SATURDAY 18 JULY 2026
SAT 00:30 Through the Night (m002ynqk)
Pianissimo!
Winners of the Géza Anda Competition perform concertos by Haydn, Beethoven and Mozart with the Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra and conductor Gábor Takács-Nagy. Penny Gore presents.
12:31 AM
Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)
Keyboard Concerto no 6 in D, Hob. XVIII:11
Mihály Berecz (piano), Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra, Gábor Takács-Nagy (conductor)
12:50 AM
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Piano Concerto no 2 in B flat, Op 19
Ilya Shmukler (piano), Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra, Gábor Takács-Nagy (conductor)
01:19 AM
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Piano Concerto no 15 in B flat, K. 450
Dmitry Yudin (piano), Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra, Gábor Takács-Nagy (conductor)
01:43 AM
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Symphony No. 40 in G minor, K. 550
Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra, Gábor Takács-Nagy (conductor)
02:08 AM
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Presto from 'Divertimento in F, K. 138/125c'
Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra, Gábor Takács-Nagy (conductor)
02:10 AM
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Duet: Bei Mannern, from Die Zauberflote
Isabel Bayrakdarian (soprano), Russell Braun (baritone), Canadian Opera Company Orchestra, Richard Bradshaw (conductor)
02:14 AM
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Divertimento in B flat major, K.439b`2
Bratislava Wind Trio
02:31 AM
Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904)
String Quartet no 11 in C major, Op 61
Apollon Musagète Quartet
03:09 AM
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Cantata: Ich habe genug, BWV.82a
Raphael Höhn (tenor), Café Zimmermann
03:32 AM
Alexander Glazunov (1865-1936)
Mazurka in F sharp minor, Op 25 no 2
Stefan Lindgren (piano)
03:39 AM
Frederick Delius (1862-1934)
On hearing the first cuckoo in spring for orchestra (RT.
6.19) (1911/12)
Symphony Nova Scotia, Georg Tintner (conductor)
03:47 AM
Gaspar Sanz (1640-1710)
Xácaras and Canarios (Instrucción de música sobre la guitara española" )
Eduardo Egüez (guitar)
03:56 AM
Johann Christoph Pez (1664-1716)
Passacaglia & Aria (presto)
Carin van Heerden (recorder), Ales Rypan (recorder), L'Orfeo Baroque Orchestra, Michi Gaigg (director)
04:04 AM
Henry Eccles (c.1675-1745)
Sonata for double bass, continuo and strings
Joel Quarrington (double bass), Eric Robertson (harpsichord), Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Timothy Vernon (conductor)
04:13 AM
Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
Abegg variations Op 1 for piano
Annika Treutler (piano)
04:21 AM
Hector Berlioz (1803-1869)
Overture from Beatrice et Benedict
Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Jukka-Pekka Saraste (conductor)
04:31 AM
Giuseppe Tartini (1692-1770)
Symphony in A major
I Cameristi Italiani
04:40 AM
Dora Pejačević (1885-1923)
Four piano pieces
Ida Gamulin (piano)
04:50 AM
Stevan Mokranjac (1856-1914)
First Song-Wreath
Belgrade Radio and Television Chorus, Mladen Jagušt (conductor)
04:59 AM
Anonymous
Middle Ages Suite
Bolette Roed (recorder), Alpha
05:09 AM
Carl Maria von Weber (1786-1826)
Peter Schmoll und sein Nachbarn (Overture)
Netherlands Radio Chamber Orchestra, Antoni Ros-Marbà (conductor)
05:19 AM
Zoltán Kodály (1882-1967)
Adagio for viola and piano in C major
Morten Carlsen (viola), Sergej Osadchuk (piano)
05:28 AM
Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971)
Pulcinella, ballet suite
Bern Symphony Orchestra, Gemma New (conductor)
05:52 AM
Leonhardt Lechner (c.1553-1606)
Deutsche Spruche von Leben und Tod
Danish National Radio Choir, Stefan Parkman (conductor)
06:03 AM
César Franck (1822-1890)
Violin Sonata in A major, M.8
Alina Ibragimova (violin), Cédric Tiberghien (piano)
SAT 06:30 Radio 3 Breakfast (m002yy1d)
Roll out of bed into 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 (m002yy1g)
A Proms Special! Nicholas Collon, Prog Rock and Jessie Montgomery
Tom Service with guests, stories and the perfect classical soundtrack for the weekend!
Tom sits down with conductor Nicholas Collon to talk about his life in music. An ever-present at the Proms, for the past few years he has lead his Aurora Orchestra in their hugely popular memorised performances. This year, it's the challenge of Mahler's hour-long and vast First Symphony - he talks to Tom about founding the orchestra 20 years ago and his musical journey to everything he does today, from Aurora to the Finnish Radio Symphony and beyond!
Tom also chats to broadcaster Stuart Maconie and prog rock royalty Carl Palmer, of Emerson, Lake & Palmer, ahead of tonight's Prog Rock Prom and explores the surprising links between classical and prog rock music!
And our focus on musical Creators continues with the American composer Jessie Montgomery, whose emotional piece These Righteous Paths has its UK premiere at the Proms this week with the cellist Abel Selaocoe.
SAT 12:00 Earlier... with Jools Holland (m002c1v4)
The pianist and bandleader picks his favourite classical music
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 CPE Bach, Aaron Copland and Caroline Shaw, with performances by Nicolas Altstaedt and Benny Goodman. His guest is the singer and songwriter Sam Brown who introduces music she loves by Debussy, Prokofiev and Karl Jenkins.
To listen on most smart speakers just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Earlier with Jools Holland".
SAT 13:00 Key Changes: Radio 3's Essential History of Classical Music (m002yy1j)
1741: Messiah at Sea
1741, Irish Sea. On a rough crossing from Holyhead to Dublin, George Frideric Handel carries the manuscript of a masterpiece. London has turned away from his Italian operas, and he is looking for a different kind of success - with a new oratorio.
In Dublin, Messiah is performed for the first time, drawing on English text, choral power and a more direct style of storytelling. Now, Handel must adapt to changing tastes and he creates a work that moves beyond the theatre into churches, concert halls and public life. From its charitable beginnings to its enduring place in choral culture, Messiah becomes one of the most widely performed works in classical music.
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 Episodes 9 to 16, Gillian welcomes Suzannah Lipscomb to help her explore the fascinating stories and rich sound worlds of the Late Renaissance and Baroque.
Producer: Zerlina Vulliamy
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
George Frideric Handel: Messiah – Hallelujah
Dunedin Consort
John Butt (conductor)
George Frideric Handel: Water Music – Alla Hornpipe
Irish Baroque Orchestra
Peter Whelan (conductor)
George Frideric Handel: Deidamia – “Due bell’alme”
Simone Kermes
Il Complesso Barocco
Alan Curtis (conductor)
George Frideric Handel: Messiah – “For Unto Us a Child is Born”
Dunedin Consort
John Butt (conductor)
George Frideric Handel: Messiah – “He Was Despised”
Hilary Summers (alto)
Brandenburg Consort
Stephen Cleobury (conductor)
George Frideric Handel: Messiah – “And He Shall Purify”
The Sixteen
Harry Christophers (conductor)
Samuel Coleridge‑Taylor: Hiawatha’s Wedding Feast – “Awake, Beloved”
Arthur Davies (tenor)
Welsh National Orchestra
Kenneth Alwyn (conductor)
George Frideric Handel: Messiah – “O Thou That Tellest Good Tidings to Zion”
Stevie Wonder
Take 6
George Frideric Handel: Messiah – “All We Like Sheep”
The Sixteen
Harry Christophers (conductor)
To listen to this programme using most smart speakers, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Key Changes."
SAT 14:00 Record Review (m002yy1l)
BBC Proms Composer: Dowland with Kirsten Gibson and Andrew McGregor
Andrew McGregor with the best of the week's new classical releases, joined by Kirsten Gibson who picks her 5 favourite recordings by this week's Proms Composer, John Dowland.
2.30pm
BBC Proms Composer: Dowland
Early music expert Kirsten Gibson picks her 5 essential recordings by this week's Proms Composer, John Dowland.
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3.40pm
Record of the Week
Andrew's top pick of the week's new releases.
SAT 16:00 Sound of Cinema (m002yy1n)
Beautiful Biopics and Blockbuster Scores
Join Edith Bowman for an exploration into standout film scores and unforgettable cinematic music.
In this week's episode, conductor Hugh Tieppo-Brunt discusses the music from J. M. W. Turner’s biopic ‘Mr Turner’. As well as this, we’ll hear from singer/songwriter, record producer and composer Mike Batt as he gives his ‘Pick of the Flicks’ – the soundtrack to a 1962 epic biographical drama film directed by David Lean.
Plus, expect the usual blend of timeless film scores and brand new soundtrack choices.
SAT 17:00 This Classical Life (m002yy1q)
Jess Gillam with... Pavel Kolesnikov
Jess Gillam hosts a listening party with the pianist Pavel Kolesnikov. Born in Siberia, he's performed on the world's most prestigious stages. A former BBC New Generation Artist, in 2025 David Hockney invited Pavel and his partner and fellow pianist Samson Tsoi to curate a series of concerts inspired by the artist's life and work.
Pavel's musical picks include Stravinsky's opera The Rake's Progress, a song by Nina Simone, Brahms arranged for piano by Busoni, and the Russian singer Zemfira.
To listen on most smart speakers, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play BBC Radio 3".
SAT 18:00 Music Planet (m002yy1s)
Gisela João’s Return Journey
Lopa Kothari presents the latest in global folk and roots music. Ahead of her performance at this year's WOMAD festival, Portuguese fado singer Gisela João shares two tracks: one for the road, and one that takes her home. Plus, new music drawing on the Korean folk storytelling tradition of pansori from Seoul-based band Leenalchi. And a track from a fresh collection of traditional music from the Thar desert of Sindh, Pakistan.
Produced by Gabriel Francis & Silvia Malnati
A Reduced Listening production for BBC Radio 3
To listen on most smart speakers, just say: “Ask BBC Sounds to play Music Planet.”
SAT 19:00 New Generation Artists (m002yzh2)
2026 Proms season showcase - Hana Chang
Georgia Mann introduces specially recorded performances from some of Radio 3's current New Generation Artists. In this first programme in a series of programmes over the summer months, Santiago Sanchez sings a popular song from Argentina, and jazz saxophonist Emma Rawicz pays homage to the Brazilian multi-instrumentalist Hermeto Pascoal.
Fritz Kreisler: Aucassin and Nicolette
Hana Chang (violin), Jonathan Ware (piano)
Carlos Guastavino: La siempre viva
Santiago Sanchez (tenor), Marcelino Echeverría (guitar)
Emma Rawicz: Chorinho pra Hermato
Emma Rawicz (tenor sax) with Jonny Mansfield (vibraphone) Dominic Ingham (violin) Will Sach (double bass) Jack Thomas (drums)
Clara Schumann: 3 Romances, Op 22
Hana Chang (violin), Elisabeth Brauss (piano)
Balakirev: Spanish Song
Erika Baikoff (soprano), Sholto Kynoch (piano)
For over a quarter of a century, Radio 3’s prestigious talent scheme has provided an invaluable springboard for many of today’s leading international soloists and chamber music ensembles. Indeed, a list of the former alumni reads like a Who’s Who of the international music scene, with names like Lisa Batiashvili, Igor Levit, Sean Shibe, Alison Balsom, Anastasia Kobekina and the Belcea Quartet.
