SATURDAY 02 MAY 2026

SAT 00:30 Through the Night (m002vf1b)
The first of two nights celebrating Young Artists

The National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain and conductor Dalia Stasevska, joined by Farnham Youth Choir, perform Holst's The Planets, John Williams' Star Wars Suite and Caroline Shaw's The Observatory. The rest of the programme has a focus on artists in the earlier stages of their careers. Jonathan Swain presents.

12:31 AM
John Williams (b.1932)
Star Wars Suite
National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, Dalia Stasevska (conductor)

12:58 AM
Caroline Shaw (b.1982)
The Observatory
National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, Dalia Stasevska (conductor)

01:10 AM
Gustav Holst (1874-1934)
The Planets, Op 32
Farnham Youth Choir, National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, Dalia Stasevska (conductor)

01:58 AM
Anthony Newley (1931-1999), Ben Parry (arr.)
Feelin' Good
Farnham Youth Choir

02:01 AM
Edward Elgar (1857-1934)
Violin Sonata in E minor, Op 82
Hana Chang (violin), Jonathan Ware (piano)

02:27 AM
Richard Strauss (1864-1949)
Meinem Kinde (To my Child), Op 37 no 3
Katharina Konradi (soprano), Eric Schneider (piano)

02:31 AM
Carl Nielsen (1865-1931)
An Imaginary journey to the Faroes, FS 123
Baltic Sea Youth Philharmonic, Kristjan Järvi (conductor)

02:36 AM
Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)
Piano Concerto for the Left Hand in D major
François-Xavier Poizat (piano), Swiss National Youth Orchestra, Kai Bumann (conductor)

02:56 AM
Traditional Swiss, Peter Brütsch (arr.)
S isch äben e Mönsch uf Ärde (Guggisberglied)
Swiss Youth Choir, Nicolas Fink (conductor)

03:06 AM
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Symphony no 38 in D major, K.504, 'Prague'
Youth Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine, Oksana Lyniv (conductor)

03:37 AM
Hector Berlioz (1803-1869)
Le Spectre de la Rose (from Les nuits d'été)
Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha (soprano), Simon Lepper (piano)

03:44 AM
August de Boeck (1865-1937)
Ave Maria
Tallinna Poistekoor [Tallinn Boys Choir], Lydia Rahula (conductor)

03:47 AM
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Italian Concerto in F major, BWV.971
Alim Beisembayev (piano)

03:59 AM
Wouter Hutschenruyter (1796-1878)
Ouverture voor Groot Orkest
Dutch National Youth Wind Orchestra, Jan Cober (conductor)

04:08 AM
Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
Adagio and allegro in A flat major, Op 70
Danjulo Ishizaka (cello), José Gallardo (piano)

04:17 AM
Imant Raminsh (b.1943)
Put vejini for mixed chorus
Kamer Youth Chorus, Māris Sirmais (director)

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

04:31 AM
Bosse Nordin (b.1971)
Schottische
Young Danish String Quartet

04:34 AM
Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887-1959)
Prelude no 3 in A minor (5 Preludes for Guitar)
Leron Ly (guitar)

04:38 AM
Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Overture to 'Fierrabras', D.796
Swiss National Youth Orchestra, Mario Venzago (conductor)

04:45 AM
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied, BWV.225
Swiss Youth Choir, Sebastian Wienand (organ), Nicolas Fink (conductor)

04:57 AM
Mel Bonis (1858-1938)
Flute Sonata in C sharp minor, Op 64
Elizaveta Ivanova (flute), Sanja Bizjak (piano)

05:15 AM
Clara Schumann (1819-1896)
Piano Concerto in A minor, Op 7
Alice Burla (piano), Swiss National Youth Orchestra, Mario Venzago (conductor)

05:38 AM
Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)
Menuetto. Allegretto, from String Quartet no 40 in F major, Hob.III:48
Spirea Quartet

05:42 AM
Joachim Raff (1822-1882)
Symphony no 5 in E major, Op 177 'Lenore'
Orchestra of the Zurich University of the Arts, Marc Kissoczy (conductor)

06:23 AM
Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757)
Keyboard Sonata in E major, Kk.380
Elisabeth Brauß (piano)


SAT 06:30 Breakfast (m002vnm7)
Wake up 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 (m002vnm9)
Tom meets Ludovico Einaudi

Tom Service with the perfect classical soundtrack for the weekend and guests including the Italian pianist and composer Ludovico Einaudi.

Plus live performance in the studio from viola player and former BBC New Generation Artist Timothy Ridout.


SAT 12:00 Earlier... with Jools Holland (m002vnmc)
Jools shares his lifelong passion for classical music with fascinating studio guests.


SAT 13:00 Key Changes: Radio 3's Essential History of Classical Music (m002vnmf)
1492: The Fall of Granada

In February 1492, in the gardens of the Alhambra Palace, Granada, a Moorish musician named Ayaya Fisteli bows before the thrones of the newly installed Catholic monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella. Only weeks earlier, the Emirate of Granada had formally surrendered, ending more than seven centuries of Muslim rule in Iberia. Now Fisteli stands beneath the intricate domes of the Hall of the Ambassadors, waiting to learn whether he may continue as Warden of the Minstrels and jongleurs under the new regime – a moment that opens a wider story about cultural exchange, upheaval and the musical life of late medieval Spain.

Gillian Moore is joined by a roster of distinguished historians for this major new BBC Radio 3 series, charting a course through 1000 years of classical music history. For the first eight programmes, historian Michael Wood is in the chair, as together they explore the bold new sound worlds of the Middle Ages and Renaissance.

Producer: Amelia Parker
Academic Consultant: Professor Laura Tunbridge, University of Oxford
Story Consultant: Kate Leys
Series Editor for BBC Audio: Emma Harding
Key Changes theme tune composed by Joseph Howard and performed by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, conducted by Kerem Hasan.

MUSIC DETAILS:
Luys de Narváez: Paseabase el rey moro
Capella de Ministrers
Carles Magraner, conductor

Anon/al Khatib: Lamma bada yathathana
Lena Chamamyan, soprano

Cantigas de Santa Maria – Des oge mais
Ensemble Obsidienne

Juan del Encina: El que rige y el regido
La Capella Reial de Catalunya
Hespèrion XXI
Jordi Savall, conductor

Cornago: Mappa mundi
Euskal Barrokensemble

Gaspar Fernandes: Xicochi conetzintle
BBC Singers
Owain Park, conductor

Juan de Araujo: Aquí, valentones
Ex Cathedra
Jeffrey Skidmore, conductor

Albéniz: Zambra granadina
David Russell, guitar

Camaron de la Isla: Yo vendo pescaito – Bulerías
Camaron de la Isla

Traditional Andalusian, arr. Lorca: Tres morillas
Hirundo Maris
Petter Udland Johansen, tenor
Arianna Savall, vocals

Debussy: La puerta del vino (from Preludes, Book II)
Pierre-Laurent Aimard, piano


SAT 14:00 Record Review (m002vnmh)
Vivaldi's Four Seasons in Building a Library with Charlotte Gardner and Andrew McGregor

Andrew McGregor with the best of the week's new classical releases.

c2.10pm
Early music expert Kirsten Gibson joins Andrew to showcase a batch of releases that have caught her ear.

3pm
Building a Library. Critic Charlotte Gardner surveys recordings of Vivaldi's The Four Seasons and makes a top recommendation.
Published in 1725, the collection of four violin concertos with musical representations of the changing year have become Antonio Vivaldi's best known works. Their vivid nature depictions were groundbreaking - flowing creeks, singing birds, a shepherd and his barking dog, buzzing flies, a dramatic storm, drunken dancers, frozen landscapes, and warm winter fires. It's no wonder every major violinist of the last 80 years has wanted to record them.

c3.50pm
Record of the Week. Andrew's top pick of this week's new releases.


SAT 16:00 Sound of Cinema (m002vnmk)
Edith is joined by Eimear Noone and presenter Jason Mohammad

Join Edith Bowman each week as she delves into the best music from film and television. On this week’s programme, Edith is joined by composer and conductor Eimear Noone, who unpacks her score for The Canterville Ghost, written alongside Craig Stuart Garfinkle, in this week’s Harmonising Hollywood. We’ll also be welcoming presenter Jason Mohammad, who shares his Pick of the Flicks — a much‑loved score by Ennio Morricone.

Also, expect our usual mix of music from newly released soundtracks alongside timeless Hollywood classics.


SAT 17:00 This Classical Life (m002vnmm)
Jess Gillam with... Tom Fetherstonhaugh

Jess Gillam is joined by conductor Tom Fetherstonhaugh, who is the founder and artistic director of Fantasia Orchestra. He was Assistant Conductor of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra between 2022-2024 and was awarded Associate Honours from the Royal Academy of Music in 2024 for his contribution to the music profession. He's performed at the BBC Proms with Fantasia Orchestra and has also worked with Welsh National Opera, Britten Sinfonia and the BBC Philharmonic.

Tom's picks include an arresting piece by Witold Lutosławski, Schubert's String Quartet No 15, a reworking of a classic jazz standard by Gwilym Simcock, and the infectious energy of Balimaya Project. Jess brings along pieces by Mozart, Bach, and King Curtis.

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


SAT 18:00 Opera on 3 (m002vnmp)
Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin

Live from the Metropolitan Opera in New York, starring Asmik Grigorian as Tatiana and Iurii Samoilov as Eugene Onegin, conducted by Timur Zangiev. When bookish Tatiana meets Eugene Onegin, she's immediately smitten and naively declares her feelings in a letter. He dismisses her, but years later and much too late realises he loves her back.

Presented from the Met by Debra Lew Harder and Ira Siff.

Tchaikovsky: Eugene Onegin
Tatiana ..... Asmik Grigorian (soprano)
Eugene Onegin ..... Iurii Samoilov (baritone)
Lenski ..... Stanislas de Barbeyrac (tenor)
Olga ..... Maria Barakova (mezzo-soprano)
Filippyevna ..... Larissa Diadkova (mezzo-soprano)
Prince Gremin ..... Alexander Tsymbalyuk (bass-baritone)
Met Opera Chorus and Orchestra
Timur Zangiev (conductor)

The opera is based on Pushkin’s iconic verse novel, which reimagines the Byronic romantic anti-hero as the definitive bored Russian aristocrat caught between convention and ennui; Tchaikovsky, similarly, took Western European operatic forms and transformed them into an authentic and undeniably Russian work. At the core of the opera is the young girl Tatiana, who grows from a sentimental adolescent into a complete woman in one of the operatic stage’s most convincing character developments.


SAT 22:30 New Music Show (m002vnmt)
Eavesdropping: Siwan Rhys and Émilie Škrijelj

Tom Service with live sets from pianist Siwan Rhys and experimental accordionist Émilie Škrijelj recorded at the Eavesdropping festival in London plus orchestral music by Rebecca Saunders and a re-imagining of Ligeti's Atmosphères by composer Tom Pauwels. Among the new releases this week are tracks from upsammy & Valentina Magaletti, Tyler Friedman and Jose Martinez, plus we hear from composer-producer Matt Wright about his latest project Cracked Glaze, a collaboration between his own group Spheric Totemic and The Hague-based Ensemble Klang.

