SATURDAY 15 AUGUST 2026

SAT 00:30 Through the Night (m002zsry)
Barocco Italiano

SEMPRE baroque music ensemble, directed by lutenist Xavier Díaz-Latorre perform music from 17th Century Italy. Jonathan Swain presents.

12:31 AM
Samuel Scheidt (1587-1654)
Pavana - Courant Dolorosa
SEMPRE baroque music ensemble, Răsvan Dumitru (baroque violin), Melinda Béres (baroque violin), Tamara Dica (viola), Lázár Zsombor (cello), István Csata (double bass), Filip Zsombor (lute), Raluca Enea (harpsichord), Xavier Díaz-Latorre (director)

12:39 AM
Johann Rosenmüller (1619-1684)
Sonata nona à 5
Sempre baroque music ensemble, Xavier Díaz-Latorre (director)

12:45 AM
Andrea Falconieri (c.1585-1656)
Battaglia di Barabasso - Ciaccona
SEMPRE baroque music ensemble, Xavier Díaz-Latorre (director)

12:53 AM
Dario Castello (1602-1631)
Sonata prima per un soprano
Sempre baroque music ensemble, Xavier Díaz-Latorre (director)

12:58 AM
Biagio Marini (c.1594-1663)
Passacalio, Op 22/25
Sempre baroque music ensemble, Xavier Díaz-Latorre (director)

01:04 AM
Andrea Falconieri (c.1585-1656)
Passacaglia in G minor
Sempre baroque music ensemble, Xavier Díaz-Latorre (director)

01:07 AM
Giovanni Legrenzi (1626-1690)
Sonata XV, Op 10
Sempre baroque music ensemble, Xavier Díaz-Latorre (director)

01:13 AM
Andrea Falconieri (c.1585-1656)
La Folia
Sempre baroque music ensemble, Xavier Díaz-Latorre (director)

01:18 AM
Arcangelo Corelli (1653-1713)
Concerto grosso in D, Op 6/4

01:28 AM
Marco Uccellini (c.1603-1680)
Aria quinta sopra la Bergamasca, from 'Sonate, arie et correnti, Op 3'
Sempre baroque music ensemble, Xavier Díaz-Latorre (director)

01:33 AM
Henry Purcell (1659-1695)
Chaconne 'Dance for Chinese Man and Woman', from act 5 of 'The Fairy Queen'
Sempre baroque music ensemble, Xavier Díaz-Latorre (director)

01:36 AM
Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757)
Sonata in D minor K. 517
Bjarke Mogensen (accordion)

01:39 AM
Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757)
Sonata in G major, Kk.13
Mirko Jevtović (accordion)

01:43 AM
Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757)
Stabat mater for 10 voices, organ & basso continuo in C minor
Danish National Radio Chorus, Søren Christian Vestergaard (organ), Bo Holten (conductor)

02:07 AM
Ottorino Respighi (1879-1936)
Pini di Roma - symphonic poem
BBC Philharmonic, Gianandrea Noseda (conductor)

02:31 AM
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Piano Concerto No 3 in C minor, Op 37
Maria João Pires (piano), Orchestre National de France, Emmanuel Krivine (conductor)

03:07 AM
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Wind Serenade in C minor, K.388
Toronto Chamber Winds

03:32 AM
Josquin des Prez (c1440 - 1521)
Ave Maria . . . Virgo serena for 4 voices
BBC Singers, Bo Holten (conductor)

03:39 AM
Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)
Alborada del gracioso 'Miroirs'
BBC Philharmonic, Juanjo Mena (conductor)

03:46 AM
Jean Barrière (1705-1747)
Sonata No 10 in G major for 2 cellos
Duo Fouquet (duo)

03:56 AM
Giovanni Battista Bovicelli (c.1550-1597)
Diminutionen on Palestrina's 'Io son ferito' for cornet and basso continuo
Le Concert Brise, William Dongois (director)

