SATURDAY 21 FEBRUARY 2026
SAT 00:30 Through the Night (m002r4mj)
Beethoven, Rodrigo and Falla from Ljubljana
Guitarist Mak Grgić joins the RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra and conductor Elias Grandy in Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez and the orchestra plays Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony and Falla's Three Cornered Hat. John Shea presents.
12:31 AM
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Symphony no 6 in F, Op 68 'Pastoral'
RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra, Elias Grandy (conductor)
01:16 AM
Joaquin Rodrigo (1901-1999)
Concierto de Aranjuez
Mak Grgić (guitar), RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra, Elias Grandy (conductor)
01:37 AM
Miroslav Tadić (b.1959)
Chicho
Mak Grgić (guitar)
01:41 AM
Manuel de Falla (1876-1946)
The Three-Cornered Hat, Suite no 2
RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra, Elias Grandy (conductor)
01:55 AM
Ambrož Čopi (b.1973)
Pie Jesu - from the Dies Irae of the Requiem Mass
Chamber Choir AVE, Andraž Hauptman (conductor)
01:57 AM
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Trio for piano and strings in E flat major, Op 70 no 2
Altenberg Trio Vienna
02:31 AM
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Serenade no 1 in D major, Op 11
Zermatt Music Festival Academy Students
03:12 AM
Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
Piano Sonata in E major, Op 6
Sveinung Bjelland (piano)
03:36 AM
Zoltán Jeney (1943-2019)
Bird Tempting
Győr Girls' Choir, Miklós Szabó (conductor)
03:43 AM
Fernando Sor (1778-1839)
Introduction and variations on Mozart's 'O cara armonia' for guitar, Op 9
Xavier Díaz-Latorre (guitar)
03:51 AM
Engelbert Humperdinck (1854-1921)
Overture from Hansel and Gretel
Symphony Nova Scotia, Georg Tintner (conductor)
04:00 AM
Alessandro Stradella (1639-1682)
Ardo, sospiro e piango
Emma Kirkby (soprano), David Thomas (bass), Jakob Lindberg (lute), Anthony Rooley (lute), Anthony Rooley (director)
04:07 AM
František Jiránek (1698-1778)
Sinfonia in D major
Collegium Marianum, Jana Semerádová (director)
04:15 AM
Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)
Alborada del gracioso - from the suite 'Miroirs'
Bengt-Åke Lundin (piano)
04:22 AM
Gabriel Fauré (1845 - 1924)
Pavane for orchestra, Op 50
BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Grant Llewellyn (conductor)
04:31 AM
Johann Joachim Quantz (1697-1773)
Trio in E flat major, QV 218
Nova Stravaganza
04:40 AM
Fryderyk Chopin (1810-1849)
Ballade for piano no 1 in G minor, Op 23
Zbigniew Raubo (piano)
04:49 AM
Francesco Cavalli (1602-1676)
Salve Regina (Hail, Holy Queen)
Monteverdi Choir, English Baroque Soloists, John Eliot Gardiner (conductor)
04:58 AM
Carl Maria von Weber (1786-1826)
Concertino in E flat, Op 26
Arthur Stockel (clarinet), Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Katowice, Paweł Kapuła (conductor)
05:08 AM
Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)
Variations about the hymn 'Gott erhalte'
Andreas Staier (fortepiano)
05:16 AM
Henry Purcell (1659-1695)
Pavan (Z.752) and Chacony (Z.730) for 4 instruments in G minor
London Baroque
05:24 AM
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Am Abend aber desselbigen Sabbats, BWV.42 - cantata
Voces Suaves, Cafebaum
05:53 AM
Jean-Baptiste Cardon (1760-1803)
Sonata IV for harp Op.7 No.4
Branka Janjanin-Magdalenič (harp)
06:05 AM
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Quintet for piano, oboe, clarinet, bassoon and horn in E flat major, K.452
Douglas Boyd (oboe), Hans Christian Bræin (clarinet), Kjell Erik Arnesen (french horn), Per Hannisdal (bassoon), Andreas Staier (piano)
SAT 06:30 Breakfast (m002rhm7)
Wake up your senses 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 (m002rhm9)
Felix Klieser: French horn player, problem solver
Tom Service starts the weekend with the best classical music, in new and landmark recordings, with one or two surprise guests introducing their own releases.
This week, Tom meets the German French horn player Felix Klieser. Born without arms, Felix has become one of the world's leading horn soloists. Currently visiting the UK to play with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Felix takes time out of his schedule to tell Tom how he sees himself foremost as a problem solver. He also recounts the story of how, despite growing up in a nonmusical family, he stll developed an overwhelming desire, as a young child, to play the French horn in front of an orchestra.
Tom also speaks to writer, opera singer and arts commentator Caitlin Vincent about her new book 'Opera Wars': an engaging, sometimes irreverent look at the issues which shape the past, present and future of opera, such as the staggering financial commitment singers have to make just to try and become professional, and the challenges opera companies face to engage audiences in new and relevant works.
And in The Creators this week, Tom hears the story of Mike Oldfield's groundbreaking classical and rock hybrid Tubular Bells, in conversation with longtime Mike Oldfield collaborator Robin A Smith, who has been tasked with creating a live spectacle to carry the work's legacy forward.
To listen on most smart speakers just say, "Ask BBC Sounds to play Saturday Morning”.
SAT 12:00 Earlier... with Jools Holland (m002rvcz)
Classical, blues and jazz for the weekend
Jools shares his lifelong passion for classical music and the beautiful connections with jazz and blues. With fascinating guests each week, who bring their own favourite music and occasionally perform live in Jools's studio.
Today, Jools's choices include music by Takemitsu, Handel and Don Shirley, with performances by Alison Balsom, Pat Metheney and Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective. His guest is the award-winning film director Nicolas Brown who talks about his new documentary "Finding Harmony: A King's Vision" which explores King Charles III's lifelong dedication to environmentalism. Nicolas introduces recordings he loves by conductor Leonard Bernstein, gospel group the Southern Sons, and Irish singer Nóirín Ní Riain.
To listen on most smart speakers just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Earlier with Jools Holland".
SAT 13:00 Music Matters (m002rhmc)
Turning the Page
1. Stopping at the top
Violinist Tasmin Little talks to musicians Kathryn Stott and Sean Bishop who have decided to turn the page and explore a new life, away from public performance.
Like Tasmin, pianist Kathryn Stott also had a mission to stop at the top of her game. They talk about the realities of acting on that decision, having to leave long-standing partnerships behind and how their final performances felt.
Tasmin also speaks to violist Sean Bishop who made a huge transition in the middle of his working life from a busy freelancer in the London orchestras, to a fine instrument dealer. Tasmin reflects on her decision to sell her beloved violin just days after her final performance, and that she hasn’t played a single note since.
Produced by Rebecca Gaskell for BBC Audio North
SAT 14:00 Record Review (m002rhmh)
Weber's Der Freischutz in Building a Library with Marina Frolova-Walker and Andrew McGregor
Andrew McGregor with his pick of some of the best new classical releases.
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2.10pm Andrew is joined by bassoonist and presenter Linton Stephens, who highlights some of the new releases that have caught his ear this week.
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3pm Building a Library: Marina Frolova-Walker, Professor of Music History at Cambridge University, surveys recordings of Weber's Der Freischutz and makes a personal top recommendation.
Premiered in 1821, Carl Maria von Weber's Der Freischutz was an instant success, and is considered one of the first German romantic operatic masterpieces. It is a dark tale of a young forester who finds himself, unknowingly, in league with the Devil as he attempts to win a shooting contest to earn his girlfriend’s hand in marriage. Its powerful depiction of the struggle between good and evil seizes the emotions, and supernatural elements add a chilling layer of excitement.
Top choice:
Gundula Janowitz, Peter Schreier, Theo Adam
Staatskapelle Dresden, Carlos Kleiber (conductor)
DG 4866374
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3.50pm Record of the Week: Andrew's stand out release.
SAT 16:00 Sound of Cinema (m002rhmm)
And the Scores Go To...
Edith Bowman talks to multi award winning composer Alexandre Desplat about his BAFTA nominated score to Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein ahead of the ceremony tomorrow night, and plays cues from the other nominations: Max Richter's Hamnet, Ludwig Göransson's Sinners, Jonny Greenwood's One Battle After Another, and Jerskin Fendrix's Bugonia.
Plus Brian Irvine dissects the music of Ennio Morricone in this week's Harmonising Hollywood, and Sara Mohr-Pietsch chooses her Pick of the Flicks, featuring the music of the late Icelandic composer Jóhann Jóhannsson.
You can watch the BAFTA ceremony on BBC1 on Sunday 22nd February at
7pm.
SAT 17:00 This Classical Life (m002rhmr)
Jess Gillam with... Ruby Hughes
Jess Gillam swaps favourite music with soprano Ruby Hughes, who has performed on many of the world’s major stages and has premiered new works by Helen Grime, Deborah Pritchard, Judith Weir, Errolyn Wallen and many others. Ruby's musical picks include pieces by Bach, Britten and Dave Okumu, whilst Jess chooses music by Sibelius, Paule Maurice and Elizeth Cardoso.
To listen on most smart speakers just say, "Ask BBC Sounds to play Radio 3”.
SAT 18:00 Opera on 3 (m002rhmt)
Enescu's Œdipe
George Enescu's Œdipe from the Bregenz Festival.
An all-too-rare staging of Enescu's masterpiece. A retelling of the Oedipus story, it's a work which occupied Enescu for a quarter of a century before its hugely successful premiere in Paris in 1936. It's a work admired for its ambition, its daunting demands and for the sheer originality of its music.
A terrible curse weighs on King Laïos of Thebes. The oracle of Delphi has prophesied that he will be slain by his firstborn and that he will marry his own mother Jocaste. Fearing the prophecy, Laïos orders a shepherd to kill his son Œdipe immediately after birth. But fate would have it otherwise...
Presented by Georgia Mann with guest Nigel Simeone.
George Enescu: Œdipe, tragédie lyrique in four acts and six scenes
Libretto by Edmond Fleg, partly based on the tragedies King Oedipus and Oedipus at Colonos by Sophocles.
Œdipe ..... Paul Gay (bass-baritone)
Tirésias .... Ante Jerkunica (bass-baritone)
Créon .... Tuomas Pursio (baritone)
Le Berger (Shepherd) .... Mihails Čuļpajevs (tenor)
Le Grand Prêtre (High priest) .... Nika Guliashvili (bass)
Phorbas / Le Veilleur .... Vazgen Gazaryan (bass)
Thésée .... Nikita Ivasechko (baritone)
Laïos .... Michael Heim (tenor)
Jocaste .... Marina Prudenskaya (mezzo-soprano)
La Sphinge (The Sphinx) .... Anna Danik (mezzo-soprano)
Antigone .... Iris Candelaria (soprano)
Mérope .... Tone Kummervold (mezzo-soprano)
Prague Philharmonic Choir
Vienna Symphony Orchestra
Hannu Lintu (conductor)
Œdipe survives and grows up as the son of King Polybos and Queen Merope in Corinth. They never tell him about his origins. As a teenager, however, Œdipe finds out about the portentous prophecy. He leaves his alleged parents to flee his fate. On the way to Thebes, where he defeats the Sphinx, Œdipe starts an argument with a stranger and beats him to death. Celebrated as an anonymous hero, he is crowned the new king and marries the widowed Queen. What he does not know: The man he killed was his father and the woman he marries is his mother, Jocasta. This heinous crime does not go unpunished. A plague haunts Thebes and Œdipe, guilty by accident, realizes that he fulfilled his prophecy a long time ago. Jocasta commits suicide, Œdipe blinds himself and leaves his family and Thebes. After suffering decades of isolation, the Gods finally grant Œdipe mercy and lead him back into the light.
SAT 21:30 Music Planet (m002rhmw)
Live Saharan blues with Daraa Tribes
To brighten up this wintery evening, Lopa Kothari takes us on a journey across dunes and oases with a special extract from a recent live performance of Moroccan band Daraa Tribes recorded at Hootananny, in London. Since 2013, the group has been making music that blends Saharan blues influences with Amazigh traditional music.
Elsewhere in the show, lots of new music including tracks from French duo of trumpet player Airelle Besson and accordionist Lionel Suarez, Naples' group Psyché, and Väsen, a Swedish folk music band from Uppsala.
Produced by Silvia Malnati.
A Reduced Listening production for BBC Radio 3.
To listen on most smart speakers, just say: 'Ask BBC Sounds to play Music Planet'.
SAT 22:30 New Music Show (m002rhmy)
Minimal To Maximal
Kate Molleson presents exclusive recordings of Riot Ensemble performing minimal to maximal music by Corie Rose Soumah and Anna Meredith. Plus Elaine Mitchener performs Yvette Janine Jackson's Waiting, Apartment House gives the premiere of Gretchen Korsmo's composition Together by Ourselves, an untitled improvisation by Fred Frith and Heiner Goebbels from the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, and new releases in cutting-edge and experimental music.
