horrocks and Art Malik take us from George Eliot's rural setting of The Mill on the Floss to the factory strikes in Elizabeth Gaskell's novel North and South via Helen Mort's poem describing gentrification at Litton Mill. Alfred Lord Tennyson's love poem describes The Miller's Daughter 'grown so dear', Stephen Sondheim's maid Petra dreams of marrying The Miller's Son and Judith Kerr and John Faulkner wrote the Miller's Song which appeared in the TV programme Bagpuss.
Producer: Georgia Mann
MON 18:15 New Generation Artists (m002npt4)
Winter Showcase: Mahler and Brahms
Georgia Mann presents the first of four early evening celebrations of the prodigious musical talents of Radio 3’s current New Generation Artists.
There’ll be joyful Haydn from the UK-based Astatine Trio, Brahms from the poetic hands of German pianist Julius Asal and Clara Schumann’s Variations on a Theme of Robert Schumann from the Georgian pianist Giorgi Gigashvili. Also in the programmes, are the the English baritones James Atkinson and Andrew Hamilton and the Uruguayan tenor Santiago Sanchez, who sings some newly rediscovered art song from South America. And, to round things off, there’ll be some new tracks from the ridiculously talented 22 year old UK jazz saxophonist, Emma Rawicz.
In today's feast of specially-recorded performances, Georgia celebrates the glorious voice of the Irish mezzo soprano, Niamh O'Sullivan in Mahler's heady Songs of a Wayfarer, former Leeds International Piano Competition Winner, Alim Beisembayev plays Chopin and the American violinist, Hana Chang plays Brahms's intense Third Sonata. Also today, Georgia introduces three new members of Radio 3's prestigious talent scheme, the dazzling Ukrainian clarinettist, Oleg Shebeta-Dragan, the Austrian pianist Lukas Sternath and the Danish NOVO Quartet.
Chopin: Scherzo Op.39 no.3 in C sharp minor
Alim Beisembayev (piano)
Mahler: Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen (Songs of a Wayfarer)
Niamh O'Sullivan (mezzo), Joseph Middleton (piano)
Schubert: Scherzo from Piano Sonata in A major, D.959
Lukas Sternath (piano)
Haydn: String Quartet Op.20 no. 4: 1st mvt
NOVO Quartet
Brahms: Violin Sonata no.3 in d minor Op..08
Hana Chang (violin), Jonathan Ware (piano)
Lyudmyla Fedorivna Shukaylo: Romance
Oleg Shebeta-Dragan (clarinet), Dominic Degavino (piano)
Nadia Boulanger: Le ciel en nuit s'est déplié
Johanna Wallroth (soprano)
Malcolm Martineau (piano)
Now in its twenty fifth year, Radio 3’s prestigious talent scheme has provided an invaluable springboard for many of today’s leading international soloists and chamber music ensembles. Indeed, a list of the former alumni reads like a Who’s Who of the international music scene with names like Lisa Batiashvili, Igor Levit, Sean Shibe, Alison Balsom, Anastasia Kobekina and the Belcea Quartet. From Monday to Thursday this week at six fifteen, there’s a chance to catch specially recorded performances from the current members of the scheme, the stars of the future.
MON 19:25 BBC Proms (m002npt8)
Proms at Christmas 2025
John Wilson Conducts Bernstein and Ravel
Another chance to hear John Wilson conduct the Sinfonia of London in music by Strauss, Bernstein and Ravel.
Recorded at the Royal Albert Hall on 12th September, 2025.
Presented by Hannah French
Richard Strauss: Don Juan
Leonard Bernstein: Serenade
Maurice Ravel: Daphnis and Chloe
Sinfonia of London
John Wilson (conductor)
Critics have praised their Proms performances as ‘breathtaking’, ‘blazing’ and ‘simply as good as it gets’. Now John Wilson and the Sinfonia of London double down with a passion-soaked programme of 20th-century orchestral showpieces. Love is the theme of a Prom that opens with history's greatest seducer, Don Juan, in Strauss’s swashbuckling tone-poem and closes with the sensuous, diaphanous textures of Ravel’s ballet Daphnis and Chloe. At the centre is one of Bernstein’s most lyrical orchestral works. James Ehnes is the soloist in Serenade – a violin concerto by another name that muses on, and interrogates, the nature of love itself.
MON 21:15 The Lebrecht Interview (m002nptg)
Dame Kiri Te Kanawa
Norman Lebrecht interviews Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, who, at the age of 81 and now settled back in her native New Zealand, reminisces about her life and career.
Dame Kiri recalls her early beginnings as an adopted girl in Gisborne, before winning a scholarship that would take her to the UK, propelling her career. She remembers her magnificent Covent Garden debut singing the role of The Countess in Mozart's Marriage of Figaro, and her debut at The Met in New York - stepping in at the last minute to perform Desdemona in a live broadcast of Verdi's Otello. And she describes the experience of singing at the then Prince Charles's wedding with Lady Diana Spencer in 1981, which made her a household name beyond the world of opera.
Despite her glittering career Dame Kiri reflects on some difficult times in her life: the death of her mother, and the challenges of raising two adopted children while maintaining a busy and demanding international singing career. Dame Kiri offers some stern advice to young would-be opera stars, and talks about the joy of helping a new generation of singers in her native New Zealand through her foundation.
MON 22:00 Night Tracks (m0025mzv)
Music for the still of night
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 (m0020prv)
Joe Armon-Jones'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’s guest is leading keyboardist, producer and member of multi award-winning UK band Ezra Collective, Joe Armon-Jones. Bringing lyricism and virtuosity in equal measure, Joe’s sound traverses jazz tradition, hip hop, dub, funk and beyond.
His latest solo album “All the Quiet (Part I)” is out on Friday March 28th.
From Monday to Thursday, Joe will be selecting some of the albums that have informed his musical language, for 4/4. Kicking off the week, Joe chooses a record by piano maestro Ahmad Jamal.
Plus, music from 44th Move, Azamiah and the late, great, Roy Ayers.
To listen on most smart speakers, just say: 'Ask BBC Sounds to play Round Midnight.'
TUESDAY 30 DECEMBER 2025
TUE 00:30 Through the Night (m002nptq)
Love conquers all: Madrigali and other Monteverdi works by La Venexiana
Monteverdi motets and madrigals performed by La Venexiana under their artistic director Gabriele Palomba at the St. Gallen Festival in Switzerland. Jonathan Swain presents.
12:31 AM
Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643)
Di far semper gioire, from 'Madrigali e canzonette libro nono'
La Venexiana, Gabriele Palomba (director), Gabriele Palomba (theorbo)
12:33 AM
Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643)
Ohimè dov’è il mio ben, from 'Settimo libro de madrigali'
12:39 AM
Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643)
Non mi è grave il morire, from 'Secondo libro dei madrigali'
12:44 AM
Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643)
Misero Alceo, from 'Sesto libro dei madrigali'
12:49 AM
Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643)
Se il vostro cor Madonna, from 'Settimo libro de Madrigali'
12:53 AM
Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643)
Et è pur dunque vero, from 'Scherzi musicali Venezia'
01:01 AM
Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643)
Pulchra es amica mea, motet
01:05 AM
Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643)
Ego flos campi, from 'Raccolta Calvi'
01:09 AM
Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643)
Nigra sum, sed formosa
01:13 AM
Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643)
Al lume delle stelle, from 'Settimo libro dei madrigali'
01:18 AM
Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643)
Sfogava Con Le Stelle, from 'Quarto libro dei madrigali'
01:22 AM
Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643)
Su su pastorelli vezzosi, from 'Ottavo libro dei madrigali'
01:25 AM
Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643)
Bel pastor, from 'Madrigali e canzonette libro nono'
01:30 AM
Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643)
Eri gia' tutta mia, from 'Scherzi musicali Venezia'
01:33 AM
Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643)
Maledetto sia l'aspetto, from 'Scherzi musicali Venezia'
01:34 AM
Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643)
La mia Turca, from 'Raccolta Milanuzzi'
01:36 AM
Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643)
Chi vuol aver felice e lieto il core, from 'Ottavo libro dei madrigali'
La Venexiana, Gabriele Palomba (director), Gabriele Palomba (theorbo)
01:39 AM
Girolamo Frescobaldi (1583-1643)
Three Works
Enrico Baiano (harpsichord)
01:57 AM
Michael Praetorius (1571-1621)
Psalm 116, from 'Angst der Hellen und Friede der Seelen'
Cardinal Complex, Jonas Gassmann (conductor)
02:20 AM
John Dowland (1563-1626), arr. John Duarte / Galbraith
Fantasie arr. Duarte/Galbraith for guitar
Manuel Calderon (guitar)
02:24 AM
John Dowland (1563-1626)
Mr. Dowland's midnight
Manuel Calderon (guitar)
02:27 AM
Adrian Willaert (c.1490-1562)
Vecchie letrose
Montserrat Figueras (soprano), Hesperion XX, Jordi Savall (director)
02:31 AM
Hector Berlioz (1803-1869)
Symphonie Fantastique, Op 14
Netherlands Radio Symphony Orchestra, Jun'Ichi Hirokami (conductor)
03:28 AM
Fryderyk Chopin (1810-1849)
Nocturne in B major, Op 32 no 1
Ronald Brautigam (piano)
03:33 AM
Manuel de Falla (1876-1946)
7 Canciones populares espanolas arr. for trumpet and piano
Alison Balsom (trumpet), Alasdair Beatson (piano)
03:45 AM
Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
String Quartet in C minor, D.703 'Quartettsatz'
Tilev String Quartet
03:55 AM
George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)
Aria: Mi lusinga il dolce affetto (Act 2 Sc 3 'Alcina')
Graham Pushee (counter tenor), Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, Paul Dyer (artistic director)
04:01 AM
Claude Debussy (1862-1918)
Prelude a l'apres-midi d'un faune
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Ilan Volkov (conductor)
04:12 AM
Walter Gieseking (1895-1956)
Chaconne on a Theme by Scarlatti after Keyboard Sonata in D minor, K.32
Joseph Moog (piano)
04:20 AM
Willem De Fesch (1687-1761)
Concerto grosso for 2 violins, strings and continuo in B flat major, Op 10 no 2
Manfred Krämer (violin), Laura Johnson (violin), Musica ad Rhenum
04:31 AM
Arvo Pärt (b.1935)
Spiegel im Spiegel
Morten Carlsen (viola), Sergej Osadchuk (piano)
04:38 AM
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Fantasie in G major for organ, BWV.572
Scott Ross (organ)
04:47 AM
Wilhelm Stenhammar (1871-1927)
Excelsior! - symphonic overture, Op 13
Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Vassily Sinaisky (conductor)
05:00 AM
Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767)
Quartet in G major TWV.43:G7 (Concerto alla Polonese)
Aira Maria Lehtipuu (violin), Kore Ensemble
05:09 AM
Juan Crisóstomo Arriaga (1806-1826)
Stabat Mater
Grieg Academy Choir, Bergen Philharmonic Choir, Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Juanjo Mena (conductor)
05:17 AM
Shih (b.1950)
Der letzte Walzer
Anika Vavic (piano)
05:29 AM
Jean Sibelius (1865-1957)
The Swan of Tuonela (Lemminkainen suite, Op 22)
BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Thomas Søndergård (conductor)
05:39 AM
Alphons Diepenbrock (1862-1921)
Ecoutez la chanson bien douce (song)
Roberta Alexander (soprano), Rudolf Jansen (piano)
05:44 AM
George Gershwin (1898-1937)
Rhapsody in Blue
Hinko Haas (piano)
06:01 AM
Edward Elgar (1857-1934)
Cello Concerto in E minor, Op 85
Pieter Wispelwey (cello), National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Gabriel Chmura (conductor)
TUE 06:30 Breakfast (m002npv7)
Wake up your senses with classical music
John Toal presents Radio 3’s Breakfast show live from Salford. With 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 (m002npvc)
Refresh your morning with classical music
Georgia Mann plays the best classical music for your morning, with discoveries and surprises rubbing shoulders with familiar favourites. Including the Playlister challenge: our regular listener-created sequence inspired by a different piece of music each day. Plus a new classical release in focus for Album of the Week.