SAT 19:30 BBC Proms (m002yy1v)
2026
Prog Rock: A Fanfare for the Common Man
Live at the BBC Proms: the BBC Concert Orchestra and conductor Robert Ames celebrate prog rock with BBC Radio 6 Music presenter Stuart Maconie and special guests.
Presented by Elizabeth Alker live from the Royal Albert Hall, London.
Copland, arr Robert Ames: Fanfare for the Common Man
Ian Anderson arr Sam Gale: Living in the Past
Mike Ratledge, arr Gale: Out-Bloody-Rageous
Tony Banks, arr Adam Dennis: A Trick of the Tail; arr. Sam Gale: I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe); arr. Christian Balvig: Northern Lights(5 mins)
Justin Hayward, arr. Fiona Brice: Nights in White Satin
Peter Hammill, arr. Adam Dennis: Refugees
Yes, arr. CHAINES: And You and I – Close to the Edge – Siberian Khatru
Mike Oldfield: Tubular Bells, Part One (excerpts)
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8.25pm
Interval: David Baddiel grew up listening to Genesis. He talks about his musical tastes and recent projects including writing a family memoir and the Radio 4 series about the meaning of Englishness and football fandom: Sixty Years of Hurt.
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8.45pm
Keith Emerson, arr. Robert Ames: Karn Evil 9: 1st Impression, Part 2
Osibisa, arr. Christian Balvig: Komfo
Frank Zappa, arr. Christian Balvig: Peaches en Regalia
Thijs van Leer, arr. Christian Balvig: Sylvia
King Crimson, arr. Fiona Brice: 21st Century Schizoid Man - I Talk to the Wind - Court of the Crimson King
Ian Anderson: Reasons for Waiting
Tony Banks, arr. Fiona Brice: Entangled; arr Sam Gale: On Reflection
The Incredible String Band, arr. Christian Balvig: Maker of Islands
Richard Wright, arr. Fiona Brice: Great Gig in the Sky
Rick Davies, arr. Christian Balvig: Crime of the Century
Greg Lake, adapted from Mussorgsky, arr. Robert Ames: The Great Gates of Kiev
Guy Garvey
Jane Weaver
Gruff Rhys
Carl Palmer, drums
Peter Hammill, vocals
BBC Concert Orchestra
Robert Ames, conductor
Prog rock exploded the tight boundaries of pop music, amplifying it with new symphonic scope, ambition and influences and creating spectacular visual and musical statements. The Proms celebrates this pioneering, British-driven movement in a concert celebrating classic tracks on an orchestral scale. Award-winning broadcaster and BBC Radio 6 Music host Stuart Maconie presents brand new orchestral arrangements of music by ELP, Genesis, Jethro Tull, Mike Oldfield, Renaissance and others.
SAT 22:30 New Music Show (m002yy1x)
50th Birthday Bash
Next Thursday marks the 50th birthday of no less than three of the new music world's leading composers: Øyvind Torvund (Norway), Cassandra Miller (Canada) and David Fennessy (Ireland), all born on 23rd July 1976. To celebrate and reflect on this remarkable new music coincidence, Kate Molleson brings the three of them together to compare notes on their musical and personal journeys that have led them to where they are today. Along the way, we'll hear two works by each composer in a wide-ranging sequence encompassing orchestral, electronic, vocal, chamber and solo writing.
Music featured:
Øyvind Torvund: The Exotica Album (excerpts); A Walk into the Future
Cassandra Miller: La Donna; Guide
David Fennessy: Trio No. 2 (In memoriam Spencer Boney); The Room is a Resonator
To listen on most smart speakers, just say “Ask BBC Sounds to play New Music Show.”
SUNDAY 19 JULY 2026
SUN 00:30 Through the Night (m002yy1z)
The Lover Friend's Love for the Beloved - Proms 2024
The BBC Symphony Orchestra under Dalia Stasevska performs the UK premiere of Julius Eastman's Second Symphony. Titled The Faithful Friend: The Lover Friend's Love for the Beloved, Eastman presented the score to his ex-boyfriend in 1983 but it remained unperformed until 2018. Jonathan Swain presents.
12:31 AM
Julius Eastman (1940-1990)
Symphony no 2 'The Faithful Friend'
BBC Symphony Orchestra, Dalia Stasevska (conductor)
12:42 AM
Gustav Mahler (1860-1911)
Rückert-Lieder
Jamie Barton (mezzo soprano), BBC Symphony Orchestra, Dalia Stasevska (conductor)
01:03 AM
Jean Sibelius (1865-1957)
Symphony no 5 in E flat major
BBC Symphony Orchestra, Dalia Stasevska (conductor)
01:34 AM
William Walton (1902-1983)
Where does the uttered music go?
BBC Singers, Stephen Layton (conductor)
01:40 AM
Morton Feldman (1926-1987)
Christian Wolff in Cambridge for chorus
BBC Singers, Stephen Cleobury (conductor)
01:44 AM
Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958)
Symphony no 2 'A London Symphony'
BBC Symphony Orchestra, Leonard Slatkin (conductor)
02:31 AM
Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)
String Quartet in G minor, Op 74 no 3 'Rider'
Quatuor Ebène
02:52 AM
Boris Papandopulo (1906-1991)
Dodolice: traditional folk ceremony for soprano, piano and girls' choir
Slovenian Chamber Choir, Miljenka Grdan (soprano), Vladimir Krpan (piano), Vladimir Kranjčević (conductor)
03:12 AM
Einojuhani Rautavaara (1928-2016)
Cantus Arcticus, Concerto for Birds and Orchestra, Op 61
Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Jukka-Pekka Saraste (conductor)
03:31 AM
Gertrude van den Bergh (1793-1840)
Rondeau, Op 3
Frans van Ruth (piano)
03:38 AM
Ferenc Farkas (1905-2000)
5 Ancient Hungarian Dances for wind quintet
Galliard Ensemble
03:48 AM
Francis Poulenc (1899-1963)
Sonata for violin and piano
Fanny Clamagirand (violin), Nicolas Bringuier (piano)
03:55 AM
Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)
Pavane pour une infante défunte
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Jorge Mester (conductor)
04:02 AM
Henry Purcell (1659-1695)
Rejoice in the Lord alway, Z.49 (Bell Anthem)
Alex Potter (counter tenor), Samuel Boden (tenor), Matthew Brook (bass), Collegium Vocale Gent, Philippe Herreweghe (director)
04:11 AM
Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904)
Prague Waltzes, B.99
Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, Štefan Róbl (conductor)
04:19 AM
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Piano Sonata in D major, K.311
Mateusz Borowiak (piano)
04:31 AM
John Field (1782-1837)
Nocturne in B flat (H.37); Nocturne in E minor (H.46)
Barry Douglas (piano), Camerata Ireland
04:39 AM
Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck (1562-1621)
O Domine Jesu Christe
Netherlands Chamber Choir, Unknown, Paul Van Nevel (conductor)
04:46 AM
George Gershwin (1898-1937), Percy Grainger (transcriber)
Love Walked In (transcribed for piano by Percy Grainger)
Dennis Hennig (piano)
04:50 AM
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Concerto for violin and string orchestra no 1 in A minor, BWV.1041
Sigiswald Kuijken (violin), La Petite Bande, Sigiswald Kuijken (director)
05:05 AM
Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179)
Alma Redemptoris Mater & Ave Maria, O auctrix vite
Sequentia, Elizabeth Gaver (medieval fiddle), Elisabetta de Mircovich (medieval fiddle)
05:16 AM
Ruth Gipps (1921-1999)
Jane Grey Fantasy, Op 15
Scott Dickinson (viola), BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Teresa Riveiro Bohm (conductor)
05:28 AM
Francesca Caccini (1587-1640)
Maria, dolce Maria - from Il primo libro delle musiche a una, e due voci
Suzie Le Blanc (soprano), Tragicomedia, Stephen Stubbs (director)
05:31 AM
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Trio in B flat major, Op 11
Thomas Norup Jensen (clarinet), Henrik Brendstrup (cello), Jørgen Larsen (piano)
05:52 AM
Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990)
Chichester psalms arranged for treble, chorus, organ, harp & percussion
Choeur de Radio France, Unknown (treble), Yves Castagnet (organ), Unknown (harp), Unknown (percussion), Vladislav Chernuchenko (conductor)
06:12 AM
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Horn Concerto no 4 in E flat major, K.495
James Sommerville (horn), CBC Vancouver Orchestra, Mario Bernardi (conductor)
SUN 06:30 Radio 3 Breakfast (m002yxyp)
Breakfast with the best classical music
Mark Forrest presents Radio 3’s Breakfast show live from Salford. You can contact the show by emailing 3breakfast@bbc.co.uk.
To listen on most smart speakers, just say 'Ask BBC Sounds to play 3 Breakfast’.
SUN 09:00 Sunday Morning (m002yxyr)
Two hours of classical sparkle
This week, Sarah’s playlist journeys along the Mississippi River with Delius, dances a dumka with Dvořák, and sparks joy in the finale of Mozart's Clarinet Concerto.
Today’s Choral Reflection is Elgar's heartfelt Deep in My Soul, a haunting setting of poetry by Lord Byron, and Sunday Morning also celebrates the sounds of nature with a Sunday Sequence inspired by birdsong. Plus, a host of musical discoveries that have caught Sarah’s ear this week, including a new release that captures a different side of some well-loved composers...
A Tandem Production for BBC Radio 3.
SUN 11:00 BBC Proms (m002yxyt)
2026
Black Dyke Band
Live at the BBC Proms: Black Dyke Band & Nicholas Childs plus euphoniumist David Childs in Berlioz, Gregson and Rodrigo.
Presented by Petroc Trelawny, live from the Royal Albert Hall, London
Judith Bingham: Four Minute Mile
Hector Berlioz (arr. Frank Wright): Overture ‘Le carnaval romain’
Gustav Holst: A Moorside Suite
Peter Graham: Force of Nature
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11.45am
Interval: Petroc Trelawny is joined by Lt Col Lauren Petritz-Watts, the first ever female director of the Royal Corps of Army Music, and Philip Goodwin of the Black Dyke Band to discuss the traditional roots of brass bands and their cultural importance today in bringing communities together.
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12:05pm
Edward Gregson: Symphony in two movements
John Williams (arr. Andrew Duncan): Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone – Hedwig’s Theme
Joaquín Rodrigo (arr. Kevin Bolton): En Aranjuez con tu amor (after the Adagio of ‘Concierto de Aranjuez’)
Klaus Badelt/Hans Zimmer (arr. Stephen Roberts): Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest – Wheel of Fortune
Philip Wilby: Paganini Variations
David Childs (euphonium)
Black Dyke Band
Nicholas Childs (conductor)
Yorkshire’s esteemed Black Dyke Band shows off its virtuosity and versatility in a programme of contemporary pieces, arrangements of popular classics and excerpts from soundtracks by John Williams and Hans Zimmer.