04:02 AM
Jean Sibelius (1865-1957)
Suite Champetre, Op 98b
Danish Radio Concert Orchestra, Hannu Koivula (conductor)

04:09 AM
Fryderyk Chopin (1810-1849)
Scherzo for piano No 1 in B minor, Op 20
Yulianna Avdeeva (piano)

04:19 AM
Arthur Butterworth (1923-2014)
Romanza for horn and strings
Martin Hackleman (horn), CBC Vancouver Orchestra, Mario Bernardi (conductor)

04:31 AM
Richard Wagner (1813-1883), Engelbert Humperdinck (arranger)
Good Friday Music (from "Parsifal")
Canadian Chamber Ensemble, Raffi Armenian (director)

04:40 AM
Giovanni Maria Trabaci (1575-1647)
Three Works
Enrico Baiano (harpsichord)

04:48 AM
Johannes Ockeghem (1410-1497)
Intemerata Dei mater
Hilliard Ensemble, Paul Hillier (director)

04:57 AM
Alexander Glazunov (1865-1936)
Concert waltz for orchestra No 2 in F major, Op 51
CBC Vancouver Orchestra, Kazuyoshi Akiyama (conductor)

05:06 AM
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Rhapsody for piano in B minor, Op 79 No 1
Steven Osborne (piano)

05:15 AM
Rene Eespere (b.1953)
Festina lente
Tallinn Music High School Chamber Choir, Evi Eespere (director)

05:24 AM
Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
Symphony No 3 in E flat major, Op 97 "Rhenish"
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Ilan Volkov (conductor)

05:54 AM
Henry Eccles (c.1675-1745)
Sonata undecimo in G minor
Ilia Korol (violin), Jermaine Sprosse (harpsichord)

06:02 AM
Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
Sextet for piano and strings in D major, Op 110
Enrico Pace (piano), Elise Båtnes (violin), Lars Anders Tomter (viola), Johannes Gustavsson (viola), Ernst Simon Glaser (cello), Katrine Öigaard (bass)


SAT 06:30 Radio 3 Breakfast (m0030268)
Cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason with a special selection of music for summer

Sheku Kanneh-Mason 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’.

Image of Sheku Kanneh-Mason © Mahaneela


SAT 09:00 Saturday Morning (m003026b)
Jordi Savall, Rafael Payare and Jennifer Higdon

Tom Service with guests, stories and the perfect classical soundtrack for the weekend!

Jordi Savall, now in his eighty-fifth year, talks to Tom about his remarkable career as a conductor, viol player and early music specialist. Jordi reflects upon his earliest years as a musician, his teachers, the first recordings he made, his thirst for giving previously-unknown music an audience, and how his approach has evolved over the decades.

Conductor Rafael Payare speaks about his forthcoming performance of Coleridge-Taylor's The Song of Hiawatha at the Edinburgh International Festival, and reveals why he thinks the work still has such appeal.

And in our ongoing Creators series, composer Jennifer Higdon talks about her piece Blue Cathedral, which has become one of the most popular and most performed of all American contemporary orchestral works.


SAT 12:00 Earlier... with Jools Holland (m002p72m)
Jools and guests share their musical favourites

Jools shares his lifelong passion for classical music and the beautiful connections with jazz and blues. With fascinating guests each week, who bring their own favourite music and occasionally perform live in Jools's studio.

Today, Jools's choices include music by Georg Philipp Telemann, John Ireland and Bessie Smith, with performances by the Black Dyke Band, violinist Isabelle Faust and vibraphonist Milt Jackson. His guest is the designer Jasper Conran who introduces music he loves by Chopin, Bach, Stravinsky and Handel.

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 (m003026g)
1807: A New Quartet

1807, Vienna. When musicians first encounter Beethoven’s new Razumovsky Quartets, many are baffled. Written for the Russian ambassador, Count Razumovsky, they are longer, more complex and more adventurous than any string quartets that had come before - making new demands on both performers and listeners.