1000 Playlister starter: listen and send us your ideas for the next step in today's musical journey. Text 83111 or email essentialclassics@bbc.co.uk.
1030 Album of the Week: an exciting new classical release in focus throughout the week.
1115 Playlister reveal: an uninterrupted sequence of music suggested by you in response to today's starter piece.
1200 Feast of a Piece: indulge your ears with an orchestral masterpiece.
To listen on most smart speakers say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Essential Classics”
TUE 13:00 Classical Live (m002npvh)
Bruckner's 4th Symphony with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales
Elizabeth Alker brings you an afternoon of exclusive music-making. In the week that sees Radio 3's annual live broadcast of the Vienna New Year's Day Concert, Classical Live focuses on some of the great composers of Vienna, across the ages. Today the BBC National Orchestra of Wales perform Anton Bruckner's magisterial 4th Symphony. Plus, Elizabeth reflects on the New Generation Artist class of 2023-2025. Today, pianist Giorgi Gigashvili plays Ravel, James Atkinson sings two beautiful Vaughan Williams songs and the Chaos Quartet perform Boccherini. And there is more from the Capricornus Consort, Basel, and the Music Book for Anna Magdalena Bach.
Anton Bruckner
Locus Iste
BBC National Chorus of Wales
Adrian Partington (conductor)
Maurice Ravel
Sonatine
Giorgi Gigashvili (piano)
Ralph Vaughan Williams
Linden Lea
James Atkinson (baritone)
Malcolm Martineau (piano)
Ralph Vaughan Williams
Love-sight
James Atkinson (baritone)
Malcolm Martineau (piano)
Luigi Boccherini
String Quartet Op. 2 No. 1 in C minor G159 (2nd mvt)
Chaos Quartet
Johann Sebastian Bach
Four instrumental works
Capricornus Consort, Basel
Péter Barczi (violin and artistic leader)
Anton Bruckner
Symphony No. 4
BBC National Orchestra of Wales
Jaime Martin (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 (m001ptxp)
Icons of British Light Music
Oh I do like to be beside the seaside
Donald Macleod examines how light music benefited from the boom in holiday making at seaside resorts across Britain during the first few decades of the 20th century.
The names of the composers of British light music - Coates, Ketèlby, Farnon, Dring or Tomlinson - might not be as well known as those of Mozart, Beethoven or Bach, but some of their music will be just as familiar to most listeners, and it still provides the soundtrack to many people’s everyday lives through, among other things, the theme music to their favourite TV and radio programmes. Over the course of this week, Donald Macleod tracks the rise and fall of light music in Britain over roughly 100 years, from the mid-19th century to the mid-20th. He’ll be exploring the social history which led to this genre flourishing, from the late-Victorian theatre crowds in want of more popular fare after the successes of Gilbert and Sullivan’s operettas, to the orchestras which sprang up to entertain the burgeoning UK seaside resorts. Along the way, Donald will examine the explosion of music in people’s homes, as at first pianos and other instruments, and then radio and television sets, became affordable to households across the country, and the transition from silent movies to the talkies. Donald will also explore the challenges which the genre faced as audiences moved towards new ways of listening in the 20th century and the pioneers who have sought to keep this music alive.
In Tuesday’s episode, Donald explores how light music benefited from the boom in holiday making at seaside resorts across Britain during the first few decades of the 20th century as orchestras sprang up, keen to entertain the visiting crowds with light orchestral music from composers such as Eric Coates and Albert Ketèlbey.
John H. Glover-Kind
I do like to be beside the seaside
Reginald Dixon, organ
Albert Ketèlbey
In Holiday Mood
Grand Orchestra
Louis Voss, conductor
Eric Coates
The Merrymakers, a Miniature Overture
BBC Nation Orchestra of Wales
Rumon Gamba, conductor
Eric Coates
Lazy night
Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra
Andrew Penny, conductor
Eric Coates
Summer days Suite
BBC Philharmonic
John Wilson, conductor
Reginald King
Song of Paradise
Mark Bebbington, piano
Albert Ketèlbey
In a Persian Garden
Ambrosian Singers
Philharmonia Orchestra
John Lanchbery, conductor
Albert Ketèlbey
In a Monastery garden
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Royal Philharmonic Chorus
Eric Rogers, conductor
Eric Coates
The Dam Busters March
BBC Concert Orchestra
Vernon Handley, conductor
TUE 17:00 Words and Music (m001mttr)
Portraits
Chloë Sommer and Ewan Bailey guide you round a sonic exhibition of portraits, where you’ll encounter Dorian Gray gazing at his own likeness and reflecting sadly that he will age, while the painting remains unchanged (spoiler alert: that’s not quite how it pans out); Amy Sackville imagines Velazquez painting his masterpiece Las Meninas and poet Robert Lowell looks at Holbein's Thomas More, whilst in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth Bennett’s feelings about Mr Darcy undergo a transformation as she stands looking at his portrait, and poet Wendy Cope is moved to tears by a painting of a long dead couple. The music includes Margaret Bonds’ portrait in song Minstrel Man in which a Black man sings of the pain and humiliation of the role he has to play, Edward Elgar's friends, whose moods inspired his Enigma Variations, Rembrandt's The Night Watch as seen by King Crimson, there’s also The Gnome from Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, Joni Mitchell revealing the multiple facets of Charles Mingus’s personality, and Missy Mazzoli’s distinctive take on Rembrandt’s Self-Portrait with Dishevelled Hair.
Producer: Torquil MacLeod
Readings & *Music
*Ralph Vaughan Williams - 3 Portraits from the England of Elizabeth: No. 1, Explorer
Wendy Cope - Dutch Portraits
*Pehr Henrik Nordgren - Portraits of Country Fiddlers, Op. 26 (Arr. D. Woodruff): II. Tuumsi Tuumsikelija (The Thinker)
Robert Lowell - Sir Thomas More
*Modest Mussorgsky - Pictures at an Exhibition, Piano Concerto Version: I. Gnomus
Josephine Tey - The Daughter of Time
*Charles Mingus - Portrait
*Sam Prekop - Faces And People
Jake Morris-Campbell - Self-Portrait in Passport Photobooth
*Michael Nyman - The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat: Scene 3: The Photographs: What is this?
*Kraftwerk - Spiegelsaal
Eavan Boland - The Photograph on My Father’s Desk
Edward Lear - Self-Portrait of the Laureate of Nonsense
*Gregory Porter - Mona Lisa
David Dabydeen - A Harlot’s Progress
*Margaret Bonds - 3 Dream Portraits, Minstrel Man
Amy Sackville - Painter to the King
*King Crimson - The Night Watch
Sophie Haydock - The Flames
*Ēriks Ešenvalds - In My Little Picture Frame
*Oneohtrix Point Never - Last Known Image of a Song
Dante Gabriel Rossetti - The Portrait
*Edward Elgar - Enigma Variations, Op. 36: I. C.A.E.