SUN 13:30 Music Map (m002yxyw)
Weber's Invitation to the Dance
Sara Mohr-Pietsch explores Berlioz's orchestral arrangement of "Invitation to the Dance," originally composed by Weber.
This piece tells the story of two dancers: the invitation is made, accepted and at the end of their dance, they go their separate ways.
Tune in for music that celebrates the joy of dancing, including waltzes from Chopin and Coleridge-Taylor, and a wildly popular arrangement from the latest series of Bridgerton. We'll also shine a spotlight on the cello, with works from Sally Beamish and JS Bach, along with music with a surprising ending, featuring beloved symphonies from Haydn and Vaughan Williams.
To listen to this programme on most smart speakers, just say: 'Ask BBC Sounds to play Music Map'.
SUN 15:00 Sofi Jeannin - Singing Together (m001wywb)
Telling Stories and Forming Identities
Nothing expresses the human spirit better than the human voice and the collective singing experience magnifies this a thousand times. No-one knows this better than Sofi Jeannin, Chief Conductor of BBC Singers and the famous children’s choir the Maitrise de Radio France. Over her career she has worked with singers across all ages and genres and has an unparalleled knowledge of music for choruses, choirs and community singing.
In this first episode Sofi explores singing together as a vehicle for storytelling - the music which entertains us as well as telling our own human story. Her exploration ranges From Verdi's famous Va Pensiero chorus which was sung spontaneously as the composer's cortege passed through the streets of Italy to the folk music of Corsican farmers and the shanties of Cornish fishermen. She revisits Haydn's colourful story-telling in his Oratorios and sheds light on Corpus Christi, with Cat and Mouse; a whimsical showpiece by Peter Maxwell Davies featuring rhymes, puzzles, horticultural advice and recipes as well as an intervention by a Cat and Mouse. Sofi also highlights the importance of songs as a vehicle for social justice through the work of Gabriela Lena Frank in Mexico which encourages young Latino children to take pride in their culture.
Trad/Quartel - How Can I Keep from Singing
Trad - Uti Vår Hage
Verdi -Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves from Nabucco
Trad - A Paghjella di l’Impiccati
Tormis - Curse Upon Iron
Sibelius - Finlandia
Trad - Drunken Sailor
Smyth - March of the Women
Jacquet - Tricotez les fillettes de France
Williams - World without End Cantata
Haydn - The Heavens are Telling from The Creation
Maxwell Davies - Corpus Christi with Cat & Mouse
Frank -Chicano-phobia from Jalapeno Blues
Trad. - Oshanna
Trad. -Nkolo na biso Yesu
Beethoven - Symphony No. 9
Presenter: Sofi Jeannin
Producer: Lindsay Pell
SUN 16:00 Jazz Record Requests (m002yxyy)
Nina Simone to The Bad Plus
Alyn Shipton features jazz music of all styles as selected by you including the soulful voice of Nina Simone, contemporary jazz from The Bad Plus and British jazz from Humphrey Lyttleton and George Melly.
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 (m00255cm)
Early Music in Iceland
Hannah French is joined by musicologist and conductor Árni Heimir Ingólfsson to explore early Icelandic music - from the 13thC century poems known as “Eddas” to the influence of mainland Europe which shaped Iceland’s rich sacred choral traditions, that still continue today.
To listen to this programme using most smart speakers just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play The Early Music Show".
SUN 18:00 Choral Evensong (m002yn6d)
Norwich Cathedral
From Norwich Cathedral.
Responses: Rose
Office Hymn: For all thy Saints, O Lord (Mount Ephraim)
Psalm 78 (Mann, Cooke, Nares, Stanford)
First Lesson: Esther 6 vv1-13
Canticles: Bairstow in D
Second Lesson: 2 Corinthians 8 vv1-15
Anthem: For lo, I raise up (Stanford)
Voluntary: Sonata No 1 in C sharp minor (Allegro appassionato) (Harwood)
Ashley Grote (Organist & Master of Music)
Graham Thorpe (Assistant Master of Music & Sub-Organist)
Recorded 8 July.
To listen on most smart speakers just say “ask BBC Sounds to play Choral Evensong”.
SUN 19:00 BBC Proms (m002yxz0)
2026
Boléro: Rhythms of Spain
Live at the BBC Proms: Spanish National Orchestra, conducted by David Afkham, with guitarist Rafael Aguirre perform Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez and Ravel’s Boléro.
Presented by Petroc Trelawny, live from the Royal Albert Hall, London.
Maurice Ravel: Alborada del gracioso
Manuel de Falla (orch. Francisco Coll): Fantasia baetica
Joaquín Rodrigo: Concierto de Aranjuez
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7:55pm
Interval: Theatre director and musicologist Jeremy Sams joins Petroc to explore the music of Manuel de Falla and the fascination of Spain in the imagination of French composers.
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8.15pm
Manuel de Falla: The Three-Cornered Hat (Suites Nos. 1 & 2)
Maurice Ravel: Boléro
Rafael Aguirre (guitar)
Spanish National Orchestra
David Afkham (conductor)
The Spanish National Orchestra makes its Proms debut under Chief Conductor David Afkham, bringing with it a set of heat-soaked musical postcards. Spanish guitar phenomenon Rafael Aguirre joins the ensemble for Rodrigo’s much-loved Concierto de Aranjuez – an elegant, idealised vision of Spain’s past. The orchestra transforms itself into a giant guitar in two Ravel classics: the pulsing seguidilla serenade Alborada del gracioso and the hypnotic thrum of Boléro. The adventures of a miller, his beautiful young wife and an amorous magistrate become a vivid series of dances in music from Manuel de Falla’s ballet The Three-Cornered Hat.
SUN 22:00 Night Tracks (m002yxz2)
Harmonious music for nighttime listening
Sara Mohr-Pietsch presents an adventurous, immersive soundtrack for late-night listening, from classical to contemporary and everything in between.
SUN 23:30 Unclassified (m002yxz4)
Prog rock ripples and Jane Weaver's Listening Chair
Elizabeth Alker journeys through new music from today’s most exciting genre-defying artists. This week - with a nod to the previous night's BBC Proms concert celebrating the pioneering sounds of British prog rock - Elizabeth offers up a selection of tracks by contemporary artists who have built on the musical legacy of acts like ELP, Gong and King Crimson, including London trio Vanishing Twin and Australia's King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard.
Also, fresh from her performance at the Prog Rock: A Fanfare for the Common Man Prom, singer-songwriter Jane Weaver is in the Unclassified Listening Chair to share a classic track that transports her.
Produced by Jamie Green
A Reduced Listening production for BBC Radio 3
MONDAY 20 JULY 2026
MON 00:30 Through the Night (m002yxz6)
Chopin Piano Concertos
Pianists Leonora Armellini and Alexander Gadjiev perform with the Polish Radio Orchestra in Warsaw. Jonathan Swain presents.
12:31 AM
Fryderyk Chopin (1810-1849)
Piano Concerto no 2 in F minor, Op 21
Alexander Gadjiev (piano), Polish Radio Orchestra in Warsaw, Michal Klauza (conductor)
01:03 AM
Fryderyk Chopin (1810-1849)
Prelude in C sharp minor, Op 45
Alexander Gadjiev (piano)
01:08 AM
Fryderyk Chopin (1810-1849)
Piano Concerto no 1 in E minor, Op 11
Leonora Armellini (piano), Polish Radio Orchestra in Warsaw, Michal Klauza (conductor)
01:49 AM
Fryderyk Chopin (1810-1849)
Etude no 13 in A flat, Op 25 no 1 'Harp'
Leonora Armellini (piano)
01:52 AM
Gabriel Fauré (1845 - 1924)
Dolly, Op 56 suite for piano duet
Leonora Armellini (piano), Alexander Gadjiev (piano)
01:56 AM
Ignacy Feliks Dobrzyński (1807-1867)
String Quartet no 1 in E minor, Op 7
Camerata Quartet
02:26 AM
Sergey Prokofiev (1891-1953)
The Child Juliet (from Romeo and Juliet - suite no 2, Op 64)
Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Jerzy Maksymiuk (conductor)
02:31 AM
Param Vir (b.1952)
Cave of luminous mind for orchestra
BBC Symphony Orchestra, Sakari Oramo (conductor)
02:53 AM
Hector Berlioz (1803-1869)
Les nuits d'ete, Op 7 (Six songs on poems by Theophile Gautier)
Randi Stene (mezzo soprano), Norwegian Radio Orchestra, Bernhard Gueller (conductor)
03:23 AM
Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179)
Instrumental piece
Sequentia, Ensemble for Medieval Music
03:28 AM
Alessandro Scarlatti (1660-1725)
Concerto Grosso no 1 in F minor
Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, Jeanne Lamon (conductor)
03:36 AM
Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)
Divertimento in C major, London Trio no 1 (Hob.4 no 1)
Carol Wincenc (flute), Philip Setzer (violin), Carter Brey (cello)
03:46 AM
Franz Liszt (1811-1886)
Sonetto 123 di Petrarca (S.158 No.3): Io vidi in terra angelici costumi
Richard Raymond (piano)
03:54 AM
Johann Strauss II (1825-1899)
An der schonen, blauen Donau (The Blue Danube) - waltz, Op 314
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Donald Runnicles (conductor)
04:05 AM
Franz Schubert (1797-1828), Friedrich Schiller (author)
Der Alpenjager - The Alpine hunter, D.588b
Christoph Prégardien (tenor), Andreas Staier (pianoforte)
04:11 AM
Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)
Sonatine, arr. flute, bassoon and harp
Andrea Kollé (flute), Maria Wildhaber (bassoon), Sarah Verrue (harp)
04:22 AM
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893), Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (arranger)
Andante Cantabile (String Quartet, Op 11)
Shauna Rolston (cello), Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, Mario Bernardi (conductor)
04:31 AM
Antonio Bertali (1605-1669)
Sonata Prima a 3 for two recorders, bass viol and bass continuo
Le Nouveau Concert
04:38 AM
Albertus Groneman (c.1710-1778)
Trio Sonata in E minor
Gert Oost (organ)
04:45 AM
Edward Elgar (1857-1934)
Serenade for strings, Op 20
BBC Concert Orchestra, Stephen Cleobury (conductor)
04:57 AM
Enrique Granados (1867-1916)
Valse Poetico
Enrique Granados (piano)
05:08 AM
George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)
Gentle Morpheus, son of night (Calliope's song) from 'Alceste'
Emma Kirkby (soprano), Academy of Ancient Music, Andrew Manze (director)
05:17 AM
Stanisław Moniuszko (1819-1872)
String Quartet no 2 in F major
Camerata Quartet
05:35 AM
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Symphony no 5 in C minor, Op 67
Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Jukka-Pekka Saraste (conductor)
06:08 AM
Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767)
Deus, judicium tuum, TWV 7:7 - grand motet after Psalm 71
Schola Cantorum Basiliensis Vocal Ensemble, Schola Cantorum Basiliensis Instrumental Ensemble, Jörg-Andreas Bötticher (conductor), Jörg-Andreas Bötticher (harpsichord)
MON 06:30 Radio 3 Breakfast (m002yy41)
Birdsong and Bach to banish those morning blues
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 (m002yy43)
The ideal mix of classical 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 a masterpiece.