SUNDAY 22 FEBRUARY 2026
SUN 00:30 Through the Night (m002rhn0)
Brahms Symphony No 3 at the BBC Proms
BBC Proms performance from 2024 that includes Schoenberg’s Verklärte Nacht (Transfigured Night) from the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra under Ryan Wigglesworth. Leading international mezzo-soprano Alice Coote lends her glowing voice to Mahler’s Kindertotenlieder, after a symphony by Brahms that is both menacing and mellifluous. John Shea presents.
12:31 AM
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Symphony no 3 in F major, Op 90
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Ryan Wigglesworth (conductor)
01:07 AM
Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951)
Verklärte Nacht (Transfigured Night) Op 4
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Ryan Wigglesworth (conductor)
01:35 AM
Gustav Mahler (1860-1911)
Kindertotenlieder
Alice Coote (mezzo-soprano), BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Ryan Wigglesworth (conductor)
02:00 AM
Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Impromptu No 2 in E Flat, D899
Rudolf Buchbinder (piano)
02:05 AM
Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)
String Quartet in G minor, Op 20, No 3
Quatuor Mosaïques
02:24 AM
Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
12 Ecossaises (D.299)
Ralf Gothoni (piano)
02:31 AM
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Mass in C major, K.317 'Coronation'
Arianna Venditelli (soprano), Emilie Renard (mezzo-soprano), Rupert Charlesworth (tenor), Marcell Bakonyi (bass), Coro Maghini, Claudio Chiavazza (director), Academia Montis Regalis, Alessandro De Marchi (conductor)
02:58 AM
Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
Piano Trio No 1 in D minor, Op 49
Tori Trio, Jin-kyong Jee (cello), Kyon-min Kim (violin), Sook-hyon Cho (piano)
03:29 AM
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (c.1525-1594)
Tu es Petrus - motet for 6 voices
Silvia Piccollo (soprano), Emanuela Galli (soprano), Fabian Schofrin (alto), Marco Beasley (tenor), Daniele Carnovich (bass), Emanuela Galli (soloist), Diego Fasolis (conductor)
03:35 AM
Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741)
Concerto in C minor for treble recorder (RV.441)
Michael Schneider (recorder), Camerata Köln
03:46 AM
Max Bruch (1838-1920)
Kol Nidrei, Op 47
Shauna Rolston (cello), Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, Uri Mayer (conductor)
03:58 AM
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Pastorella in F (BWV.590)
Hans van Nieuwkoop (organ)
04:09 AM
Flor Alpaerts (1876-1954)
Romanza for Violin and Orchestra
Guido De Neve (violin), Vlaams Radio Orkest [Flemish Radio Orchestra], Michel Tabachnik (conductor)
04:16 AM
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
9 Variations on 'Quant' e piu bello' by Paisiello for piano (WoO.69)
Theo Bruins (piano)
04:22 AM
Henry Purcell (1659-1695)
Sonata no 9 for 2 violins and continuo in F major (Z.810)
Simon Standage (violin), Agata Sapiecha (violin), Marcin Zalewski (viola da gamba), Lilianna Stawarz (harpsichord)
04:31 AM
Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868)
Overture to L'Italiana in Algeri (Italian Girl in Algiers)
Capella Coloniensis, Gabriele Ferro (conductor)
04:39 AM
Claude Debussy (1862-1918)
Sonata for cello and piano in D minor
Ola Karlsson (cello), Lars David Nilsson (piano)
04:51 AM
Leokadiya Kashperova (1872-1940)
Night
BBC Singers, Hilary Campbell (conductor)
04:54 AM
Albert Moeschinger (1897-1985)
Quintet on Swiss folksongs for wind, Op 53
La Strimpellata Bern
05:14 AM
Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767)
'Sabato' from 'Pyrmonter Kurwoche', TWV 42:g3
Albrecht Rau (violin), Heinrich Rau (viola), Clemens Malich (cello), Wolfgang Hochstein (harpsichord)
05:22 AM
Gertrude van den Bergh (1793-1840)
Rondeau, Op 3
Frans van Ruth (piano)
05:29 AM
Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber (1644-1704)
Six Rosary Sonatas
Daniel Sepec (violin), Hille Perl (viola da gamba), Michael Behringer (harpsichord), Michael Behringer (organ), Lee Santana (theorbo)
06:09 AM
Dag Wiren (1905-1986)
String Quartet no.2, Op.9
Saulesco Quartet
SUN 06:30 Breakfast (m002rhqv)
The finest classical music to elevate your morning
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 (m002rhqx)
Three Hours of Classical Sparkle
Sarah Walker brings you three hours of classical music to reflect, restore, and refresh.
On today's show Sarah has lots of treats for your Sunday morning, with music ranging from neglected but brilliant women composers like Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre and Maddalena Laura Sirmen, to the dreamy, mystical opening of Debussy's La damoiselle elue, and the chance to indulge in the epic first movement of Elgar's First Symphony.
This week's choral reflection is a lush recording by Voces8 of a triple canon by Baroque Italian composer Benedetto Marcello, and Sarah's Sunday Sequence has a distinctly regal feel to it...
Plus, Claudio Abbado and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe are clock watching...
A Tandem Production for BBC Radio 3.
SUN 12:00 Private Passions (m002rhqz)
Asif Khan, architect
Asif Khan is a world-renowned architect and designer whose work inspired a recent headline – ‘is there anything Asif Khan can’t transform?’.
His current projects include the re-invention of the former Smithfield meat market into the new London Museum, working with Stanton Williams and Julian Harrap Architects, and the extensive renewal of the Barbican Centre. Further afield, in Kazakhstan, he’s turned a vast former Soviet cinema into a new cultural centre.
He opened his own studio in 2007, and has designed exhibitions, temporary pavilions and installations around the world. He views architecture as a multi-disciplinary field, bringing together design, science and art.
His musical choices include Chopin, Shostakovich, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Brian Eno.
Producer: Katy Hickman
SUN 13:30 Music Map (m002h0vp)
Dowland's Lachrimae
To mark the 400th anniversary of John Dowland's death, Sara Mohr-Pietsch traces a path towards John Dowland's famous Lachrimae collection. We hear music which, like the Lachrimae, is full of melancholy, together with more modern musical dances, a form which inspired many of Dowland's works.
Producer: Ben Collingwood.
SUN 15:00 Choral Evensong (m002r4f6)
Merton College, Oxford
Last Wednesday's service from the Chapel of Merton College, Oxford on Ash Wednesday.
Introit: Lent Prose (Plainsong)
Responses: Byrd
Psalm 51: Miserere mei, Deus (MacMillan)
First Lesson: Isaiah 1 vv10-18
Canticles: Short Service (Byrd)
Second Lesson: Luke 15 vv11-32
Anthem: In ieiunio et fletu (Tallis)
Hymn: Lord Jesus, think on me (Southwell)
Voluntary: Fantasia in D (Byrd)
Benjamin Nicholas (Director of Music)
Anna Steppler (Assistant Organist)
To listen on most smart speakers just say, “ask BBC Sounds to play Choral Evensong”.
SUN 16:00 Jazz Record Requests (m002rhr1)
Classics and New Releases
Alyn Shipton presents jazz records of all styles as requested by you including the latest batch of news releases featuring Tim Garland & Geoffrey Keezer, Norma Winstone and Alex Wilson alongside classic cuts from Duke Ellington, Bill Evans, Clifford Brown and Lee Morgan.
Join our community of jazz lovers. Alyn Shipton is waiting for your requests: email 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 (m002rhr3)
Dowland in Denmark
To mark the 400th anniversary of John Dowland's death, Hannah French explores the years the composer spent working in the Danish court of King Christian IV. Despite only spending a short amount of time in Denmark (from 1598 to 1606), while he was there, Dowland published two books of songs and his famous Lachrimae collection.
Producer: Ben Collingwood.
SUN 18:00 Words and Music (m002rhr5)
Wishes
Readers Shobna Gulati and Colin Tierney bring us a selection of wishes set alongside music. The short story The Monkey’s Paw warns us to be careful what we wish for. Edward Lear describes the joyful wish fulfilment of the nutcracker and sugar-tongs when they leave the table to go horse riding. Philip Larkin wishes a normal, happy life on a newborn child. Jane Hirshfield describes the ways in which she would like to improve her life. And Joan Aitken describes a cat and a wishing-mat. With music from Stephen Sondheim, JS Bach, Mozart, Tchaikovsky, Pink Floyd and Stevie Wonder.
Produced in Salford by Nick Holmes.
SUN 19:15 Between the Ears (m002rhr7)
Words First meets Sound First
Emerging artists from two BBC talent development schemes - Sound First and Words First - collaborate to create new specially commissioned sound worlds of spoken word and sound design. New poems from the Words First spoken word artists are interwoven with new sound designs from our Sound First sound artists on the theme of 'time'.
These talent development schemes are hosted by the BBC Contains Strong Language Festival. Sound First is supported by producers Ben Brick and Eloise Whitmore along with the poetry organisations Apples and Snakes and Young Identity.
Poems and Sound Designs by:
"Kisses For All Times" by Rhian Jade - sound design by Joey Pinder
"Borough of Dandelions" by RK - sound design by Anna-Maria Woodrow
"Time Flies" by Prav Jandu - sound design by Julie Béguin
"Tell The Time" by Rayrites - sound design by Elliot Termote
"Wasted Time" by Imogen Cordelia Grover - sound design by Carlo Villa
"Clockwise" by IAMTARIQ - sound design by Katie Baxter
"Time" by Jenny Pilkington - sound design by Georgia Preston
"That Familiar Excuse" by Charlotte Cropper - sound design by Jesse Cutts
Producer: Alice Smith
SUN 19:45 Sunday Feature (m002rhr9)
Samurai culture
Samurai culture embodies ideas about self-sacrifice and courage. But Japan's warriors - who rose to power in the 1100s - went on to become an elite social class who valued the arts as much as swordsmanship. Chris Harding, from the University of Edinburgh, has written books including Japan Story, The Japanese: A History in Twenty Lives and The Light of Asia. He visits the British Museum's new exhibition, which aims to expand our image of the Samurai by exploring their links with Kabuki theatre, drumming and performance. We hear from one of the curators of the show, Dr Rosina Buckland, and the co-author of the catalogue, Professor Oleg Benesch, from the University of York, and some of the specially curated sound effects used in the show, plus part of a performance of drumming given by Tengu Taiko Drummers from York.
Producer: Simon Funnell
New Generation Thinkers is a scheme run by the BBC and the Arts and Humanities Research Council to showcase research on radio.
SUN 20:00 Record Review (m002rhrc)
Weber's Der Freischütz
The Building a Library recommended recording from yesterday's Record Review.
SUN 21:00 20th Century Radicals (m002rhrf)
Alvin Lucier: Sounds unheard
Kate Molleson and Gillian Moore present BBC Radio 3's series exploring the pivotal 'modern' musical works of the 20th century, the groundbreaking composers who created them, and the radical cultural and artistic movements which gave rise to them. In this episode, Kate explores the experimental sound environments of Alvin Lucier. Born in 1931, Lucier blurred the lines between music, sound, science and life in his role as a professor of music at Wesleyan University in Connecticut.
We’ll throw ourselves into Lucier's immersive musical world, traversing heavy avant-garde experiences of Europe to discover an artist experimenting with electrical walks and pondering the phenomenon of physical sound. At the heart of the programme is Lucier’s iconic 1969 work “I am Sitting in a Room”, in which the composer speaks a text into a microphone, repeating the same paragraph 32 times: "I am sitting in a room different from the one you are in now. I am recording the sound of my speaking voice and I am going to play it back into the room again and again until the resonant frequencies of the room reinforce themselves so that any semblance of my speech, with perhaps the exception of rhythm, is destroyed..."
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”
This episode features an extract from an interview with Alvin Lucier recorded for Stuart Maconie's Freak Zone in 2013. For more playlists from creators of underground and experimental music search for Freak Zone Playlist in BBC Sounds.
SUN 22:00 Compline (m002rhrh)
Lent 1
A reflective service of night prayer from St Stephen Walbrook in London. With words and music for the end of the day, including works by Morales, Amy Beach and Nils Greenhow, sung by St Martin's Voices.
Introit: Peccantem me quotidie (Morales)
Preces (Plainsong)
Hymn: My spirit longs for thee (Quam dialecta)
Psalm 51 (Plainsong)
Reading: Matthew 11 vv28-30
Responsory: Into thy hands, O Lord (Plainsong)
Nunc dimittis (Amy Beach)
Anthem: Lord of all hopefulness (Nils Greenhow)
Andrew Earis (Conductor)
To listen on most smart speakers just say, “ask BBC Sounds to play Compline”.
SUN 22:30 Night Tracks (m002rhrk)
Bewitching sounds for after dark
Sara Mohr-Pietsch presents an adventurous, immersive soundtrack for late-night listening, from classical to contemporary and everything in between.