In an era when quartet playing is largely a domestic pastime, Beethoven reinvents the form as a vehicle for his most daring innovations. At the same time, Beethoven is wrestling with the desperate crisis of losing his hearing. He pours his fears, hopes, pain and determination into his music - creating some of the most ambitious chamber music ever written and expanding forever what what music is capable of expressing.

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. Today, Simon Schama is in the chair, as together they explore the rich musical world of the Classical and Early Romantic era.

Producer: Chris Taylor
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

Ludwig van Beethoven: String Quartet in E minor, Op. 59 No. 2 “Razumovsky” – I. Allegro
Emerson String Quartet

Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony No. 3 in E flat major “Eroica” – Finale
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
Claudio Abbado (conductor)

Ludwig van Beethoven: String Quartet in F major, Op. 59 No. 1 “Razumovsky” – II. Allegretto vivace e sempre scherzando
Takács Quartet

Ludwig van Beethoven: Grosse Fuge, Op. 133
Takács Quartet

Franz Schubert: String Quartet No. 14 in D minor, D810 “Death and the Maiden” – Scherzo
Belcea Quartet

Ludwig van Beethoven: String Quartet No. 14 in C sharp minor, Op. 131 – I. Adagio ma non troppo e molto espressivo
Quatuor Ébène

To listen to this programme using most smart speakers, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Key Changes."


SAT 14:00 Record Review (m003026j)
BBC Proms Composer: Copland with Allyson Devenish and Andrew McGregor

Andrew McGregor selects the best new classical releases and is joined by Allyson Devenish to hear her favourite 5 recordings of music by this week's Proms Composer, Aaron Copland.

2.30pm
BBC Proms Composer: Copland
Allyson Devenish selects five essential recordings by this week's Proms Composer, Aaron Copland.

c3.40pm
Record of the Week
Andrew's top pick of the week's new releases.


SAT 16:00 Sound of Cinema (m003026l)
Edith is joined by composer John Harle, with playwright and writer Julia Donaldson

From sweeping orchestral scores to contemporary soundtrack favourites, Edith Bowman brings you the very best in film and television music.

In this week's edition of Harmonising Hollywood, composer John Harle explores Michael Nyman’s score for Peter Greenaway’s 1982 British period drama The Draughtsman's Contract.

We'll also be joined by acclaimed writer and playwright Julia Donaldson, who reveals her classical-inspired Pick of the Flicks.

And, as always, expect a carefully curated mix of brand new soundtrack releases and timeless cinematic classics.


SAT 17:00 This Classical Life (m003026n)
Jess Gillam with... Tansy Davies

Jess Gillam is joined by composer Tansy Davies to share the music they love.

Tansy Davies' music been described as both ‘ sleek, hot, earthy’ and ‘transparent, brazenly beautiful’, and has been championed by ensembles including New York Philharmonic, Ensemble Intercontemporain, and Tokyo Symphony Orchestra. Her musical choices include Michael Tippett, Prince, 12th century troubadour song, and music by Malian singer Oumou Sangare. Jess in exchange offers Debussy, Mozart, and a beautiful track my contemporary Italian composer Giovanni Sollimma performed by Abel Selaocoe and the Manchester Collective.


SAT 18:00 Music Planet (m003026q)
Highlights from WOMAD

Lopa Kothari presents her favourite moments from this year’s edition of WOMAD Festival. The UK's iconic celebration of world and roots music returned in July 2026, after a year's hiatus, boasting a new home at Neston Park, near Chippenham. Diving between the Sunflower Tent, the Village Stage and the Main Stage, Music Planet's highlights show includes live recordings from Colombian trio La Perla’s first UK performance as well as words and music from Walmatjarri singer-songwriter Kangawa Nagarra. Plus: tracks from Belize's Garifuna Collective and Uganda's Nakibembe Xylophone Troupe and a fresh take on a traditional song by the formidable flamenco artist Carolina La Chispa.