Jane Austen - Pride and Prejudice
*Missy Mazzoli - Self-Portrait with Dishevelled Hair
Oscar Wilde - The Picture of Dorian Gray
*Gerard Schurmann - 6 Studies of Francis Bacon: VI. Self-Portrait
Elizabeth Jennings - Old Man
*Joni Mitchell - God Must Be a Boogie Man
Keith Douglas - Vergissmeinnicht,
*Vladimir Michailovich Jurowski - Symphonic Pictures 'Russian Painters': III. Portrait of an Unknown Woman
Henry James - The Portrait of a Lady
*Nikolai Myaskovsky - 12 Romances After Lermontov, Op. 40: No. 4, To the Portrait
Thomas Randolph - Upon his picture
*Cevanne Horrocks-Hopayian - Cave Painting
TUE 18:15 New Generation Artists (m002npvr)
Winter Showcase: Brahms and Schumann
Georgia Mann presents the second of four early evening celebrations of the prodigious musical talents of Radio 3’s New Generation Artists.
Today, incoming member of the scheme, baritone Andrew Hamilton sings Robert Schumann's romantically-charged Liederkreis and outgoing member, Giorgi Gigashvili plays Clara Schumann's deeply personal Variations of a Theme of Robert Schumann, written as a birthday gift for her husband, Robert. Also today, the deeply poetic pianist Julius Asal teams up with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields as the first BBC New Generation Associate to play Ravel's Piano Concerto. And, to round things off, star clarinettist Oleg Shebeta-Dragan plays the folk-music-inspired Carpathian Rhapsody by his fellow Ukrainian, Myroslav Skoryk.
Ravel Piano Concerto in G.
Julius Asal (piano)
Academy of St Martin in the Fields
Nadia Boulanger: Vous m'avez regardé avec toute votre âme
Johanna Wallroth (soprano), Malcolm Martineau (piano)
Kevin Day: Gymnopédie
Sterling Elliott (piano) Richard Uttley (piano)
Clara Schumann: Variations on a Theme of Robert Schumann Op.20
Giorgi Gigashvili (piano)
Robert Schumann: Liederkreis Op.24
Andrew Hamilton (baritone), Joseph Middleton (piano)
Myroslav Skoryk: Carpathian Rhapsody
Oleg Shebeta-Dragan (clarinet), Dominic Degavino (piano)
Now in its twenty fifth year, Radio 3’s prestigious talent scheme has provided an invaluable springboard for many of today’s leading international soloists and chamber music ensembles. Indeed, a list of the former alumni reads like a Who’s Who of the international music scene with names like Lisa Batiashvili, Igor Levit, Sean Shibe, Alison Balsom, Anastasia Kobekina and the Belcea Quartet. From Monday to Thursday this week at six fifteen, there’s a chance to catch specially recorded performances from the current members of the scheme, the stars of the future.
TUE 19:30 BBC Proms (m002p2tt)
Proms at Christmas 2025
Tchaikovsky and Mussorgsky
Another chance to hear the Philharmonia and conductor Santtu-Matias Rouvali with pianist Bruce Liu in Tchaikovsky and Mussorgsky.
Recorded at the Royal Albert Hall on 20th August, 2025.
Presented by Ian Skelly
Gabriela Ortiz: Antrópolis
Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 2 in G major
Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition (orch. Maurice Ravel)
Bruce Liu (piano)
Philharmonia Orchestra
Santtu-Matias Rouvali (conductor)
Chopin Piano Competition-winner Bruce Liu – hailed for the ‘breathtaking beauty’ of his playing – makes his Proms debut with Tchaikovsky’s rarely performed Second Piano Concerto. He joins the Philharmonia Orchestra and Principal Conductor Santtu-Matias Rouvali for a work that balances the intimacy of chamber music with huge scope and virtuosity. Take a visit to Mexico City’s cabarets and dance halls in Gabriela Ortiz’s Antrópolis – a vivid homage to urban nightlife – while Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition conjures an orchestral kaleidoscope of strange scenes and images, climaxing with the splendour of the Great Gate of Kyiv.
TUE 21:15 The Lebrecht Interview (m002npvw)
Leonard Slatkin
Norman Lebrecht talks to the American conductor Leonard Slatkin about his life and career.
Leonard recalls his childhood in a busy household, with both parents heavily involved in Hollywood recording studios, surrounded by celebrated composers such as Erich Korngold, as well as stars from popular culture: Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole and Marilyn Monroe were among his parents' friends and collaborators. He talks about the figure of his father, who died young but was influential in shaping his son's conducting career, and recalls surviving a nearly-fatal heart attack himself, while at the rostrum in Rotterdam.
Leonard also describes the exciting conductor posts he took up with American orchestras - Detroit, St Louis and Washington, the latter at the request of President Clinton - at a time when the recording era was a its peak. He talks candidly about his brief and disappointing experience at the helm of the BBC Symphony Orchestra, but within which he experienced what he calls the most memorable moment in his music career: conducting the Last Night of the BBC Proms in 2001, just a few days after the events of 9/11 in America.
TUE 22:00 Night Tracks (m0025mhc)
Immersive music for after-hours
Sara Mohr-Pietsch presents an adventurous, immersive soundtrack for late-night listening, from classical to contemporary and everything in between.
TUE 23:30 'Round Midnight (m0020px9)
Fresh Kai Reesu
‘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.
Innovative UK keyboardist Joe Armon-Jones returns with his second 4/4 pick of the week. Tonight he’s gone for a classic cut from Dutch-Surinamese multi-instrumentalist Ronald Snijders.
Plus, music from Sheldon Agwui, Fabienne Ambuehl and Blue Lab Beats.
To listen on most smart speakers, just say: 'Ask BBC Sounds to play Round Midnight.'
WEDNESDAY 31 DECEMBER 2025
WED 00:30 Through the Night (m002npw0)
Schaghajegh Nosrati plays Shostakovich, Bach, Haydn and Alkan
German pianist Schaghajegh Nosrati gives a recital at the Palau de la Música Catalana in Barcelona, performing music including Bach's French Overture in B minor and Alkan's Symphony for solo piano. Jonathan Swain presents.
12:31 AM
Dmitry Shostakovich (1906-1975)
Prelude and Fugue in B minor, no 6 from '24 Preludes and Fugues, Op 87'
Schaghajegh Nosrati (piano)
12:37 AM
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
French Overture in B minor, BWV.831
Schaghajegh Nosrati (piano)
01:08 AM
Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)
Piano Sonata in E flat major, Hob.XVI:52
Schaghajegh Nosrati (piano)
01:29 AM
Charles-Valentin Alkan (1813-1888)
Symphony for Solo Piano
Schaghajegh Nosrati (piano)
01:57 AM
Charles-Valentin Alkan (1813-1888)
Barcarolle, Op 65 no 6
Schaghajegh Nosrati (piano)
02:01 AM
Francisco Guerau (1649-1722)
Mariona, 'Poema Harmonico'
Xavier Díaz-Latorre (guitar)
02:07 AM
Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)
Sonata Partita no 10 in C major
Geert Bierling (organ)
02:15 AM
Bernat Vivancos (b.1973)
Messe aux sons des cloches
Latvijas Radio Koris, Edgars Saksons (percussion), Ivo Kruskops (percussion), Ugis Kruskops (percussion), Rihards Zajupe (percussion), Elina Endzele (percussion), Atis Vintuks (percussion), Sigvards Kļava (conductor)
02:31 AM
Michal Spisak (1914-1965)
Sonata for violin and orchestra
Krzysztof Bakowski (violin), Polish Radio National Symphony Orchestra Katowice, Zbigniew Graca (conductor)
03:03 AM
Orlande de Lassus (1532-1594)
S.U.su.P.E.R.per - motet for 4 voices
Currende, Erik van Nevel (conductor)
03:08 AM
Gustav Mahler (1860-1911)
Kindertotenlieder
Zandra McMaster (mezzo soprano), Norwegian Radio Orchestra, Ari Rasilainen (conductor)
03:34 AM
Fryderyk Chopin (1810-1849)
4 Mazurkas for piano, Op 33
Yulianna Avdeeva (piano)
03:45 AM
Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741)
Concerto da Camera in C major RV.87
Camerata Köln
03:53 AM
Joaquin Turina (1882-1949)
Homenaje a Navarra
Niklas Liepe (violin), Niels Liepe (piano)
04:00 AM
Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
Hebrides overture, Op 26
Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Arvid Engegård (conductor)
04:11 AM
Reynaldo Hahn (1874-1947)
A Chloris
Benjamin Appl (baritone), Jorge Viladoms (piano)
04:14 AM
Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
An Die Musik, D.547
Benjamin Appl (baritone), Jorge Viladoms (piano)
04:18 AM
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908), arr. Fritz Kreisler
Arabian Song, from 'Scheherezade', Op 35
Andrea Kollé (flute), Sarah Verrue (harp)
04:23 AM
Erik Satie (1866-1925), arr. Darius Milhaud
Jack-in-the-box pantomime
CBC Vancouver Orchestra, Mario Bernardi (conductor)
04:31 AM
William Byrd (1543-1623)
O Lord, make thy servant Elizabeth – for 6 voices
BBC Singers, Bo Holten (director)
04:33 AM
William Byrd (1543-1623)
Browning à 5
Rose Consort of Viols, John Bryan (viol), Alison Crum (viol), Sarah Groser (viol), Roy Marks (viol), Peter Wendland (viol)
04:37 AM
Anton Rubinstein (1829-1894), transc. Josef Lhévinne
Kamennoi Ostrov , Op 10 no 22
Josef Lhévinne (piano)
04:45 AM
Imants Zemzaris (b.1951)
Melancolic valse (No.3 from 'Marvel Pieces')
Janis Bulavs (violin), Olafs Stals (viola), Leons Veldre (cello), Aldis Liepins (piano)
04:51 AM
Niccolò Paganini (1782-1840)
Moto perpetuo, Op 11
Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Nello Santi (conductor)
04:57 AM
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
4 Mozart Songs
Malin Christensson (soprano), Simon Lepper (piano)
05:07 AM
Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767)
Overture (Suite) in D major, TWV.55:D18
Musica Florea, Marek Stryncl (conductor)
05:29 AM
Ignaz Moscheles (1794-1870)
Grosse Sonate for Pianoforte in E major, Op 41
Tom Beghin (fortepiano)
05:57 AM
Granville Bantock (1868-1946)
Celtic symphony
BBC Symphony Orchestra, Sakari Oramo (conductor)
06:18 AM
John Sheppard (1515-1558), Jonathan Dove (b.1959)
In manus tuas (Sheppard) & Into Thy Hands (Dove)
Gabrieli Consort, Paul McCreesh (director)
WED 06:30 Breakfast (m002nptv)
Roll out of bed into classical music
Andrew Peach presents Radio 3’s Breakfast show live from Salford. With 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 (m002nptz)
A classical soundtrack for your morning
Georgia Mann plays the best classical music for your morning, with discoveries and surprises rubbing shoulders with familiar favourites. Including the Playlister challenge: our regular listener-created sequence inspired by a different piece of music each day. Plus a new classical release in focus for Album of the Week.