SUN 23:30 Unclassified (m002rhrm)
Pitch shifts
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 we’ll hear a fabulous collaboration from Scanner and Neil Leonard that was ten years in the making; a track written during an Icelandic snowstorm featuring on the brilliantly titled album ‘All Our Friends Are Vampires’; and in the week marking 400 years since the death of John Dowland, we’ll hear new music from Laura Cannell, a great fan of the Renaissance composer. Elizabeth also offers her signature mix of emerging independent producers whose work plays with orchestral textures and classical form.
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 23 FEBRUARY 2026
MON 00:30 Through the Night (m002rhrp)
Shostakovich's Cello Concerto no 1
Truls Mørk performs Shostakovich's first cello concerto with the German Symphony Orchestra, Berlin and conductor Tabita Berglund. In Metacosmos, Anna Thorvaldsdóttir captures the dynamic of plunging into a black hole. James Kimo Williams’s Fanfare for Life is an emotional reflection on his experiences in the Vietnam War, followed by the poetic adventure of Grieg’s Peer Gynt suites. John Shea presents.
12:31 AM
Anna Thorvaldsdóttir (b.1977)
Metacosmos
German Symphony Orchestra, Berlin, Tabita Berglund (conductor)
12:44 AM
Dmitry Shostakovich (1906-1975)
Cello Concerto no 1 in E flat major, Op 107
Truls Mørk (cello), German Symphony Orchestra, Berlin, Tabita Berglund (conductor)
01:16 AM
Benjamin Britten (1913-1976)
Declamato, from 'Cello Suite no 2, Op 80'
Truls Mørk (cello)
01:21 AM
James Kimo Williams (b.1950)
Fanfare for Life
German Symphony Orchestra, Berlin, Tabita Berglund (conductor)
01:26 AM
Edvard Grieg (1843-1907)
Prelude to Act 1 of 'Peer Gynt, Op 23'
German Symphony Orchestra, Berlin, Tabita Berglund (conductor)
01:31 AM
Edvard Grieg (1843-1907)
Peer Gynt Suite no 2, Op 55
German Symphony Orchestra, Berlin, Tabita Berglund (conductor)
01:48 AM
Edvard Grieg (1843-1907)
Peer Gynt Suite no 1, Op 46
German Symphony Orchestra, Berlin, Tabita Berglund (conductor)
02:04 AM
Edvard Grieg (1843-1907)
Ballade in G minor, Op 24
Leif Ove Andsnes (piano)
02:26 AM
Edvard Grieg (1843-1907)
The Last Spring, from 'Two Elegiac Melodies, Op 34'
Eldbjørg Hemsing (violin)
02:31 AM
Johann Gottfried Müthel (1728-1788)
Concerto in D minor for harpsichord, 2 bassoons, strings and continuo
Rhoda Patrick (bassoon), David Mings (bassoon), Gregor Hollman (harpsichord), Musica Alta Ripa
02:55 AM
Henryk Górecki (1933-2010)
O Domina Nostra Op 55 (1982-85)
La Gioia, Diane Verdoodt (soprano), Ilse Schelfhout (soprano), Kristien Vercammen (soprano), Bernadette De Wilde (soprano), Lieve Mertens (mezzo-soprano), Els Van Attenhoven (mezzo-soprano), Lieve Vanden Berghe (alto), Ludwig Van Gijsegem (tenor), Peter Thomas (organ)
03:28 AM
Richard Strauss (1864-1949)
Auf stillem Waldespfad, from Stimmungsbilder, Op 9 no 1
Ludmil Angelov (piano)
03:34 AM
Alexander Borodin (1833-1887), arr. Malcolm Sargent
Notturno (Andante) - 3rd mvt from String Quartet no 2 in D major
Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Bramwell Tovey (conductor)
03:42 AM
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Flute Quartet no 4 in A major, K.298
Tom Ottar Andreassen (flute), Frode Larsen (violin), Jon Sønstebø (viola), Emery Cardas (cello)
03:53 AM
Silvius Leopold Weiss (1687-1750)
Prelude, Toccata and Allegro in G major
Hopkinson Smith (baroque lute)
04:03 AM
Andrej Misson (b.1960)
Spring Will Come
Domzale Chamber Choir, Tomaz Pirnat (conductor)
04:06 AM
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
7 Variations on 'Bei Mannern welche Liebe fuhlen' WoO 46
Diana Ozolina (cello), Lelde Paula (piano)
04:16 AM
George Enescu (1881-1955)
Romanian Rhapsody no 1 in A major, Op 11
Romanian Youth Orchestra, Cristian Mandeal (conductor)
04:31 AM
Jenö Hubay (1858-1937)
Spinning Room, Op 44 no 3
Ferenc Szecsódi (violin), István Kassai (piano)
04:36 AM
Charles Gounod (1818-1893)
Waltz (Faust)
Danish Radio Concert Orchestra, Børge Wagner (conductor)
04:41 AM
George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)
Piangerò la sorte mia (Giulio Cesare, HWV 17)
Nuria Rial (soprano), La Cetra Barockorchester Basel, Maurice Steger (conductor)
04:49 AM
Joseph Bonnet (1884-1944)
Variations de Concert for organ
Michael Dudman (organ)
04:58 AM
Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643)
Magnificat II
Chorus of Swiss Radio, Lugano, Diego Fasolis (conductor)
05:09 AM
Karol Szymanowski (1882-1937)
Violin Concerto no 2, Op 61
Edward Zienkowski (violin), Polish Radio National Symphony Orchestra Katowice, Michal Dworzynski (conductor)
05:30 AM
Edward Elgar (1857-1934)
The Music Makers, Op 69
Jane Irwin (mezzo soprano), Netherlands Radio Choir, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, Jaap van Zweden (conductor)
06:09 AM
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Piano Sonata in B flat major, K.570
Víkingur Ólafsson (piano)
MON 06:30 Breakfast (m002rf3y)
Kick-start your day with the best classical music
Tom McKinney presents Radio 3’s Breakfast show live from Salford. With birdsong, Bach Before 7 and the best in classical music. You can contact the show by emailing 3breakfast@bbc.co.uk.
To listen on most smart speakers, just say, 'Ask BBC Sounds to play 3 Breakfast’.
MON 09:30 Essential Classics (m002rf40)
Your perfect classical playlist
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 (m002rf42)
Live from London's Wigmore Hall
Fiona Talkington brings you an afternoon of exclusive music-making including a live concert from London's Wigmore Hall with Radio 3 New Generaton Artists, the violinist Hana Chang and pianist Elisabeth Brauss.
Their programme consists of expressive, Romantic-influenced works by Clara and Robert Schumann, Johannes Brahms, Lili Boulanger and Cesar Franck, all designed to showcase the wonderful musical partnership of these rising stars of the classical music world.
Elsewhere in the programme, Italian vistas - The Ulster Orchestra and conductor Olari Elts perform Mendelssohn's evocative Fourth Symphony - the 'Italian' - and the RAI National Symphony Orchestra perform Berlioz's Roman Carnival Overture, recorded in Turin. Also featured is a recital from La Scintilla Orchestra and conductor Riccardo Minasi who perform music by Dario Castello and Pachelbel's renowned Canon and Gigue.
There are also studio recordings from other current Radio 3 New Generation Artists - pianist Tom Borrow plays Chopin's much loved Polonaise-fantasy and the NOVO quartet performs music by Joseph Haydn.
Live from Wigmore Hall, presented by Petroc Trelawny
Radio 3 New Generation Artists
Clara Schumann
3 Romances Op. 22
Robert Schumann
F-A-E Sonata WoO. 22: II. Intermezzo
Johannes Brahms
F-A-E Sonata WoO. 22: III. Scherzo
Lili Boulanger
2 Pieces for Violin and Piano
César Franck
Violin Sonata in A
Hana Chang (violin)
Elisabeth Brauss (piano)
***
Felix Mendelssohn
Symphony No. 4 'Italian'
Ulster Orchestra
Olari Elts (conductor)
Dario Castello
Sonata decimaquinta
La Scintilla Orchestra
Riccardo Minasi (conductor)
Johann Pachelbel
Canon and Gigue
La Scintilla Orchestra
Riccardo Minasi (conductor)
Radio 3 New Generation Artists:
Fryderyk Chopin
Polonaise-fantasy, Op 61
Tom Borrow (piano)
Radio 3 New Generation Artists:
Joseph Haydn
String Quartet Op.20 no 4: 1st mvt Allegro molto
NOVO Quartet
Hector Berlioz
Roman Carnival Overture, Op. 9
RAI National Symphony Orchestra
Andrés Orozco-Estrada (conductor)
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 (m002rf44)
Amy Beach (1867-1944)
Becoming Mrs Beach
Donald Macleod explores how Amy Beach railed against the sexism of her time to journey from a child piano prodigy to a respected composer.
This week, Donald Macleod explores the life and music of one of the most original, distinctive and gifted American musicians of the early 20th century - Amy Beach. Donald discovers how Beach railed against the prejudices of her time to become arguably the first truly 'American' voice to emerge from a continent still struggling to break free from the shackles of the European classical tradition.
We will explores her journey from the tranquil meadows of New England to her headline-grabbing early successes as a virtuoso piano prodigy in Boston - alongside a burning childhood desire to compose. We'll hear from her collection of large-scale symphonic works, including her Piano Concerto, and her 'Gaelic' Symphony, and we’ll discover which of her songs was such a hit that its proceeds paid for a summer property for the Beach family!
We'll also hear about Beach’s attachment to the MacDowell Colony - a remarkable artists' retreat amidst the woodlands of New Hampshire, and her work to help the careers of young musicians.
In Monday’s episode, Donald explores how Amy Beach journeyed from a child piano prodigy to become a respected composer, despite the sexism of her time. We’ll also hear how Beach’s marriage acted both as an advantage and a restriction in her attempts to become recognised as a serious musician, and we’ll hear from her Violin Sonata, and an operatic scena which became the first work by a woman to be given by the Symphony Society of New York.
Young Birches
Shani Diluka, piano
Valse – Caprice, op.4
Joanne Polk, piano
3 Songs, Op 2 no 3 - Empress of Night
Katherine Kelton, mezzo soprano
Catherine Bringerud, piano
Eilende Wolken, segler der Lufte, Op. 18
Anglea Brower, mezzo soprano
Munchner Symphoniker
Joseph Bastian, conductor
Violin Sonata, Op.34 - I. Allegro Moderato
Tasmin Little, violin
John Lenehan, piano
Quartet for Strings in One Movement
The Lark Quartet
Producer: Steven Rajam/Sam Phillips
MON 17:00 In Tune (m002rf47)
Beverley Knight, Ntombizodwa Ndlovu, Pekka Kuusisto and Sam Amidon
Katie Derham presents live music in the studio from violinist Pekka Kuusisto and folk musician Sam Amidon, who perform tracks from their new album Willows ahead of its launch at Kings Place, London.
Plus there's live music from the stars of 'Marie and Rosetta' at Soho Place, Beverley Knight and Ntombizodwa Ndlovu, who are accompanied by Shirley Tetteh on guitar in music by Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Marie Knight.
MON 19:00 Classical Mixtape (m002rf49)
Take 30 minutes out with a relaxing classical mix
Take time out with a 30-minute soundscape of classical music, including a solo marimba piece Evelyn Glennie, a string quartet by William Grant Smith, a Lyric Piece for solo piano by Edvard Grieg, the first movement from Corelli's Concerto Grosso in F major, Lili Boulanger's La Source for piano and chorus, and Binge's The Watermill for oboe and orchestra.
Producer: Eleonora Claps
MON 19:30 Radio 3 in Concert (m002rf4c)
Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No.1 from Gateshead
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and its Music Director Vasily Petrenko perform a programme of romantic and dramatic music from Russia.
The concert opens with a raucous and macabre tone poem by Liadov - Kikimora – which depicts a Slavic female spirit who is brought up by a magician, spinning flax with evil intentions.
The orchestra is then joined by the extraordinary young Israeli pianist Tom Borrow for a performance of Tchaikovsky’s tour-de-force Piano Concerto No.1 – a grand, passionate masterpiece of the piano repertoire.
After the interval we'll hear Shostakovich’s Symphony No.10 – his dark and powerful response to the death of the Soviet leader Joseph Stalin in 1953. It’s a piece which is, at times, utterly terrifying, but which proved to be full of artistic catharsis for its composer – a musical sigh of relief, almost.
Presented by Mark Forrest at The Glasshouse, Gateshead, and recorded on 8th February 2026.
Anatoly Liadov: Kikimora, Op. 63
Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1 in B flat minor, Op.23
Dmitri Shostakovich: Symphony No.10 in E minor, Op.93
Tom Borrow (piano)
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Vasily Petrenko (conductor)
To listen on most smart speakers just say, 'ask BBC Sounds to play Radio 3 in Concert'.
MON 21:45 The Essay (m002rf4f)
Full Moon on Progress St
Sarah Vaughan, 'The Divine One'
Full Moon on Progress Street series 2 follows on from the first series (available on BBC Sounds), taking a close look at key moments and music to reveal the hidden lives and interests of more of the most important Black female artists of the 20th century – Sarah Vaughan, Ma Rainey, Abbey Lincoln, Bessie Smith and Josephine Baker. Dr Rommi Smith, lifelong jazz and blues listener, takes us on a journey into the creative life of each artist, reappraising what we think we know about them from popular culture. Each essay “flips-the-script”, to show a different hidden story. All of these iconic women are broadly misrepresented - history and popular perception airbrushing their interests, politics, activism, sexualities, creative legacies and passions.