Produced by Silvia Malnati
A Reduced Listening production for BBC Radio 3.

To listen on most smart speakers, just say: “Ask BBC Sounds to play Music Planet.”

‘La Llorona’, performed by Carolina La Chispa at WOMAD 2026 - WOMAD (World of Music, Arts and Dance) Collection - The British Library (ref. C203).


SAT 19:00 New Generation Artists (m003026s)
2026 Proms season showcase - the Kleio Quartet and Astatine Trio

Georgia Mann introduces specially recorded performances from some of Radio 3's current New Generation Artists. Today, the pianist Berniya Hamie joins the Kleio Quartet at the Octagon chapel in Norwich to explore two student works by Webern and Mahler. Also on the bill, a romantic early song by Schoenberg.

Scryabin: Prélude in B-Flat Major, Op. 11, No. 21
Julius Asal (piano)

Schoenberg: Waldsonne - from 4 Songs Op.2 ; No.4;
Andrew Hamilton (baritone), Michael Pandya (piano)

Webern Langsamer Satz
Kleio Quartet

Mahler: Movement in A minor for Piano Quartet
Berniya Hamie (piano), members of Kleio Quartet

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, Mark Simpson and the Belcea Quartet.


SAT 19:30 BBC Proms (m003026v)
2026

Pappano Conducts Berlioz’s ‘Requiem’

Live at the BBC Proms: the London Symphony Chorus and Orchestra conducted by Sir Antonio Pappano in Berlioz's Grande messe des morts.

Presented by Sara Mohr-Pietsch, live from the Royal Albert Hall.

Julien Henric (tenor)
BBC Symphony Chorus
London Symphony Chorus
London Symphony Orchestra
Sir Antonio Pappano (conductor)

Sir Antonio Pappano conducts the London Symphony Orchestra in one of the repertoire’s most monumental musical statements. Premiered in 1837 with 450 performers, Berlioz’s Requiem is a colossal, cinematic statement of faith, fear and hope – a sonic portrait of ‘mankind gathered together on the last day’. Demanding 10 timpanists and with four separate brass groups, it sends the shockwaves of the Day of Judgement right through listeners, insisting on the majesty, the fragility and the terrifying spectacle of death and resurrection.


SAT 21:45 Talking Music (m003026x)
Jamie Barton

Kate Molleson presents a new series of in-depth conversations with artists appearing at the BBC Proms, creating space for thoughtful reflection on their musical lives and creative work.

Today, Kate talks to mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton ahead of her Proms performance of Gustav Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde. From her triumphant arrival at BBC Cardiff Singer of the World, to her debuts at major opera houses around the world, Jamie reflects on the influences that have shaped her as an artist, and the ideas that drive her approach to performance.


SAT 22:30 New Music Show (m003026z)
Requiem for America: Singing for the Invisible People

Tom Service presents the world premiere of Brent Michael Davids' Requiem for America: Singing for the Invisible People.

As its subtitle suggests, this work highlights the human cost of US expansion, which resulted in hundreds of Native American tribes being moved, manipulated or slaughtered. In the words of Davids – himself of Mohican heritage – ‘It sings about the invisibility of the Native people’ and represents ‘more than a piece of music – it’s a reckoning, a remembrance and a call to truth through the arts’.

Brent Michael Davids (Native American flute)
Wallis Giunta (narrator/alto)
Janai Brugger (soprano)
Anne Marie Stanley (alto)
Robert Murray (tenor)
Eric Greene (baritone)
Native chorus: Nitaa-Nagamokwe (leader), Bidaabinokwe, Giniw, Kaakaakidid, Minisinoogwan,
Miskwanangikwe, Yahto Mahpe, Zhaashaawanibiisikwe
BBC Symphony Chorus (Neil Ferris, chorus-master)
BBC Symphony Orchestra
conducted by Teddy Abrams

Recorded at Barbican Hall in London on 17th May

SUNDAY 16 AUGUST 2026

SUN 00:30 Through the Night (m0030271)
Piazzolla's Bandoneon Concerto

Ástor Piazzolla's bandoneon concerto Aconcagua with soloist Marcelo Nisinman and the St Gallen Symphony Orchestra conducted by Simone Menezes. The orchestra also plays music by Villa-Lobos, Copland and Ravel. Jonathan Swain presents.