1000 Playlister starter: listen and send us your ideas for the next step in today's musical journey. Text 83111 or email essentialclassics@bbc.co.uk.
1030 Album of the Week: an exciting new classical release in focus throughout the week.
1115 Playlister reveal: an uninterrupted sequence of music suggested by you in response to today's starter piece.
1200 Feast of a Piece: indulge your ears with an orchestral masterpiece.
To listen on most smart speakers say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Essential Classics”
WED 13:00 Classical Live (m002npv2)
A New Years' Eve celebration of live music
Elizabeth Alker brings you an afternoon of exclusive music-making. In today's programme we continue this week's exploration of Viennese composers complementing tomorrow's much anticipated New Year's Day Concert from the Austrian capital. The BBC National Orchestra of Wales perform Franz Schmidt, the Ulster Orchestra perform the great Double Concerto for violin and cello by Brahms and the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra waltz us through Strauss' Künstlerleben. Plus, we celebrate the New Generation Artist class of 2023-2025. Today, pianist Alim Beisembayev plays items from Liszt's virtuosic Ètudes d’exécution transcendante. Adn by way of contrast, the Capricornus Consort, Basel continue its journey through the Music Book for Anna Magdalena Bach.
Franz Schmidt
Notre Dame (Act 1, Intermezzo & Carnival Music)
BBC National Orchestra of Wales
Jonathan Berman (conductor)
Franz Liszt
Ètudes d’exécution transcendante, S. 139
- Ricordanza
- Allegro agitato molto
Alim Beisembayev (piano)
Johann Sebastian Bach
Pièce d'orgue in G, BWV. 572
Capricornus Consort, Basel
Péter Barczi (violin and artistic leader)
Johannes Brahms
Concerto for violin, cello and orchestra, Op. 102
Francesca Dego (violin)
Daniel Muller-Schott (cello)
Ulster Orchestra
Johann Strauss (II)
Künstlerleben, waltz, Op. 316
Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra
Henrik Schaefer (conductor)
Peter Maxwell Davies
An Orkney Wedding with Sunrise
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Alpesh Chauhan (conductor)
To listen to this programme (using most smart speakers) just say 'Ask BBC Sounds to play Classical Live'.
WED 15:00 Choral Evensong (m002npv4)
St James’s Church, Sussex Gardens, London
From St James’s Church, Sussex Gardens, London, with the Rodolfus Choir.
Introit: Welcome Yule (Parry)
Responses: Joanna Forbes L'Estrange
Psalms 147, 148, 149, 150 (Stanford, Rawsthorne, Hanforth, Goodenough)
First Lesson: Ecclesiasticus 3 vv1-13
Canticles: St John's Service (Jonathan Dove)
Second Lesson: Revelation 21 vv1-8
Anthems: O magnum mysterium; Quem vidistis pastores dicite (Poulenc)
Hymn: ‘Glory to God!’ all heav’n with joy is ringing (Highwood)
Voluntary: Weihnachten Op 145 No 3 (Reger)
Ralph Allwood, Peter Davis (Conductors)
George de Voil (Organist)
Recorded 28 December.
To listen on most smart speakers just say “ask BBC Sounds to play Choral Evensong”.
WED 16:00 Composer of the Week (m001ptyy)
Icons of British Light Music
The Talkies
Donald Macleod examines the use of light music in cinema in Britain and explores how the transition from silent movies to the talkies affected the genre.
The names of the composers of British light music - Coates, Ketèlby, Farnon, Dring or Tomlinson - might not be as well known as those of Mozart, Beethoven or Bach, but some of their music will be just as familiar to most listeners, and it still provides the soundtrack to many people’s everyday lives through, among other things, the theme music to their favourite TV and radio programmes. Over the course of this week, Donald Macleod tracks the rise and fall of light music in Britain over roughly 100 years, from the mid-19th century to the mid-20th. He’ll be exploring the social history which led to this genre flourishing, from the late-Victorian theatre crowds in want of more popular fare after the successes of Gilbert and Sullivan’s operettas, to the orchestras which sprang up to entertain the burgeoning UK seaside resorts. Along the way, Donald will examine the explosion of music in people’s homes, as at first pianos and other instruments, and then radio and television sets, became affordable to households across the country, and the transition from silent movies to the talkies. Donald will also explore the challenges which the genre faced as audiences moved towards new ways of listening in the 20th century and the pioneers who have sought to keep this music alive.
In Wednesday’s episode, Donald examines the huge light music industry which built up around the use of music in cinemas during the silent movie era and explores how composers such as Frederic Curzon, Hubert Bath, and Richard Addinsell had to adapt to the changing needs of film with the advent of the talkies.
Frederick Curzon
Robin Hood – March of the Bowmen
Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra
Adrian Leaper, conductor
Richard Addinsell
Love on the Dole – Main Titles - Sally Awakes; Courting Couples; Blackpool Outing; End Titles
BBC Philharmonic
Rumon Gamba, conductor
Frederic Curzon
The Dread Tribunal
New Concert Orchestra
Frederic Curzon, conductor
Frederic Curzon
Bravada: Paso Doble
Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra
Adrian Leaper, conductor
Hubert Bath/ Charles Williams/ Jack Beaver/ Louis Levy
Music from the 39 Steps: 39 Steps / Highland hotel / Mr Memory / Finale
City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra
Prague Philharmonic Choir
Paul Bateman, conductor
Richard Addinsell
Warsaw Concerto
Jean-Yves Thibaudet, piano
BBC Symphony Orchestra
Hugh Wolff, conductor
Hubert Bath
Cornish Rhapsody
Daniel Adni, piano
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
Kenneth Alwyn, conductor
Hubert Bath
Out of the Blue
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Gavin Sutherland, conductor
WED 17:00 Words and Music (m0020hvx)
The Party
Invitation to the dance by Weber and Rosamund Lehman's novel Invitation to the Waltz help us set the scene for our programme inspired by parties. Virginia Woolf's heroine Clarissa Dalloway prepares for her guests, the West Side story cast 'feel pretty' as they prepare for a night on the town, Hilaire Belloc writes about a garden party and Handel composes Music for the Royal Fireworks. But parties can also produce hangovers and displeasure: Becky Sharp humilates poor little Amelia, Lesley Gore cries at hers, and Jeeves prepares a tonic to counteract too much drink, before Willie Nelson tells us 'the party is over.' We also hear Don Warrington reading from Sam Selvon’s The Lonely Londoners, John Betjeman’s Indoor Games Near Newbury and Noel Coward. For New Year's Eve Words and Music brings us a party playlist of readings and music.
Readers: Dominic West and Holliday Grainger.
Producer: Jessica Treen
READINGS:
William Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet
Rosamund Lehman: Invitation to the Waltz
Charles Perrault: Cinderella
Virginia Woolf: Mrs Dalloway
John Williams: Stoner
Lavinia Greenlaw: The Importance of Music to Girls
The Garden Party: Hilaire Belloc
WM Thackery: Vanity Fair
F. Scott Fitzgerald: The Great Gatsby
Huma Qureshi: Things We Do Not Tell The People We Love
Ian Hamilton Finlay: The Dancers Inherit the Party
Pamela Des Barres: I’m with the Band
Isabella Beeton: Mrs Beeton’s Book of Household Management
Sam Selvon: The Lonely Londoners - Read by Don Warrington
Dorothy Parker: Parties: A Hymn of Hate
Kingsley Amis: Lucky Jim
PG Wodehouse: Jeeves Takes Charge
Claire Pollard: Thirtieth (from Changeling)
Evelyn Waugh: Vile Bodies
WED 18:15 New Generation Artists (m002npvd)
Winter Showcase: Beethoven and Ravel
Georgia Mann presents the third programme in her Winter series celebrating the prodigious talents of Radio 3's New Generation Artists.
Today, two newcomers to the prestigious young artist programme can be heard in their first studio sessions at the BBC. The Astatine Trio explores the ever-shifting colours and coruscating harmonies of Maurice Ravel's Piano Trio. And that's preceded by the charismatic soprano Erika Baikoff's performance of Beethoven's 'To the distant beloved'. Written as he attempted to come to terms with his deafness, 'An die ferne geliebte' is considered to be the first song cycle by a major composer. But who was this mysterious 'distant beloved'?