Essay 1
Sarah “Sassy” Vaughan (nicknamed “The Divine One”) was the contralto-darling of Birdland and The Famous Door. Musicologist Gunther Schuller called her the “the greatest vocal artist of the twentieth century.” Her influence can be heard upon contemporary artists such as Dianne Reeves, Cecile McLorin Salvant and Samara Joy – but who was she? This essay re-reads Vaughan as a political activist via her performances. Track list: East of the Sun, West of the Moon, Body and Soul, Black Coffee and It Could Happen to You.
Dr Rommi Smith is a writer, broadcaster and academic. Winner of the Northern Writers Prize for Poetry, Rommi has been awarded prestigious fellowships, residencies and commissions, from organisations and institutions ranging from the BBC to The British Council. In 2025, she was appointed a judge for the Forward Prizes for Poetry.
She is the inaugural British Parliamentary Writer-in-Residence. She was Writer-in-Residence for Keats’ House, the Wordsworth Trust and most recently, the inaugural Writer-in-Residence for Harewood House, writing in response to its exhibition about Jane Austen & JMW Turner. Rommi is a librettist, collaborating often with the composer Roderick Williams. Rommi was commissioned by Lubaina Himid/the ICA to create Tracing the Thin Black Line (a new performance work marking the 40th anniversary of the exhibition The Thin Black Line). The work premiered at the Institute of Contemporary Art in 2025. Her academic scholarship centres jazz and blues women and civil rights. She is honoured to have interviewed leading contemporary musicians, from Dr. Dianne Reeves to Dr. Esperanza Spalding, Professor Terri Lyne Carrington to Cassandra Wilson, as part her academic research. Rommi’s work is published by, amongst others, Routledge and New York University Press. A collection of poems inspired by her research is forthcoming.
www.rommi-smith.co.uk
Writer and presenter, Dr Rommi Smith
Producer, Polly Thomas
Sound designer, Paul Cargill
Exec producer, Chantal Herbert
A Thomas Carter Projects production for BBC Radio 3
MON 22:00 Night Tracks (m002rf4h)
A meditative moonlight soundtrack
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 (m002dy5y)
Aaron Parks’ 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 the future-facing American pianist Aaron Parks. As well as working as part of Terence Blanchard’s celebrated band, Aaron has collaborated with fellow contemporary jazz heavyweights including Kurt Rosenwinkel, Terri Lyne Carrington, and Ambrose Akinmusire. He is also a formidable bandleader and prolific composer; his latest album “By All Means” features a new quartet of bassist Ben Street, legendary drummer Billy Hart, and tenor saxophonist Ben Solomon.
From Monday to Thursday, Aaron will be guiding us through some of the records that have helped to inform his musical path so far. Tonight, kicking off his week, Aaron chooses an album by a seminal jazz pianist he is deeply influenced by.
Also in the programme, there is music from Robin Mullarkey, Naná Rizinni, and Ego Ella May.
To listen on most smart speakers, just say: 'Ask BBC Sounds to play Round Midnight'.
TUESDAY 24 FEBRUARY 2026
TUE 00:30 Through the Night (m002rf4k)
Mark Padmore and Julius Drake in Madrid
The forest is a common motif in the work of Romantics: both as a beautiful idyll and as a frightening, mysterious place. Forests, and nature more generally, form the inspiration for this song recital from Madrid. John Shea presents.
12:31 AM
Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Im Frühling, D.882
Mark Padmore (tenor), Julius Drake (piano)
12:35 AM
Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
In der Fremde, Op 39 no 1
12:37 AM
Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
Erstes Grün, from 12 Gedichte, Op 35
12:39 AM
Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
Lust der Sturmnacht, from 12 Gedichte Op 35
12:41 AM
Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Der Lindenbaum, from Winterreise
12:46 AM
Gustav Mahler (1860-1911)
Ich atmet' einen linden Duft, from Rückert-Lieder
12:49 AM
Aaron Copland (1900-1990)
Nature, the Gentlest Mother, from 12 Poems of Emily Dickinson
12:53 AM
George Butterworth (1885-1916)
Loveliest of trees, from 6 Songs from a Shropshire Lad
12:56 AM
Benjamin Britten (1913-1976)
At Day-Close in November, from Winter Words, Op 52
12:58 AM
Tansy Davies (b.1973)
Destroying Beauty
Mark Padmore (tenor), Julius Drake (piano)
01:01 AM
Reynaldo Hahn (1874-1947)
Le rossignol des lilas
01:03 AM
Claude Debussy (1862-1918)
L´ombre des arbres, from Ariettes oubliées
01:05 AM
Benjamin Britten (1913-1976)
The Auld Aik, from Who are These Children? Op 84
01:08 AM
Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Die Mutter Erde, D.788
01:11 AM
Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958)
Silent Noon, from The House of Life
01:15 AM
Rebecca Clarke (1886-1979)
The Tiger
Mark Padmore (tenor), Julius Drake (piano)
01:19 AM
Gabriel Fauré (1845 - 1924)
Prison, Op 83 no 1
01:21 AM
Sally Beamish (b.1956)
Hoopoe, from 4 Songs from Hafez
01:27 AM
Clara Schumann (1819-1896)
Am Strande
01:29 AM
Charles Ives (1874-1954)
The Housatonic at Stockbridge, from 114 Songs
01:33 AM
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Die Mainacht, op 43 no 2
01:37 AM
Gustav Holst (1874-1934)
Betelgeuse, from 12 Humbert Wolfe Songs, Op 48
01:40 AM
Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Frühlingsglaube, D.686
Mark Padmore (tenor), Julius Drake (piano)
01:44 AM
Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904)
Klid (Silent woods), B182
Shauna Rolston (cello), Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, Uri Mayer (conductor)
01:51 AM
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Cantata no. 51 BWV.51 (Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen)
Maria Keohane (soprano), Sebastian Philpott (trumpet), European Union Baroque Orchestra, Lars Ulrik Mortensen (conductor)
02:07 AM
Clara Schumann (1819-1896)
Piano Concerto in A minor, Op 7
Alice Burla (piano), Swiss National Youth Orchestra, Mario Venzago (conductor)
02:31 AM
Edward Rushton (b.1972)
Comfort & Courage
Hexagon Ensemble
02:46 AM
Grace Williams (1906-1977)
Symphony no 2
BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Martyn Brabbins (conductor)
03:27 AM
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Piano Sonata no 12 in F major, K.332
Annie Fischer (piano)
03:42 AM
Zygmunt Noskowski (1846-1909)
The Steppe, Op 66 - symphonic poem
Santander Orchestra, Lawrence Foster (conductor)
04:01 AM
Henry Purcell (1659-1695)
Funeral Sentences
Grace Davidson (soprano), Alex Potter (countertenor), Thomas Hobbs (tenor), Peter Kooij (bass), Collegium Vocale, Philippe Herreweghe (director)
04:16 AM
Louis Andriessen (1939-2021)
Le voile du bonheur
Vera Beths (violin), Vera Beths (vocalist), Reinbert de Leeuw (piano)
04:24 AM
Barbara Strozzi (1619-1677)
'L'Eraclito amoroso' for Soprano and continuo
Musica Fiorita, Susanne Ryden (soprano), Rebeka Rusó (viola da gamba), Rafael Bonavita (theorbo), Daniela Dolci (harpsichord), Daniela Dolci (director)
04:31 AM
Fanny Mendelssohn (1805-1847)
Overture in C major
Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Katowice, Lionel Bringuier (conductor)
04:41 AM
Felipe Lluch (c.1700-c.1750)
Flute Sonata in D major
La Guirlande
04:54 AM
Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)
Gaspard de la nuit (Scarbo)
Plamena Mangova (piano)
05:05 AM
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908)
Scheherazade - symphonic suite, Op 35
New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, James Sedares (conductor)
05:53 AM
Marin Marais (1656-1728)
Deuxieme Suite de Pieces en Trio in G minor
La Petite Bande
06:15 AM
Gustav Holst (1874-1934)
St Paul's Suite, Op 29 no 2
Seoul Chamber Orchestra, Yong-Yun Kim (conductor)
TUE 06:30 Breakfast (m002rhtf)
Embrace the morning calm of classical music and birdsong
Tom McKinney presents Radio 3’s Breakfast show live from Salford. With birdsong, Bach Before 7 and the best in classical music. You can contact the show by emailing 3breakfast@bbc.co.uk.
To listen on most smart speakers, just say, 'Ask BBC Sounds to play 3 Breakfast’.
TUE 09:30 Essential Classics (m002rhth)
Great classical music 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”.
TUE 13:00 Classical Live (m002rhtk)
Berlioz Harold in Italy
Fiona Talkington brings you an afternoon of exclusive music-making which includes a spotlight on Italian Vistas. The programme opens with a performance from Italy's radio orchestra, the RAI National Symphony Orchestra. They perform Respighi's symphonic poem Pines of Rome. In keeping with the Italian spotlight, violist Rebecca Jones joins the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and conductor Jonathan Bloxham to perform Berlioz Harold in Italy. Also featured is a recital from La Scintilla Orchestra and conductor Riccardo Minasi who perform music by Schmelzer and Merula.
There are also recordings from the current Radio 3 New Generation Artists throughout - clarinettist Oleg Shebeta-Dragan plays Charles Villiers Stanford, the Kleio Quartet play Mozart and violinist Hana Chang joins the BBC Philharmonic to perform Bruch's Violin Concerto.
Ottorino Respighi
Pines of Rome (Pini di Roma), symphonic poem
RAI National Symphony Orchestra
Andrés Orozco-Estrada (conductor)
Radio 3 New Generation Artists:
Charles Villiers Stanford
3 Intermezzi Op.13
Oleg Shebeta-Dragan (clarinet)
Dominic Degavino (piano)
Johann Heinrich Schmelzer
Die Fechtschule
La Scintilla Orchestra
Riccardo Minasi (conductor)
Tarquinio Merula
Ballo detto Pollicio
La Scintilla Orchestra
Riccardo Minasi (conductor)
Hector Berlioz
Harold en Italie, op. 16
Rebecca Jones (viola)
BBC National Orchestra of Wales
Jonathan Bloxham (conductor)
Radio 3 New Generation Artists:
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
String Quartet in D major K.575
Kleio Quartet
Radio 3 New Generation Artists:
Max Bruch
Violin Concerto
Hana Chang (violin)
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
Paul Daniel (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 (m002rhtm)
Amy Beach (1867-1944)
Forging an American music
Donald explores the story behind the 'first Symphony by an American woman' - Amy Beach’s 'Gaelic' symphony of 1897.
This week, Donald Macleod explores the life and music of one of the most original, distinctive and gifted American musicians of the early 20th century - Amy Beach. Donald discovers how Beach railed against the prejudices of her time to become arguably the first truly 'American' voice to emerge from a continent still struggling to break free from the shackles of the European classical tradition.
We will explore her journey from the tranquil meadows of New England to her headline-grabbing early successes as a virtuoso piano prodigy in Boston - alongside a burning childhood desire to compose. We'll hear from her collection of large-scale symphonic works, including her Piano Concerto, and her 'Gaelic' Symphony, and we’ll discover which of her songs was such a hit that its proceeds paid for a summer property for the Beach family!
We'll also hear about Beach’s attachment to the MacDowell Colony - a remarkable artists' retreat amidst the woodlands of New Hampshire, and her work to help the careers of young musicians.
In Tuesday’s programme, Donald introduces the 'first Symphony by an American woman' - Beach’s 'Gaelic' Symphony of 1897, written shortly after Antonin Dvorak had called on American composers to forge a new national identity in music.
Romance for violin and piano, op.23
Maria Ioudenitch, violin
Kenny Broberg, piano
Ecstasy, Op.19 no 2
Katherine Kelton, mezzo-soprano
Catherine Bringerud, piano
Symphony in E Flat, Op.32 'Gaelic'
Münchner Symphoniker
Joseph Bastian, conductor
Peace I leave with you
The Chapel Choir of Pembroke College, Cambridge
Anna Lapwood, director
Producer: Steven Rajam/Sam Phillips
TUE 17:00 In Tune (m002rhtp)
Live jazz from Tim Garland and Geoffrey Keezer
saxophonist Tim Garland and pianist Geoffrey Keezer perform from their new album Mezzo.
Plus Katie chats to conductor Kevin John Edusei.
TUE 19:00 Classical Mixtape (m002kgz8)
Classical music to inspire you
Take time out with a 30-minute soundscape of classical music.
TUE 19:30 Radio 3 in Concert (m002rhtt)
Rachmaninov and Ravel
Lush melody, infectious rhythm and Technicolour sound combine in Rachmaninov's last work, his 'Symphonic Dances'. His personal fusion of Russian heartfelt melody and bright American orchestration inspires music with immediate appeal, warmth and energy.