SUNDAY 03 MAY 2026

SUN 00:30 Through the Night (m002vnmw)
The second of two nights celebrating Young Artists

Pianist Benjamin Engeli joins the Swiss National Youth Orchestra and conductor Johannes Schlaefli in Rachmaninov's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini and the orchestra plays music by Rossini and Strauss. Jonathan Swain presents.

12:31 AM
Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868)
Overture to 'Guillaume Tell'
Swiss National Youth Orchestra, Johannes Schlaefli (conductor)

12:43 AM
Sergey Rachmaninov (1873-1943)
Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op 43
Benjamin Engeli (piano), Swiss National Youth Orchestra, Johannes Schlaefli (conductor)

01:08 AM
Sergey Rachmaninov (1873-1943)
Andante from 'Cello Sonata in G minor'
Camille Thévoz (cello), Benjamin Engeli (piano)

01:14 AM
Richard Strauss (1864-1949)
Don Juan Op 20
Swiss National Youth Orchestra, Johannes Schlaefli (conductor)

01:33 AM
Richard Strauss (1864-1949)
Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche, Op 28
Swiss National Youth Orchestra, Johannes Schlaefli (conductor)

01:50 AM
Richard Strauss (1864-1949)
Fast Waltz, from 'Suite from Der Rosenkavalier, Op 59'
Swiss National Youth Orchestra, Johannes Schlaefli (conductor)

01:53 AM
Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Der Schiffer, D.536
James Newby (baritone), Joseph Middleton (piano)

01:55 AM
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
String Quartet no 2 in A minor, Op 51 no 2
Armida Quartet

02:31 AM
Boris Mykolayovich Lyatoshynsky (1895 - 1968)
Grazyna - symphonic poem, Op 58
Youth Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine, Oksana Lyniv (conductor)

02:49 AM
Benjamin Britten (1913-1976)
Les Illuminations, Op.18, for soprano and strings
Julia Duscher (soprano), Davos Festival Camerata, Holly Hyun Choe (conductor)

03:12 AM
Franz Liszt (1811-1886)
Piano Concerto no.1 in E flat major, S.124
Anton Gerzenberg (piano), Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Gergely Madaras (conductor)

03:31 AM
Judith Weir (b.1954)
The Bagpiper's String Trio
Nanos Trio

03:39 AM
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714-1788)
Keyboard Sonata in A minor, Wq 57 no 2
Pavel Kolesnikov (piano)

03:48 AM
Henri Dutilleux (1916-2013)
Chorale, Cadence et Fugato
Sophie Bright (trombone), François Killian (piano)

03:54 AM
Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Nachtstuck D.672
Ilker Arcayürek (tenor), Simon Lepper (piano)

03:59 AM
Leoš Janáček (1854-1928)
Pohádka (Fairy Tale)
Samuel Niederhauser (cello), Shih-Yu Tang (piano)

04:12 AM
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Violin Concerto no.1 in A minor, BWV 1041
Maria Ioudenitch (violin), Camerata Bern

04:26 AM
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750), Ward Swingle (arr.)
Prelude and Fugue in E major, BWV.878
Swiss Youth Choir, Michael Cina (drums), Nicolas Fink (conductor)

04:31 AM
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Hungarian Dance no.1 in G minor
Swiss National Youth Orchestra, Mario Venzago (conductor)

04:35 AM
Paolo Benedetto Bellinzani (1690-1757)
Recorder Sonata in D minor, Op.3'2
Lea Sobbe (recorder), Halldór Bjarki Arnarson (harpsichord)

04:49 AM
Domantas Balsas (20th century)
Šviesos užkalbėjimas
Jauna Muzika, Vaclovas Augustinas (conductor)

04:54 AM
Nadia Boulanger (1887-1979)
Three Pieces for Cello and Piano
Samuel Niederhauser (cello), Denis Linnik (piano)

05:02 AM
Zoltan Havrylovych Almashi (b.1975)
Sinfonietta
Youth Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine, Oksana Lyniv (conductor)

05:14 AM
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875-1912)
Four African Dances, Op 58
Samuel Nebyu (violin), Charles Abramovic (piano)

05:33 AM
Francis Poulenc (1899-1963)
Concerto for Organ, Timpani and Strings in G minor, FP.93
Alina Nikitina (organ), Musikkollegium Winterthur Orchestra, Kalena Bovell (conductor)

05:55 AM
Fryderyk Chopin (1810-1849)
Waltz for piano in E flat major "Grande valse brillante", Op 18
Ingrid Fliter (piano)

06:00 AM
Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)
String Quartet in F major
Spirea Quartet


SUN 06:30 Breakfast (m002vncs)
Start your day with classical music

Mark Forrest presents Radio 3’s Breakfast show live from Salford. With Bach Before 7 and the best in classical music. You can contact the show by emailing 3breakfast@bbc.co.uk

To listen on most smart speakers, just say 'Ask BBC Sounds to play 3 Breakfast’.


SUN 09:00 Sunday Morning (m002vncv)
Three Hours of Classical Sparkle

Sarah Walker chooses uplifting music to complement your morning, whether you’re enjoying a quiet coffee, preparing for Sunday lunch or heading into the outdoors.

This week, Sarah has a mixture of orchestral gems, delicate piano music and luscious choral textures to enliven your day. Her Sunday Sequence has a humorous feel to reflect the fact it is World Laughter Day – can you guess what she’s going to include? And there's also a chance to hear from a fabulous complete recording of Beethoven’s First Symphony.

Also, Sarah's choral reflection takes us to the skies with Charles Villiers Stanford's most beloved partsong, “The Blue Bird”.

A Tandem Production for BBC Radio 3.


SUN 12:00 Private Passions (m002vncx)
James Aldred, cameraman and writer

James Aldred is an Emmy award-winning documentary wildlife cameraman and filmmaker who has collaborated with David Attenborough on projects such Planet Earth, The Life of Mammals and Our Planet. He often finds himself suspended from ropes or on platforms high up in the rainforest canopy, capturing shots of rarely-seen animals and birds, including orangutans, gibbons and eagles.

He recalled some of his treetop adventures - and the many dangers he’s faced - in his first book, The Man Who Climbs Trees. His second, Goshawk Summer, detailed his experience of filming a family of goshawks in the New Forest during lockdown. It went on to win the Wainwright Prize for Nature Writing. His most recent book, A Wagon in the Woods, returns to the New Forest and is about his painstaking restoration of an old horse-drawn wagon he once played in as a child.

James picks music by Borodin, Wagner, Mahler, Bach and John Barry.


SUN 13:30 Music Map (m002vncz)
Wagner's Siegfried Idyll

Sara Mohr-Pietsch explores Wagner's Siegfried Idyll - a piece written as a birthday present for his wife. Featuring more music written out of love for a spouse, including works from Schumann and Grieg, and pieces to propel you through the day, with music from Ravel's Daphnis et Chloé, and Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker.

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


SUN 15:00 Music Matters (m0029pqx)
Music on the Front Line

Caroline Wyatt

Clive Myrie is in conversation with fellow journalists about the music they’ve heard whilst reporting from the front line. With his own extensive experience of covering wars, and his personal love of opera and jazz, Clive and Caroline Wyatt share stories to reveal something of the power and significance of music when working in extreme conflict situations.

Caroline Wyatt is a BBC presenter and journalist. She began her career as a BBC foreign correspondent based in Berlin, Bonn, Moscow and Paris. During that period, she reported from Iraq, Kosovo, Chechnya, and the Middle East. She was then BBC Defence Correspondent covering operations in Iraq and Afghanistan before becoming BBC Religious Affairs Correspondent.

She is now a presenter for Radio 4 Saturday PM.

Here she recalls the music that accompanied her working life on the front line including Barber’s Adagio for Strings, Venus the Bringer of Peace from Holst’s The Planets and Bach’s Magnificat in D major.

Producer: Rosie Boulton
A Must Try Softer Production


SUN 16:00 Jazz Record Requests (m002vnd1)
Mike Westbrook Remembered

Alyn Shipton presents your requests remembering the late pianist, composer and bandleader Mike Westbrook, including music from his major projects Citadel / Room 315, The Cortege as well as his settings of the poetry of William Blake.

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 (m002vnd3)
The music of Madrid

Hannah French explores music-making in the city of Madrid from the early Renaissance up to the 18th Century, including important figures such as Tomas Luis de Victoria, Antonio de Cabezon, Domenico Scarlatti, Luigi Boccherini, and the famous castrato Farinelli, who was appointed as chamber musician to King Philip V in 1737.


SUN 18:00 Choral Evensong (m002vcnc)
Christ Church Cathedral. Oxford.

Live from Christ Church Cathedral. Oxford.

Introit: Dum transisset Sabbatum I (Taverner)
Responses: Byrd
Psalms 142, 143 (Turle, Ellis)
First Lesson: Genesis 2 vv4b-9
Office Hymn: Ad coenam Agni providi (Plainsong)
Magnificat primi toni a 8 (Palestrina)
Second Lesson: 1 Corinthians 15 vv35-49
Nunc dimittis tertii toni (Victoria)
Anthem: Nisi dominus (Monteverdi)
Hymn: The strife is o'er, the battle done (Victory)
Voluntary: Praeludium in E, BuxWV 141 (Buxtehude)

Peter Holder (Director of Music)
Richard Moore (Sub-Organist)

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


SUN 19:00 Sunday Feature (m002vnd5)
Finding Florence Mills

Allyson Devenish goes in search of Florence Mills.

In the 1920s, Florence Mills was probably one of the most famous women alive and certainly the first black international celebrity, and yet she has faded from the collective cultural memory. This is partly because there are no recordings of her: no 78s of her singing nor film of her dancing, and she’s almost entirely absent from histories of jazz.

She was there at the birth of the Harlem Renaissance, rocketing to fame in the musical Shuffle Along. When she died, all of Harlem turned out for her funeral, with hundreds of thousands of people thronging the streets.

Florence also had a powerful impact in the UK, where she performed in two smash hit stage shows. Audiences and critics were enraptured, but her impact was felt beyond the showbiz pages of the newspapers. She was revered by jazz musicians, composers and critics of classical music for her extraordinary voice, as well as by pioneers of British dance. And she spoke out, with eloquence, about the politics of race.

The pianist Allyson Devenish doesn't think Florence Mills has been remembered or celebrated in the way that she deserves and sets out to look for her in the traces that she left: the memories of people that knew her, the accounts of her performance and the music written especially for her.

Allyson hears from Steph Doktor about her attempt to recover Florence’s voice and sits down with Eric Mealer from the National Opera Studio to try and make sense of the reports and reviews of Florence’s singing.

Other contributors include Celeste Headlee, William Grant Still’s granddaughter, the singer Elaine Mitchener, historians Stephen Bourne, Jane Pritchard, Caroline Bressey and Catherine Tackley.