To listen on most smart speakers say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Essential Classics”
MON 13:00 Classical Live (m002yy45)
Ravel’s Piano Concerto at the BBC Proms
Elizabeth Alker celebrates summer music-making in the UK and beyond.
In the first of this year’s summer editions of Classical Live, we hear highlights from the First Night of the Proms, when pianist Yunchan Lim joined the BBC Symphony Orchestra and conductor Dalia Stesevska for Ravel’s G major Piano Concerto. The BBC Proms loom large in our listening across the season, but we’ll also be popping into other summer festivals across Europe; today we visit the Schubertiade Schwarzenberg in Austria and the opening concert of the Leipzig Bach Festival in Germany. Also, every day this week there's a Mozart String Quintet from the elegant rococo Leitheim Castle in Bavaria, with violist Violaine Despeyroux joining Quatuor Voce.
From the First Night of the Proms 2026:
Aaron Copland
Fanfare for the Common Man
BBC Symphony Orchestra
Dalia Stasevska (conductor)
George Gershwin
An American in Paris
BBC Symphony Orchestra
Dalia Stasevska (conductor)
From Leipzig Bach Festival 2026:
Claudio Monteverdi
Vespro della Beata Virgine (excerpt)
Marie Luise Werneburg (soprano)
Patricia Nolz (soprano)
Lucile Richardot (mezzo-soprano)
Nick Pritchard (tenor)
Robert Pohlers (tenor)
Volker Arndt (tenor)
Frederick Long (bass)
St Thomas' Choir, Leipzig
Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra
Andreas Reize (conductor)
From the First Night of the Proms 2026:
Maurice Ravel
Piano Concerto in G major
Yunchan Lim (piano)
BBC Symphony Orchestra
Dalia Stasevska (conductor)
From Leitheim Castle Concerts 2026:
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
String Quintet No. 6 in E flat major, K. 614
Quatuor Voce
Violaine Despeyroux (viola)
From the Schubertiade Schwarzenberg 2026:
Franz Schubert
Piano Sonata No. 18 in G major, D. 894
Francesco Piemontesi (piano)
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 (m002yy47)
George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)
The Art of Procuring a Patron
Donald Macleod begins a week exploring Handel’s relationships with the powerful figures who shaped his career. In Italy, the young composer made his name among aristocratic and ecclesiastical patrons, navigating a world of salons, academies and private performances. Rome offered opportunity despite restrictions on opera, while figures such as Cardinal Ottoboni and the Marchese Ruspoli provided both platforms and protection. Handel’s independence, however, remained striking: even while relying on patronage, he avoided being tied too closely to any single employer.
Dixit Dominus
George Frideric Handel
Harry Christophers, conductor
The Sixteen
Tu fedel? Tu costante?: Recitative and aria
George Frideric Handel
Carlotta Colombo, soprano
Fantazyas
Rodrigo: Overture, recitative and aria
George Frideric Handel
Il Complesso Barocco
Alan Curtis, conductor
Il Trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno: Overture
George Frideric Handel
Le Concert d’Astrée
Emmanuelle Haïm, conductor
Il Trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno: “Pure del cielo”
George Frideric Handel
Sabine Devieilhe, soprano
Pygmalion
Raphaël Pichon, conductor
La Resurrezione: excerpts
George Frideric Handel
Les Musiciens du Louvre
Marc Minkowski, conductor
Produced by Ellie Ajao for BBC Audio Wales
MON 17:00 In Tune (m002yy49)
The 7am Choir from All Saints Cathedral, Nairobi perform live
Petroc Trelawny welcomes the 7AM Choir from All Saints Cathedral, Nairobi, to the studio. Led by Choir director Anthony Mwangi, they perform live, ahead of the continuation of their Summer 2026 UK tour, taking them to Macclesfield (21/07), Southwell Minster (22/07) Lichfield Cathedral (23/07), Birmingham Conservatoire (24/07), Coventry Cathedral (26/07), and Westminster Abbey (27/07).
Petroc is also joined by lutenist Thomas Dunford, to discuss his upcoming appearance at the Royal Albert Hall in London with Ensemble Jupiter and tenor Laurence Kilsby, as part of the BBC Proms.
MON 19:00 BBC Proms (m002yy4c)
2026
Beethoven's Ninth Symphony
Live at the BBC Proms: the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra and Gianandrea Noseda in Bach and Beethoven. They are joined by cellist Abel Selaocoe for a UK premiere of music by Jessie Montgomery.
Presented by Martin Handley, live from the Royal Albert Hall, London
Johann Sebastian Bach: Fantasia and Fugue in G minor, BWV 542 (orch. Andrew Davis)
Jessie Montgomery: These Righteous Paths (BBC co-commission: UK premiere)
c.
7.45pm
Interval: Helen Wallace joins Martin Handley live at the Royal Albert Hall to look ahead to the big highlights in the upcoming week at the BBC Proms.
c.
8.10pm
Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 in D minor, 'Choral'
Abel Selaocoe (cello)
Leah Hawkins (soprano)
Stephanie Wake-Edwards (mezzo-soprano)
Martin Muehle (tenor)
Derek Welton (bass)
Philharmonia Chorus
BBC Philharmonic
Gianandrea Noseda (conductor)
Genre-defying South African cellist Abel Selaocoe returns as soloist in the UK premiere of American composer Jessie Montgomery's 'These Righteous Paths' - inspired by her late mother, the poet and playwright Robbie McCauley. The concert opens with Bach's mighty Fantasia and Fugue in G minor in Andrew Davis's colourful orchestral arrangement. After the interval comes the monumental power of Beethoven's 'Choral' Symphony: a musical cry for freedom and brotherhood that culminates in the radiant 'Ode to Joy'.
MON 22:00 Night Tracks (m002yy4f)
Blissful sounds for night owls
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 (m002yy4h)
Joy Guidry’s 4/4
This week, Soweto welcomes American bassoonist and composer Joy Guidry as his 4/4 guest. She is an acclaimed musician and performance artist whose work combines her avant-garde classical training with experimental electronic, ambient music, and spiritual jazz. Born in Houston, Texas, she first became interested in music through her exposure to gospel music at church and has a deep love of storytelling.
From Monday to Thursday, Joy is celebrating some of her most treasured albums on 4/4. To begin the week, she picks an icon of spiritual jazz.
Also in the programme there’s music from Charles Lloyd, Shabaka and Emma Smith.
‘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.
To listen on most smart speakers, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Round Midnight".
TUESDAY 21 JULY 2026
TUE 00:30 Through the Night (m002yy4k)
The Sound of the North
The St Gallen Symphony Orchestra is joined by violinist Henning Kraggerud for a concert of Norwegian, Danish and Icelandic music. Presented by Jonathan Swain.
12:31 AM
Niels Wilhelm Gade (1817-1890)
Echoes of Ossian, Op 1
St Gallen Symphony Orchestra, Modestas Pitrėnas (conductor)
12:45 AM
Edvard Grieg (1843-1907), Henning Kraggerud (arranger), Bernt Simen Lund (arranger)
Violin Sonata no 3 in C minor, Op 45 arr for violin and orchestra
Henning Kraggerud (violin), St Gallen Symphony Orchestra, Modestas Pitrėnas (conductor)
01:09 AM
Henning Kraggerud (b.1973)
Improvisation
Henning Kraggerud (violin)
01:14 AM
Anna Þorvaldsdóttir (b.1977)
Aeriality
St Gallen Symphony Orchestra, Modestas Pitrėnas (conductor)
01:28 AM
Niels Wilhelm Gade (1817-1890)
Symphony no 1 in C minor, Op 5 'On Sjølund’s Beautiful Plains'
St Gallen Symphony Orchestra, Modestas Pitrėnas (conductor)
02:01 AM
Franz Berwald (1796-1868)
Septet in B flat major
Niklas Andersson (clarinet), Henrik Blixt (bassoon), Hans Larsson (horn), Jannica Gustafsson (violin), Håkan Olsson (viola), Jan-Erik Gustafsson (cello), Maria Johansson (double bass)
02:25 AM
Johan Halvorsen (1864-1935)
Triumphal Entry of the Boyars
Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, Uri Mayer (conductor)
02:31 AM
Johannes Ockeghem (1410-1497)
Missa prolationum
Hilliard Ensemble, Paul Hillier (director)
03:05 AM
Mikhail Mikhaylovich Ippolitov-Ivanov (1859 - 1935)
Caucasian Sketches - orchestral suite, Op 10
Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, Uri Mayer (conductor)
03:27 AM
Fryderyk Chopin (1810-1849)
Variations in E major on a German National Air (op posth)
Ludmil Angelov (piano)
03:35 AM
Franz Liszt (1811-1886)
Orpheus - symphonic poem S.98 for orchestra
Hungarian State Orchestra, János Ferencsik (conductor)
03:47 AM
Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber (1644-1704)
Violin Sonata no 6 in C minor
Daniel Sepec (violin), Hille Perl (viola da gamba), Lee Santana (theorbo), Michael Behringer (organ)
04:00 AM
Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958)
Fantasia on a theme by Thomas Tallis for double string orchestra
BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Tadaaki Otaka (conductor)
04:18 AM
Francesco Corbetta (1615-1681)
Folias
Simone Vallerotonda (guitar)
04:25 AM
Stanisław Moniuszko (1819-1872)
Mazurka from the opera 'Halka'
Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Szymon Kawalla (conductor)
04:31 AM
Antonio Soler (1729-1783)
Fandango
Fredrik From (violin), Benjamin Scherer Quesada (violin), Teodoro Baù (viola d'arco), Hager Hanana (cello), Joanna Boślak-Górniok (harpsichord), Dagmara Kapczyńska (harpsichord), Gwennaëlle Alibert (harpsichord), Bolette Roed (recorder), Komalé Akakpo (dulcimer)
04:38 AM
Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868)
Quartet for flute, clarinet, horn and bassoon no 6 in F major
Vojtech Samec (flute), Jozef Luptacik (clarinet), Jozef Illéš (french horn), Frantisek Machats (bassoon)
04:49 AM
Dora Pejačević (1885-1923), Rainer Maria Rilke (author)
Liebeslied, Op 39
Katia Markotich (mezzo soprano), HRT Symphony Orchestra, Mladen Tarbuk (conductor)
04:55 AM
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Concerto for violin and string orchestra no 1 in A minor, BWV.1041
Sigiswald Kuijken (violin), La Petite Bande, Sigiswald Kuijken (director)
05:09 AM
Nicolas Gombert (c.1495-c.1560)
Media vita in morte sumus a6
BBC Singers, Bo Holten (conductor)
05:16 AM
Alexander Glazunov (1865-1936)
Lyric poem in D flat major, Op 12
West Australian Symphony Orchestra, Vladimir Verbitsky (conductor)
05:27 AM
Guillaume Tessier (fl.1550-1600)
In a grove most rich of shade - from "A Musicall Banquet"
Paul Agnew (tenor), Christopher Wilson (lute)
05:30 AM
Benjamin Britten (1913-1976)
Piano Concerto, Op 13
Robert Leonardy (piano), Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Saarbrücken, Stanisław Skrowaczewski (conductor)
06:03 AM
Valborg Aulin (1860-1928)
String Quartet in F major
Tale String Quartet
TUE 06:30 Radio 3 Breakfast (m002yxkf)
Launch the day with classical music
Tom McKinney presents Radio 3’s Breakfast show live from Salford. With birdsong, Bach Before 7 and the best in classical music. You can contact the show by emailing 3breakfast@bbc.co.uk.