Elisabeth Brauss returns to the BBC Philharmonic for Ravel's Piano Concerto in G. Daring, unexpected jazz rhythms and French warmth are showcased in a work inspired by Mozartian spirit and clarity.
Camille Pépin, whose piece 'Les Eaux célestes' (Celestial Waters) opens the programme, describes her music as 'at the crossroads of French Impressionism and American contemporary music'. Japanese folklore inspires a tale woven in translucent music which draws us in from the very beginning.
Recorded at Manchester's Bridgewater Hall on 7 February, presented by Tom McKinney.
Camille Pépin: Les Eaux célestes
Ravel: Piano Concerto in G
Music Interval
Rachmaninov: Symphonic Dances
Elisabeth Brauss (piano)
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
Adam Hickox (conductor)
To listen on most smart speakers just say, 'ask BBC Sounds to play Radio 3 in Concert'.
TUE 21:45 The Essay (m002rhtw)
Full Moon on Progress St
Bessie Smith, 'Empress of the Blues'
Full Moon on Progress Street series 2 follows on from the first series (available on BBC Sounds), taking a close look at key moments and music to reveal the hidden lives and interests of more of the most important Black female artists of the 20th century – Sarah Vaughan, Ma Rainey, Abbey Lincoln, Bessie Smith and Josephine Baker. Dr Rommi Smith, lifelong jazz and blues listener, takes us on a journey into the creative life of each artist, reappraising what we think we know about them from popular culture. Each essay 'flips-the-script', to show a different hidden story. All of these iconic women are broadly misrepresented - history and popular perception airbrushing their interests, politics, activism, sexualities, creative legacies and passions.
Essay 2
Bessie Smith was called The “Empress of the Blues.” Her travelling tours of the rural south were spectacles of song, self-sufficiency and luxury. When she couldn’t travel first class due to segregation, undeterred, Smith bought her own Pullman car, travelling in style with her entourage. Legend has it that when the Ku Klux Klan disrupted one of her performances, in an act of daring and courage, she fought back. This essay replays that moment, using Smith’s repertoire to evidence how she set a benchmark for women performers engaged in the fight for civil rights. Track list: Nobody in Town Can Bake a Sweet Jelly Roll Like Mine, I’ve Been Mistreated and I Don’t Like It and Devil’s Gonna Get You.
Dr Rommi Smith is a writer, broadcaster and academic. Winner of the Northern Writers Prize for Poetry, Rommi has been awarded prestigious fellowships, residencies and commissions, from organisations and institutions ranging from the BBC to The British Council. In 2025, she was appointed a judge for the Forward Prizes for Poetry.
Rommi is the inaugural British Parliamentary Writer-in-Residence. She was Writer-in-Residence for Keats’ House, the Wordsworth Trust and most recently, the inaugural Writer-in-Residence for Harewood House, writing in response to its exhibition about Jane Austen & JMW Turner. She is a librettist, collaborating often with the composer Roderick Williams. Rommi was commissioned by Lubaina Himid/the ICA to create Tracing the Thin Black Line (a new performance work marking the 40th anniversary of the exhibition The Thin Black Line). The work premiered at the Institute of Contemporary Art in 2025. Her academic scholarship centres on jazz and blues, women and civil rights. She is honoured to have interviewed leading contemporary musicians, from Dr. Dianne Reeves to Dr. Esperanza Spalding, Professor Terri Lyne Carrington to Cassandra Wilson as part her academic research. Rommi’s work is published by, amongst others, Routledge and New York University Press. A collection of poems inspired by her research is forthcoming.
www.rommi-smith.co.uk
Writer and presenter, Dr Rommi Smith
Producer, Polly Thomas
Sound designer, Paul Cargill
Exec producer, Chantal Herbert
A Thomas Carter Projects production for BBC Radio 3.
TUE 22:00 Night Tracks (m002rhty)
Music for the darkling hour
Sara Mohr-Pietsch presents an adventurous, immersive soundtrack for late-night listening, from classical to contemporary and everything in between.
TUE 23:30 'Round Midnight (m002ggfj)
Fresh from ZENA
‘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.
Acclaimed pianist Aaron Parks has another 4/4 selection to share, and tonight he chooses an album from a seminal “bootleg” series.
Also in the programme, there’s music from Alexa Tarantino, Entre Amigos and The Emily C Williams Band.
To listen on most smart speakers, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Round Midnight".
WEDNESDAY 25 FEBRUARY 2026
WED 00:30 Through the Night (m002rhv0)
Brahms and Shostakovich from Cologne
Violinist Julia Fischer joins the WDR Symphony Orchestra and conductor Cristian Măcelaru in Brahms' Violin Concerto and the orchestra follows with Shostakovich's 10th Symphony. John Shea presents.
12:31 AM
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Violin Concerto in D, Op 77
Julia Fischer (violin), WDR Sinfonieorchester, Cristian Măcelaru (conductor)
01:11 AM
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Sarabande, from 'Partita No. 2 in D minor, BWV 1004'
Julia Fischer (violin)
01:15 AM
Dmitry Shostakovich (1906-1975)
Symphony no 10 in E minor, Op 93
WDR Sinfonieorchester, Cristian Măcelaru (conductor)
02:10 AM
Mikhail Glinka (1804-1857)
Overture to 'Ruslan and Lyudmila'
WDR Sinfonieorchester, Cristian Măcelaru (conductor)
02:16 AM
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897), Ludwig Christoph Heinrich Hölty (author)
An die Nachtigall, Op 46 No 4
Mark Pedrotti (baritone), Stephen Ralls (piano)
02:19 AM
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
3 Songs for chorus, Op 42
Danish National Radio Choir, Stefan Parkman (conductor)
02:31 AM
Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
Piano Sonata no 1 in F sharp minor, Op 11
Ji-Yeong Mun (piano)
03:07 AM
Bernhard Henrik Crusell (1775-1838)
Sinfonia concertante in B flat major, Op 3
Reijo Koskinen (clarinet), Pekka Katajamäki (bassoon), Esa Tukia (horn), Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Jukka-Pekka Saraste (conductor)
03:35 AM
John Foulds (1880-1939)
An Arabian Night (1936-7)
Cynthia Fleming (violin), Katharine Wood (cello), BBC Concert Orchestra, Ronald Corp (conductor)
03:41 AM
Dietrich Buxtehude (1637-1707)
Kantate No. 6 Ad Cor - Vulnerasti cor meum
La Cetra Vocalensemble Basel, La Cetra Barockorchester Basel, Carlos Federico Sepúlveda (conductor)
03:51 AM
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
9 Variations on a minuet by Duport for piano (K.573)
Bart van Oort (piano)
04:01 AM
Wojciech Kilar (1931-2013)
Orawa
Baltic Sea Youth Philharmonic, Kristjan Järvi (conductor)
04:11 AM
Edvard Grieg (1843-1907)
Solveig's Song from 'Peer Gynt', Op 23 arr. for oboe and piano
Wan-Soo Mok (oboe), Hyun-Soo Cho (piano)
04:15 AM
Karol Szymanowski (1882-1937)
Prelude and fugue in C sharp minor
Jerzy Godziszewski (piano)
04:23 AM
Erik Satie (1866-1925), arr. Darius Milhaud
Jack-in-the-box pantomime
CBC Vancouver Orchestra, Mario Bernardi (conductor)
04:31 AM
Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767)
Concerto in A minor for Two Recorders, TWV.52:a2
Lea Sobbe (recorder), Hojin Kwon (recorder), Jörg-Andreas Bötticher (harpsichord), Schola Cantorum Basiliensis Instrumental Ensemble
04:40 AM
Fryderyk Chopin (1810-1849)
Rondo in C major, Op 73
Ludmil Angelov (piano)
04:49 AM
Francesco Cavalli (1602-1676)
Lauda Jerusalem (Psalm 147, 'How good it is to sing praises to our God')
Concerto Palatino
04:59 AM
Malcolm Arnold (1921-2006)
Sonatina for clarinet and piano, Op 29
Fabio di Càsola (clarinet), Alexander Boeschoten (piano)
05:07 AM
Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921), arr. Eugene Ysaye
Caprice for violin and piano, arr. Ysaye after Saint-Saens
Minami Yoshida (violin), Jean Desmarais (piano)
05:16 AM
Arthur Honegger (1892-1955)
Pastorale d'été
Argovia Philharmonic, Rune Bergmann (conductor)
05:24 AM
Claude Debussy (1862-1918)
Etudes: Book 2
Roger Woodward (piano)
05:50 AM
Marin Marais (1656-1728)
Les Folies d'Espagne
Lise Daoust (flute)
06:01 AM
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
String Trio in G major, Op 9 no 1
Trio AnPaPié
WED 06:30 Breakfast (m002rgxl)
Ease into the day with classical music
Tom McKinney presents Radio 3’s Breakfast show live from Salford. With birdsong, Bach Before 7 and the best in classical music. You can contact the show by emailing 3breakfast@bbc.co.uk.
To listen on most smart speakers, just say 'Ask BBC Sounds to play 3 Breakfast’.
WED 09:30 Essential Classics (m002rgxn)
The best classical morning 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”.
WED 13:00 Classical Live (m002rgxq)
Beethoven’s ‘Eroica’ live from the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
Elizabeth Alker brings you an afternoon of exclusive music-making which includes the start of a specially curated series of Wednesday concerts from the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, transporting us from winter days through to the Spring Equinox. Today, conductor Lorenzo Passerini conducts the orchestra in a programme of music that includes Beethoven's revolutionary Symphony No. 3 'Eroica', which has lost none of its sense of drama several centuries on. As a contrast, the orchestra will perform Schubert’s Overture, which brims with light-hearted spirit and a playful nod to the sparkling melodies of Italian opera.
Before this, Vivaldi's Concerto Grosso in A minor is performed by the Swiss Orchestra and conductor Lena-Lisa Wüstendörfer, and in keeping with the Italian Vistas theme across the week, La Scintilla Orchestra and conductor Riccardo Minasi perform music by Giovanni Battista Buonamente and Domenico Sarro as part of a recital recorded in Zurich. There is also a recording from the current Radio 3 New Generation Artist flautist Elizaveta Ivanova and pianist Sanja Bizjak. They join forces for Donizetti's lyrical Sonata in C major for flute and piano.
Antonio Vivaldi
Concerto Grosso in A minor, RV 356, Op. 3 No. 6
Swiss Orchestra
Lena-Lisa Wüstendörfer (conductor)
Giovanni Battista Buonamente
Sonata seconda a 3
La Scintilla Orchestra
Riccardo Minasi (conductor)
Domenico Sarro
Sinfonia, from 'Achille in Sciro'
La Scintilla Orchestra
Riccardo Minasi (conductor)
Radio 3 New Generation Artists:
Gaetano Donizetti
Sonata in C major for flute and piano
Elizaveta Ivanova (flute)
Sanja Bizjak (piano)
Gabriela Ortiz
Kayumari
RAI National Symphony Orchestra
Ana María Patiño-Osorio (conductor)
***
Live Concert from the BBC Philharmonic
Franz Schubert
Overture, D590, D major 'In the Italian Style’
Ludwig van Beethoven
Symphony No. 3 'Eroica'
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
Lorenzo Passerini (conductor)
To listen to this programme (using most smart speakers), just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Classical Live".
WED 15:00 Choral Evensong (m002rgxs)
Exeter University
From the University of Exeter Mary Harris Memorial Chapel.
Introit: Scapulis suis (Malcolm)
Responses: Morley
Psalm 119 vv73-104 (Cooper, Howells, Noble, Howells)
First Lesson: Genesis 11 vv1-9
Magnificat (Arvo Pärt)
Second Lesson: Matthew 24 vv15-28
Nunc dimittis (Paweł Łukaszewski)
Anthem: Infelix Ego (Byrd)
Hymn: Take up thy cross (Breslau)
Voluntary: Aus tiefer Not schrei ich zu dir (Bach)
Michael Graham (Director of Music)
David Davies (Organist)
Recorded 2 February.
To listen on most smart speakers just say “ask BBC Sounds to play Choral Evensong”.
WED 16:00 Composer of the Week (m002rgxv)
Amy Beach (1867-1944)
A fresh start
Donald Macleod explores how Amy Beach responded to the tragic deaths of her husband and her mother.
This week, Donald Macleod explores the life and music of one of the most original, distinctive and gifted American musicians of the early 20th century - Amy Beach. Donald discovers how Beach railed against the prejudices of her time to become arguably the first truly 'American' voice to emerge from a continent still struggling to break free from the shackles of the European classical tradition.
We will explore her journey from the tranquil meadows of New England to her headline-grabbing early successes as a virtuoso piano prodigy in Boston - alongside a burning childhood desire to compose. We'll hear from her collection of large-scale symphonic works, including her Piano Concerto, and her 'Gaelic' Symphony, and we’ll discover which of her songs was such a hit that its proceeds paid for a summer property for the Beach family!