Producer: Natalie Steed for Rhubarb Rhubarb


SUN 19:45 Words and Music (m002vnd7)
Attenborough at 100: a World of Animals

As David Attenborough's 100th birthday approaches, Hugh Bonneville and Anne-Marie Duff read poetry and prose inspired by animals: from sloths, hawks and crocodiles, to wolves, elephants and snakes, alongside an archive recording of Attenborough himself reading from Life Stories, his memoir of seventy years of world-class nature broadcasting. We'll visit all seven continents in readings from Michael Crichton’s Jurassic Park to Isabel Allende’s Paradise to Kari Herbert’s Antarctica, and hear poetry from Lorca to AA Milne and Pascale Petit. Music inspired by and evoking all manner of creatures and plants, includes pieces by Camille Saint-Saens, Claude Debussy and Elena Kats-Chernin and George Fenton's scores for Attenborough's nature documentaries.

In Memoriam (extract) by Alfred Tennyson
H is for Hawk by Helen McDonald
Life Stories – archaeopteryx by David Attenborough
Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton
Life Stories – sloths by David Attenborough
Sonnet on a Monkey by Marjory Fleming
Crocodile by Thomas Lovell Beddoes
Leaving Times by Jodi Piccoult
The Old Lizard (extract) by Federico Garcia Lorca
The Lagoon by Nnedi Okorafor
The Overstory by Richard Powers
Life Stories – monstrous flowers by David Attenborough
Animal, Vegetable, Mineral by Barbara Kingsolver
Song of Myself (extract) by Walt Whitman
Between Us And by Anne Carson
White Fang by Jack London
The Pangolin by Fleur Adcock
Life Stores, coelocanth by David Attenborough
Blueback by Tim Winton
The Explorer's Daughter by Kari Herbert
At the Zoo by AA Milne
Paradise by Isabel Allende
Turtle Diary by Russell Hoban
Kindness to Animals by Wendy Cope
A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth
The Tyger (extract) by William Blake
The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling
Green Bee Eater by Pascale Petit

Produced in Salford by Olive Clancy


SUN 21:00 Ultimate Calm (m002lb5p)
Erland Cooper: Series 5

Finding calm up in the clouds ft. Sally Potter

Throughout this series of Ultimate Calm, Scottish composer Erland Cooper has been looking to nature for inspiration. We’ve ebbed and flowed with the tides, dug our hands into the soil, and in this episode we turn our attention skywards - with soothing songs that lift us into the clouds from musicians including Nailah Hunter, Sarah Davachi and Jóhann Jóhannsson.

We’re also transported to the musical safe haven of the award-winning film director and musician Sally Potter. She shares a special piece of music that flows like water or breath, that always induces calm melancholy in her.

Produced by Kit Callin
A Reduced Listening production


SUN 22:00 Night Tracks (m002vnd9)
Harmonious music for nighttime listening

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


SUN 23:30 Unclassified (m002vndc)
Fluxus

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 travel back in time via the dungeon-synth textures and medieval ambience of Graham Reynolds’ album ‘The Portcullis'; music from an exciting collaboration between acclaimed songwriter Eliza Shaddad and the composer Daniel Sonabend; and another chance to hear the brilliant piece composed and performed by Carmel Smickersgill especially for Unclassified, marking last year’s centenary of Eric Satie’s death.

We’ll also hear, of course, music from emerging independent producers whose work plays with orchestral textures and classical form as well as the latest sounds from a new generation of contemporary composers who look to embrace the spirit of rock, pop and electronica.

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

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

MONDAY 04 MAY 2026

MON 00:30 Through the Night (m002vndf)
Mozart and Rimsky-Korsakov from Stockholm

The Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra's principal guest conductor designate Maxim Emelyanychev introduces himself to Berwaldhallen’s audience as a soloist in Mozart’s bright and jovial 23rd piano concerto. Emelyanychev then takes the podium to lead the orchestra in Rimsky-Korsakov’s colourful fairy tale suite, Scheherazade. Jonathan Swain presents.

12:31 AM
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Piano Concerto no 23 in A major, K.488
Maxim Emelyanychev (piano), Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra

01:00 AM
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908)
Scheherazade, Op 35, symphonic suite
Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Maxim Emelyanychev (conductor)

01:47 AM
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Clarinet Quintet in A major, K581
Andrzej Ciepliński (clarinet), Royal String Quartet

02:19 AM
Jacob Adolf Hägg (1850-1928)
Fantasy Pieces for piano (excerpts)
Tore Uppström (piano)

02:26 AM
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908)
Sleep my beauty (cradle song from "May Night")
Joanne Kolomyjec (soprano), Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, Mario Bernardi (conductor)

02:31 AM
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Brandenburg Concerto no 5 in D major, BWV.1050
Ensemble 415, Lars Ulrik Mortensen (harpsichord)

02:52 AM
Fryderyk Chopin (1810-1849)
24 Preludes, Op 28
David Kadouch (piano)

03:28 AM
Giovanni Picchi (1572-1643)
3 Ballos - Ballo alla Polacca; Ballo Ongaro; Ballo ditto il Pichi
Rinaldo Alessandrini (harpsichord)

03:35 AM
Fredrik Pacius (1809-1891)
Overture from the Hunt of King Charles (1852)
Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Jukka-Pekka Saraste (conductor)

03:42 AM
Serge Koussevitsky (1874-1951)
Andante Cantabile & Valse Miniature (Op 1 nos 1 & 2)
Gary Karr (double bass), Harmon Lewis (piano)

03:52 AM
Elisabeth Kuyper (1877-1953)
Der Pfeil und das Lied; Marien Lied; Ich komme Heim (Op 17 nos 1, 2 & 3)
Irene Maessen (soprano), Frans van Ruth (piano)

03:59 AM
Arthur Butterworth (1923-2014)
Romanza for horn and strings
Martin Hackleman (horn), CBC Vancouver Orchestra, Mario Bernardi (conductor)

04:09 AM
Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)
Piano Sonata in G major, H.16.27
Niklas Sivelöv (piano)

04:20 AM
Christoph Demantius (1567-1643)
Intraden und Tanze (from Conviviorum Deliciae, Nuremberg, 1608)
Hortus Musicus, Andres Mustonen (director)

04:31 AM
Väinö Raitio (1891-1945)
Joutsenet , Op 15 (1919)
Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Okko Kamu (conductor)

04:39 AM
Nikita Koshkin (b.1956)
The Fall of Birds
Goran Listes (guitar)

04:48 AM
Costanzo Porta (1528/9-1601)
Sub Tuum Praesidium
Banchieri Singers, Dénes Szabó (conductor)

04:51 AM
Carlo Gesualdo da Venosa (1566-1613)
Ave, regina coelorum for 5 voices
Banchieri Singers, Dénes Szabó (conductor)

04:55 AM
Ottorino Respighi (1879-1936)
Prelude in D minor
David Rumsey (organ)

05:02 AM
Richard Wagner (1813-1883)
Tristan and Isolde (Prelude)
Norwegian Radio Orchestra, Tabita Berglund (conductor)

05:13 AM
Anonymous
The Uhrovec Collection (1730, selection)
Enikö Ginzery (cimbalom)

05:22 AM
Ernest Chausson (1855-1899)
Poeme de l'amour et de la mer, Op 19 vers. for voice and orchestra
Iwona Socha (soprano), Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Marcin Nalecz-Niesiolowski (conductor)

05:49 AM
Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767)
Suite in G major, TWV.55:G2, 'La Bizarre'
B'Rock, Jürgen Groß (conductor)

06:07 AM
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
4 Ballades for piano, Op 10
Paul Lewis (piano)


MON 06:30 Breakfast (m002vnqb)
Wake up your senses with classical music

Tom McKinney presents Radio 3’s Breakfast show live from Salford. With birdsong, Bach Before 7 and the best in classical music. You can contact the show by emailing 3breakfast@bbc.co.uk

To listen on most smart speakers, just say 'Ask BBC Sounds to play 3 Breakfast’.


MON 09:30 Essential Classics (m002vnqd)
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 (m002vnqg)
Chineke! live from Wigmore Hall

Linton Stephens offers an afternoon of great performances including a live concert from Wigmore Hall with Chineke!, Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto from Scotland and pianist Seong-Jin Cho at LSO St. Luke's.

This week, Classical Live explores the world of the Coleridge-Taylors: daughter Avril and father Samuel; and we have exclusive chamber concert recordings from star South Korean Concert pianist Seong-Jin Cho and friends from the home base of the London Symphony Orchestra.
Today’s programme also includes Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto performed by rising Swedish star violinist Ava Bahari.

At 1pm live from the Wigmore Hall, the Chineke! Chamber Ensemble presents a concert of music by William Grant Still, Carlos Simon and Samuel Coleridge-Taylor.

LIVE from WIGMORE HALL, introduced for Classical Live by Hannah French.

Chineke! Chamber Ensemble

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor
Nonet in F minor Op. 2

William Grant Still
Miniatures

Carlos Simon
Giants

*****
With Linton Stephens

Repertoire includes:

Felix Mendelssohn
Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64
Ava Bahari (violin)
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
James MacMillan (conductor)

Franz Schubert
Fantasia in F minor, D. 940
Seong-Jin Cho (piano)
Sunwook Kim (piano)

Avril Coleridge-Taylor
Valse Caprice
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
John Andrews (conductor)

Avril Coleridge-Taylor
Comet Prelude
Samantha Ege (piano)
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
John Andrews (conductor)

Joseph Haydn
Keyboard Concerto No. 6 in D major, Hob. XVIII.11
Sebastian Wienand (fortepiano)
Freiburg Baroque Orchestra
Gottfried von der Goltz (conductor)

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor
Idyll Op. 44
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Emilie Godden (conductor)


MON 16:00 Composer of the Week (m002vnqj)
Bela Bartok (1881-1945)

The Apple

A mysterious folk tune ignites Bartók's imagination.

Béla Bartók was regarded as one of Hungary’s greatest composers. His fellow countryman, the pianist Andras Schiff, called him “one of the giants in the history of music.” But he was also one of the founders of what we now call ethnomusicology, spending much of his time immersed in peasant life, collecting folk songs. As around him Europe was torn apart by conflict, Bartók found relief in rural life and took inspiration from these traditional tunes, incorporating them into his own compositions.

In today's programme, Donald Macleod explores Bartók's early years and the chance encounter that changed the trajectory of his composing.

Romanian Folk Dances
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Thomas Dausgaard

Rhapsody for piano, Op. 1, BB36a, Sz. 26
Alexandre Kantorow, piano

Kossuth Symphonic Poem Sz21
Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra, Zoltan Kocsis

Szekely Folksong, BB 34, "Piros alma"
Andrea Meláth, mezzo-soprano
Emese Virág, piano

Produced by Alice McKee for BBC Audio Wales & West


MON 17:00 In Tune (m002vnql)
Live from BBC Radio Sussex in Brighton

Katie Derham celebrates the 60th anniversary of Brighton Festival with music and conversation with festival artists, live from BBC Radio Sussex.