To listen on most smart speakers, just say 'Ask BBC Sounds to play 3 Breakfast’.
TUE 09:30 Essential Classics (m002yxkh)
Refresh your morning with classical 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 a masterpiece.
To listen on most smart speakers say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Essential Classics”
TUE 13:00 Classical Live (m002yxkk)
De Falla's Three-Cornered Hat from the BBC Proms
Elizabeth Alker celebrates summer music-making in the UK and beyond.
Throughout the season, Classical Live features highlights from the BBC Proms, the world’s greatest classical music festival. Today, we hear from the players of the Spanish National Orchestra, whose debut Prom shone the spotlight on music inspired by their homeland, including the two orchestral suites Manuel de Falla made from his ballet score The Three-Cornered Hat. We return to the 2026 Schubertiade Schwarzenberg in Austria to hear Schubert from baritone Konstantin Krimmel as well as pianist Francesco Piemontesi playing Liszt. Also, every day this week, there's a Mozart String Quintet from the elegant rococo Leitheim Castle in Bavaria, with violist Violaine Despeyroux joining Quatuor Voce.
From the BBC Proms 2026:
Maurice Ravel
Alborada del gracioso
Spanish National Orchestra
David Afkham (conductor)
From the Schubertiade Schwarzenberg 2026:
Franz Liszt
Years of Pilgrimage (1st Year, Switzerland – Parts 1-5)
Francesco Piemontesi (piano)
From Leitheim Castle Concerts 2026:
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
String Quintet No. 2 in C minor, K. 406
Quatuor Voce
Violaine Despeyroux (viola)
From the BBC Proms 2026:
Manuel de Falla
The Three-Cornered Hat (Suites 1 & 2)
Spanish National Orchestra
David Afkham (conductor)
From the Schubertiade Schwarzenberg 2026:
Franz Schubert
Der Zwerg, D. 771
Konstantin Krimmel (baritone)
Ammiel Bushakevitz (piano)
Franz Schubert
Symphony No. 4 in C minor, D417 ‘Tragic’
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
Riccardo Muti (conductor)
From the First Night of the Proms 2026:
Gerald Finzi
For Saint Cecilia
Thomas Atkins (tenor)
BBC Singers
BBC Symphony Chorus
BBC Symphony Orchestra
Dalia Stasevska (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 (m002yxkm)
George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)
The Elector and/or the King
Donald Macleod follows Handel’s move north to Hanover and his increasingly decisive drift towards London. Appointed to the Elector’s court, he secured generous terms - including the freedom to travel - and wasted little time in doing so. London proved irresistible: success with Rinaldo made him a sensation, and the pull of the city soon outweighed his duties back in Germany. Handel’s returns to Hanover became brief and reluctant, as he repeatedly slipped back across the Channel in search of opportunity. The situation took an unexpected turn when his employer, the Elector Georg Ludwig, inherited the British throne as George I - leaving Handel, now firmly established in London, dependent once again on the favour of the very patron from whom he had struggled to run away...
Eternal Source of Light Divine
Elin Manahan Thomas, soprano
Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment
Harry Christophers, conductor
In den angenehmen Büschen (Nine German Arias)
Emma Kirkby, soprano
London Baroque
Rinaldo: Overture
Freiburger Barockorchester
René Jacobs, conductor
Silla: Overture
London Handel Orchestra
Denys Darlow, conductor
Il pastor fido: Sol nel mezzo risona del core
Allan Clayton, tenor
The Mozartists
Ian Page, conductor
Water Music Suite No. 2 in D major
The English Concert
Trevor Pinnock, conductor
Produced by Ellie Ajao for BBC Audio Wales
TUE 17:00 In Tune (m002yxkq)
The Paddington Trio play live
The Paddington Trio perform live on In Tune ahead of appearing at the King’s Lynn Festival.
TUE 18:00 BBC Proms (m002yxks)
2026
Also sprach Zarathustra
Live at the BBC Proms: the BBC Philharmonic and John Storgårds in music by Richard Strauss. They are joined by Sueye Park for Sibelius's Violin Concerto.
Presented by Martin Handley, live from the Royal Albert Hall, London.
Betsy Jolas: Tales of a Summer Sea (UK premiere)
Jean Sibelius: Violin Concerto in D minor
c.
6.55pm
Interval: Composer Anne Dudley won an Academy award for her film score to The Full Monty. She joins Martin to talk about the differences in writing for orchestra, pop and to pictures.
c.
7.20pm
Richard Strauss: Also sprach Zarathustra
Sueye Park (violin)
BBC Philharmonic
John Storgårds (conductor)
'Sensational' 2025 Sibelius Competition-winner Sueye Park makes her Proms debut, joining John Storgårds and the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra as soloist in Sibelius's Violin Concerto. All fire and ice, a love song for the composer's own instrument, it's the Romantic concerto 'par excellence': deeply personal and powerfully expressive. Sibelius's Nordic lakes meet the choppy ocean waters of Betsy Jolas's 'Tales of a Summer Sea', and later the dark forests and tectonic stirrings of Strauss's Nietzsche-inspired tone-poem 'Also sprach Zarathustra', its blazing orchestral sunrise made famous by Stanley Kubrick's '2001: A Space Odyssey'.
TUE 20:10 New Generation Artists (m002yxkv)
2026 Proms season showcase - Emma Rawicz
Rising star saxophonist and composer Emma Rawicz joins forces with celebrated pianist and composer Gwilym Simcock at St George's, Bristol for an evening of rare and beautiful music, reflecting their collaboration’s swiftly-blossoming depth and freedom.
They perform their own tracks and also arrangements of well-known tunes from the American Songbook, that also feature on their debut album. This is intuitively joyful, acrobatic music underpinned by their shared musical intelligence – emotionally gripping improvised music in a pared-down, chamber music setting.
TUE 22:15 BBC Proms (m002yxkx)
2026
Late Night Baroque
Live at the BBC Proms: Jupiter Ensemble makes its Proms debut in a programme celebrating two jewels of the English Renaissance and Baroque – John Dowland & Henry Purcell.
Presented by Hannah French, live from the Royal Albert Hall, London
John Dowland: Come again, sweet love doth now invite
Lachrimae antiquae
The King of Denmark's Galliard
Can she excuse my wrongs?
Sorrow, stay, lend true repentant tears
The Earl of Essex Galliard
Flow, my tears
The Frog Galliard
Now, O now, I needs must part
Henry Purcell: The Fairy Queen – ‘If love’s a sweet passion’
Strike the viol
The Fairy Queen – Chaconne: Dance for Chinese Man and Woman
An Evening Hymn
Laurence Kilsby, tenor
Jupiter Ensemble
Thomas Dunford, director/lute
Formed in 2018 by lutenist Thomas Dunford, the Jupiter Ensemble has enthused audiences around the world. The period-instrument collective makes its Proms debut in a programme celebrating two jewels of the English Renaissance and Baroque – John Dowland (in the 400th anniversary of his death) and the ‘British Orpheus’ Henry Purcell. Lending his voice to songs of love’s pains and pleasures is British tenor in the ascendant Laurence Kilsby.
TUE 23:45 'Round Midnight (m002yxkz)
Fresh from Dave and Judith O’Higgins
Soweto welcomes back his guest from Monday to Thursday this week, Joy Guidry, who is picking some of her favourite albums for 4/4. This time, she chooses something by an influential singer from Philadelphia.
There is also music to enjoy from Art Blakey, Marty Ehrlich and Akusmi. Tonight’s show is only 45 minutes due to the BBC Proms.
‘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.
To listen on most smart speakers, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Round Midnight".
WEDNESDAY 22 JULY 2026
WED 00:30 Through the Night (m002yxl1)
Bach Trumpet Concertos from Budapest
The outstanding German trumpeter Matthias Höfs plays Bach's exquisitely composed Vivaldi transcriptions and Bach's majestic cantata ‘Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen’ with the Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, joined by soprano Zuzana Kohoutová. Jonathan Swain presents.
12:31 AM
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750), Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741), Matthias Höfs (transcriber)
Concerto in D (arr. of Vivaldi's Concerto, Op 3 No 9, RV 230), BWV.972
Matthias Höfs (trumpet), Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Budapest, János Kovács (conductor)
12:39 AM
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Orchestral Suite No 1 in C major, BWV.1066
Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Budapest, János Kovács (conductor)
01:02 AM
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750), Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741), Matthias Höfs (transcriber)
Concerto in G (arr. of Vivaldi's Concerto, Op 3 No 3, RV 310), BWV.978
Matthias Höfs (trumpet), Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Budapest, János Kovács (conductor)
01:09 AM
Oskar Lindberg (1887-1955), Matthias Höfs (arranger)
Gammal fäbodpsalm
Matthias Höfs (flugelhorn), Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Budapest, János Kovács (conductor)
01:14 AM
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Cantata: Brich dem Hungrigen dein Brot, BWV.39
Zuzana Kohoutová (soprano), Dalma Krajnyak (contralto), István Kovács (bass), Hungarian Radio Chorus, Budapest, Zoltán Pad (choirmaster), Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Budapest, János Kovács (conductor)
01:38 AM
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Cantata: Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen, BWV.51
Zuzana Kohoutová (soprano), Matthias Höfs (trumpet), Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Budapest, János Kovács (conductor)
01:56 AM
Károly Goldmark (1830-1915)
String Quartet in B flat major, Op 8
Kodály Quartet
02:25 AM
Béla Bartók (1881-1945)
Andante in A major for violin and piano (1902)
Tamás Major (violin), György Oravecz (piano)
02:31 AM
Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)
Gaspard de la nuit for piano
Anna Vinnitskaya (piano)
02:53 AM
Florence Price (1887-1953)
Symphony No 3 in C minor
BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Valentina Peleggi (conductor)
03:26 AM
Thomas Tallis (1505-1585)
Spem in Alium, for 40 voices
BBC Singers, Stephen Cleobury (conductor)
03:34 AM
Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Impromptu No 4 in A flat major - from 4 Impromptus (D.899)
Sook-Hyun Cho (piano)
03:41 AM
Johann Strauss II (1825-1899), Arnold Schoenberg (arranger)
Rosen aus dem Suden: waltz arr. Schoenberg for harmonium, piano & string quartet
Canadian Chamber Ensemble, Raffi Armenian (director)
03:50 AM
Johann Michael Bach (1648-1694)
Unser Leben wahret siebenzig Jahr
Vox Luminis, Lionel Meunier (director)
03:55 AM
Wilhelm Stenhammar (1871-1927)
Florez and Blanzeflor, Op 3
Peter Mattei (baritone), Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Manfred Honeck (conductor)
04:03 AM
Milko Lazar (b.1965)
Prelude (Allegro moderato)
Mojca Zlobko-Vajgl (harp), Bojan Gorišek (piano)
04:12 AM
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Rondo in D, K.485
Jean Muller (piano)
04:19 AM
George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)
Water Music: Suite in G major for 'flauto piccolo', HWV.350
Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, Paul Dyer (director)
04:31 AM
Claude Debussy (1862-1918)
Rêverie
Jan-Erik Gustafsson (cello), Heini Kärkkäinen (piano)
04:35 AM
Grażyna Bacewicz (1909-1969)
Suite for chamber orchestra
Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Jan Krenz (conductor)
04:43 AM
Richard Strauss (1864-1949)
Largo from 5 Klavierstücke, Op 3 No 3
Ludmil Angelov (piano)
04:52 AM
Bohuslav Martinů (1890-1959)
Part-song book - 4 madrigals for mixed chorus
Danish National Radio Choir, Stefan Parkman (conductor)
05:02 AM
Giovanni Girolamo Kapsberger (c.1580-1651)
Three works: Preludio, Toccata II; Sfessania; Passacaglia
Simone Vallerotonda (theorbo)
05:14 AM
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Variations on a theme by Haydn vers. for orchestra, Op 56a
Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Simone Young (conductor)
05:33 AM
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Piano Quintet in E flat, Op 16
Martin Frutiger (oboe), Fabio di Càsola (clarinet), Mischa Greull (horn), Matthias Racz (bassoon), Martin Lucas Staub (piano)
06:00 AM
Guillaume-Gabriel Nivers (c.1632-1714)
Officium Defunctorum
Studio 600
WED 06:30 Radio 3 Breakfast (m002yxny)
Boost your morning with classical music
Tom McKinney presents Radio 3’s Breakfast show live from Salford. With birdsong, Bach Before 7 and the best in classical music. You can contact the show by emailing 3breakfast@bbc.co.uk.