12:31 AM
Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887-1959)
Alvorada na floresta tropical, W513
St Gallen Symphony Orchestra, Simone Menezes (conductor)

12:41 AM
Astor Piazzolla (1921-1992)
Aconcagua, bandoneon concerto
Marcelo Nisinman (bandoneon), St Gallen Symphony Orchestra, Simone Menezes (conductor)

01:05 AM
Aaron Copland (1900-1990)
Appalachian Spring Suite
St Gallen Symphony Orchestra, Simone Menezes (conductor)

01:34 AM
Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)
Boléro
St Gallen Symphony Orchestra, Simone Menezes (conductor)

01:51 AM
Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887-1959)
Prelude for guitar No 1 in E minor
Norbert Kraft (guitar)

01:56 AM
Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)
Introduction and allegro
Tinka Muradori (flute), Josip Nochta (clarinet), Paula Uršic (harp), Zagreb String Quartet

02:07 AM
Aaron Copland (1900-1990)
Eight Poems of Emily Dickinson
Ema Nikolovska (mezzo soprano), Ulster Orchestra, Jac van Steen (conductor)

02:31 AM
Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904)
Symphony No 7 in D minor Op 70
BBC Symphony Orchestra, Jiří Bělohlávek (conductor)

03:08 AM
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
15 Variations & Fugue on an Original Theme in E flat, Op 35 'Eroica Variations'
Anika Vavic (piano)

03:33 AM
Georg Christoph Bach (1642-1703)
Siehe, wie fein und lieblich ist es - vocal concerto
Paul Elliott (tenor), Hein Meens (tenor), Stephen Varcoe (bass), Musica Antiqua Köln, Reinhard Goebel (director)

03:40 AM
Karol Szymanowski (1882-1937)
Polish Dances
Jerzy Godziszewski (piano)

03:49 AM
Antoni Haczewski (C.18th/19th)
Symphony in D major
Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Andrzej Straszynski (conductor)

03:58 AM
Ole Buck (b.1945), John Keats (author)
Two Faery Songs: "O shed no tear"; "Ah! Woe is me!"
Danish National Radio Choir, Kaare Hansen (conductor)

04:04 AM
Heinrich Wilhelm Ernst (1814-1865)
Variations on The Last Rose of Summer
Ju-young Baek (violin)

04:11 AM
Paul Jeanjean (1874-1928)
Prelude and Scherzo for bassoon and piano
Bálint Mohai (bassoon), Monika Michel (piano)

04:20 AM
Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
The Hebrides, Op 26, overture in B minor, Fingal's Cave
WDR Symphony Orchestra, Cologne, Marek Janowski (conductor)

04:31 AM
Tomaso Albinoni (1671-1751)
Trumpet Concerto in B flat, Op 7 No 3
Ivan Hadliyski (trumpet), Kamerorchester, Alipi Naydenov (conductor)

04:39 AM
Fryderyk Chopin (1810-1849)
Rondo in E flat major, Op 16
Ludmil Angelov (piano)

04:49 AM
Nicolas Gombert (c.1495-c.1560)
Elegie sur la mort de Josquin Musae Jovis
Studio de Musique Ancienne de Montréal, Christopher Jackson (director)

04:58 AM
Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921), Eugene Ysaye (arranger)
Caprice for violin and piano, arr. Ysaye after Saint-Saens
Minami Yoshida (violin), Jean Desmarais (piano)