Conductor, pianist and composer Joanna MacGregor talks to Katie about her Brighton Festival concert with the Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra performing Shostakovich's 10th Symphony, accompanied by a dream-like film directed by artist William Kentridge, featuring collage, puppets and masked actors.
Pianist Sherri Lun performs music by Bach, Ravel and Ponce ahead of her lunchtime recital at Brighton Dome Studio Theatre.
Katie talks to Brighton Festival Chief Executive Lucy Davies about the highlights of their 60th edition, and visits the Brighton Festival Chorus as they rehearse for a performance of Bach's St John Passion.


MON 19:00 Classical Mixtape (m002vnqn)
Switch up your listening with classical music

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


MON 19:30 Radio 3 in Concert (m002vnqq)
The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra performs Saint-Saëns, Tchaikovsky and Boulanger

Cédric Tiberghien joins the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra for Tchaikovsky's ever-popular Piano Concerto no.1. This is surrounded by a programme of French music, including Lili Boulanger's D’un matin de printemps and Saint-Saëns' Organ Symphony.

Recorded last month at Lighthouse, Poole, and presented by Al Ryan.

Saint-Saëns: Phaeton
Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No.1
L Boulanger: D’un matin de printemps

Interval

Saint-Saëns: Symphony No.3 ‘Organ’

Cédric Tiberghien (Piano)
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
Chloé Van Soeterstède (conductor)

Unlike the eponymous charioteer’s skills, Saint-Saëns technical skills were at their peak in his tone poem Phaeton: its galloping steeds racing to a catastrophic demise before a final lament for youthful hubris. Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto is an exuberant and passionate work filled with uninhibited virtuosity. It remains refreshingly original with its exciting and altogether exceptional opening, and richly forged musical dramas of powerful virtuosity and uncommon sensitivity. A lyrical sensibility defines Lili Boulanger’s bright and festive picture of a carefree spring morning with its arabesque-like playfulness and delicate, highly transparent instrumentation. Saint-Saëns said that he had “given everything I was able to give” to his Third Symphony, and this shows in its virtuoso piano passages, brilliant orchestral writing and the audacious use of organ. It reveals a genuine flair for sumptuous orchestral colour, suave and unforgettable melody and brilliant craftsmanship – the zenith of his symphonic output. There is simply nothing else quite like it.


MON 21:45 The Essay (m002vnqs)
The Insect Singers

1. Let Those Bugs Sing

The Essay celebrates the musicality and noise of our insect singers. 1. Let Those Bugs Sing.

Long before the first birds took to the sky, katydids and crickets filled the air with their sonorous stridulations. The sound of summer and autumn is one of vibrating tymbals, chirps, trills, xits, tsips and kreeeeeaks! Katydids, Crickets, Cicadas. Now we can listen very carefully to a blade of grass and enter a near-secret world of vibrating treehoppers. Writer and musician David Rothenberg has long been fascinated our relationship with all this noise and explores how insects taught us to love rhythm.

'This is the music of the world, going back millions of years. We evolved in the midst of these sounds and that counts for something'

Producer Mark Burman
All Music by David Rothenberg and insect companions. Bug music 2013, Secret Songs of Ponds 2024
Insect recordings courtesy of Wil Hershberger, Charlie Woodrow and Rex Cocroft

A Storyscape production for BBC Radio 3


MON 22:00 Night Tracks (m002vnqv)
Blissful sounds for night owls

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


MON 23:30 'Round Midnight (m002c1xg)
Alice Zawadzki sits in

Violinist and vocalist Alice Zawadzki sits in for Soweto Kinch this week on ‘Round Midnight. This weekday late-night show celebrates the thriving UK jazz scene and spotlights the best new music alongside incredible acts from past decades.

London based violinist, vocalist and composer Alice Zawadzki is sitting in Soweto all this week. Widely celebrated for her originalist and musically expansive compositions, Alice draws on poetry, folk, and improvisational music from a range of traditions. She has worked with small and large ensembles both nationally and internationally, and with fellow jazz talents including Fred Thomas, Misha Mullov-Abbado, Kit Downes, and SHABAKA.

From Monday to Thursday, Alice welcomes drummer, vocalist, and multi-instrumentalist Momoko Gill as her Flowers guest. Momoko will be spotlight some of the contemporary artists that inspire her. As well as being a rising solo artist, Momoko is one half of duo project An Alien Called Harmony with poet/rapper Nadeem Din-Gabisi. She has also worked with artists including Tirzah, Alabaster DePlume and Coby Sey.

Starting off her week, Momoko gives her first bouquet to an in-demand UK saxophonist and woodwind-player.

Plus, there's music from Heidi Vogel, Tigran Hamasyan, and corto.alto.

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

TUESDAY 05 MAY 2026

TUE 00:30 Through the Night (m002vnqz)
Brahms, Liszt and Strauss from Rome

Soloists Sayaka Shoji and Ettore Pagano join the Santa Cecilia Orchestra and conductor Thomas Guggeis in Brahms's Double Concerto, and the orchestra also plays music by Liszt and Strauss. Jonathan Swain presents.

12:31 AM
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Double Concerto for Violin and Cello in A minor, Op 102
Sayaka Shoji (violin), Ettore Pagano (cello), Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Thomas Guggeis (conductor)

01:05 AM
Franz Liszt (1811-1886)
Les Préludes, S. 97, symphonic poem no 3
Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Thomas Guggeis (conductor)

01:22 AM
Richard Strauss (1864-1949)
Tod und Verklärung, Op 24
Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Thomas Guggeis (conductor)

01:48 AM
Franz Liszt (1811-1886)
Czardas obstine (1884)
Jos Van Immerseel (piano)

01:52 AM
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Clarinet Quintet in B minor, Op 115
Thomas Friedli (clarinet), Quartet Sine Nomine

02:31 AM
Jan Dismas Zelenka (1679-1745)
Missa Nativitatis Domini, ZWV.8
Barbora Sojková (soprano), Stanislava Mihalcová (soprano), Marta Fadljevicová (mezzo soprano), Markéta Cukrová (contralto), Sylva Cmugrová (contralto), Daniela Cermáková (contralto), Jarosla Brezina (tenor), Cenek Svoboda (tenor), Tomáš Král (baritone), Jaromír Nosek (bass), Musica Florea, Marek Stryncl (director)

03:05 AM
Bedřich Smetana (1824-1884)
Piano Trio in G minor, Op 15
Suk Trio

03:33 AM
Edvard Grieg (1843-1907), Jan Hanuš Sitt (orch.)
2 Norwegian Dances, Op 35 nos 1 & 2
Plovdiv Philharmonic Orchestra, Rouslan Raychev (conductor)

03:43 AM
Carl Ludwig Lithander (1773-1843)
Divertimento no 1 for flute and fortepiano
Mikael Helasvuo (flute), Tuija Hakkila (pianoforte)

03:52 AM
Johan Helmich Roman (1694-1758)
Suite (sonata) for clavichord no 12 in E minor
Karin Jonsson-Hazell (harpsichord)

03:59 AM
Ruth Watson Henderson (b.1932)
Sing All Ye Joyful for SATB with piano accompaniment
Elmer Iseler Singers, Claire Preston (piano), Lydia Adams (conductor)

04:04 AM
Johann Friedrich Fasch (1688-1758)
Concerto in C minor for 2 oboes, bassoon and strings, FaWV L:c2
Shai Kribus (oboe), Mirjam Hüttner (oboe), Sergio Azzolini (bassoon), Camerata Bern, Sergio Azzolini (director)

04:14 AM
Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)
Variations on the hymn 'Gott erhalte Franz den Kaiser'
Andreas Staier (fortepiano)

04:22 AM
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Coriolan Overture, Op 62
Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Manfred Honeck (conductor)

04:31 AM
Giovanni Antonio Pandolfi Mealli (1630-1670)
Sonata No 6 for violin and continuo 'La Sabbatina'
Andrew Manze (violin), Richard Egarr (harpsichord)

04:40 AM
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Prelude and Fugue in C major, K. 394, for piano
Christoph Hammer (fortepiano)

04:49 AM
Gabriel Charpentier (1925-2019)
Mass I
Tudor Singers of Montréal, Patrick Wedd (artistic director)

04:58 AM
Ludomir Różycki (1883-1953)
Stanczyk - Symphonic Scherzo Op 1
National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Janusz Przbylski (conductor)

05:07 AM
Jacques Ibert (1890-1962)
Trois Pieces Breves
Academic Wind Quintet

05:15 AM
Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921), Eugene Ysaye (arr.)
Caprice for violin and piano, arr. Ysaye after Saint-Saens
Minami Yoshida (violin), Jean Desmarais (piano)

05:24 AM
Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
Symphony No.5 in D major "Reformation" (Op.107)
Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Paavo Berglund (conductor)

05:52 AM
Knut Nystedt (1915-2014)
O Crux (Op.79)
Norwegian Soloists Choir, Grete Helgerød (conductor)

05:59 AM
Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Piano Sonata in C minor, D958
Francesco Piemontesi (piano)


TUE 06:30 Breakfast (m002vldm)
The finest classical music to elevate your morning

Tom McKinney presents Radio 3’s Breakfast show live from Salford. With birdsong, Bach Before 7 and the best in classical music. You can contact the show by emailing 3breakfast@bbc.co.uk

To listen on most smart speakers, just say 'Ask BBC Sounds to play 3 Breakfast’.


TUE 09:30 Essential Classics (m002vldp)
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 (m002vldr)
Sibelius's 2nd Symphony with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra

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

This week, Classical Live explores the world of the Coleridge-Taylors: daughter Avril and father Samuel; and we have exclusive concert recordings from star South Korean Concert pianist Seong-Jin Cho at LSO St Luke’s.

On today’s programme some Chopin Waltzes by Seong-Jin Cho, and he’s also joined by Sunwook Kim for Mozart’s Sonata for Piano Four-Hands in F Major. Ludovic Morlot conducts the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra in Sibelius’s Second Symphony, and we’ll hear from a major figure in the history of African-American music, Henry Thacker Burleigh.

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor
Petite Suite de Concert, Op. 77
BBC Concert Orchestra
Bramwell Tovey (conductor)

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Sonata for Piano Four-Hands in F major, K. 497
Seong-Jin Cho (piano)
Sunwook Kim (piano)

Antonio de Cabezón
Diferencias sobre la Gallarda Milanese
Ricercar Consort
Philippe Pierlot (director)

Francisco Correa de Arauxo
Tiento tercero de sexto tono, sobre la Batalla de Morales, FO. 23
Ricercar Consort
Philippe Pierlot (director)

Jean Sibelius
Symphony No 2 in D major, Op. 43
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Ludovic Morlot (conductor)

Frederic Chopin
Waltz No 11 in G-flat major, Op. 70 No. 1
Waltz No 10 in B minor, Op. 69 No. 2 03:56
Grande valse brillante in A minor, Op. 34 No. 2 06:08
Seong-Jin Cho (piano)

Avril Coleridge-Taylor
Sussex Landscape
Ulster Orchestra
Daniele Rustioni (conductor)

Henry Thacker Burleigh
Southland Sketches
Samuel Nebyu (violin)
Charles Abramovic (piano)


TUE 16:00 Composer of the Week (m002vldt)
Bela Bartok (1881-1945)

Painted Flowers

Bartók meets a fellow folk song collector.