To listen on most smart speakers, just say 'Ask BBC Sounds to play 3 Breakfast’.
WED 09:30 Essential Classics (m002yxp0)
A classical soundtrack for your morning
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 a masterpiece.
To listen on most smart speakers say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Essential Classics”
WED 13:00 Classical Live (m002yxp2)
Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez from the BBC Proms
Elizabeth Alker celebrates summer music-making in the UK and beyond.
Throughout the season, Classical Live features highlights from the BBC Proms, the world’s greatest classical music festival. Today, we hear more from the Spanish National Orchestra’s Proms debut, a Spanish-themed programme built around Rodrigo’s beguiling Concierto de Aranjuez. We return to this year’s Leipzig Bach Festival’s opening concert for music by Lassus and JS Bach, and revisit the Schubertiade Schwarzenberg in Austria to hear former Radio 3 New Generation Artist Konstantin Krimmel singing a ballad by Schubert. Also, every day this week, there's a Mozart String Quintet from the elegant rococo Leitheim Castle in Bavaria, with violist Violaine Despeyroux joining Quatuor Voce.
From the BBC Proms 2026:
Bolero
Spanish National Orchestra
David Afkham (conductor)
From Leitheim Castle Concerts 2026:
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
String Quintet No. 4 in G minor, K. 516
Quatuor Voce
Violaine Despeyroux (viola)
From Leipzig Bach Festival 2026:
Johann Sebastian Bach
Prelude in C major, BWV545
Orlande de Lassus
Deus in adiutorium
Johann Sebastian Bach
Fugue in C major, BWV545
Johannes Lang (organ)
St Thomas' Choir, Leipzig
Andreas Reize (conductor)
From the BBC Proms 2026:
Joaquin Rodrigo
Concierto de Aranjuez
Rafael Aguirre (guitar)
Spanish National Orchestra
David Afkham (conductor)
From the Schubertiade Schwarzenberg 2026:
Franz Schubert
Die Bürgschaft, D. 246
Konstantin Krimmel (baritone)
Ammiel Bushakevitz (piano)
To listen to this programme (using most smart speakers), just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Classical Live".
WED 15:00 Choral Evensong (m002yxp4)
Buckfast Abbey
Solemn Vespers from Buckfast Abbey on the Feast of St Mary Magdalene.
Prelude: Victimae paschali laudes (Scheidemann)
Incipit: Deus in adiutorium (Plainsong)
Hymn: Lauda mater ecclesia (Guerrero)
Psalms 109, 112, 121, 126 (Plainsong – Patrick Russill, Plainsong, Plainsong – Matthew Martin, Plainsong)
Scripture Reading: Romans 8 vv28-34
Magnificat Octavi toni a 8 (Martin Baker)
Motet: Maria Magdalena et altera Maria (Guerrero)
Voluntary: Dic nobis Maria (Scheidemann)
Matthew Searles (Master of the Music)
Charles Maxtone-Smith (Organist)
Recorded 5 February.
To listen on most smart speakers just say “ask BBC Sounds to play Choral Evensong”.
WED 16:00 Composer of the Week (m002yxp6)
George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)
The Rise and Fall of the Duke of Chandos
Donald Macleod turns to Handel’s association with James Brydges, later Duke of Chandos, whose wealth and ambition created a remarkable musical establishment at Cannons. Working with a resident ensemble of singers and instrumentalists, Handel composed on a scale suited to this grand setting, producing the Chandos Anthems alongside works such as Acis and Galatea and Esther. These pieces reflect both the resources available to him and a shift away from London’s commercial theatre. Chandos’s lavish musical world proved short-lived, but it gave Handel space to experiment and consolidate his style. The result was a body of music that would feed directly into the next, more public phase of his career.
Acis and Galatea: “Love sounds th’alarm”
Ian Bostridge, tenor
Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment
Harry Bicket, conductor
As Pants the Hart
Arcangelo
Jonathan Cohen, conductor
Acis and Galatea: Sinfonia
Les Arts Florissants
William Christie, conductor
Esther: excerpts
The Sixteen
Symphony of Harmony and Invention
Harry Christophers, conductor
WED 17:00 In Tune (m002yxp8)
Fretwork & Ian Bostridge live in session
Petroc introduces live music from Fretwork and Ian Bostridge ahead of their performance at the 3 Choirs Festival.
Petroc is also joined by Rachel Unthank and Adrian McNally who take a break from rehearsals to chat about The Unthanks' upcoming BBC Prom at Middlesbrough Town Hall.
WED 19:00 BBC Proms (m002yxpb)
2026
Mahler’s ‘Tragic’ Sixth Symphony
Live at the BBC Proms: the BBC Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Sakari Oramo, performs Mahler's Symphony No. 6 plus Kurtág's haunting elegy Stele, Op.33.
Presented by Andrew McGregor, live from the Royal Albert Hall, London
Kurtág: Stele, Op.33
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7.15pm
Interval: As György Kurtág celebrates his 100th birthday, the British composer Julian Anderson joins Andrew McGregor to talk about Kurtág's importance to the world of music and his unique compositional voice.
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7.35pm
Mahler: Symphony No.6
BBC Symphony Orchestra
Sakari Oramo (conductor)
Heroes fall but fight on in a programme of monumental soundscapes, poised on the edge of life and death. Sakari Oramo and the BBC Symphony Orchestra celebrate the centenary of Hungary’s greatest living composer, György Kurtág, with a rare performance of his powerful orchestral elegy Stele, whose kaleidoscopic textures capture the commotion of a battlefield as seen by a wounded man. In Kurtág’s own words: ‘The fighting rages all around him, but he sees only a very clear, very blue sky.’ Written at one of the happiest times of the composer’s life, Mahler’s premonitory ‘Tragic’ Symphony No. 6 – haunted by children’s voices, dances and marches, by losses and agonies yet to come – broods on human frailty and resilience in music that threatens to burst the banks of the classical symphony.
WED 22:00 Night Tracks (m002yxpd)
Meditative music for late night solace
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 (m002yxpg)
A classic from João Donato
Soweto's 4/4 guest this week, bassoonist and composer Joy Guidry, returns to share another best-loved album selection from her collection. Tonight, she chooses a Brazilian-inspired track by a British saxophonist.
There’s also music from Tara Clerkin Trio, Scrimshire and Ganavya.
‘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.
To listen on most smart speakers, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Round Midnight".
THURSDAY 23 JULY 2026
THU 00:30 Through the Night (m002yxpj)
Sparkling Baroque from Zurich Opera House
The Scintilla Orchestra, conducted by Riccardo Minasi presents a programme of playful, witty and charming Italian and German music from the 17th century. Jonathan Swain presents.
12:31 AM
Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber (1644-1704)
Battalia
La Scintilla Orchestra, Riccardo Minasi (conductor)
12:41 AM
Giovanni Battista Buonamente (1595-1642)
Sonata seconda a 3
La Scintilla Orchestra, Riccardo Minasi (conductor)
12:48 AM
Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber (1644-1704)
Nachtwächter - Serenade
La Scintilla Orchestra, Riccardo Minasi (conductor)
12:57 AM
Dario Castello (1602-1631)
Sonata decimaquinta
La Scintilla Orchestra, Riccardo Minasi (conductor)
01:03 AM
Johann Pachelbel (1653-1706)
Canon and Gigue
La Scintilla Orchestra, Riccardo Minasi (conductor)
01:08 AM
Johann Heinrich Schmelzer (c.1620-1680)
Die Fechtschule
La Scintilla Orchestra, Riccardo Minasi (conductor)
01:16 AM
Tarquinio Merula (1595-1665)
Ballo detto Pollicio
La Scintilla Orchestra, Riccardo Minasi (conductor)
01:19 AM
Johannes Hieronymous Kapsberger (c.1580-1651)
Corrente quinta
La Scintilla Orchestra, Riccardo Minasi (conductor)
01:23 AM
Biagio Marini (c.1594-1663)
Passacaglia a quattro
La Scintilla Orchestra, Riccardo Minasi (conductor)
01:31 AM
Biagio Marini (c.1594-1663)
Aria a 3 'La Soranza'
La Scintilla Orchestra, Riccardo Minasi (conductor)
01:32 AM
Carlo Farina (c.1604-1639)
Capriccio stravagante
La Scintilla Orchestra, Riccardo Minasi (conductor)
01:49 AM
Johann Heinrich Schmelzer (c.1620-1680)
Vesperae solennes
Gradus ad Parnassum, Concerto Palatino, Choralschola der Wiener Hofburgkapelle, Konrad Junghänel (director)
02:11 AM
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Piano Sonata in F major, K.332 (2nd mvt, Adagio)
Henri Sigfridsson (piano)
02:17 AM
Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber (1644-1704)
Sonata in C minor for violin and bass continuo
Salzburger Hofmusik, Wolfgang Brunner (director)
02:31 AM
Leó Weiner (1885-1960)
Serenade for small orchestra in F minor, Op 3
Hungarian Radio Orchestra, Miklós Erdélyi (conductor)
02:53 AM
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Jesu meine Freude, BWV.227
Vox Luminis, Lionel Meunier (director)
03:16 AM
Dimitar Nenov (1901-1953)
Theme with variations
Mario Angelov (piano)
03:32 AM
John Tavener (1944-2013)
Funeral Ikos (The Greek funeral sentences) for chorus
Norwegian Soloists' Choir, Grete Helgerød (conductor)
03:38 AM
Josef Suk (1874-1935)
Meditation on an old Czech hymn St Wenceslas, Op 35a
Signum Quartet
03:45 AM
Sergey Rachmaninov (1873-1943)
Symphonic Dance No 1, Op 45
Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Andrew Litton (conductor)
03:57 AM
Domenico Pellegrini (17th century), Alessandro Piccinini (1566-c.1638)
Courante per la X (Pellegrini); Chiaccona in partite variate (Piccinini)
United Continuo Ensemble
04:03 AM
Mieczysław Karłowicz (1876-1909)
Smutna opowiesc - A sorrowful tale, Op 13
National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Andrzej Straszynski (conductor)
04:14 AM
Cipriano de Rore (1516-1565)
"Qualhor rivolgo"
Consort of Musicke, Anthony Rooley (director)
04:20 AM
Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Andantino (second movement) from Piano Sonata in A major, D.959
David Huang (piano)
04:31 AM
Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868)
Overture from La Gazza Ladra (The Thieving Magpie)
Netherlands Radio Symphony Orchestra, Kenneth Montgomery (conductor)
04:41 AM
Traditional Hungarian
18th Century Dances for recorder and ensemble
Csaba Nagy (recorder), Camerata Hungarica, László Czidra (conductor)
04:47 AM
Kaspar Förster (1616-1673)
Et cum ingressus esset Jesu, KBPJ.16
Kai Wessel (counter tenor), Krzysztof Szmyt (tenor), Grzegorz Zychowicz (bass), Il Tempo Baroque Ensemble
04:53 AM
Fryderyk Chopin (1810-1849)
Scherzo No 2 in B flat minor, Op 31
Valerie Tryon (piano)
05:03 AM
Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921)
Introduction and rondo capriccioso for violin and orchestra, Op 28
Moshe Hammer (violin), Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, Kazuhiro Koizumi (conductor)
05:12 AM
Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767)
Sonata for oboe and continuo in B flat major (Essercizii Musici, 1739-40)
Camerata Köln
05:25 AM
Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)
String Quartet in G minor, Op 74 no 3 'Rider'
Quatuor Ebène
05:46 AM
Jacobus Gallus Carniolus (1550-1591)
Missa super Adesto dolori meo a 5 (SQM III/9)
Madrigal Quintett Brno, Roman Válek (director)
06:08 AM
Jean Sibelius (1865-1957)
Symphony No 7 in C major, Op 105
BBC Symphony Orchestra, Osmo Vänskä (conductor)
THU 06:30 Radio 3 Breakfast (m002yyf5)
Start the day strong 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 (m002yyf7)
The very best of classical 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 a masterpiece.