Beethoven: An die ferne Geliebte (To the distant beloved), Op. 98
Erika Baikoff (soprano), Roman Borisov (piano)
Ravel: Piano Trio
Astatine Trio
WED 19:00 BBC Proms (m002npvj)
Proms at Christmas 2025
Last Night of the Proms 2025
Sir Brian May and Roger Taylor join the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, the BBC Singers and the National Youth Choir for a brand new orchestral arrangement of Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody, marking its 50th anniversary. Comedian Bill Bailey makes his BBC Proms debut with Leroy Anderson’s The Typewriter. Elim Chan conducts the Last Night of the Proms for the first time, leading the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, the BBC Singers and the National Youth Choir. French mezzo-soprano Axelle Saint-Cirel joins the massed forces for the UK premiere of Arthur Benjamin's ‘Storm Clouds’ Cantata written for the assassination scene in Alfred Hitchcock's 1934 film, The Man Who Knew Too Much, in the Royal Albert Hall. Louise Alder becomes the first British soprano to sing at the Last Night of the Proms in more than a decade and tonight marks Alison Balsom’s final performance as a trumpet soloist.
The programme also includes two world premieres commissioned by the BBC: Fireworks by Camille Pépin and The Gathering Tree by Rachel Portman, who's the first woman to win an Academy Award for Best Original Score.
Presented by Georgia Mann and Petroc Trelawny, live from the Royal Albert Hall, London
Modest Mussorgsky: A Night on the Bare Mountain (original version, 1867)
Johann Nepomuk Hummel: Trumpet Concerto in E flat major with Alison Balsom, trumpet
Lucy Walker: Today with BBC Singers (a cappella)
Arthur Benjamin: ‘Storm Clouds’ Cantata 1956 – UK premiere with Axelle Saint-Cirel, mezzo-soprano, BBC Singers and BBC Symphony Chorus
Charles Gounod: Faust – ‘O Dieu! que de bijoux … Ah! je ris de me voir’ (Jewel Song) with Louise Alder, soprano
Franz Lehár: The Merry Widow - Es lebt’ eine Vilja’ (Vilja Song) with Louise Alder, BBC Singers and BBC Symphony Chorus
Camille Pépin: Fireworks (BBC commission: world premiere)
Paul Dukas: The Sorcerer’s Apprentice
Freddie Mercury/Queen, arr. Stuart Morley: Bohemian Rhapsody with Sam Oladeinde, Louise Alder, Alison Balsom, BBC Singers, National Youth Choir, BBC Symphony Chorus and special guest appearances from Sir Brian May and Roger Taylor
Dmitri Shostakovich: Festive Overture
Alan Jay Lerner & Frederick Loewe, arr. Paul Campbell: My Fair Lady – medley (Wouldn’t it be Loverly – Without You – On the Street Where you Live – Show Me – I Could Have Danced All Night) with Louise Alder and BBC Singers
Leonard Bernstein, arr. Simon Wright: Prelude, Fugues and Riffs – Riffs with Alison Balsom
Leroy Anderson, arr. Alasdair Malloy: The Typewriter with Bill Bailey
Rachel Portman and text: Nick Drake: The Gathering Tree (BBC commission: world premiere) with BBC Singers and BBC Symphony Chorus
Trad., arr. Henry Wood: Fantasia on British Sea Songs
Thomas Arne, arr. Malcolm Sargent: Rule, Britannia! with Louise Alder
Edward Elgar: Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1
Hubert Parry, arr. Edward Elgar: Jerusalem
arr. Benjamin Britten: The National Anthem
Trad., arr. Paul Campbell: Auld Lang Syne
Louise Alder, soprano
Alison Balsom, trumpet
Axelle Saint-Cirel, mezzo soprano
Bill Bailey, typewriter
Sam Oladeinde, tenor
Sir Brian May, electric guitar
Roger Taylor, drums
National Youth Choir
BBC Singers
BBC Symphony Chorus
Neil Ferris, chorusmaster
BBC Symphony Orchestra
Elim Chan, conductor
The biggest night in classical music is back! After eight weeks and over 80 concerts, the 2025 BBC Proms celebrates with a Last Night spectacular, packed with musical surprises and star turns. Elim Chan conducts the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in all the traditional favourites – anthems, folk songs and singalongs – with solo performances by ‘captivating’ soprano Louise Alder and ‘sensational’ trumpeter Alison Balsom. There’s a nod to this season’s Bernard Herrmann celebration, a mischievous sorcerer’s apprentice from Dukas, and premieres by Camille Pépin and Rachel Portman.
WED 22:00 Night Tracks (m0025lpd)
Reflective music for the day’s end
Sara Mohr-Pietsch presents an adventurous, immersive soundtrack for late-night listening, from classical to contemporary and everything in between.
WED 23:30 'Round Midnight (m002npvn)
New Year’s Eve
'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 this New Year’s edition, Soweto guides us into 2026 with more of the best in jazz. Along the way he'll have messages from some friends of the show - Norma Winstone, NIJI, Gary Crosby, and Brandee Younger, each sharing a favourite track that for them is perfect for an end of year party or for taking a reflective moment as the new year arrives.
To listen on most smart speakers, just say: 'Ask BBC Sounds to play Round Midnight.
THURSDAY 01 JANUARY 2026
THU 00:30 Through the Night (m002npvs)
BBC Proms 2025: Joshua Bell and Górecki's "Symphony of Sorrowful Songs"
Dalia Stasevska leads the BBC Symphony Orchestra with Joshua Bell performing the UK premiere of Thomas de Hartmann's violin concerto at the Proms. The second half of the concert is Górecki's stunning and powerful third symphony, his "Symphony of Sorrowful Songs" with soprano Francesca Chiejina. Jonathan Swain presents.
12:31 AM
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750), orch. Ottorino Respighi
Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland
BBC Symphony Orchestra, Dalia Stasevska (conductor)
12:37 AM
Thomas de Hartmann (1885-1956)
Violin Concerto
Joshua Bell (violin), BBC Symphony Orchestra, Dalia Stasevska (conductor)
01:08 AM
Fryderyk Chopin (1810-1849), arr. Joshua Bell
Nocturne in E flat, Op 9 no 2 (encore)
Joshua Bell (violin), BBC Symphony Orchestra, Dalia Stasevska (conductor)
01:14 AM
Henryk Górecki (1933-2010)
Symphony no 3 'Symphony of Sorrowful Songs'
Francesca Chiejina (soprano), BBC Symphony Orchestra, Dalia Stasevska (conductor)
02:04 AM
Johann Christoph Bach (1642-1703)
Der Mensch von Weibe geboren
Vox Luminis, Lionel Meunier (director)
02:09 AM
Karol Szymanowski (1882-1937)
Piano Sonata no 3, Op 36
Jerzy Godziszewski (piano)
02:31 AM
Sergey Rachmaninov (1873-1943)
Symphony no 1 in D minor, Op 13
BBC Philharmonic, John Storgårds (conductor)
03:15 AM
Henry Purcell (1659-1695)
Timon of Athens, the man-hater - incidental music, Z.632
Lynne Dawson (soprano), Gillian Fisher (soprano), Rogers Covey-Crump (tenor), Paul Elliott (tenor), Michael George (bass), Stephen Varcoe (bass), Monteverdi Choir, English Baroque Soloists, John Eliot Gardiner (conductor)
03:37 AM
Maya Le Roux-Obradovic
Ballade de la vallée magique
Maya Le Roux-Obradovic (guitar), Sinfonietta Belgrade, Aleksandar Vujic (conductor)
03:53 AM
Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179)
Alma Redemptoris Mater & Ave Maria, O auctrix vite
Sequentia, Elizabeth Gaver (medieval fiddle), Elisabetta de Mircovich (medieval fiddle)
04:05 AM
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Prelude and Fugue in G minor
Ligita Sneibe (organ)
04:12 AM
Peter Maxwell Davies (1934-2016)
A Sad paven for these distracted tymes for string quartet
Pavel Haas Quartet
04:20 AM
Leif Strand (1942-2021), arr. Øivind Westby
Men går jag över engarna (But I Walk Across the Meadows)
Ole Edvard Antonsen (trumpet), Argovia Philharmonic, Rune Bergmann (conductor)
04:26 AM
Alessandro Piccinini (1566-c.1638)
Toccata VI
Axel Wolf (lute)
04:31 AM
Otto Nicolai (1810-1849)
Overture, The Merry Wives of Windsor
Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Łukasz Borowicz (conductor)
04:40 AM
Camilla de Rossi (fl.1707-1710)
Cielo, pietoso Cielo (Sant' Alassio)
Agnieszka Kowalczyk (soprano), Musica Fiorita, Daniela Dolci (director)
04:44 AM
Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757)
Sonata in C major, K.86
Eduardo Lopez Banzo (harpsichord)
04:51 AM
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Constanze's aria "Martern aller Arten" from 'Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail Act 2
Cyndia Sieden (soprano), Prima La Musica, Dirk Vermeulen (conductor)
05:01 AM
Carlo Gesualdo da Venosa (1566-1613), arr. Peter Maxwell Davies
2 Motets arr. Maxwell Davies for brass quintet
Graham Ashton Brass Ensemble
05:10 AM
Ruth Gipps (1921-1999)
Wind Sinfonietta, Op 73
BBC National Orchestra of Wales (conductor), Jonathan Bloxham (conductor)
05:28 AM
Edward Elgar (1857-1934)
Variations on an original theme 'Enigma', Op.36
Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Christopher Warren-Green (conductor)
05:59 AM
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
String Quartet no 10 in E flat major, Op 74 "Harp"
Florian Kellerhals (violin), Harald Grimsrud (violin), Elisabeth Sijpkens (viola), Hjalmar Kvam (cello)
THU 06:30 Breakfast (m002npw2)
The finest classical music to elevate your morning
Andrew Peach presents Radio 3’s Breakfast show live from Salford. 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 New Year's Day Concert (m002npw4)
Live from Vienna
The Vienna Philharmonic’s much loved annual New Year’s Day concert returns once again to the Golden Hall of the Musikverein. Petroc Trelawny introduces the orchestra live from Vienna for Radio 3 as this great orchestra sweeps through waltzes, marches, galops and polkas, led this year by Maestro Yannick Nézet‑Séguin. The 2026 programme blends perennial favourites with first‑time discoveries: Johann Strauss’s overture to Indigo and the Forty Thieves, Ziehrer’s Danube Legends, Josephine Weinlich’s Siren Songs and Florence Price’s radiant Rainbow Waltz, alongside treasures by Lanner, Suppè, Josef and Eduard Strauss, and Hans Christian Lumbye’s exuberant Copenhagen Steam Railway Galop. The concert culminates in the traditional encores - the Blue Danube and the rousing Radetzky March. As ever, the Philharmonic offers this performance as a musical greeting to audiences worldwide, in the spirit of hope, friendship and peace at the dawn of 2026.