05:07 AM
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714-1788)
Flute Sonata in G major, Wq.133/H.564 'Hamburger Sonata'
Wilbert Hazelzet (flute), Andreas Staier (fortepiano)

05:14 AM
Malcolm Arnold (1921-2006), John P.Paynter (arranger)
Little Suite for Brass Band No 1, Op 80
Edmonton Wind Ensemble, Harry Pinchin (conductor)

05:22 AM
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Sonata for cello and piano No 2 in F major, Op 99
Christian Poltéra (cello), Martin Helmchen (piano)

05:50 AM
Fernando Lopes-Graça (1906-1994)
3 Portuguese Dances, Op 32 (1941)
Portuguese Symphony Orchestra, Wolfgang Rennert (conductor)

05:57 AM
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Clarinet Quintet in A major, K581
Andrzej Ciepliński (clarinet), Royal String Quartet


SUN 06:30 Radio 3 Breakfast (m00302yp)
Start your day with 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 (m00302yy)
Two hours of classical sparkle

Sarah Walker is here with a effervescent playlist of classical music to accompany your Sunday morning, whether you’re relaxing on holiday, doing a spot of gardening, or cooking a roast dinner for the family.

Today's choral reflection is one of Gustav Holst’s Choral Folksongs, the beautifully evocative “I Love My Love”; and Sarah's Sunday Sequence celebrates the recent International Left-handers day, with recordings by Daniel Barenboim and Nicola Benedetti, and the music of Alexander Scriabin.

Plus, a real treat for your Sunday Morning – the finale of Brahms’s first symphony, from the highly praised 2024 recording by Yannick Nezet-Seguin and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, live at the Festspielhaus in Baden-Baden.


SUN 11:00 BBC Proms (m00302z5)
2026

16/08/2026

Live at the BBC Proms: Swedish Chamber Orchestra under Martin Fröst with a programme exploring the evolution of dance, from Rameau to Mühlrad, and culminating with Beethoven.

Presented by Sara Mohr-Pietsch, live from the Royal Albert Hall, London

Martin Fröst: Cradle Song
Jacob Mühlrad: Helix(BBC commission: world premiere)
Jean‐Philippe Rameau: Dardanus – Gigue (Act 5) orch. Hans Ek
George Frideric Handel: Dixit Dominus – ‘De torrente in via bibet’ orch. Hans Ek
Shai Wosner: Bulgarian gigue after J. S. Bach, French Suite No. 5 in G major, BWV 816 – Gigue; orch. Hans Ek
Jean‐Philippe Rameau: Les Indes galantes – Les sauvages arr. Shai Wosner, orch. Hans Ek
Göran Fröst & Martin Fröst: Nomadic Dances

c.11.30am
Interval: Sara-Mohr Pietsch talks to Swedish violist Göran Fröst (brother of clarinettist / conductor Martin, and member of the orchestra) about the Swedish Chamber Orchestra and musical life in Sweden.

c.11.50am
Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony No. 7 in A major

Swedish Chamber Orchestra
Martin Fröst (conductor/clarinet)

Maverick clarinet virtuoso Martin Fröst – praised for his ‘unsurpassed musicianship’ by The New York Times – explores the evolution of dance in a wide-ranging programme that contrasts the courtly with the rustic and climaxes in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7: dance unleashed as never before. The courtly dances of Rameau and Handel give way to Bach’s contrapuntal invention and folk music’s instinctive pulse, transformed into something provocative and dynamic in works by contemporary Swedish composers Hans Ek and Jacob Mühlrad.


SUN 13:30 Music Map (m00302zb)
Wild Swans by Elena Kats-Chernin

Sara Mohr-Pietsch maps a musical path to the Wild Swans Suite by the Australian composer Elena Kats-Chernin. Part of this was famously used in a TV advert for a bank, and we'll also hear the Flower Duet by Delibes, well-known from an airline ad, plus the smoky sounds of Bach's Air on the G String. There's more music inspired by swans, including Sibelius's Fifth Symphony, and some Argentinian tango, as well as other pieces based on fairy tales.