To listen on most smart speakers say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Essential Classics”
THU 13:00 Classical Live (m002yyf9)
Beethoven’s 'Choral' Symphony at the BBC Proms
Al Ryan celebrates summer music-making in the UK and beyond.
Throughout the season, Classical Live features highlights from the BBC Proms, the world’s greatest classical music festival. Today, we relive Beethoven’s epic 9th Symphony, performed by the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra and Philharmonia Chorus in the Royal Albert Hall on Monday night. We revisit the Schubertiade Schwarzenberg in Austria to hear violinist Renaud Capuçon and friends playing the first of Schubert’s lyrical pair of Piano Trios. Also, every day this week, there's a Mozart String Quintet from the elegant rococo Leitheim Castle in Bavaria, with violist Violaine Despeyroux joining Quatuor Voce.
From the BBC Proms 2026:
Johann Sebastian Bach (orch. Andrew Davis)
Fantasia and Fugue in G minor, BWV542
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
Gianandrea Noseda (conductor)
From the Schubertiade Schwarzenberg 2026:
Franz Schubert
Piano Trio No. 1 in E flat, D. 898
Renaud Capuçon (violin)
Julia Hagen (cello)
Guillaume Bellom (piano)
From the BBC Proms 2026:
Ludwig van Beethoven
Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125
Leah Hawkins (soprano)
Stephanie Wake-Edwards (mezzo-soprano)
Martin Muehle (tenor)
Derek Welton (bass)
Philharmonia Chorus
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
Gianandrea Noseda (conductor)
Fryderyk Chopin
Nocturne in C minor, Op. 48 No. 1
Giorgi Gigashvili (piano)
From Leitheim Castle Concerts 2026:
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
String Quintet No. 5 in D major, K. 593
Quatuor Voce
Violaine Despeyroux (viola)
From the Schubertiade Schwarzenberg 2026:
Franz Schubert
Nachtstück
Konstantin Krimmel (baritone)
Ammiel Bushakevitz (piano)
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 (m002yyfc)
George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)
Fit for a King, Queen, Princess and Prince
Donald Macleod explores Handel’s position at the heart of royal life in Britain, where patronage brought both prestige and pressure. With the accession of George II, Handel supplied music on the grandest scale, writing for coronations, royal ceremonies and public celebration. Yet royal favour was rarely straightforward: competing courts, shifting alliances and changing public taste all shaped his fortunes. While the King and Queen supported him, rival factions – including the Prince of Wales – backed alternative musical ventures, turning London’s operatic world into a battleground. Even at the height of court success, Handel faced artistic and financial strain, alongside personal challenges.
Coronation Anthem: Zadok the Priest
Westminster Abbey Choir
Trevor Pinnock, conductor
Simon Preston, organ
Coronation Anthem: My heart is inditing
The Sixteen
Harry Christophers, conductor
Riccardo Primo: Act III chorus
Basel Chamber Orchestra
Paul Goodwin, conductor
Atalanta: Overture
Capella Savaria
Nicholas McGegan, conductor
Alexander’s Feast: excerpts
Ludus Baroque
Richard Neville-Towle, conductor
Sophie Bevan, soprano
Funeral Anthem for Queen Carolinel
Alsfelder Vocal Ensemble
Bremen Baroque Orchestra
Wolfgang Helbich, conductor
THU 17:00 In Tune (m002yyff)
Classical artists live in the studio
Pianist Ethan Loch and film maker Martyn Robertson chat to Petroc about a new BBC documentary ‘Seeing with Sound ‘ charting Ethan’s professional career.
Petroc also welcomes Liam Steel and George Jackson to the In Tune studio, to chat about Opera Holland Park’s production of Die Fledermaus.
THU 19:00 Classical Mixtape (m002yyfh)
Take time out with a 30-minute soundscape of classical favourites.
THU 19:30 BBC Proms (m002yyfk)
2026
Afterlife: Visions of the Beyond
Live at the BBC Proms: The BBC National Orchestra and Chorus of Wales & Ryan Bancroft, with Mari Eriksmoen, Paula Murrihy, James Way and Szymon Mechliński, perform Szymanowski.
Presented by Alexandra Humphreys, live from the Royal Albert Hall, London
Lili Boulanger: Vieille prière bouddhique
Szymanowski: Stabat mater
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8.10pm
Interval: Alexandra's guest is Peter Stanford - the author of books including Heaven: A Traveller’s Guide to the Undiscovered Country; The Devil: A Biography; Angels: A History and earlier this summer he published Gaudí: God's Architect about the Spanish designer of the Sagrada Familia church in Barcelona who died a hundred years ago in June 1926
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8.20pm
Messiaen: L’Ascension – four symphonic meditations
Strauss: Death and Transfiguration
Mari Eriksmoen (soprano)
Paula Murrihy (mezzo-soprano)
James Way (tenor)
Szymon Mechliński (baritone)
BBC National Orchestra of Wales
BBC National Chorus of Wales
London Philharmonic Choir
Ryan Bancroft (conductor)
Music pierces the veil between heaven and earth in a spiritually charged concert that opens in contemplation and ends in the blaze of ascension and transfiguration. Voices are raised in prayer in Lili Boulanger’s haunting Vieille prière bouddhique, intensified in the rapt, intimate intercessions of Szymanowski’s Stabat mater. Unearthly beauty is revealed in Messiaen’s L’Ascension, before a dying man is raised to heaven in Strauss’s Death and Transfiguration.
THU 22:00 Night Tracks (m002yyfm)
Nocturnal music to bewitch the senses
Sara Mohr-Pietsch presents an adventurous, immersive soundtrack for late-night listening, from classical to contemporary and everything in between.
THU 23:30 'Round Midnight (m002yyfp)
Brand new from Tomoki Sanders
All this week, bassoonist and composer Joy Guidry has been sharing some of the albums that have influenced her for 4/4. Rounding off her week, Joy selects one of Ethio-jazz's most famous compositions.
Music also comes from Patrick Bartley’s DREAMWEAVER, Terri Lyne Carrington and Tomoki Sanders.
‘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.
To listen on most smart speakers, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Round Midnight".
FRIDAY 24 JULY 2026
FRI 00:30 Through the Night (m002yyfr)
Sacra Partitura: the beginnings of Italian Baroque
The early music group Ensemble Daimonion traces the evolution of Italian musical style from the Renaissance to the Baroque. Jonathan Swain presents.