Béla Bartók was regarded as one of Hungary’s greatest composers. His fellow countryman, the pianist Andras Schiff, called him “one of the giants in the history of music.” But he was also one of the founders of what we now call ethnomusicology, spending much of his time immersed in peasant life, collecting folk songs. As around him Europe was torn apart by conflict, Bartók found relief in rural life and took inspiration from these traditional tunes, incorporating them into his own compositions.

In today's programme, Donald Macleod discovers how Bartók met Zoltán Kodály, a kindred spirit who shared Bartók's love of folk song.

3 Hungarian Folksongs from Csik, BB 45b, Sz. 35a
Víkingur Ólafsson, piano

Eight Hungarian Folksongs
Polina Pasztircsak, soloist
Aleksandra Sasha Kozlov, piano

Allegro Barbaro
Cédric Tiberghien, piano

14 Bagatelles - excerpt
Cédric Tiberghien, piano

For Children
James Ehnes, violin
Andrew Armstrong, piano

Violin Concerto No. 1, BB48a, Sz 36: Andante sostenuto
Vilde Frang, violin
Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Mikko Franck

Produced by Alice McKee for BBC Audio Wales & West


TUE 17:00 In Tune (m002vldw)
John Tams and Sally Swanson perform the music of War Horse

The much-loved production of War Horse returns to the National Theatre this summer ahead of its 20th anniversary in 2027.
This will also be the first production of War Horse to be staged since the death of composer Adrian Sutton last year. John Tams, who worked closely with Adrian on the music, performs live on In Tune with singer and accordion player Sally Swanson. They are also joined by the co-director of War Horse, Tom Morris, to reflect on Adrian Sutton's life and music.
Katie also chats to Composer Oli Julian about his score for Amandaland ahead of the 2nd series.


TUE 19:00 Classical Mixtape (m002jtfh)
Take 30 minutes out with a relaxing classical mix

Take time out with a 30-minute soundscape of classical music from composers such as Debussy, Ravel and Vivaldi.

Producer: Zara Siddiqi


TUE 19:30 Radio 3 in Concert (m002vlf0)
Berlioz Symphonie fantastique

Chief guest conductor of the BBC Philharmonic, Anja Bihlmaier, joins the orchestra to present a programme which dares to look into dark corners as well as celebrate life-affirming moments.

"Big, Beautiful, Dark and Scary", by the orchestra's Pulitzer prize-winning Composer in Residence, is a bold description of her experience of the September 11, 2001 attack on the Twin Towers in New York. She was two blocks away when the planes hit, and this is a gripping, multi-layered portrayal of the atmosphere witnessed by so many.

Berlioz's "Symphonie fantastique" explores the darkest parts of the composer's own mind; an opium-addled nightmare of supernatural forces, unrequited love and his own death portrayed in music. A composer with an unparalleled knowledge and passion for the potential of every instrument in the orchestra, he used this to maximum effect, and his music still terrifies and astounds with drama and direct communication.

Bomsori Kim joins the orchestra for Tchaikovsky's virtuoso Violin Concerto. Singable melody and infectious dance combine to create optimistic music, and a brief moment of homesickness - he wrote the music in Geneva, away from home - colours the glowing centre of the piece, but the music leaves us overwhelmingly positive.

Recorded at Manchester's Bridgewater Hall on 25 April 2026 and presented by Mark Forrest.

Julia Wolfe: Big, Beautiful, Dark and Scary
Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto

8.15

Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique

Bomsori Kim (violin)
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
Anja Bihlmaier (conductor)

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


TUE 21:45 The Essay (m002vlf2)
The Insect Singers

2. Katydids - All Night Long

The Essay celebrates the musicality of Earth’s insect singers. 2. Katydids - All Night Long.

Naturalist and sound recordist Wil Hershberger hunts the sounds and songs of a multitude of North America's stridulating wonders for his ever-expanding website Songs of Insects. "Creating some kind of a sound was perhaps the best and only way for these species to communicate over long distances. And I'm sure it started out with some kind of incidental sound, tapping a body part against some hard surface, whatever it was. It finally evolved into this gorgeous, complex system that they use now, the richness of all of these different insects and their different songs. It's probably the first song of the planet Earth. And it's one of those things that gives you goosebumps, that this sound has lasted for hundreds of millions of years and still continues today."

Entomologist Charlie Woodrow, based at the University of Lincoln, journeys deep into tropical rain forests with head torch & ultrasound recording device in search of Spiny Devil Katydids or the elusive Supersonus. Some are almost invisible; many project their love songs into sonic reaches way beyond human hearing. "They are the most acoustically diverse group of organisms on the planet, in terms of just the pitch of sound alone. They vary from around 600 hertz, so a very low pitch kind of, kind of the frequency of communication for for human language, up to the most ultrasonic insect sounds in nature."

As told to producer Mark Burman

All Katydid recordings courtesy of Wil Hershberger, Lisa Rainsong ,Charlie Woodrow and the 'lost songs project'. Additional nightscapes recorded by Elliot Lang and George Vlad.
https://songsofinsects.com/identification-basics

A Storyscape Production for BBC Radio 3


TUE 22:00 Night Tracks (m002vlf4)
Meditative music for late night solace

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


TUE 23:30 'Round Midnight (m002c0jk)
A timeless track from 4hero

Violinist and vocalist Alice Zawadzki sits in for Soweto Kinch this week on ‘Round Midnight. This weekday late-night show celebrates the thriving UK jazz scene and spotlights the best new music alongside incredible acts from past decades.

Multi-instrumentalist Momoko Gill is back with the second artist she would like to give Flowers to. Tonight it’s the turn of one the UK’s jazz trumpet virtuosos.

Also in the programme, music from Rosie Frater-Taylor, Robert Mitchell, and Jon Balke.

WEDNESDAY 06 MAY 2026

WED 00:30 Through the Night (m002vlf8)
Music from Copenhagen celebrating spring

Lars Ulrik Mortensen directs Concerto Copenhagen from the harpsichord in music by Fischer, Vivaldi, Avison and Respighi. Jonathan Swain presents.

12:31 AM
Johann Caspar Ferdinand Fischer (1656-1746)
Ouverture in C no 1 from 'Le Journal du Printemps'
Concerto Copenhagen, Lars Ulrik Mortensen (harpsichord), Lars Ulrik Mortensen (director)

12:42 AM
Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741)
Violin Concerto in A, RV 335, 'Il Rosignuolo'
Fredrik From (violin), Concerto Copenhagen, Lars Ulrik Mortensen (harpsichord), Lars Ulrik Mortensen (director)

12:53 AM
Charles Avison (1709-1770),Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757)
Concerto grosso no 3 in D minor, after D. Scarlatti
Concerto Copenhagen, Lars Ulrik Mortensen (harpsichord), Lars Ulrik Mortensen (director)

01:04 AM
Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741)
Flute Concerto in D, RV 428 'Il Gardellino'
Torun Torbo (baroque flute), Concerto Copenhagen, Lars Ulrik Mortensen (harpsichord), Lars Ulrik Mortensen (director)

01:14 AM
Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741)
Violin Concerto no 1 in E, RV 269 'La Primavera - Spring'
Fredrik From (violin), Concerto Copenhagen, Lars Ulrik Mortensen (harpsichord), Lars Ulrik Mortensen (director)

01:24 AM
Ottorino Respighi (1879-1936),Karl Aage Rasmussen (b.1947)
Gli uccelli (The Birds), P. 154, suite for orchestra
Concerto Copenhagen, Lars Ulrik Mortensen (harpsichord), Lars Ulrik Mortensen (director)

01:43 AM
Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741)
Violin Concerto no 4 in F minor, RV 297 (Largo)
Concerto Copenhagen, Lars Ulrik Mortensen (harpsichord), Lars Ulrik Mortensen (director)

01:46 AM
Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757)
Sonata in D minor, L.413 - Allegro
Natalya Pasichnyk (piano)

01:49 AM
Frederick Jacobi (1891-1952)
Fantasy for viola and piano
Cathy Basrak (viola), William Koehler (piano)

01:59 AM
Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741)
Dixit Dominus in D major, RV.595
Choir of Latvian Radio, Riga Chamber Players, Sigvards Kļava (conductor)

02:31 AM
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Double Concerto in A minor for Violin and Cello, Op 102
Sølve Sigerland (violin), Ellen Margrete Flesjø (cello), Norwegian Radio Orchestra, Peter Szilvay (conductor)

03:04 AM
Modest Mussorgsky (1839-1881)
Pictures from an exhibition for piano
Fazil Say (piano)

03:36 AM
Friedrich Kunzen (1761-1817)
Overture to the play 'Husitterne' (The Hussites)
Danish Radio Concert Orchestra, Peter Marschik (conductor)

03:44 AM
Stanisław Moniuszko (1819-1872)
4 Choral Songs
Polish Radio Choir, Marek Kluza (director)

03:52 AM
Paul Müller-Zürich (1898-1993)
Capriccio for flute and piano, Op 75
Andrea Kollé (flute), Desmond Wright (piano)

04:00 AM
William Byrd (1543-1623)
Susanna fair
Emma Kirkby (soprano), Rose Consort of Viols, John Bryan (viol), Alison Crum (viol), Sarah Groser (viol), Roy Marks (viol), Peter Wendland (viol)

04:04 AM
Romero Aldemaro (1928-2007)
Fuga con pajarillo
Polish Radio Orchestra in Warsaw, Christian Vasquez (conductor)

04:13 AM
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Fantasy in C minor, K.396
Juho Pohjonen (piano)

04:21 AM
Giovanni Battista Fontana (1589-1630)
Sonata undecima for cornett, violin and bass continuo
Le Concert Brise

04:31 AM
Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Overture in D major 'in the Italian style', D.590
Stavanger Symphony Orchestra, Paul McCreesh (conductor)

04:39 AM
Fryderyk Chopin (1810-1849)
Three Mazurkas, Op 59
Kevin Kenner (piano)

04:49 AM
Artemy Vedel (1767-1808)
Choral concerto no 5 "I cried unto the Lord With my voice" (Psalm 142)
Platon Maiborada Academic Choir, Viktor Skoromny (conductor)

04:59 AM
John Field (1782-1837)
Rondo for piano and strings in A flat major, H.18A
Eckart Sellheim (pianoforte), Collegium Aureum, Franzjosef Maier (director)

05:07 AM
Johann Philipp Kirnberger (1721-1783)
Flute Sonata in G major
Konrad Hünteler (flute), Wouter Möller (cello), Ton Koopman (harpsichord)

05:17 AM
Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767)
Quartet in G major TWV.43:G7 (Concerto alla Polonese)
Aira Maria Lehtipuu (violin), Kore Ensemble

05:26 AM
Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904)
Serenade for wind instruments in D minor, Op 44
Canadian Chamber Ensemble, Raffi Armenian (director)

05:51 AM
Giovanni Maria Trabaci (1575-1647)
2 works for Arpa Doppia
Margret Köll (arpa doppia)

06:00 AM
Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
Symphony no 1 in C minor, Op 11
BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Thierry Fischer (conductor)


WED 06:30 Breakfast (m002vmx0)
Kickstart 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’.