We'll also hear about Beach’s attachment to the MacDowell Colony - a remarkable artists' retreat amidst the woodlands of New Hampshire, and her work to help the careers of young musicians.
In Wednesday’s episode, Donald discovers how in less than a year, Amy Beach tragically lost the two most important figures in her life: her husband and mother. Between them, they'd carefully guided her musical career - both encouraging her talents and clamping down on activity that they saw as 'unladylike'.
Suddenly, at the age of 43, Amy Beach was about to embark on a remarkable new chapter in her life, with the freedom to compose and perform as she wished. We’ll hear from Beach's Piano Quintet, the concert aria Jephthah’s Daughter and one of her most popular pieces for piano.
Dreaming (4 Sketches, Op.15)
Sunhwa Park, piano
Piano Quintet in F sharp minor, Op.67
Garrick Ohlsson, piano
Takacs Quartet
Deus Misereatur, Op.78 no 2
Charles Wood Singers
David Hill, director
Philip Scriven, organ
Jephthah’s Daughter, Op.53
Camille Schnoor, soprano
Munchner Symphoniker
Joseph Bastian, conductor
Producer: Steven Rajam/Sam Phillips
WED 17:00 In Tune (m002rgxx)
Margaret Fingerhut, Bradley Creswick and Ian Page
Petroc chats to Ian Page, conductor and Artistic Director of The Mozartists.
Pianist Margaret Fingerhut and violinist Bradley Creswick also perform on In Tune, ahead of appearing at Kings Place. They'll be playing in a concert marking the 75th anniversary of Jewish Book Week, London's longest-running literary festival.
WED 19:00 Classical Mixtape (m002rgxz)
Classical music for focus or relaxation
Unwind at the end of a busy day with half an hour of back-to-back classical music, beginning with a nod towards the recently wintry weather from the "Cold Genius" in Purcell's "King Arthur". Sink into the lush harmonic world of Francis Poulenc with a section from his setting of "Stabat Mater", and Pauline Hall's impressionistic response to poetry by Verlaine. Hamilton Harty's orchestration of a popular traditional Irish melody will have you humming the familiar tune, and then take to the air with the flight scene from the film "The English Patient". Steve Reich's duet for two violins provides some fresh air, and the sequence draws to a sublimely beautiful close with a piano quartet by Robert Schumann.
Producer: Helen Garrison
WED 19:30 Radio 3 in Concert (m002rgy1)
Víkingur Ólafsson performs Adams
Esa-Pekka Salonen, Principal Conductor of the Philharmonia for 13 years, returns as Conductor Laureate to join the Orchestra's 80th birthday celebrations. They're joined by pianist Víkingur Ólafsson for the London premiere of John Adams's Piano Concerto 'After the Fall', written for Ólafsson and inspired by his affinity for Bach. After the interval the Philharmonia is joined by the Philharmonia chorus for Ravel's complete ballet score Daphnis and Chloé, one of Esa-Pekka Salonen's favourite works.
Presented by Linton Stephens, live from the Royal Festival Hall.
Adams: Piano Concert 'After the Fall' (London premiere)
Interval
Ravel: Daphnis and Chloé (complete ballet score)
Víkingur Ólafsson (piano)
Philharmonia Chorus
The Philharmonia
Esa-Pekka Salonen (conductor)
WED 21:45 The Essay (m002rgy3)
Full Moon on Progress St
Abbey Lincoln, 'The Black Marilyn'
Full Moon on Progress Street series 2 follows on from the first series (available on BBC Sounds), taking a close look at key moments and music to reveal the hidden lives and interests of more of the most important Black female artists of the 20th century – Sarah Vaughan, Ma Rainey, Abbey Lincoln, Bessie Smith and Josephine Baker. Dr Rommi Smith, lifelong jazz and blues listener, takes us on a journey into the creative life of each artist, reappraising what we think we know about them from popular culture. Each essay 'flips-the-script', to show a different hidden story. All of these iconic women are broadly misrepresented - history and popular perception airbrushing their interests, politics, activism, sexualities, creative legacies and passions.
Essay 3
Abbey Lincoln – vocalist, songwriter and activist – was known as the 'Black Marilyn', after being dressed in Marilyn Monroe’s cast-off dress. By 1960, Lincoln had ditched the dress and her long-haired wig, choosing to wear African clothes and her hair natural. She collaborated with her husband Max Roach on the now seminal album: Freedom Now: We Insist. In this essay, Rommi focuses on Lincoln’s political and musical journey. Track list: She Was as Tender as a Rose, Driva Man, Triptych: Prayer, Peace and Protest and Afro Blue.
Dr Rommi Smith is a writer, broadcaster and academic. Winner of the Northern Writers Prize for Poetry, Rommi has been awarded prestigious fellowships, residencies and commissions, from organisations and institutions ranging from the BBC to The British Council. In 2025, she was appointed a judge for the Forward Prizes for Poetry. Rommi is the inaugural British Parliamentary Writer-in-Residence. She was Writer-in-Residence for Keats’ House, the Wordsworth Trust and most recently, the inaugural Writer-in-Residence for Harewood House, writing in response to its exhibition about Jane Austen & JMW Turner. She is a librettist, collaborating often with the composer Roderick Williams. Rommi was commissioned by Lubaina Himid/the ICA to create Tracing the Thin Black Line (a new performance work marking the 40th anniversary of the exhibition The Thin Black Line). The work premiered at the Institute of Contemporary Art in 2025. Her academic scholarship centres jazz and blues women and civil rights. She is honoured to have interviewed leading contemporary musicians, from Dr. Dianne Reeves to Dr. Esperanza Spalding, Professor Terri Lyne Carrington to Cassandra Wilson, as part her academic research. Rommi’s work is published by, amongst others, Routledge and New York University Press. A collection of poems inspired by her research is forthcoming.
www.rommi-smith.co.uk
Writer and presenter, Dr Rommi Smith
Producer, Polly Thomas
Sound designer, Paul Cargill
Exec producer, Chantal Herbert
A Thomas Carter Projects production for BBC Radio 3.
WED 22:00 Night Tracks (m002rgy5)
Immersive music for late-night listening
Sara Mohr-Pietsch presents an adventurous, immersive soundtrack for late-night listening, from classical to contemporary and everything in between.
WED 23:30 'Round Midnight (m002gdlv)
A Latin jazz classic
‘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.
Aaron Parks returns with a third album that he has been influenced by, for our 4/4 feature. Tonight he chooses a revered jazz vocalist, who was also deeply admired for her piano playing.
There is also music from Nate Smith, Gemma Bass, and Luedji Luna with Nubya Garcia.
To listen on most smart speakers just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Round Midnight".
THURSDAY 26 FEBRUARY 2026
THU 00:30 Through the Night (m002rgy7)
Kebyart Saxophone Quartet: Glass meets Stravinsky
Jazzik, the new series from the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, fuses jazz, classical and minimal music. The concert features Philip Glass's Concerto for saxophone quartet and orchestra, alongside Bernstein and Stravinsky as well as Joan Pérez-Villegas's Fantasy for Ravel's 150th Birthday. John Shea presents.
12:31 AM
Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990)
Overture to Candide
Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, Brad Lubman (conductor)
12:36 AM
Philip Glass (b.1937)
Concerto for Saxophone Quartet and Orchestra
Pere Méndez Marsal (soprano saxophone), Victor Serra (alto saxophone), Roberto Seara (tenor saxophone), Daniel Miguel (saxophone), Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, Brad Lubman (conductor)
01:01 AM
Joan Pérez-Villegas (b. 1994)
Debout Maurice! Fantasy for Ravel's 150th Birthday
Kebyart Ensemble
01:12 AM
George Gershwin (1898-1937)
Summertime from Porgy and Bess (encore)
Kebyart Ensemble
01:16 AM
Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971)
Symphony in 3 Movements
Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, Brad Lubman (conductor)
01:40 AM
William Lawes (1602-1645)
Gather ye rosebuds while ye may
Angharad Gruffydd Jones (soprano), Concordia, Mark Levy (conductor)
01:41 AM
Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)
Jeux d'Eau
Anastasia Vorotnaya (piano)
01:47 AM
Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990)
Serenade after Plato's 'Symposium'
Jaap van Zweden (violin), Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Riccardo Chailly (conductor)
02:17 AM
Francis Poulenc (1899-1963)
Sept chansons
Swedish Radio Choir, Pär Fridberg (conductor)
02:31 AM
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
String Quartet in C sharp minor, Op 131
Danish String Quartet
03:11 AM
Katia Tchemberdji (b.1960)
In Namen Amadeus, for viola, clarinet, piano & tape
Brett Dean (viola), Paul Dean (clarinet), Stephen Emmerson (piano)
03:25 AM
Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767)
Concerto in D major for transverse flute, strings and continuo
Karl Kaiser (flute), La Stagione Frankfurt
03:38 AM
Alexander Borodin (1833-1887)
Polovtsian dances (Prince Igor)
BBC Philharmonic, Gianandrea Noseda (conductor)
03:49 AM
Arnold Bax (1883-1953)
Legend for viola and piano
Steven Dann (viola), Bruce Vogt (piano)
03:59 AM
Christopher Simpson (c.1605-1669)
Prelude and Divisions upon a Ground
Vittorio Ghielmi (viola da gamba), Luca Pianca (lute)
04:07 AM
Bernat Vivancos (b.1973)
El cant dels ocells
Ieva Ezeriete (soprano), Latvijas Radio Koris, Sigvards Kļava (conductor)
04:14 AM
Eugen Suchoň (1908-1993)
Ballade for Horn and Orchestra
Peter Sivanic (horn), Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, Mário Košik (conductor)
04:24 AM
Barbara Strozzi (1619-1677)
'L'Eraclito amoroso' for Soprano and continuo
Musica Fiorita, Susanne Ryden (soprano), Rebeka Rusó (viola da gamba), Rafael Bonavita (theorbo), Daniela Dolci (harpsichord), Daniela Dolci (director)
04:31 AM
Mikhail Glinka (1804-1857)
Overture in D major
Bratislava Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, Ondrej Lenárd (conductor)
04:38 AM
Thomas Crecquillon (c.1505-1557)
Amour partez (Antwerp, 1549)
Huelgas Ensemble, Paul Van Nevel (conductor)
04:42 AM
Georges-Emile Tanguay (1893-1964)
Pavane
Orchestre Métropolitain, Gilles Auger (conductor)
04:47 AM
Cécile Chaminade (1857-1944)
Automne, Op 35 no 2
Valerie Tryon (piano)
04:54 AM
Frank Martin (1890-1974)
Five Songs of Ariel for 16 voices
Myra Kroese (contralto), Netherlands Chamber Choir, Tõnu Kaljuste (conductor)
05:06 AM
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Violin Concerto no.5 in A major, K.219 'Turkish'
David Oistrakh (violin), Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, David Oistrakh (director)
05:36 AM
Emilio de' Cavalieri (1550-1602), Andrea Gabrieli (1532-1585), Elam Rotem (b.1984)
Lamentations: Prima Diem
Profeti della Quinta
05:57 AM
Dora Pejačević (1885-1923)
Fantasie concertante in D minor, Op 48
Martina Filjak (piano), Croatian Radio-Television Symphony Orchestra, Stanislav Kocanovski (conductor)
06:14 AM
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Partita for solo violin No.1 in B minor, BWV.1002
Rachel Podger (violin)
THU 06:30 Breakfast (m002rfjq)
Wake up with classical music
Tom McKinney presents Radio 3’s Breakfast show live from Salford. With birdsong, Bach Before 7 and the best in classical music. You can contact the show by emailing 3breakfast@bbc.co.uk.
To listen on most smart speakers, just say, 'Ask BBC Sounds to play 3 Breakfast’.
THU 09:30 Essential Classics (m002rfjv)
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”.
THU 13:00 Classical Live (m002rfjy)
Sibelius' Second Symphony
Elizabeth Alker brings you an afternoon of exclusive music making which includes a spotlight on Italian vistas. The programme opens with a performance from Italy's radio symphony orchestra, the RAI National Symphony Orchestra. They perform Respighi's evocative symphonic poem Fountains of Rome. In keeping with the Italian spotlight, Sibelius' Symphony No. 2, which was largely composed in Italy, will be performed by the BBC Philharmonic and conductor John Storgards. The Italian light, warmth, and landscape were a stark contrast to Finland and had a noticeable effect on Sibelius' mood and musical thinking. Also featured is a recital from La Scintilla Orchestra and conductor Riccardo Minasi who perform music by Carlo Farina.