12:31 AM
Dario Castello (1602-1631)
Sonata nona from Sonate in stil moderno, libro primo
Ensemble Daimonion
12:37 AM
Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber (1644-1704)
Nisi Dominus aedificaverit domum, Psalm 127
Mauro Borgioni (baritone), María González (organ), Ensemble Daimonion
12:48 AM
Biagio Marini (c.1594-1663)
Sonata a 3 - La Foscarina - from Affetti musicali, Op 1
Ensemble Daimonion
12:54 AM
Cipriano de Rore (1516-1565)
Io canterei damor from Primo libro di madrigali a 4 voci
Ensemble Daimonion
12:58 AM
Tarquinio Merula (1595-1665)
Credidi from Salmi et Messa Concertata, Op 18
Ensemble Daimonion
01:03 AM
Nicola Matteis (c. 1650-after 1713)
Passagio rotto - Fantasia for violin
Anaïs Chen (violin)
01:08 AM
Nicolaus Bruhns (1665-1697)
De profundis clamavi, Psalm 130
Ensemble Daimonion
01:22 AM
Giovanni Picchi (1572-1643)
Canzon seconda per violino e fagotto
Ensemble Daimonion
01:26 AM
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (c.1525-1594)
Pulchra es
Ensemble Daimonion
01:31 AM
Dario Castello (1602-1631)
Sonata decima from Sonate in stil moderno, libro secondo
Ensemble Daimonion
01:37 AM
Dietrich Buxtehude (1637-1707)
Quemadmodum desiderat cervus, BuxWV.92
Ensemble Daimonion
01:44 AM
Gioanpietro Del Buono (fl.1641-1657)
Sonata sopra Ave Maris Stella
Ensemble Daimonion
01:46 AM
Maddalena Laura Lombardini Sirmen (1745-1818)
String Quartet No 1 in E flat major, Op 3
Eos Quartet
01:57 AM
Ottorino Respighi (1879-1936), Carlo Zangarini (lyricist)
Stornellatrice
Victoria de los Ángeles (soprano), Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional, Pedro de Freitas Branco (conductor)
01:59 AM
Ottorino Respighi (1879-1936)
Trittico Botticelliano
Norwegian Radio Orchestra, Peter Sánta (conductor)
02:21 AM
Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741)
Concerto for 4 violins, cello and orchestra in F major, RV.567
Paul Wright (violin), Natsumi Wakamatsu (violin), Sayuri Yamagata (violin), Staas Swierstra (violin), Hidemi Suzuki (cello), Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, Paul Dyer (conductor)
02:31 AM
Krasimir Kyurkchiyski (1936-2011)
Variations on a theme by Handel
Bulgarian National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Dimitar Manolov (conductor)
02:51 AM
Louis Spohr (1784-1859)
Nonet for wind quintet, string trio and double bass in F major, Op 31
Budapest Chamber Ensemble, András Mihaly (conductor)
03:21 AM
Francis Poulenc (1899-1963)
Concerto in D minor for 2 pianos and orchestra
Lutoslawski Piano Duo (soloist), Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Jerzy Maksymiuk (conductor)
03:40 AM
Alexander Gretchaninov (1864-1956)
Cherubic Hymn from Liturgia Domestica
Bulgarian National Choir "Svetoslav Obretenov", Bulgarian National Radio Chamber Orchestra, Georgi Robev (conductor)
03:48 AM
Clara Schumann (1819-1896)
Variations on a theme by Robert Schumann for piano in F sharp minor, Op 20
Angela Cheng (piano)
03:57 AM
Dobrinka Tabakova (b.1980)
Pirin for viola
Maxim Rysanov (viola)
04:06 AM
Georges Bizet (1838-1875)
Andante molto, 3rd movement from the Symphonic Suite "Roma"
Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, Oliver Dohnányi (conductor)
04:13 AM
Francesco Corbetta (1615-1681)
Folias
Simone Vallerotonda (guitar)
04:20 AM
George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)
Gentle Morpheus, son of night (Calliope's song) from 'Alceste'
Emma Kirkby (soprano), Academy of Ancient Music, Andrew Manze (director)
04:31 AM
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Academic Festival Overture, Op 80
Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Tamás Vásáry (conductor)
04:41 AM
Robert Hacomplaynt (c.1455-1528)
Salve Regina (a 5)
BBC Singers, Stephen Cleobury (conductor)
04:53 AM
Peter Warlock (1894-1930)
Serenade (to Frederick Delius on his 60th birthday)
Manitoba Chamber Orchestra, Roy Goodman (conductor)
05:00 AM
Nicolas Chédeville (1705-1782)
Recorder Sonata in G minor, Op 13 No 6
Ensemble 1700, Dorothee Oberlinger (director)
05:08 AM
Väinö Raitio (1891-1945)
Maidens on the Headlands - symphonic poem
Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Jukka-Pekka Saraste (conductor)
05:15 AM
Augusta Holmès (1847-1903)
Fleur de Neflier
BBC Singers, Annabel Thwaite (piano), Hilary Campbell (conductor)
05:18 AM
Bernhard Henrik Crusell (1775-1838)
Clarinet Concerto No 1 in E flat major, Op 1
Kullervo Kojo (clarinet), Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Ulf Söderblom (conductor)
05:41 AM
Dora Pejačević (1885-1923)
Life of Flowers, Op 19
Ida Gamulin (piano)
06:02 AM
Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
Symphony No 5 in D major, Op 107 'Reformation'
Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Paavo Berglund (conductor)
FRI 06:30 Radio 3 Breakfast (m002yxpv)
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’.
FRI 09:30 Essential Classics (m002yxpx)
Relax into the day with classical
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 a masterpiece.
To listen on most smart speakers say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Essential Classics”
FRI 13:00 Classical Live (m002yxpz)
Sibelius’s Violin Concerto from the BBC Proms
Al Ryan celebrates summer music-making in the UK and beyond.
Throughout the season Classical Live features highlights from the BBC Proms, the world’s greatest classical music festival. Today, we hear violinist Sueye Park as the soloist in Sibelius’s Violin Concerto, and from the same concert, the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra performing Richard Strauss’s cosmic tone poem Also sprach Zarathustra. We revisit the Schubertiade Schwarzenberg in Austria to hear Swiss pianist Francesco Piemontesi playing Liszt, and return one last time to the elegant rococo castle in Leitheim, Bavaria, for another of Mozart's String Quintets played by Quatuor Voce and violist Violaine Despeyroux.
From the BBC Proms 2026:
Jean Sibelius
Violin Concerto in D minor, Op. 47
Sueye Park (violin)
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
John Storgårds (conductor)
From the Schubertiade Schwarzenberg 2026:
Franz Liszt
Years of Pilgrimage (1st Year, Switzerland – Parts 6-9)
Francesco Piemontesi (piano)
From the Leitheim Castle Concerts 2026:
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
String Quintet No. 3 in C major, K. 515
Quatuor Voce
Violaine Despeyroux (viola)
From the BBC Proms 2026:
Manuel da Falla (arr. Francisco Coll)
Fantasía Bética
Spanish National Orchestra
David Afkham (conductor)
From the Schubertiade Schwarzenberg 2026:
Franz Schubert
3 songs: Der Pilgrim; Am Bach im Frühling; Der Schiffer
Konstantin Krimmel (baritone)
Ammiel Bushakevitz (piano)
From the BBC Proms 2026:
Richard Strauss
Also Sprach Zarathustra
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
John Storgårds (conductor)
To listen to this programme (using most smart speakers), just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Classical Live".
FRI 16:00 Composer of the Week (m002yxq1)
George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)
All for a Good Cause
Donald Macleod ends the week in Dublin, where Handel’s relationship to patronage shifts decisively. Invited not by a traditional employer but by the Duke of Devonshire, he arrived to give a season of concerts that were as much about public benefit as artistic display. Here, patronage becomes less personal and more civic: performances raise funds, institutions benefit, and Handel’s music becomes the means through which generosity is organised and amplified. The premiere of Messiah sits at the centre of this, conceived on a grand scale but first heard in support of local charities.
Messiah: Sinfonia
Irish Baroque Orchestra
Peter Whelan, conductor
L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato: “Sweet bird”
Christine Brandes, soprano
Orchestre de Chambre de Paris
John Nelson, conductor
Imeneo: excerpts
Europa Galante
Fabio Biondi, conductor
Messiah, Part III: excerpts
Irish Baroque Orchestra
Irish Baroque Choir
Peter Whelan, conductor
Foundling Hospital Anthem: excerpts
Winchester Cathedral Choir
The Brandenburg Consort
David Hill, conductor
FRI 17:00 In Tune (m002yxq3)
Cellist Guy Johnston and historian Simon Scharma
Cellist Guy Johnston plays live on In Tune with pianist Mishka Rushdie-Momen, before Guy's appearance at the BBC Proms.
Historian Simon Schama chats to Petroc ahead of joining Gillian Moore for the next eight episodes of Radio 3's Key Changes. They'll both explore the fascinating stories and sound worlds of the Classical and Early Romantic eras.
FRI 19:00 Classical Mixtape (m002yxq5)
Take time out with a 30-minute soundscape of classical favourites.
FRI 19:30 BBC Proms (m002yxq7)
2026
John Wilson conducts Respighi’s 'Roman Trilogy'
Live at the BBC Proms: John Wilson conducts the Sinfonia of London in Verdi, Walton and Respighi's Roman Trilogy.
Presented by Ian Skelly, live from the Royal Albert Hall, London.
Verdi: The Force of Destiny – overture
Walton: Cello Concerto
c.
8.10pm
Interval: conductor Ben Gernon discusses how Rome - where Respighi lived from 1913 - became his home, professional base and creative muse.
c.
8.30pm
Respighi: Roman Festivals
Respighi: Fountains of Rome
Respighi: Pines of Rome
Jonathan Aasgaard (cello)
Sinfonia of London
John Wilson (conductor)
John Wilson and his Sinfonia of London – hailed by critics as ‘peerless’ and ‘simply as good as it gets’ – are back for the first of two concerts this season. Ottorino Respighi’s love affair with Rome is captured in a trilogy of orchestral tone-poems – heat-soaked, colour-saturated works that invite the listener into the mercurial life of the Eternal City: festivals and dances, misty mornings and scented summer evenings, fanfares and solitary silence. The concert opens with Verdi’s much-loved overture to The Force of Destiny and Walton’s rhapsodic Cello Concerto, its ardent, yearning spirit perhaps a portrait of the composer’s own marriage. Norwegian cellist Jonathan Aasgaard is the soloist.
FRI 22:00 Late Junction (m002cp81)
Yara Asmar and Quinie in session
Verity Sharp shares the fruits of our latest exclusive collaboration session, a meeting of multi-instrumentalist and puppeteer Yara Asmar and Glasgow-based Scots singer and interpreter Quinie.
Yara Asmar makes use of lo-fi recording methods and works with a range of sound sources including the accordion, voice, field recordings, metallophone, deconstructed and disassembled toys, and electronics. Her work is known to be deeply-affecting, raw, intimate, and strongly rooted in place. In 2020, during the pandemic, Yara Asmar turned to recording music at home on cassettes and her mobile phone, using her grandma’s Hohner Marchesa accordion, a piano and field recordings of hymns sung in churches around Lebanon. Her work is known to be deeply affecting, raw, intimate, and strongly rooted in place. On her 2023 album, she explores ideas of depersonalisation and disconnection from our immediate surroundings, explaining in an interview that “Us, who remain here, create places that protect us from things that are happening around us”. While her most recent release, Sighs II, shows the vibratory potential of metals, reflecting on the idea that metal is responding, rather than resonating, actively shaping its own afterlife.
Quinie, aka Josie Vallely, is a Glasgow-based Scots singer whose work explores landscape, place and ancestors. Quinie’s vocals use a blend of sean nos style melodies, children’s rhyme and story poems and are, at their core, inspired by Scottish Traveller singers. Whilst conscious of not being a member of the Traveller community, she has been inspired by Traveller friends who taught her that settled people sharing these songs could contribute to raising awareness. “Scottish Travellers are marginalised and discriminated against in modern Scotland, despite being custodians of so many of our important traditions. So I started to perform them and tell this story.” Her third album, released in May 2025, was made following a pilgrimage across the West of Scotland on her horse, collecting and interpreting songs as she went.
Elsewhere in the show, Verity Sharp shares a collaboration between artist and slime mould, the fruits of which bear an articulation of grief fuelled by ecological decline; and a paean to trans lives. Plus, a shimmering, beating, flittering, bubble-like response to a cassette tape score, and a soulful, improvised delivery of folk tales told via mini-choir from Chicago.
Produced by Cat Gough
A Reduced Listening production for BBC Radio 3
FRI 23:30 'Round Midnight (m002yxqb)
Knats in concert
Tonight, Soweto shares performance highlights from rising stars Knats, recorded at Cobalt Studios in Newcastle on Saturday 2nd May.
Knats are one of the UK’s most exciting new bands. They’re a quintet led by two lifelong best mates from Newcastle Upon Tyne, Stan Woodward (bass) and King David-Ike Elechi (drums), alongside their younger sidekick and virtuoso trumpeter, Ferg Kilsby. Their “Geordie Jazz” sound combines blistering jazz fusion with drum ‘n’ bass style percussion, punk intensity and gritty spoken word poetry, and their debut album “A Great Day in Newcastle” is out now.
‘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.
To listen on most smart speakers, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Round Midnight".