WED 09:30 Essential Classics (m002vmx2)
The best classical morning music

Ian Skelly 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 (m002vmx4)
Alexander Glazunov's 4th Symphony

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

This week, Classical Live explores the world of the Coleridge-Taylors: daughter Avril and father Samuel; and we have exclusive concert recordings from star South Korean Concert pianist Seong-Jin Cho at LSO St Luke’s.

On today’s programme Samantha Ege, the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra and John Andrews kick things off with Avril Coleridge-Taylor’s Piano Concerto in F Minor; we’ll also hear from Samuel Coleridge-Taylor and Alexander Glazunov. Plus there is more from Seong-Jin Cho’s Chopin recital at LSO St Luke’s, as we’ll hear a selection of waltzes and a nocturne.

Avril Coleridge-Taylor
Piano Concerto in F minor
Samantha Ege (piano)
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
John Andrews (conductor)

Frederic Chopin
Nocturne in Eb major, Op. 9 No. 2
Waltz in E minor, Op. posth.
Waltz in F major, Op. 34 No. 3
Waltz in D-flat major, Op. 64 No. 1, ‘Minute’
Waltz in A-flat major, Op. 69 No. 1
Waltz in C-sharp minor Op. 64 No. 2
Seong-Jin Cho (piano)

Alexander Glazunov
Symphony No 4 in Eb Major, Op. 48
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
Martyn Brabbins (conductor)

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor
Ballade in A minor Op. 33
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Thomas Søndergård (conductor)


WED 15:00 Choral Evensong (m002vmx6)
St John's College, Cambridge

Live from the Chapel of St John’s College, Cambridge.

Responses: Smith
Psalms 32, 33, 34 (Rogers, Turle, Talbot)
First Lesson: Hosea 13 vv4-14
Canticles: St John’s Service (Cecilia McDowall) (world premiere)
Second Lesson: Corinthians 15 vv50-58
Anthem: A Sequence for St Michael (Howells)
Hymn: The strife is o’er (Victory)
Voluntary: Suite pour orgue Op 5 (Toccata) (Duruflé)

Christopher Gray (Director of Music)
Tingshuo Yang (Organ Scholar)

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


WED 16:00 Composer of the Week (m002vmx8)
Bela Bartok (1881-1945)

Bluebeard

Bartók recovers from romantic rejection.

Béla Bartók was regarded as one of Hungary’s greatest composers. His fellow countryman, the pianist Andras Schiff, called him “one of the giants in the history of music.” But he was also one of the founders of what we now call ethnomusicology, spending much of his time immersed in peasant life, collecting folk songs. As around him Europe was torn apart by conflict, Bartók found relief in rural life and took inspiration from these traditional tunes, incorporating them into his own compositions.

In today's programme, Donald finds out who would provide a salve for Bartók's heartache.

7 Sketches, BB 54, Sz. 44
Dejan Lazic, piano

Duke Bluebeard's Castle, Sz. 48, Op. 11
Szilvia Vörös, mezzo-soprano
Mika Kares, bass
Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Susanna Mälkki

Duke Bluebeard's Castle, Sz. 48, Op. 11
Gábor Bretz, bass
Rinat Shaham, soprano
Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, Karina Canellakis

Four Dirges, Op. 9a
Kabi Laretei, piano

Produced by Alice McKee for BBC Audio Wales & West


WED 17:00 In Tune (m002vmxb)
Oliver Wass and Huw Wiggin perform live

Harpist Oliver Wass and saxophonist Huw Wiggin play live on In Tune from their upcoming album, Elements.

Violinist Amandine Beyer chats to Katie about her recording of Vivaldi's Four Seasons as inspiration for a new dance work, Il Cimento dell’Armonia e dell’Inventione, which will be performed at Sadler's Wells in May.


WED 19:00 Classical Mixtape (m002vmxd)
Your daily classical soundtrack

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


WED 19:30 Radio 3 in Concert (m002vmxg)
Mozart's Requiem

Vocal soloists and choral forces join the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and conductor Riccardo Minasi for two compelling classical works.
As Haydn composed a mass for his royal patrons, Austria prepared to defend itself against Napoleon’s military advances. The bombardment seeped into Haydn’s music and the work’s title, ‘Mass in Time of War’. Following Haydn’s death, it was the Requiem by his late friend Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart that was chosen to be played at the state memorial.
Recorded at the Usher Hall in Edinburgh on 30 April 2026

Haydn: Missa in Tempore belli, in C major, H. 22/9

Interval

Mozart: Requiem in D minor, K626

Louise Alder - soprano
Hanna Hipp - mezzo-soprano
Julien Henric - tenor
Daniel Okulitch - bass-baritone
Scottish Chamber Orchestra
SCO Chorus (Gregory Batsleer, chorus director)
Riccardo Minasi - conductor

Kate Molleson - presenter
Laura Metcalfe - producer

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


WED 21:45 The Essay (m002vmxj)
The Insect Singers

3. Cicada Summer Song

The Essay celebrates the sheer musicality and noise of Earth’s loudest insect singers. 3. Cicada Summer Song.

Cicadas are the heavy metal section of the insect world. Billions can make as much noise as a jumbo jet with their vibrating tymbals. Emerging from the warming earth to shed their skins and sing their love songs all summer long. Celebrated by the ancients of China, Japan, Greece and the Maori of New Zealand. In the hot dawn of a Bangalore forest, engineer Rakesh Khanna captures a Cicada symphony triggered by the sun's rays. Poet and architect Phoebe Giannisi delves into the myths, poetry and love of cicada song, the Tettix of ancient Greece. In 21st-century New Zealand, bio-acoustician Julia Kaspar discovered a cupboard of earthly delights at the Tepapa Museum in Wellington. The cicada recordings of Charles Fleming, who, in the 1960s, enlisted his entire family & islanders in an early version of citizen science. Identifying and recording an extraordinary range of song that doubled New Zealand's species count.

Kithara Performance by Michael Levy.
Raga- Lalit Dawn Shenai performed by Bismillah Khan from the Coates Indian Music Collection
Double Syrinx - CALLISTA by Yannis Pantazis courtesy of the Seiklo Museum of Ancient Music
Charles Fleming Cicada recordings courtesy of Tepapa Museum.
https://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/topic/11106
Additional cicada recordings courtesy of Cicada Song EU
https://www.cicadasong.eu/

As told to series producer Mark Burman
Engineer: Duncan Thornley
A Storyscape production for Radio 3


WED 22:00 Night Tracks (m002vmxl)
Nocturnal music to bewitch the senses

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


WED 23:30 'Round Midnight (m002c0nv)
Something soulful from Sullivan Fortner

Violinist and vocalist Alice Zawadzki sits in for Soweto Kinch this week on ‘Round Midnight. This weekday late-night show celebrates the thriving UK jazz scene and spotlights the best new music alongside incredible acts from past decades.

Momoko Gill returns to celebrate another artist and living legend that she takes influence from. This evening, it’s the turn of an innovative Chicago-based guitarist.

Plus, there’s music from Patchwork Jazz Orchestra, Dinosaur, and Jaubi.

THURSDAY 07 MAY 2026

THU 00:30 Through the Night (m002vmxq)
Mozart, Mendelssohn and Schubert from France

Emmanuel Pahud is the soloist in Mozart's first Flute Concerto, performed with the Radio France Philharmonic Orchestra and conductor Riccardo Minasi. Excerpts from Mendelssohn's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' and Schubert's Overture in the Italian Style complete the programme. Jonathan Swain presents.

12:31 AM
Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Overture in the Italian Style, D.590
Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Riccardo Minasi (conductor)

12:39 AM
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Flute Concerto no 1 in G major, K.313
Emmanuel Pahud (flute), Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Riccardo Minasi (conductor)

01:06 AM
Claude Debussy (1862-1918)
Syrinx, for flute
Emmanuel Pahud (flute)

01:10 AM
Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
Excerpts from 'A Midsummer Night's Dream, Op 61'
Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Riccardo Minasi (conductor)

01:42 AM
Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Variations for flute and piano in E minor, D.802
Emmanuel Pahud (flute), Bruno Robilliard (piano)

01:57 AM
Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
Piano Quartet no 1 in C minor, Op 1
Harald Aadland (violin), Nora Taksdal (viola), Audun Sandvik (cello), Christian Ihle Hadland (piano)

02:25 AM
Franz Schubert (1797-1828), Max Reger (arr.)
Memnon, D541 (arr. Reger for voice and orchestra)
Dietrich Henschel (baritone), National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Jerzy Semkow (conductor)

02:31 AM
Michael Praetorius (1571-1621)
Psalm 116, from 'Angst der Hellen und Friede der Seelen'
Cardinal Complex, Jonas Gassmann (conductor)

02:54 AM
Luys de Narvaez (fl.1526-1549)
Los Seys libros del Delphin de musica (excerpts)
Hopkinson Smith (vihuela)

03:28 AM
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Romanze (Andante) from Eine Kleine Nachtmusik – Serenade in G major, K.525
RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra, Alexander Pitamic (conductor)

03:35 AM
Paul Dukas (1865-1935)
Villanelle for horn and orchestra
Esa Tukia (horn), Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Michael Adelson (conductor)

03:42 AM
Fryderyk Chopin (1810-1849)
Scherzo no 4 in E major
Dubravka Tomsic (piano)

03:54 AM
George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)
Aria: Cara sposa, amante cara from Rinaldo (Act 1 Scene 7)
Graham Pushee (counter tenor), Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, Paul Dyer (artistic director)

04:04 AM
Franz Schubert (1797-1828), Anton Webern (orch.)
6 Deutsche Tänze, D.820
Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra, Justin Brown (conductor)

04:13 AM
Charles Villiers Stanford (1852-1924)
3 Intermezzi, Op 13
Oleg Shebeta-Dragan (clarinet), Dominic Degavino (piano)

04:22 AM
Francisco Tárrega (1852-1909), Ruggiero Ricci (arr.)
Recuerdos de la Alhambra
Kerson Leong (violin)

04:26 AM
Leokadiya Kashperova (1872-1940)
Two Roses: No 1, from Au sein de la nature
Mengjie Han (piano)

04:31 AM
Stanisław Moniuszko (1819-1872)
Mountain Dance (from the opera 'Halka')
Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Szymon Kawalla (conductor)

04:36 AM
Karl Joachim Andersen (1847-1909)
Au Bord de la Mer for flute and piano, Op 9
Andrea Kollé (flute), Alexander Boeschoten (piano)

04:43 AM
Johann Heinrich Schmelzer (c.1620-1680)
Sonata in D major for 3 violins and continuo
Il Giardino Armonico

04:49 AM
Claude Debussy (1862-1918), Luc Brewaeys (arr.)
La cathedrale engloutie (no 10 from Preludes - Book 1)
Royal Flemish Philharmonic, Daniele Callegari (conductor)

04:56 AM
Johan Duijck (b.1954)
Cantiones Sacrae in honorem Thomas Tallis, Op 26, Book 1
Flemish Radio Choir, Johan Duijck (conductor)

05:06 AM
Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)
Keyboard Sonata no 52 in E Flat, Hob.XVI/52
Rudolf Buchbinder (piano)

05:26 AM
Gabriel Fauré (1845 - 1924)
La Bonne Chanson, Op 61
Isabel Pfefferkorn (mezzo soprano), Christian Altenburger (violin), Hyunjong Reents-Kang (violin), Jürg Dähler (viola), Stéphanie Meyer (cello), Cornelia Herrmann (piano)

05:51 AM
August de Boeck (1865-1937)
Violin Concerto
Kam Ning (violin), Vlaams Radio Orkest [Flemish Radio Orchestra], Marc Soustrot (conductor)

06:18 AM
Franz Liszt (1811-1886)
Legende no 1: St Francois d'Assise prechant aux oiseaux, S.175
Llŷr Williams (piano)


THU 06:30 Breakfast (m002vlgy)
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’.