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


SUN 15:00 The Colours in Sound, with Caroline Shaw (m001vv13)
A Rainbow in Tones

Grammy-award winning composer Caroline Shaw takes us on a journey through the colours in sound. She explores how composers use their paint brushes to draw light to hidden qualities within tones.

Sounds have been described as having colours since the very first writings on music. And many composers have played with the idea - or even their own lived experience of - synaesthesia: the perception of sound combinations as having chromatic, visual qualities.

In this three-part series, Caroline Shaw explores how composers have used humanity's seemingly universal urge to directly and metaphorically associate sound with colour in their compositions to vivid emotional and musical effect: literally "rendering" the tones, melodies and harmonies of their compositions in specific shades, but also in ways that evoke more general arrays of sparkling and twinkling; velvety mellifluence, and piercing shards of clarity, experiences that would be described in more modern times as "Klangfarbenmelodien" - tone colour melodies.

This first episode features music from Monteverdi to Messiaen, Debussy to Duke Ellington.

Produced by James Taylor
An Overcoat Media production for BBC Radio 3


SUN 16:00 Jazz Record Requests (m00302zg)
Classics and New Releases

Alyn Shipton with a selection of classics and new releases as requested by you including music from Billie Holiday, Bix Beiderbecke and Bessie Smith, plus brand new music from singer Louise Balkwill, guitarist Nicolas Meier, and the duo of saxophonist Walter Smith III and pianist Jason Moran.

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 (m00302zj)
From the Sound of Battle to the Silence of Peace

Hannah French presents a concert given by the Bellot Ensemble at the Toll Gavel United Church in Beverley as part of this year's Beverley and East Riding Early Music Festival.

The concert was titled 'From the Sound of Battle to the Silence of Peace', and explored how composers responded to war and its aftermath across 17th-century Europe - whether in memories of conflict or direct representation.

The Bellot Ensemble are Radio 3's current New Generation Baroque Ensemble, and are comprised of two violins, two violas de gamba, a theorbo and a keyboard. Much of their work focuses on 17th-century music from across Europe, music written during a period of enormous change and experimentation, where composers were beginning to push instruments to completely new directions.

Ferro: Sonata decima ‘Due Violini, Violetta da Braccio e Tiorba’
Falconieri: Battaglia de Barabaso yerno de Satanas
Lawes: Fantasia-Suite no. 8 in D major for 2 violins, bass viol and organ
Schmelzer: Lamento sopra la morte di Ferdinandi III
Farina: Capriccio Stravagante
Legrenzi: Sonata sesta a quattro, op. 10
Biber: Battalia à 10

Producer: Ben Collingwood.


SUN 18:00 Choral Evensong (m002zsj6)
Chichester Cathedral

From Chichester Cathedral during the Southern Cathedrals Festival.

Introit: There is a stream (Ashfield)
Responses: Shephard
Office Hymn: Lead, kindly light (Alberta)
Psalms 65, 66, 67 (Russell, Marsh, Hopkins)
First Lesson: Isaiah 45 vv1-7
Canticles: Rubbra in A flat
Second Lesson: Ephesians 4 vv1-16
Anthem: Take him, earth, for cherishing (Howells)
Hymn: O love divine, how great thou art (Cornwall)
Voluntary: Fugue on ‘Ave maris stella’ (Timothy Ravalde)

Choirs of Chichester, Salisbury, and Winchester Cathedrals
Charles Harrison (Conductor)
Timothy Ravalde (Organist)

Recorded 16 July.