There is also a spotlight on recent recordings from the current Radio 3 New Generation Artists throughout. Major young international performers widely considered to be the future classical music stars of tomorrow. The Astatine Trio perform Haydn's Piano Trio in E flat, tenor Santiago Sanchez sings music by Liszt and violinist Hana Chang joins forces with the BBC Symphony Orchestra to perform Béla Bartók's Violin Concerto No. 1
Ottorino Respighi
Fountains of Rome (Fontane di Roma), symphonic poem
RAI National Symphony Orchestra
Andrés Orozco-Estrada (conductor)
Carlo Farina
Capriccio stravagante
La Scintilla Orchestra
Riccardo Minasi (conductor)
Radio 3 New Generation Artists:
Joseph Haydn
Piano Trio in E flat Hob.XV.29
Astatine Trio
Jean Sibelius
Symphony No. 2
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
John Storgards (conductor)
Radio 3 New Generation Artists:
Franz Liszt
O Lieb, So Lang Du Lieben Kannst S.298
Santiago Sanchez (tenor)
Ian Tindale (piano)
Radio 3 New Generation Artists:
Franz Liszt
Es Muss Ein Wunderbares Sein S.314
Santiago Sanchez (tenor)
Ian Tindale (piano)
Radio 3 New Generation Artists:
Béla Bartók
Violin Concerto No. 1
Hana Chang (violin)
BBC Symphony Orchestra
Pierre Bleuse (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 (m002rfk0)
Amy Beach (1867-1944)
Macdowell
Donald Macleod explores Amy Beach's experiences at the MacDowell Colony, a remarkable artists' retreat in the New Hampshire woods.
This week, Donald Macleod explores the life and music of one of the most original, distinctive and gifted American musicians of the early 20th century - Amy Beach. Donald discovers how Beach railed against the prejudices of her time to become arguably the first truly 'American' voice to emerge from a continent still struggling to break free from the shackles of the European classical tradition.
We will explore her journey from the tranquil meadows of New England to her headline-grabbing early successes as a virtuoso piano prodigy in Boston - alongside a burning childhood desire to compose. We'll hear from her collection of large-scale symphonic works, including her Piano Concerto, and her 'Gaelic' Symphony, and we’ll discover which of her songs was such a hit that its proceeds paid for a summer property for the Beach family!
We'll also hear about Beach’s attachment to the MacDowell Colony - a remarkable artists' retreat amidst the woodlands of New Hampshire, and her work to help the careers of young musicians.
By the early 1920s, Amy Beach was an American musical institution - albeit somewhat steeped in the Victorian era. Who would have expected, then, that aged 54, the composer would begin a remarkable new direction in her musical life, centred upon the idyllic Macdowell Colony - an artists' retreat deep in the New Hampshire woods.
Donald explores this period in Beach’s life when, at the retreat she composed an outpouring of evocative chamber works, fusing her own lyrical expression with more modern elements to create a uniquely personal musical style. And we also find her travelling to Europe and embarking on a series of tours of the US where audiences and critics were thrilled by her Piano Concerto.
A Hermit Thrush At Morn, Op.92, no.2
Cecile Licad, piano
Piano Concerto, Op. 45
Danny Driver, piano
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Rebecca Miller, conductor
From Grandmother’s Garden - V. Honeysuckle
Martina Frezzotti, piano
By the still waters, Op.114 (arr. Lewin for 2 guitars)
Alexandra Whittingham, Plinio Fernandes, guitars
Hermit Thrush At Eve, Op.92, no.1 (1922)
Cecile Licad, piano
Producer: Steven Rajam/Sam Phillips
THU 17:00 In Tune (m002rfk2)
Cambridge Handel Opera Company and author Jeremy Cooper
Singers from the Cambridge Handel Opera Company perform music from their upcoming production of Handel's Imeneo on In Tune.
Plus Jeremy Cooper chats to Katie about his latest book, Discord.
THU 19:00 Classical Mixtape (m002rfk4)
The perfect classical half hour
In this evening's relaxing Classical Mixtape, we start with an Andante for clarinet and orchestra by the 19th century English composer, Alice Mary Smith.
This is followed by an arrangement of Dvorak's Songs my mother taught me for cello and piano and a Passacaglia by Silvius Leopold Weiss.
Afterwards comes a string quartet by Felix Mendelssohn and a song by Richard Strauss, Morgen "Tomorrow".
Brahms's beautiful Wiegenlied "Lullaby" is next, and we finish with Peteris Vasks’ The Fruit of Silence arranged for accordion, vibraphone and string orchestra by George Morton.
Producer: Kevin Satizabal Carrascal.
Kevin Satizabal Carrascal
Assistant Producer, BBC Audio, Radio 3 Production.
Zone E, 7th floor, Broadcasting House, London W1A 1AA
THU 19:30 Radio 3 in Concert (m002rfk6)
Howells' Hymnus Paradisi
The BBC Singers and Chief Conductor Sofi Jeannin are joined by musicians from the BBC Concert Orchestra and organist Iain Farrington for an emotive programme of music to touch the very heavens. The concert opens with delicate flight of angels in works by Sir James MacMillan and Dame Judith Weir, and Caroline Shaw’s haunting To the Hands, which brings the sacred sounds of Gregorian chant to a piece about Jesus’ crucified hands. The first half closes with Finnish composer Einojuhani Rautavaara’s choral masterpiece Die erste Elegie (The First Elegy) which sets text by Rainer Maria Rilke.
Presented by Martin Handley, live from Milton Court, London.
Sir James MacMillan: Who Are These Angels?
Caroline Shaw: To the Hands
Dame Judith Weir: My Guardian Angel
Rautavaara: Die erste Elegie
Interval
Howells arr. Iain Farrington: Hymnus Paradisi
The second half features Herbert Howells’ powerful and intimate letter to grief, his soul-stirring Hymnus Paradisi, performed here in an arrangement by Iain Farrington. The piece was written between 1936-1938 as a response to the death of his 9-year-old son Michael and premiered at the Three Choirs Festival in 1950 Four of the movements are settings of Latin and English texts drawn from the Book of Common Prayer and are immemorial reflections upon the transient griefs and indestructible hopes of mankind. The sixth and last movement is a gradual oncoming of 'the true light' and 'radiance' that will issue in the 'unfailing splendour' of those who have 'endured in the heat of the conflict'. It is as if personal grief, itself spent, is merged and lost in a general pervasive light and warmth of consolation.
Sofi Jeannin (conductor)
Emma Tring (soprano)
Albert Soriano (tenor)
BBC Singers
Musicians of the BBC Concert Orchestra
To listen on most smart speakers just say, 'ask BBC Sounds to play Radio 3 in Concert'.
THU 21:45 The Essay (m002rfk8)
Full Moon on Progress St
Ma Rainey, 'The Mother of the Blues'
Full Moon on Progress Street series 2 follows on from the first series (available on BBC Sounds), taking a close look at key moments and music to reveal the hidden lives and interests of more of the most important Black female artists of the 20th century – Sarah Vaughan, Ma Rainey, Abbey Lincoln, Bessie Smith and Josephine Baker. Dr Rommi Smith, lifelong jazz and blues listener, takes us on a journey into the creative life of each artist, reappraising what we think we know about them from popular culture. Each essay 'flips-the-script', to show a different hidden story. All of these iconic women are broadly misrepresented - history and popular perception airbrushing their interests, politics, activism, sexualities, creative legacies and passions.
Essay 4
Ma Rainey - 'The Mother of the Blues' – was the mentor and rumoured lover of Bessie Smith, The Empress of the Blues. Rainey was a trailblazer, who in 1927 recorded “the lesbian anthem” Prove it On Me Blues. In this essay, Rommi argues that Rainey was performing “a woman’s right to define her own sexuality” five decades before the second wave feminist movement. This essay examines Rainey’s repertoire and recordings as an expression of sexual freedom and liberty. Track list: Prove it On Me Blues, See See Rider and Hear Me Talking to You.
Dr Rommi Smith is a writer, broadcaster and academic. Winner of the Northern Writers Prize for Poetry, Rommi has been awarded prestigious fellowships, residencies and commissions, from organisations and institutions ranging from the BBC to The British Council. In 2025, she was appointed a judge for the Forward Prizes for Poetry. Rommi is the inaugural British Parliamentary Writer-in-Residence. She was Writer-in-Residence for Keats’ House, the Wordsworth Trust and most recently, the inaugural Writer-in-Residence for Harewood House, writing in response to its exhibition about Jane Austen & JMW Turner. She is a librettist, collaborating often with the composer Roderick Williams. Rommi was commissioned by Lubaina Himid/the ICA to create Tracing the Thin Black Line (a new performance work marking the 40th anniversary of the exhibition The Thin Black Line). The work premiered at the Institute of Contemporary Art in 2025. Her academic scholarship centres jazz and blues women and civil rights. She is honoured to have interviewed leading contemporary musicians, from Dr. Dianne Reeves to Dr. Esperanza Spalding, Professor Terri Lyne Carrington to Cassandra Wilson, as part her academic research. Rommi’s work is published by, amongst others, Routledge and New York University Press. A collection of poems inspired by her research is forthcoming.
www.rommi-smith.co.uk
Writer and presenter, Dr Rommi Smith
Producer, Polly Thomas
Sound designer, Paul Cargill
Exec producer, Chantal Herbert
A Thomas Carter Projects production for BBC Radio 3.
THU 22:00 Night Tracks (m002rfkb)
Dissolve into a nocturnal soundworld
Sara Mohr-Pietsch presents an adventurous, immersive soundtrack for late-night listening, from classical to contemporary and everything in between.
THU 23:30 'Round Midnight (m002ghgl)
A new Jessica Williams release
‘Round Midnight is presented by award-winning saxophonist Soweto Kinch. This weekday late-night show celebrates the thriving UK jazz scene and spotlights the best new music alongside incredible acts from past decades.
All this week, Aaron Parks has been spotlighting some of the albums that have inspired him for 4/4, and tonight he concludes his selections with a record by a revered jazz guitarist and bandleader.
Plus, there is music from QOW Trio, Out Of/Into, and Stargazers.
To listen on most smart speakers just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Round Midnight".
FRIDAY 27 FEBRUARY 2026
FRI 00:30 Through the Night (m002rfkd)
Haydn, Mendelssohn, Cowell, Liszt and Nielsen from Switzerland
Barbara Hannigan conducts the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra in music including Haydn's Symphony no 64, Mendelssohn's Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage and Henry Cowell's Irish Suite featuring pianist Bertrand Chamayou. John Shea presents.
12:31 AM
Carl Nielsen (1865-1931)
At the Bier of a Young Artist
Lausanne Chamber Orchestra, Barbara Hannigan (conductor)
12:36 AM
Henry Cowell (1897-1965)
Irish Suite: A Concerto for String-Piano and Chamber Orchestra
Bertrand Chamayou (piano), Lausanne Chamber Orchestra, Barbara Hannigan (conductor)
12:55 AM
Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)
Symphony no 64 in A major, Hob.I:64 'Tempora mutantur'
Lausanne Chamber Orchestra, Barbara Hannigan (conductor)
01:13 AM
Franz Liszt (1811-1886)
Malédiction in B minor, S.121
Bertrand Chamayou (piano), Lausanne Chamber Orchestra, Barbara Hannigan (conductor)
01:28 AM
Franz Liszt (1811-1886)
Wiegenlied, S.198
Bertrand Chamayou (piano)
01:32 AM
Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
Meeresstille und glückliche Fahrt, Op 27, overture
Lausanne Chamber Orchestra, Barbara Hannigan (conductor)
01:46 AM
Franz Liszt (1811-1886)
Ave Maria, S.20
Chorus of Swiss-Italian Radio, Stefano Innocenti (organ), Diego Fasolis (conductor)
01:50 AM
Franz Liszt (1811-1886)
Fantasy and Fugue on the chorale 'Ad nos ad salutarem undam', S.259
David Drury (organ)
02:20 AM
Dietrich Buxtehude (1637-1707)
Kantate no 5 Ad Pectus - Sicut modo geniti
La Cetra Vocalensemble Basel, La Cetra Barockorchester Basel, Carlos Federico Sepúlveda (conductor)
02:31 AM
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)
Violin Concerto in D major, Op 35
Anne-Sophie Mutter (violin), Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, André Previn (conductor)
03:06 AM
Benjamin Britten (1913-1976)
Seven Sonnets of Michelangelo, Op 40
Ian Bostridge (tenor), Saskia Giorgini (piano)
03:24 AM
Elena Firsova (b.1950)
Reflections, Op 59
Andrea Kollé (flute), Sarah Verrue (harp)
03:30 AM
Peter Philips (1560-1628)
Pavan Dolorosa
Concordia, Mark Levy (conductor)
03:35 AM
Édouard Lalo (1823-1892)
2 Aubades for orchestra
CBC Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Daniel Swift (conductor)
03:45 AM
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Piano Sonata in D major, K.311
Mateusz Borowiak (piano)
03:55 AM
Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741)
Concerto in F for violin, 2 oboes, 2 horns, bassoon & cello, RV.569
Zefira Valova (violin), Anna Starr (oboe), Markus Müller (oboe), Anneke Scott (horn), Joseph Walters (horn), Moni Fischaleck (bassoon), Les Ambassadeurs, Alexis Kossenko (director)
04:08 AM
Ludvig Norman (1831-1885), Nicolaus Hermanni (author)
Rosa rorans bonitatem, Op 45
Eva Wedin (mezzo-soprano), Swedish Radio Choir, Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Gustav Sjökvist (conductor)
04:16 AM
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Fugue BWV.542 'Great' (orig. for organ)
Guitar Trek
04:23 AM
Carl Maria von Weber (1786-1826)
The Ruler of the spirits - Overture, Op 27
BBC Philharmonic, Vassily Sinaisky (conductor)
04:31 AM
Gaspar Fernandes (1566-1629), Tomas Pascual (early 17th century), Hernando Franco (1532-1585)
Tleycantimo choquiliya; Oy es dia de placer; Santa Maria in il Huiac
Villancico, Peter Pontvik (conductor)
04:37 AM
Georges Bizet (1838-1875)
Andante molto, 3rd movement from the Symphonic Suite 'Roma'
Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, Oliver Dohnányi (conductor)
04:44 AM
Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
5 Gedichte der Konigin Maria Stuart (5 Poems of Queen Mary Stuart), Op 135
Catherine Robbin (mezzo-soprano), Michael McMahon (piano)
04:53 AM
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Keyboard Concerto in F minor, BWV.1056
Angela Hewitt (piano), Norwegian Chamber Orchestra
05:04 AM
Bernat Vivancos (b.1973)
Salve d'ecos
Latvijas Radio Koris, Sigvards Kļava (conductor)
05:13 AM
Fryderyk Chopin (1810-1849)
Nocturne for piano in E major, Op 62 no 2
Wojciech Switala (piano)
05:19 AM
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
String Quartet in C minor, Op 18 no 4
Pavel Haas Quartet
05:44 AM
Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)
Ma mere l'oye (Mother Goose) - suite
BBC Symphony Orchestra, Sakari Oramo (conductor)
06:02 AM
Eustache du Caurroy (1549-1609)
11 Fantasias on 16th-Century songs
Hesperion XX, Jordi Savall (viol), Jordi Savall (director)
FRI 06:30 Breakfast (m002rhgl)
Start your day with classical music
Tom McKinney presents Radio 3’s Breakfast show live from Salford. With birdsong, Bach Before 7 and the best in classical music. You can contact the show by emailing 3breakfast@bbc.co.uk.