THU 09:30 Essential Classics (m002vlh0)
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 (m002vlh2)
Beethoven's Eroica Symphony from Wales

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

This week, Classical Live explores the world of the Coleridge-Taylors: daughter Avril and father Samuel; and we have exclusive concert recordings from star South Korean Concert pianist Seong-Jin Cho at LSO St Luke’s.

Today’s programme starts with a piano quartet by Brahms and ends with a piano quintet by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor; and in between, there are exclusive live recordings of Beethoven’s Eroica Symphony and Mahler’s Blumine.

Johannes Brahms
Piano Quartet No 1 in G minor, Op. 25
Seong-Jin Cho (piano)
Andrej Power (violin)
Eivind Ringstad (viola)
David Cohen (cello)

Gustav Mahler
Blumine
Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra
Jonathan Nott (conductor)

Ludwig van Beethoven
Symphony No. 3 in Eb 'Eroica', Op. 55
BBC National Orchestra of Wales
Ryan Bancroft (conductor)

Frederic Chopin
Waltz in A-flat major, Op. 42
Grande Valse Brillante in A-flat major, Op. 34 No. 1
Grande Valse Brillante in E-flat major, Op. 18
Seong-Jin Cho (piano)

Avril Coleridge-Taylor
From the Hills
BBC Philharmonic
John Andrews (conductor)

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor
Piano Quintet in G minor, Op. 1
Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective


THU 16:00 Composer of the Week (m002vlh4)
Bela Bartok (1881-1945)

Wooden Prince

The world plunges into war, with Bartók's Hungary at the centre.

Béla Bartók was regarded as one of Hungary’s greatest composers. His fellow countryman, the pianist Andras Schiff, called him “one of the giants in the history of music.” But he was also one of the founders of what we now call ethnomusicology, spending much of his time immersed in peasant life, collecting folk songs. As around him Europe was torn apart by conflict, Bartók found relief in rural life and took inspiration from these traditional tunes, incorporating them into his own compositions.

In today's programme, as the world plunges into a war with Hungary right at the centre, Bartók finds his “life’s purpose” of collecting folk songs challenged, to say the least.

The Wooden Prince, Sz. 60
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Thomas Dausgaard

Village Scenes, Sz. 79
Budapest Radio Choir
Budapest Radio Orchestra, György Lehel

5 songs Op. 15
Julia Hamari, mezzo-soprano
Ilona Prunyi, piano

Hungarian Folksongs (5), for voice & orchestra, BB. 108, Sz. 101
Magdalena Kožená, mezzo-soprano
Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Simon Rattle

Produced by Alice McKee for BBC Audio Wales & West


THU 17:00 In Tune (m002vlh6)
The United Strings of Europe and Anna Clyne

Anna Clyne chats to Katie derham ahead of the world premiere of her new work, Sirens, composed for soloist Ben Goldscheider. The United Strings of Europe also perform live on In Tune ahead of their Southbank Centre debut.


THU 19:00 Classical Mixtape (m002vlh8)
Classical music for your journey

Tonight’s mixtape opens in the Appalachian Mountains with the first movement of Appalachian Spring by Aaron Copland. From there, Camille Saint-Saëns’s Romance carries us forward with effortless grace, leading into the delicate glow of Alexander Scriabin’s Prelude No. 3 in E major.

A brief moment of stillness follows with In monte Oliveti by Orlande de Lassus, before a haunting arrangement of Scarlatti's Sonata in A minor for harp. We turn to song without words: Felix Mendelssohn’s Lieder ohne Worte No. 6, “Frühlingslied” in A major. Tonight's Classical Mixtape ends with Mel Bonis, who traces the poignant arc of Ophelia’s story in music.

Produced by Zara Siddiqi
To listen on most smart speakers, just say 'Ask BBC Sounds to play Radio 3'.


THU 19:30 Radio 3 in Concert (m002vlhb)
Tchaikovsky's Symphony No.2

Sir Mark Elder returns to Manchester and is reunited with the Hallé and Hallé Choir in this fantastic programme of Russian music.

He opens the concert with Glinka’s dazzling, high-energy overture that captures the magical, adventurous spirit of his opera Ruslan and Ludmilla, which is followed by Stravinsky’s Song of the Nightingale – an effective musical illustration of both real and mechanical birdsong.

Based on the poem by Nikolay Nekrasov, Rachmaninov’s Spring follows a husband who, previously inflicted with murderous thoughts towards his unfaithful wife during the winter, is released from his frustration with the return of spring. After the interval, Tchaikovsky’s Second Symphony, known for its effective use of Ukrainian folksongs, provides a joyful end to the evening.

Presented by Tom McKinney live from the Bridgewater Hall, Manchester.

Glinka: Ruslan and Ludmilla Overture
Rachmaninov: Spring
Stravinsky: Song of the Nightingale
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No.2

Andrii Kymach (baritone)
Hallé Choir
Hallé Orchestra
Matthew Hamilton (choral director)
Sir Mark Elder (conductor)

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


THU 21:45 The Essay (m002vlhd)
The Insect Singers

4. Autumn Cricket Song

The Essay celebrates the musicality of Earth’s insect singers. 4. Autumn Cricket Song.

Perhaps the most beautiful of all insect song. A stridulation that begins in summer and edges into the melancholy of autumn. Their music has largely been lost in the UK. But elsewhere they sing from trees and amid the long grass with a song borne on the heat and penetrating the dusk like sweet magic. There are 5525 species of Grylloidea (True Crickets And Allies) and 331 of those still exist in China. Mr Fung aka Lars Fredriksson fell in love with their beautiful music as a student there. For centuries, they have been caged and kept both for fighting prowess and soothing song. Ancient manuals of instruction detail the care and feeding of crickets - even how to change their pitch with a tiny drop of resin. He has hunted for them in the Yellow Mountains and created cricket orchestras and understands their deep appeal. "There is the melancholy of the lone male who is singing to court a female that is not around or wants to attract a female. This is also at the end of your life, at autumn, is actually a euphemism for enjoying crickets."

Cricket Recordings courtesy of Lars Fredrikksen https://bolingo.org/cricket/index_eng.htm
Additional cricket recordings courtesy of Vyn Lee & Xeno Canto https://xeno-canto.org/
https://soundscapeofshanghai.myportfolio.com/work
Bug Music by David Rothenberg. Autumn Yearning By the Dresser (feat. Guo Gan) Songs From the Imperial Palace 2014

Series Producer Mark Burman

A Storyscape Production for Radio 3


THU 22:00 Night Tracks (m002vlhg)
Bewitching sounds for after dark

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


THU 23:30 'Round Midnight (m002c0hm)
One from Jasper Høiby

Violinist and vocalist Alice Zawadzki sits in for Soweto Kinch this week on ‘Round Midnight. 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, Alice has been joined Momoko Gill as her guest for Flowers. Rounding off her week, Momoko has one more bunch to give out and this time it's to a celebrated Palestinian sound artist.

FRIDAY 08 MAY 2026

FRI 00:30 Through the Night (m002vlhl)
Mozart from Rome

The Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia performs works by Mozart and an Italian premiere of Musica serena by Pēteris Vasks. Adriana Ferreira and Silvia Podrecca join the ensemble for Mozart's Concerto for flute and harp. Jonathan Swain presents.

12:31 AM
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Serenata notturna in D, K.239
Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Ottavio Dantone (conductor)

12:44 AM
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Concerto for Flute and Harp in C, K.299/277c
Adriana Ferreira (flute), Silvia Podrecca (harp), Orchestra dell'Academia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Ottavio Dantone (conductor)

01:14 AM
Jacques Ibert (1890-1962)
Entr'acte (encore)
Adriana Ferreira (flute), Silvia Podrecca (harp), Orchestra dell'Academia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Ottavio Dantone (conductor)

01:17 AM
Pēteris Vasks (b.1946)
Musica Serena
Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Ottavio Dantone (conductor)

01:27 AM
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Symphony no 38 in D, K.504 'Prague'
Orchestra dell'Academia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Ottavio Dantone (conductor)

01:58 AM
George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)
'Già che morir non posso' – aria from Radamisto
Delphine Galou (contralto), Les Ambassadeurs, Alexis Kossenko (director)

02:03 AM
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Violin Sonata no 1 in G major, Op 78
Veronika Eberle (violin), Francesco Piemontesi (piano)

02:31 AM
Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
Symphony no 4 in D minor, Op 120
Norwegian Radio Orchestra, Oleg Caetani (conductor)

03:02 AM
Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)
Trio for piano and strings in A minor
Altenberg Trio Vienna

03:27 AM
Michael Haydn (1737-1806)
Cantata: Lauft, ihr Hirten allzugleich (Run ye shepherds, to the light)
Salzburger Hofmusik, Wolfgang Brunner (director)

03:37 AM
Gustav Holst (1874-1934)
The Perfect Fool, Op 39, ballet music
Argovia Philharmonic, Douglas Bostock (conductor)

03:49 AM
Robert de Visée (c.1655-1733)
Suite in D minor
Eduardo Egüez (lute)

04:04 AM
Guillaume Dufay (1397-1474)
Balsamus et munda cera
Orlando Consort

04:09 AM
Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971)
Symphonies of Wind Instruments
Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Katowice, Domingo Hindoyan (conductor)

04:19 AM
Morton Feldman (1926-1987)
Christian Wolff in Cambridge for chorus
BBC Singers, Stephen Cleobury (conductor)

04:22 AM
Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)
Pavane pour une infante defunte
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Jorge Mester (conductor)

04:31 AM
Anonymous
El piove & Ave maris stella
Clare Wilkinson (mezzo soprano), Musica Antiqua of London, John Bryam (viole), Alison Crum (viole), Roy Marks (viole), Philip Thorby (viole), Philip Thorby (director)

04:39 AM
Susan Spain-Dunk (1880-1962)
The Farmer's Boy
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Stephen Bell (conductor)

04:46 AM
Ernest Chausson (1855-1899)
Pavane & Forlane from Quelques danses for piano, Op 26
Bengt-Åke Lundin (piano)

04:56 AM
Edward Elgar (1857-1934)
Cello Concerto in E minor, Op 85
Anastasia Kobekina (cello), George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra, Alexandre Bloch (conductor)

05:25 AM
Paolo Benedetto Bellinzani (1690-1757)
Recorder Sonata in D minor, Op 3 no 2
Lea Sobbe (recorder), Halldór Bjarki Arnarson (harpsichord)

05:39 AM
Louise Farrenc (1804-1875)
Symphony no 3 in G minor, Op 36
Berner Kammerorchester, Graziella Contratto (conductor)

06:15 AM
Giacomo Carissimi (1605-1674)
Dixit Dominus
Capella Regia Musicalis, Robert Hugo (organ), Robert Hugo (director)


FRI 06:30 Breakfast (m002vl5z)
Ease into the day with classical music

Tom McKinney with great classical music to get your morning started, and a special celebration of Sir David Attenborough at 100 including some of his favourite music and archives moments of him talking about nature and the music that means the most to him.