Part 1
Johann Strauss Ouverture to Indigo and the Forty Thieves (Indigo und die vierzig Räuber)
Carl Michael Ziehrer Danube Legends (Donausagen). Waltz, op. 446
Joseph Lanner Malapou-Galoppe. op. 148 Nr. 1
Eduard Strauss Brausteufelchen. Fast Polka, op. 154
Johann Strauss Quadrille from The Bat (Fledermaus-Quadrille). op. 363
Johann Strauss Sr. Carnival in Paris (Der Karneval in Paris). Galop, op. 100
INTERVAL
Part 2
Franz von Suppè Overture to the operetta The Beautiful Galatea (Die schöne Galathée)
Josephine Weinlich Siren Songs (Sirenen Lieder). Polka mazur, op. 13
Josef Strauss Woman's Dignity (Frauenwürde). Waltz, op. 277
Johann Strauss Diplomat’s Polka (Diplomaten-Polka). Polka française, Op. 448
Florence Price Rainbow Waltz.
Hans Christian Lumbye Københavns Jernbane-Damp-Galop. (Copenhagen Steam Railway Galop)
Johann Strauss Roses from the South (Rosen aus dem Süden). Waltz, op. 388
Johann Strauss Egyptian March (Egyptischer Marsch). op. 335
Josef Strauss Palms of Peace (Friedenspalmen). Waltz, op. 207
Encores
Philipp Fahrbach Circus (Zirkus). Fast Polka, op. 110
Johann Strauss The Beautiful Blue Danube (An der schönen blauen Donau). Waltz, op. 314
Johann Strauss Sr. Radetzky-March. op. 228
THU 13:00 Classical Live (m002npw6)
Old King Cole
Elizabeth Alker celebrates the New Year with an afternoon of exclusive music-making. In today's programme, we hear many musical favourites. The Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra take us on a night journey across the frozen North courtesy of Sibelius, Heuberger's Overture to 'Ball at the Opera' is played by the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, we have ceremonial music by Janacek from Brno with the BBC Concert Orchestra, and the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra offer an opportunity to hear Vaughan Williams' rarely performed ballet inspired by the story of Old King Cole. There is also music from great composers associated with Vienna and exclusive recordings from Radio 3's New Generation Artists including the Chaos Quartet performing Schubert and soprano Johanna Wallroth with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra singing much loved orchestral songs by Richard Strauss.
Jean Sibelius
Night Ride and Sunrise, Op. 55
Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra
Alan Gilbert (conductor)
Franz Schubert
Quartet in Eb D. 87
Chaos Quartet
Richard Heuberger
Overture to 'Ball at the Opera'
Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra
Henrik Schaefer (conductor)
Richard Strauss
Ich wollt' ein Sträusslein binden
Morgen
Säusle, liebe Myrte
Wiegenlied
Als mir dein Lied erklang
Johanna Wallroth (soprano)
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Stephanie Childress (conductor)
Ralph Vaughan Williams
Old King Cole
BBC Philharmonic
Andrew Manze (conductor)
Johann Sebastian Bach
Ich habe genug, BWV 82 (cantata)
Miriam Feuersinger (soprano)
Capricornus Consort, Basel
Péter Barczi (violin and artistic leader)
Leos Janacek
Sinfonietta, Op. 60
BBC Concert Orchestra
Music of the Castle Guard and the Police of the Czech Republic
Anna-Maria Helsing (conductor)
Arnold Schoenberg
Verklärte Nacht
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Alpesh Chauhan (conductor)
To listen to this programme (using most smart speakers) just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Classical Live".
THU 16:00 Composer of the Week (m001ptzf)
Icons of British Light Music
An audience of millions
Donald Macleod explores the impact of radio, the BBC and the postwar recording industry on the British light music scene.
The names of the composers of British light music - Coates, Ketèlby, Farnon, Dring or Tomlinson - might not be as well known as those of Mozart, Beethoven or Bach, but some of their music will be just as familiar to most listeners, and it still provides the soundtrack to many people’s everyday lives through, among other things, the theme music to their favourite TV and radio programmes. Over the course of this week, Donald Macleod tracks the rise and fall of light music in Britain over roughly 100 years, from the mid-19th century to the mid-20th. He’ll be exploring the social history which led to this genre flourishing, from the late-Victorian theatre crowds in want of more popular fare after the successes of Gilbert and Sullivan’s operettas, to the orchestras which sprang up to entertain the burgeoning UK seaside resorts. Along the way, Donald will examine the explosion of music in people’s homes, as at first pianos and other instruments, and then radio and television sets, became affordable to households across the country, and the transition from silent movies to the talkies. Donald will also explore the challenges which the genre faced as audiences moved towards new ways of listening in the 20th century and the pioneers who have sought to keep this music alive.
In Thursday’s episode, Donald explores the huge explosion in audience numbers brought by radio, and the impact of the BBC and the postwar recording industry on the British light music scene, as composers such as Ronald Binge and Robert Farnon, alongside the star performers of the day, took to the air.
Ronald Binge
Sailing by
BBC SO
David Parry, conductor
Ronald Binge
Alto Saxophone Concerto
Kenneth Edge, alto saxophone
Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra
Ernest Tomlinson, conductor
Robert Farnon
Little Miss Molly
Maryan Rawicz, Walter Landauer, pianos
Robert Farnon Orchestra
Robert Farnon, conductor
Eric Coates
Calling All Workers
CBSO
Reginald Kilbey, conductor
Eric Coates
London Suite III. Knightsbridge
BBC Philharmonic
John Wilson, conductor
Robert Farnon
Portrait of a Flirt
Robert Farnon and his Orchestra
Robert Farnon
A La Claire Fontaine
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Douglas Gamley, conductor
Robert Farnon
Westminster Waltz
BBC CO
Vernon Handley, conductor
Ronald Binge
The Water Mill
Light Music Society Orchestra
Lt. Col. Sir Vivian Dunn, conductor
THU 17:00 Words and Music (m0001ssb)
Rebel, Rebel
Rebel Rebel visits the world of those who don’t obey from composers and performers including the wild living Debussy and the minimalism of the pioneer Erik Satie and later the American composer Steve Reich who broke all the rules from the very start of his career in the 1960s, fighting against the musical establishment with his groundbreaking style. And, of course, you’ll hear the work of Mozart who did everything from composing his country’s national anthem to writing cruel parodies of his contemporaries’ work to make fun of them. You’ll also hear Don’t Rain on My Parade from Jule Styne and Bob Merrill’s musical Funny Girl, performed by Barbra Streisand who has had a hugely successful long career in Hollywood while refusing to conform to the rules.
Samuel West and Natalie Simpson read from poetry by the maverick Emily Dickinson, who refused to live in the real world, and the French writer Arthur Rimbaud who wrote nearly all his work between the ages of 16 and 20 before he abandoned poetry. Yearning to get away from the conventions of society he chose to give up his artistic life for that of a vagabond in East Africa. We have Shelley’s Ode to the West Wind and Lord Byron’s Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage, poems by two writers who broke all the rules, moral and artistic, both involved in the social and political problems of their revolutionary age. In Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre, a character who, like Roald Dahl’s Matilda, begins her difficult early life as passionate, intelligent and defiant child. In a special link up with the Poetry Society’s Young Poets Network, Jade Cuttle and Aisha Mango Borja’s writing is featured. And we begin with J.D. Salinger's classic novel The Catcher in the Rye which tells the story of the troubled teenager Holden Caulfield, at odds with a world he feels is cruel and unfeeling. First published as a novel for adults it’s become popular with teenagers around the world: it’s hard to believe it was first published at the end of WWII.
Producer: Fiona McLean
THU 18:15 New Generation Artists (m002npwb)
Winter Showcase: Haydn and South American song
Georgia Mann presents the final programme in her Winter series celebrating the musical talents of Radio 3's New Generation Artists.