To listen on most smart speakers, just say, 'Ask BBC Sounds to play 3 Breakfast’.
FRI 09:30 Essential Classics (m002rhgn)
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”.
FRI 13:00 Classical Live (m002rhgq)
Respighi's Roman Festivals
Elizabeth Alker brings you an afternoon of exclusive music-making which includes a spotlight on Italian vistas. In today's programme cellist duo Jens Peter Maintz and Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt perform Paganini recorded in Eisenach, Italy's radio symphony orchestra, the RAI National Symphony Orchestra play music by Mexican composer Arturo Márquez and the Luxembourg Philharmonic perform Respighi's Roman Festivals. Also featured is a recital from La Scintilla Orchestra and conductor Riccardo Minasi who perform music by Johannes Hieronymous Kapsberger and Biagio Marini.
There are also recordings from the current Radio 3 New Generation Artists throughout. Cellist Sterling Elliott performs Tchaikovsky's Rococo Variations with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, pianist Tom Borrow plays Janacek, the Kleio Quartet plays Nielsen's String Quartet No. 1 in G minor, and Schumann's Kreisleriana is performed by Julius Asal.
Radio 3 New Generation Artists:
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Rococo Variations
Sterling Elliott (cello)
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Christian Reif (conductor)
Nicolò Paganini
Fantasy on Rossini's 'Moses in Egypt'
Jens Peter Maintz (cello)
Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt (cello)
Arturo Márquez
Danzón No. 2
RAI National Symphony Orchestra
Ana María Patiño-Osorio (conductor)
Johannes Hieronymous Kapsberger
Corrente quinta
La Scintilla Orchestra
Riccardo Minasi (conductor)
Biagio Marini
Passacaglia a quattro
La Scintilla Orchestra
Riccardo Minasi (conductor)
Ottorino Respighi
Roman Festivals (Feste romane), symphonic poem
Luxembourg Philharmonic
Gustavo Gimeno (conductor)
Radio 3 New Generation Artists:
Leos Janacek
Piano Sonata 1.X.1905 in E flat minor 'From the Street'
Tom Borrow (piano)
Carl Nielsen
String Quartet No. 1 in G minor, Op. 13
Kleio Quartet
Radio 3 New Generation Artists:
Robert Schumann
Kreisleriana
Julius Asal (piano)
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 (m002rhgs)
Amy Beach (1867-1944)
Manhattan
Donald Macleod explores the 1930s when, now in her sixties, Amy Beach moves to Manhattan.
This week, Donald Macleod explores the life and music of one of the most original, distinctive and gifted American musicians of the early 20th century - Amy Beach. Donald discovers how Beach railed against the prejudices of her time to become arguably the first truly 'American' voice to emerge from a continent still struggling to break free from the shackles of the European classical tradition.
We will explore her journey from the tranquil meadows of New England to her headline-grabbing early successes as a virtuoso piano prodigy in Boston - alongside a burning childhood desire to compose. We'll hear from her collection of large-scale symphonic works, including her Piano Concerto, and her 'Gaelic' Symphony, and we’ll discover which of her songs was such a hit that its proceeds paid for a summer property for the Beach family!
We'll also hear about Beach’s attachment to the MacDowell Colony - a remarkable artists' retreat amidst the woodlands of New Hampshire, and her work to help the careers of young musicians.
In Friday’s programme, Donald finds Amy Beach, now well into her sixties, in Manhattan, as she embarks on a remarkable final chapter in her musical life, producing some of her most distinctive music.
3 Piano pieces, Op. 128 (I. Scherzino)
Martina Frezzotti, piano
Ses Yeux, Op. 66
Philip Martin, piano
Piano Trio in A minor, Op. 150
Neave Trio
Cabildo, Op. 149 “Ah, love is a jasmine vine”
Nicole Cabell, soprano
Will Liverman, baritone
Jonathan King, piano
Lady Jess, violin
Tahirah Whittington, cello
Canticle of the Sun
Yale Schola Cantorum
David Hill
Scottish Legend, Op. 54, No 1
Alan Feinberg, piano
Producer: Steven Rajam/ Sam Phillips
FRI 17:00 In Tune (m002rhgv)
Pianist Élisabeth Pion performs live
French-Canadian pianist Élisabeth Pion performs live on In Tune. Described as 'a curious explorer of piano repertoire' she was named Laureate and Audience Choice Award winner of the Honens International Piano Competition in 2025.
Katie also chats to Christopher Bell, Artistic Director of the National Youth Choir of Scotland who mark their 30th anniversary this year. Boys from the choir also feature on the Soundtrack to the BBC's Lord of the Flies television series.
FRI 19:00 Classical Mixtape (m002rhgx)
30 minutes of classical inspiration
Switch off from the busy day with a 30-minute soundscape of classical music.
This evening's Classical Mixtape begins with The Tale of the Kalendar Prince from Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade. Ravel and Liszt provide some dreamy piano, and Cecilia McDowall's transcendent 'Standing as I do before God' is sung beautifully by Tenebrae. The Grimethorpe Colliery Band give a brassy rendition of Dvorak's Largo from the 'New World Symphony', and we finish with The Flower Garden, from Joe Hisaishi's score for the Studio Ghibli animated film 'Howl's Moving Castle'.
Produced by Joe Blamey
FRI 19:30 Friday Night is Music Night (m002rhgz)
St David's Day celebration
The BBC National Orchestra of Wales and conductor Grant Llewellyn are joined in Hoddinott Hall, Cardiff, by special guest singer and presenter Bronwen Lewis in a programme of music by Welsh composers and others who have been inspired by the country in celebration of St David’s Day.
Williams: Concert Overture
Karl Jenkins: Palladio (1st movement)
Henry Walford Davies: A Solemn Melody
Paul Mealor: A Welsh Prayer
Huw Watkins: Three Welsh Songs (2nd & 3rd movements)
Williams: Fantasia on Welsh Nursery Rhymes
Interval circa
8:10pm
Hoddinott: Folk Song Suite
Bronwen Lewis: Home
Mathias: Serenade
German: Welsh Rhapsody (3rd and 4th movements)
Hughes arr. Owain Roberts: Calon Lân
Max Boyce arr. John Quirk: Hymns and Arias
Trad. arr. John Quirk: O Gymru
Dafydd Iwan arr. Owain Hughes: Yma o Hyd
James arr. Williams: Mae Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau
FRI 21:45 The Essay (m002rhh1)
Full Moon on Progress St
Josephine Baker
Full Moon on Progress Street series 2 follows on from the first series (available on BBC Sounds), taking a close look at key moments and music to reveal the hidden lives and interests of more of the most important Black female artists of the 20th century – Sarah Vaughan, Ma Rainey, Abbey Lincoln, Bessie Smith and Josephine Baker. Dr Rommi Smith, lifelong jazz and blues listener, takes us on a journey into the creative life of each artist, reappraising what we think we know about them from popular culture. Each essay 'flips-the-script', to show a different hidden story. All of these iconic women are broadly misrepresented - history and popular perception airbrushing their interests, politics, activism, sexualities, creative legacies and passions.
Essay 5
Josephine Baker’s enduring image is as a banana-skirted, bare-chested, leopard-owning performer of the 1920s and 1930s Parisian stage. Less is known about her work as a spy for the French Resistance during the second world war, for which she was awarded the Croix de Guerre and the Legion d’Honneur by the French authorities. This essay examines Baker’s journey as an activist and changemaker, contributing to the struggle and soundtrack for civil rights. Track list: Who?, J’ai Deux Amours, J’ai Un Message Pour Toi and Si J’Etais Blanche.
Dr Rommi Smith is a writer, broadcaster and academic. Winner of the Northern Writers Prize for Poetry, Rommi has been awarded prestigious fellowships, residencies and commissions, from organisations and institutions ranging from the BBC to The British Council. In 2025, she was appointed a judge for the Forward Prizes for Poetry. Rommi is the inaugural British Parliamentary Writer-in-Residence. She was Writer-in-Residence for Keats’ House, the Wordsworth Trust and most recently, the inaugural Writer-in-Residence for Harewood House, writing in response to its exhibition about Jane Austen & JMW Turner. She is a librettist, collaborating often with the composer Roderick Williams. Rommi was commissioned by Lubaina Himid/the ICA to create Tracing the Thin Black Line (a new performance work marking the 40th anniversary of the exhibition The Thin Black Line). The work premiered at the Institute of Contemporary Art in 2025. Her academic scholarship centres on jazz and blues, women and civil rights. She is honoured to have interviewed leading contemporary musicians, from Dr. Dianne Reeves to Dr. Esperanza Spalding, Professor Terri Lyne Carrington to Cassandra Wilson, as part her academic research. Rommi’s work is published by, amongst others, Routledge and New York University Press. A collection of poems inspired by her research is forthcoming.
www.rommi-smith.co.uk
Writer and presenter, Dr Rommi Smith
Producer, Polly Thomas
Sound designer, Paul Cargill
Exec producer, Chantal Herbert
A Thomas Carter Projects production for BBC Radio 3.
FRI 22:00 Late Junction (m002kh1g)
Ecka Mordecai and Tashi Dorji in session
Verity Sharp presents the latest in our series of exclusive improvised collaborative sessions. This time round, the London-based cellist, harpist and egg flautist Ecka Mordecai meets avant-garde Bhutanese guitarist Tashi Dorji.
Ecka Mordecai is a British artist based in London who works with a variety of instruments, objects and textures. Her soundworlds highlight the sensory qualities inherent in their construction, creating work that straddles the line between the traditional and the avant-garde, the recognisable and the unfamiliar. The musical qualities of creaking door hinges or attempts at recreating birdsong through instrumental means typify her sonic palette.
Tashi Dorji's guitar style skewers traditions both East and West, a hybrid born of his upbringing in Bhutan and subsequent relocation to the United States. Tashi’s releases of solo guitar improvisations and his prolific output of collaborations have cemented his status as an idiosyncratic and technically-masterful musician both in live and studio settings.
Alongside the fruits of this exciting new collaboration, Verity shares some rediscovered Zulu blues, searing Lebanese noise, and a forest soundscape detailing the inner lives of animals at twilight.
Produced by Gabriel Francis and 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 (m002gdxb)
Dave Holland 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.
Tonight, Soweto is joined by the pioneering bassist and jazz musician Dave Holland. Over his six-decade spanning career so far, Dave has been internationally celebrated for his virtuosity and continued versatility as a performer, composer, and bandleader.
He has worked with an expansive roster of artists, including Miles Davis, Betty Carter, Chick Corea, Sam Rivers, Herbie Hancock, and Tony Williams to name mere few. His small and large ensembles have achieved critical acclaim, including two Grammy Awards for his work as a big band leader. He is also a dedicated champion of intergenerational opportunities and education for the next generations of aspiring jazz musicians.
In this conversation, Soweto and Dave discuss everything from his formative years in the mid-60s London jazz scene, to working with Miles Davis at the time of Davis' explorations into electronics. And his new album with Norma Winstone and London Vocal Project titled “Vital Spark”, which celebrates the music of Kenny Wheeler. It is not a conversation to be missed.
To listen on most smart speakers just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Round Midnight".