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 (m002vl63)
Essential Classics marks Sir David Attenborough's 100th brithday

Georgia Mann plays the best in classical music, with a special celebration today of Sir David Attenborough at 100, including some of his favourite music that he has listened to around the world while making nature series, a special playlist inspired by his favourite birdsong, and archive moments of Sir David talking about nature and the music that means the most to him.

1000 Playlister starter: a special edition inspired by David Attenborough's favourite birdsong. 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 (m002vl67)
Rachmaninov's 4th Piano Concerto with Vadim Kholodenko

Linton Stephens showcases the best performances from the UK and beyond, and a special celebration today of Sir David Attenborough at 100, including some of his favourite classical pieces and archive moments of him talking passionately about the music he loves.

This week Classical Live explores the world of the Coleridge-Taylors: daughter Avril and father Samuel; and we have exclusive concert recordings from star South Korean Concert pianist Seong-Jin Cho at LSO St Luke’s.

On today’s programme, it’s our last visit to the exclusive LSO St Luke’s recitals by South Korean pianist Seong-Jin Cho and friends; and we’ve more music from Samuel and Avril Coleridge-Taylor. We will indulge in Rachmaninov’s 4th Piano Concerto and with a choice of pieces from Sir David Attenborough marking his 100 birthday, including William Walton’s First Symphony and music about nature and the mysteries of the woodlands by Sibelius.

William Walton
Symphony No.1 in Bb minor
BBC Philharmonic
John Wilson (conductor)

Benjamin Britten
Hymn to Saint Cecilia
Tenebrae
Nigel Short (conductor)

Sergei Rachmaninov
Piano Concerto No. 4 in G minor, Op. 40
Vadym Kholodenko, piano
BBC National Orchestra of Wales
Gemma New (conductor)

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor
Four African Dances, Op. 58
Samuel Nebyu (violin)
Charles Abramovic (piano)

Georges Bizet
L’Arlesienne Suite No. 2
Orchestre Nationale de France
Yutaka Sado (conductor)

Wolfgang Rihm
Mehrere Kurze Waltzes: Nos 1, 2, 4, 5, 13 and 18
Seong-Jin Cho (piano)
Sunwook Kim (piano)

Avril Coleridge-Taylor
To April
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
John Andrews (conductor)

Jean Sibelius
Tapiola, Op. 112
BBC National Orchestra of Wales
Ryan Bancroft (conductor)


FRI 16:00 Composer of the Week (m002vl6c)
Bela Bartok (1881-1945)

Night Music

Bartók faces a big decision: stay in Hungary or leave forever?

Béla Bartók was regarded as one of Hungary’s greatest composers. His fellow countryman, the pianist Andras Schiff, called him “one of the giants in the history of music.” But he was also one of the founders of what we now call ethnomusicology, spending much of his time immersed in peasant life, collecting folk songs. As around him Europe was torn apart by conflict, Bartók found relief in rural life and took inspiration from these traditional tunes, incorporating them into his own compositions.

In today's programme, Donald Macleod finds Bartók facing big decisions: whether to part company with his wife: and whether to stay in Hungary, the country whose music he’d dedicated a lifetime to, or leave it behind.

44 Duos for Two Violins, BB 104, Sz. 98
Andras Keller, violin
Janos Pilz, violin

Out of Doors, Sz. 81
Radu Lupu, piano

Mikrokosmos, Book V
Cédric Tiberghien, piano

String Quartet No. 6, Sz 114
Heath Quartet

Piano Concerto No. 3, BB 127, Sz. 119
Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, piano
BBC Philharmonic, Gianandrea Noseda

Produced by Alice McKee for BBC Audio Wales & West


FRI 17:00 In Tune (m002vl6j)
Katie Derham in conversation with Dame Joan Bakewell to celebrate Sir David Attenborough at 100

In a special interview to celebrate Sir David Attenborough's 100th birthday, Katie Derham talks to Dame Joan Bakewell about working with Sir David in the early years of BBC Two. Katie also introduces some of Sir David's favourite pieces of classical music and moments from the archives.
There's also live music from violinist Ben Nabarro, soprano Claire Booth and pianist Tim Horton, who play live in the studio ahead of the Sheffield Chamber Music Festival.

To listen on most smart speakers, just say 'Ask BBC Sounds to play Radio 3'.


FRI 19:00 Classical Mixtape (m002vl6l)
Attenborough at 100

A specially curated sequence of some of Sir David Attenborough's favourite music tracks, as part of the BBC's celebration of Attenborough's 100th birthday today. The sequence includes tracks that Attenborough loved and took with him to listen to on his many trips across the world making nature series, including the poignant trio from Mozart's Cosi fan tutte, the aria from Bach's Goldberg Variations, and a traditional Paraguyan song played on the harp, the Bell Bird. Also in the mix, a couple of short introductions from Attenborough himself, and some atmospheric soundtrack music from his nature programmes.


FRI 19:30 Friday Night is Music Night (m002bg2f)
80th anniversary of VE Day

The BBC Concert Orchestra, conductor Richard Balcombe, the Central Band of the Royal Air Force, conductor Wing Commander Richard Murray and soloists commemorate the 80th anniversary of VE Day last year, with music, readings and a first hand account from Joyce Terry, who entertained the troops as part of the Ivy Benson Band - the first civilians in Berlin in 1945.

Recorded at Alexandra Palace Theatre in March 2025.

Presented by Petroc Trelawny and Squadron Leader Amy Casey.

Coates: Calling all Workers
Goodwin arr MacTaggert: Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines
Mitch Leigh: The Impossible Dream
Medley arr. Wiffin/Stubbs: Medley of Second World War songs
John Williams: Saving Private Ryan - Hymn to the Fallen
Amanda McBroom: The Rose
Abreu: Tico Tico
Kenneth Alwyn: Fighter Command March

INTERVAL

Vaughan WIlliams: Shining Sword
Walton: Battle of Britain - March and Siegfried Music
Jimmy McHugh: Coming In on a Wing and a Prayer
Elgar: Nimrod (Enigma Variations)
Duke, arr Charlie Parker: April in Paris
Arlen/Rodgers & Hart, arr Laidler and Hunt: The Other Side of the Rainbow
Peter Hope: Speedbird Salutes the Allied Armed Forces
Darewski/Lockton The Army, the Navy and the Air Force

Singers: Corporal Philippa Hartley and Sergeant Matthew Walker
Flute: Air Specialist (Class 1) Ross Houston
Saxophone: Corporal Jonny Faull
Central Band of the Royal Air Force
Conductor: Wing Commander Richard Murray
BBC Concert Orchestra
Conductor: Richard Balcombe


FRI 21:45 The Essay (m002vl6n)
The Insect Singers

5. Good Vibrations - Treehoppers

The Insect Singers sound their last with a hidden world of astonishing dynamic range. All on the self-contained world of a plant stem. 5. Good Vibrations - Treehoppers.

Through the science of biotremology, Rex Cocroft and a handful of others have been revealing the extraordinarily sonourous world of vibrational communication by the sometimes bizarre, often beautiful, branch of Cicadmorpha - the Treehoppers. Tiny, yet able to resonate through a blade of grass - transforming it into a green amplifier - or a leaf or plant stem as soon as they hatch out from the egg. Whole societies existing on a single plant communicating their mating calls and warnings and collectively making decisions through their ability to sound every part of their body. Rex Cocroft, now at the University of Missouri, had harboured musical dreams as a student before returning to his first love of the natural world. His entry into this little-studied world came as an extraordinary revelation.

"It was music, it was a sound I had never heard before. Just about everything I heard was completely new, not just not heard by me but really anybody. The truth is, the world is much richer and more beautiful than we ever imagined because the world created by singing insects within our plants is so beautiful and a deep mystery."

As told to producer Mark Burman

All Treehopper recordings courtesy of Rex Cocroft
Music excerpts - Tree Hop from Bug Music by David Rothenberg, Buzz-Music in Harmony with Nature-Treehopper by Superfam Membracoidea Collective

A Storyscape Production for Radio 3


FRI 22:00 Late Junction (m002vl6r)
Attenborough at 100: The Wild Life of Sound

On Sir David Attenborough's 100th birthday, Verity Sharp presents a mixtape that celebrates the ways in which recorded sound and acts of listening-imagining can bring us into a close relationship with other species. Assembled as a collaboration between artist and researcher Rebecca Lennon and writer Ella Finer, the mixtape moves through musical and sonic worlds that variously abstract, reimagine and commune with human and more than human presences. Breath, vibration, rhythm, waggle - we meet the heartbeat of a swan, the voice of a whale, the purr of a cheetah, the sonorous lives of bees, foxes and street dogs. Finer’s concept of “the wild life of sound” speaks to something that the sonic and the creaturely realms share in common: a freedom from ownership, a resistance to neat categorisation, a space where connection can happen.

Produced by Alex Yates
A Reduced Listening production for BBC Radio 3


FRI 23:30 'Round Midnight (m002c0vb)
George Nelson’s Mixtape

Violinist and vocalist Alice Zawadzki sits in for Soweto Kinch this week on ‘Round Midnight. This weekday late-night show celebrates the thriving UK jazz scene and spotlights the best new music alongside incredible acts from past decades.

Alice’s Friday night mixtape guest is the photographer, author, and lecturer George Nelson. George is the curator of leading London-based gig series Moment’s Notice, which has featured artists including Courtney Pine, Yazz Ahmed, and Bex Burch. The nights feature a first set of a trio and a duo, each performing entirely improvised music.

In the spirit of Moment’s Notice, tonight's mixtape features a selection of music by artists performing in duos and trios.