Today there's joyous Haydn from both the Astatine Trio and the Kleio Quartet and the flautist, Elizaveta Ivanova plays a lyrical work by the once-popular German composer Sigfrid Karg-Elert. Also today, Uruguay-born tenor Santiago Sánchez introduces audiences at the Oxford International Song Festival to some art songs from South America, including the first performance in modern times of 'The Wheat Field' by the remarkable Carmen Barradas. And, to round off this Winter series, the twenty-two year-old saxophonist Emma Rawicz assembled an all-star line-up at the BBC's Maida Vale studios to play one of her latest tracks.
Schubert: An Silvia D.891
James Atkinson (baritone), Michael Pandya (collaborative pianist)
Haydn: Piano Trio in E flat Hob. XV.29
Astatine Trio
Sigfrid Karg-Elert: Symphonic Canzona
Elizaveta Ivanova (flute), Sanja Bizjak (piano)
Carmen Barradas: El trigal
Luis Cluzeau Mortet: En la copa de los Montes
Eduardo Fabini: Trieste no. 4
Santiago Sánchez (tenor), Sholto Kynoch (piano)
Haydn: String Quartet in D Op 50 no.6 'The Frog'
Kleio Quartet
Dilys Elwyn-Edwards: The Cloths Of Heaven
James Atkinson (baritone), Michael Pandya (collaborative pianist)
Hugo Alfven: Skogen Sover (The Forest Sleeps)
Johanna Wallroth (soprano), Michael Pandya (collaborative pianist)
Emma Rawicz: Sluaisreadh - The edge of the sea
Emma Rawicz (soprano sax)
with Rasmus Sørensen (piano), David Preston (electric guitar), Freddie Jensen (bass) and Marc Michel (drums)
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 many of the most exciting musicians working on the world stage today.
THU 19:30 Radio 3 in Concert (m002npwd)
Dvorak's New World Symphony
Semyon Bychkov conducts the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra at the 2025 Nobel Prize Concert in Stockholm, and they are joined for Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto by the Spanish violinist, María Dueñas, who is one of the brightest rising stars on the international stage.
“To perform in Stockholm for the Nobel Prize laureates is a profound honour,” says María Dueñas. “Standing before those who have dedicated their lives to the pursuit of knowledge, I am reminded that music, like the Nobel vision, seeks to transcend boundaries, unveil the unseen, and unite us in our common humanity. I am deeply grateful to contribute my voice to this moment of shared inspiration.”
The opening work Mari by American composer Bryce Dessner is a musical meditation on the transcience of life. Dessner dedicated the piece to Semyon Bychkov and even incorporated a melody from Dvorak's much-loved Ninth Symphony 'From the New World', which is the final work in the concert.
Presented by Penny Gore and recorded on 8th December 2025 at the Stockholm Concert Hall.
BRYCE DESSNER
Mari
MENDELSSOHN
Violin Concerto in E minor
DVORAK
Symphony No. 9 in E minor, op. 95 ('From the New World')
María Dueñas (violin)
Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra
Semyon Bychkov (conductor)
To listen on most smart speakers just say "ask BBC Sounds to play Radio 3 in Concert".
THU 21:15 The Lebrecht Interview (m002npwg)
Marin Alsop
Norman Lebrecht talks to conductor Marin Alsop about her life and career.
Growing up in New York, Marin recalls life as a single child in a musical household, and how that motivated her into a career in music despite her efforts to find independence as a mathematics student. Graduating as a violinist from The Julliard School, she pursued conducting, and after a series of rejections had her breakthrough at Tanglewood, training there with the composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein. He became her mentor, but it was her encounter with him years before, at the age of 9, that had first sparked her desire to become a conductor.
Marin reflects on becoming the first female chief conductor of a UK orchestra, and about her fruitful work at the helm of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. But she tells Norman that her proudest achievement has been her work with children on the community-based OrchKids programme at the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. She explains why other initiatives to promote equal access to music matter so much, including the Taki Alsop Conducting Fellowship for young female conductors.
Making her recent debut with the Berlin Philharmonic, Marin became the first American woman to conduct the prestigious German orchestra, and as she approaches her 70th birthday in 2026, she reveals her latest ambitions: to record the symphonies of Mahler and Shostakovich.
THU 22:00 Night Tracks (m001vcx2)
Immerse yourself
Hannah Peel presents an adventurous, immersive soundtrack for late-night listening, from classical to contemporary and everything in between.
THU 23:30 'Round Midnight (m0020r6m)
One from Ellen Beth Abdi
‘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.
Joe Armon-Jones rounds off his 4/4 week with an homage to the legendary trumpeter and bandleader Dizzy Gillespie.
Plus, music from Maeve Gilchrist and Viktor Krauss, Oscar Jerome, and Gerald Clayton.
To listen on most smart speakers, just say: 'Ask BBC Sounds to play Round Midnight.'
FRIDAY 02 JANUARY 2026
FRI 00:30 Through the Night (m002nr9s)
Rasch and Beethoven
Vladimir Jurowski conducts the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in Beethoven's Symphony no 9, alongside a new work by the German composer, Torsten Rasch. Jonathan Swain presents.
12:31 AM
Torsten Rasch (b.1965)
Pataphor
Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, Vladimir Jurowski (conductor)
12:44 AM
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Symphony no 9 in D minor, Op 125 'Choral'
Hanna-Elisabeth Müller (soprano), Emily D'Angelo (mezzo soprano), Christopher Sokolowski (tenor), Christof Fischesser (bass), Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, Berlin Radio Chorus, Vladimir Jurowski (conductor)
01:51 AM
Franz Schubert (1797-1828), Friedrich Schiller (author)
Die Burgschaft, D.246
Christoph Prégardien (tenor), Andreas Staier (pianoforte)
02:09 AM
Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901)
La Forza del Destino, Overture
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Riccardo Chailly (conductor)
02:17 AM
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Country dance no 1 (Allegro molto moderato) for wind quintet
Yur-Eum Woodwind Quintet
02:20 AM
Franz Liszt (1811-1886)
A la Chapelle Sixtine (Miserere de Allegri et Ave verum corpus de Mozart)
Jos Van Immerseel (piano)
02:31 AM
Claude Debussy (1862-1918)
String Quartet in G minor, Op 10
Quatuor Van Kuijk
02:57 AM
François Couperin (1668-1733)
Pieces de clavecin: ordre no 8 in B minor
Rosalind Halton (harpsichord)
03:30 AM
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (c.1525-1594)
Missa sine nomine
Silvia Piccollo (soprano), Annemieke Cantor (alto), Marco Beasley (tenor), Daniele Carnovich (bass), Diego Fasolis (conductor)
03:45 AM
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Brandenburg concerto no 3 in G major, BWV.1048
European Union Baroque Orchestra, Lars Ulrik Mortensen (conductor)
03:56 AM
Kurt Weill (1900-1950)
Surabaya Johnny from "Happy End"
Helene Gjerris (mezzo soprano), Esbjerg Ensemble, Jorgen Lauritsen (director)
04:03 AM
Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
St.Paul, Overture Op 36
Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, Kenneth Montgomery (conductor)
04:10 AM
Ernest Bloch (1880-1959)
From Jewish Life, B.54
Nicolas Altstaedt (cello), Alexander Lonquich (piano)
04:20 AM
Ester Mägi (1922-2021)
Bucolic
Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, Arvo Volmer (conductor)
04:31 AM
Johann Christoph Pezel (1639-1694)
Four Intradas for brass
Hungarian Brass Ensemble
04:38 AM
Jean Françaix (1912-1997)
Serenade for small orchestra
Canadian Chamber Ensemble, Raffi Armenian (director)
04:47 AM
Leonardo de Lorenzo (1875-1962)
Capriccio brillante for 3 flutes, Op 31
Vladislav Brunner Sr. (flute), Juraj Brunner (flute), Milan Brunner (flute)
04:57 AM
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714-1788)
Sinfonia in D major, Wq.176
Arte dei Suonatori, Marcin Świątkiewicz (harpsichord)
05:08 AM
John Ansell (1874-1948)
Nautical Overture
West Australian Symphony Orchestra, David Measham (conductor)
05:16 AM
Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767)
Sonata in F minor TWV.41:f1 for bassoon and continuo
Luka Mitev (bassoon), Helena Kosem Kotar (piano)
05:26 AM
Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887-1959)
Guitar Concerto
Łukasz Kuropaczewski (guitar), Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra, José Maria Florêncio (conductor)
05:46 AM
Michael Tippett (1905-1998)
Five Spirituals from 'A Child of our Time' for chorus
BBC Singers, Stephen Cleobury (conductor)
05:58 AM
Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)
Symphony no 92 in G major, H.
1.92 'Oxford'
Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, Peeter Lilje (conductor)
06:26 AM
Lili Boulanger (1893-1918)
Nocturne for flute and piano
Valentinas Gelgotas (flute), Audrone Kisieliute (piano)
FRI 06:30 Breakfast (m002nprk)
Kickstart your day with the best classical music
Andrew Peach presents Radio 3’s Breakfast show live from Salford. 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 (m002nprm)
The very best of classical music
Georgia Mann plays the best classical music for your morning, with discoveries and surprises rubbing shoulders with familiar favourites. Including the Playlister challenge: our regular listener-created sequence inspired by a different piece of music each day. Plus a new classical release in focus for Album of the Week.
1000 Playlister starter: listen and send us your ideas for the next step in today's musical journey. Text 83111 or email essentialclassics@bbc.co.uk.
1030 Album of the Week: an exciting new classical release in focus throughout the week.
1115 Playlister reveal: an uninterrupted sequence of music suggested by you in response to today's starter piece.
1200 Feast of a Piece: indulge your ears with an orchestral masterpiece.
To listen on most smart speakers say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Essential Classics”
FRI 13:00 Classical Live (m002nprp)
Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 2 ‘Resurrection’ from Vienna
Elizabeth Alker brings you an afternoon of exclusive music-making. In today's programme Elizabeth concludes her exploration of Viennese composers with a performance from the ORF Radio Symphony Orchestra, Vienna, conducted by Marin Alsop in her last appearance as Chief Conductor of the orchestra, in Mahler's monumental ‘Resurrection’ Symphony. Also marking the music of Vienna, Haydn's Trumpet Concerto and Marianna Martines' sprightly Sinfonia in C. There's music from Fanny Mendelssohn from a Radio 3 New Generation Artist and the capricornus Consort of Basel reach the final pages of Anna Magdelena Bach's Notebook.
Joseph Haydn
Trumpet Concerto in E flat major
Sebastian Berner (trumpet)
Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra
Alain Altinoglu (conductor)
Fanny Mendelssohn
Four Songs Without Words, Op. 8
Giorgi Gigashvili (piano)
Marianna Martines
Sinfonia in C
Ensemble Resonanz
Riccardo Minasi (conductor)
Gustav Mahler
Symphony No. 2 ‘Resurrection’
Nikola Hillebrand (soprano)
Sasha Cooke (mezzo-soprano)
Wiener Singakademie (Vienna Konzerthaus Chorus)
ORF Radio Symphony Orchestra, Vienna
Marin Alsop (conductor)
Johann Sebastian Bach
Five works from the 'Music Book for Anna Magdalena Bach'
Miriam Feuersinger, (soprano)
Capricornus Consort, Basel
Péter Barczi (violin and artistic leader)
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 (m001pv37)
Icons of British Light Music
Finding a new stage
Donald Macleod explores the composers who fought to keep light music alive in the wake of dramatic shifts in the social lives of people in Britain.
The names of the composers of British light music - Coates, Ketèlby, Farnon, Dring or Tomlinson - might not be as well known as those of Mozart, Beethoven or Bach, but some of their music will be just as familiar to most listeners, and it still provides the soundtrack to many people’s everyday lives through, among other things, the theme music to their favourite TV and radio programmes. Over the course of this week, Donald Macleod tracks the rise and fall of light music in Britain over roughly 100 years, from the mid-19th century to the mid-20th. He’ll be exploring the social history which led to this genre flourishing, from the late-Victorian theatre crowds in want of more popular fare after the successes of Gilbert and Sullivan’s operettas, to the orchestras which sprang up to entertain the burgeoning UK seaside resorts. Along the way, Donald will examine the explosion of music in people’s homes, as at first pianos and other instruments, and then radio and television sets, became affordable to households across the country, and the transition from silent movies to the talkies. Donald will also explore the challenges which the genre faced as audiences moved towards new ways of listening in the 20th century and the pioneers who have sought to keep this music alive.
From the 1950s onwards, audiences began to desert light music in the wake of dramatic changes in the social lives of the nation. In Friday’s episode, Donald explores composers such as Madeleine Dring and Ernest Tomlinson who fought to keep light music alive.
Madeleine Dring
Festival Scherzo for piano and strings
Martin Roscoe (piano)
Guildhall Strings
Ernest Tomlinson
Little Serenade
Pro Arte Orchestra
George Weldon, conductor
Ernest Tomlinson (under alias of Alan Perry)
Eccentric March
Performers unknown
Ernest Tomlinson
Capability Brown (test card music)
Stuttgart Studio Orchestra
Ernest Tomlinson
Second Suite of English Folk Dances
Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra
Ernest Tomlinson, conductor
Madeleine Dring (orchestrated by Roderick Williams)
Take, O Take Those Lips Away
Roderick Williams, baritone
Hallé Orchestra
Mark Elder, conductor
Madeleine Dring
Folk Song; Films from Cheapside at Cheapside (From 'Airs on a Shoestring!')
Wanda Brister, Courtney Kenny, Nuala Willis, Matt Cooksey (vocals)
Courteney Kenny, piano
Madeleine Dring
Song of a Nightclub Proprietress
Felicity Lott, soprano
Graham Johnson, piano
Eric Coates
Last Love
BBC Philharmonic
John Wilson, conductor
FRI 17:00 In Tune (m002nprs)
In Tune's Highlights of the Year (Part 2)
From new releases to artist birthdays and music festivals, James Murphy, Chief Executive of the Royal Philharmonic Society, joins Katie Derham to chart key cultural highlights in 2026.
FRI 19:00 Classical Mixtape (m002nprv)
A 30-minute prescription for calm
Today's half hour of back to back classical music begins with a Schubert song sung by the peerless Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, which the composer Nicholas Britell used as inspiration for his score to popular HBO TV drama series Succession. Other music in the mix includes an enchanting waltz by Tchaikovsky, Butterworth's nostalgic Banks of Green Willow, a haunting performance for voice and piano of the Corpus Christi Carol by Britten, and music by the American composers William Grant Still and Randall Thompson.
Producer: Helen Garrison
To listen on most smart speakers just say “ask BBC Sounds to play Classical Mixtape”.
FRI 19:30 Friday Night is Music Night (m0024dyj)
Night of Dance with Craig Revel Horwood
The BBC Concert Orchestra is joined by conductor Daniel Parkinson to celebrate all things dance. Katie Derham and Craig Revel Horwood reunite after their appearance on Strictly Come Dancing, to introduce showstoppers and toe-tappers from around the world. Making her debut with the orchestra is Madeleine Morgan, former recipient of the Stephen Sondheim Society Student Performer of the Year, who will be singing some of her favourite musical numbers.
Presented by Katie Derham and Craig Revel Horwood in Alexandra Palace, recorded on the 6th of November 2024.
Rodney Bennett, arr Sutherland: Orient Express Waltz
Piazzolla: Four Seasons of Buenas Aires (Summer)
Prokofiev: Cinderella Suite No 1, Op 107 (selection)
Gershwin: I Got Rhythm
Rodgers: Do I Hear a Waltz?
Márquez: Danzón No 2
Gershwin, arr Riddle: Promenade, ‘Walking the Dog’ (Shall We Dance)
Quincy Jones, arr. Malloy: Soul Bossa Nova
Johnson, arr Hall/Malloy: Charleston
Chaminade: Callirhoë Suite, Op 37 (Pas du voile)
Hamlisch: Music and the Mirror (from A Chorus Line)
Various, arr Docker: Let’s face the Music and Dance: Memories of Fred Astaire
Madeleine Morgan
BBC Concert Orchestra
Daniel Parkinson (conductor)
FRI 21:15 The Lebrecht Interview (m002npry)
Jonas Kaufmann
Norman Lebrecht talks to the German-Austrian superstar tenor Jonas Kaufmann about his life and career.
Jonas tells Norman about his beginnings as a singer, trying to establish himself against his father's wishes during his early career. He explains what was at the root of his disagreements with The Metropolitan Opera in New York during the Covid pandemic, which still prevent him from performing there. They discuss his love of languages, particularly his passion for singing in Italian and French, and his great vocal versatility which also encompasses the most demanding Wagnerian operatic roles, expected from him as a German singer although some of them remain elusive.
Jonas also talks candidly about his latest artistic challenge as the new Intendant of Austria's Tyrol Festival Erl, and why he won't invite some Russian singers over to take part in the festival, in light of the conflict in Ukraine - at least not yet.
FRI 22:00 Late Junction (m0027tjz)
Able Noise and Sandy Chamoun in session
Verity Sharp presents the fruits of our latest improvised collaboration session, in which cross-continent improv duo Able Noise meet Lebanese vocalist Sandy Chamoun.
Following their debut album release at the end of last year, Able Noise head back to their improvisational live roots for this Late Junction session. Comprised of George Knegtel and Alex Andropoulos on baritone guitar and drums respectively, the duo create minimalist rolling and stuttering pieces that play with varied tempos and the distinctive timbres that each of their respective instruments make possible. Often utilising live sampling and tape recorders to layer and amplify their sounds, there is a woozy, clattering weight to their performance approach.
Able Noise are joined in session by Lebanese vocalist and multi-disciplinary artist Sandy Chamoun. Sandy explores Arabic singing traditions through the research and performance of folk song, channelling her findings into original compositions that meld the historical with political and social critique. Her most recent release is as a part of the Beirut-based group Ghadr, in which she pits her soulful vocal stylings against improvised harsh electronics and distorted guitars.
Elsewhere in the show, experimental choir NYX showcase sounds of primal energy and delicate introspection with their new self-titled release and we delve into the meditative drift and fractured rhythms of Manuel Carbone’s latest offering ‘IN FONDO’. Plus there’s a personified street sweeper and possessed AI poetry from Tujiko Noriko.
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 (m0020q05)
Robert Glasper in conversation
‘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 Friday night, Soweto is joined by the ever-explorative and prolific music-maker Robert Glasper. A five-time Grammy winner, Robert is widely celebrated for his fusion of jazz and hip hop. He is a first-call musician and producer for fellow star-studded artists from across jazz, hip hop and neo-soul, working with artists including Erykah Badu, Herbie Hancock, and Terence Blanchard.
Long-time friends, Soweto and Robert sit down for a conversation full of laughs, memories and insights as they chat about Robert’s career so far. They discuss everything from Robert’s early musical influences, to his traditional jazz albums, his work as a composer for film, and much more.
Expect music from J Dilla, Roy Hargrove’s RH Factor, and Robert Glasper’s Black Radio series.
To listen on most smart speakers, just say: 'Ask BBC Sounds to play Round Midnight.'