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


SUN 19:00 New Generation Artists (m00302zl)
2026 Proms season showcase - Lukas Sternath

Georgia Mann introduces specially-recorded performances from some of Radio 3's current New Generation Artists. Today, the young Viennese pianist plays a movement from one of Schubert's late, great piano sonatas. And that's followed by Elizaveta Ivanova's performance of the Flute Sonata by Ervin Schulhoff. Written in 1927, it mixes 'exotic' influences with jazz and Slovak folk-dance.

Schubert Piano Sonata in A major, D.959 4th movement Rondo (Allegretto)
Lukas Sternath (pianoi)

Ervin Schulhoff: Flute Sonata
Elizaveta Ivanova (flute), Sanja Bizjak (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, Mark Simpson and the Belcea Quartet.


SUN 19:30 BBC Proms (m00302zn)
2026

Elgar’s Cello Concerto

Live at the BBC Proms: Spanish cellist Pablo Ferrández in his Proms debut with Elgar’s concerto plus music by Webern and Walton from the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra & Vasily Petrenko.

Presented by Martin Handley, live from the Royal Albert Hall, London.

Anton Webern: Passacaglia
Edward Elgar: Cello Concerto in E minor

c.8.15pm Interval
Musical polyglot Yshani Perinpanayagam talks to Martin Handley about William Walton and picks her highlights in the coming week's Proms

c.8.35pm
William Walton: Symphony No. 2

Pablo Ferrández (cello)
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Vasily Petrenko (conductor)

Le Figaro called him a ‘new cello genius’. Now prize-winning Spanish cellist Pablo Ferrández makes his Proms debut with Elgar’s achingly passionate concerto. He joins Vasily Petrenko and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra for a programme that measures out the griefs, conflicts and shifting identities of the 20th century – opening with Webern’s lushly Romantic 1908 Passacaglia, whose sequence of intricate variations finds a ghostly echo in the finale of Walton’s Second Symphony. Premiered in 1960, the latter work looks back rather than forwards, rejecting the avant-garde in favour of a dense, Expressionistic intensity.


SUN 22:00 Night Tracks (m00302zq)
Sublime sounds for nightfall

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 17 AUGUST 2026

MON 00:30 Through the Night (m00302zs)
Iberian music from the Ricercar Consort

Francisco Correa de Arauxo was one of the most innovative organists and composers of the Iberian Baroque. His work, written exclusively for keyboard, stands out for its rhythmic complexity, visionary style, and fascinating ornamentation. Philippe Pierlot explores Correa de Arauxo’s sonic universe interpreted by his consort of viols. Jonathan Swain presents.

12:31 AM
Francisco Correa de Arauxo (c. 1584-1654)
Tiento de primero tono, FO 1
Ricercar Consort, Myriam Rignol (tenor viol), Clémence Schiltz (bass viol), Lucile Boulanger (bass viol), Philippe Pierlot (conductor)

12:36 AM
Sebastián Aguilera de Heredia (c.1565-1627)
Salve de primero tono por delasolre

12:39 AM
Antonio de Cabezón (1510-1566)
Diferencias sobre el canto llano del cavallero; ...la Gallarda Milanese

12:44 AM
Francisco Correa de Arauxo (c. 1584-1654)
Tiento tercero de sexto tono, sobre la Batalla de Morales, FO 23

12:51 AM
Juan Bautista José Cabanilles (1644-1712)
Pasacalles de primero tono

12:53 AM
Francisco Correa de Arauxo (c. 1584-1654)
Segundo tiento de cuarto tono por elami a modo de cancion, FO 16

12:58 AM
Francisco Correa de Arauxo (c. 1584-1654)
Tiento de quarto tono, FO 15

01:03 AM
Francisco Correa de Arauxo (c. 1584-1654)
Tiento de medio registro de tiple de decimo tono, FO 36

01:08 AM
Juan Bautista José Cabanilles (1644-1712)
Folías primero tono, WSC 152

01:13 AM
Francisco Correa de Arauxo (c. 1584-1654)
Quarto tiento de quarto tono, FO 18

01:19 AM
Francisco Correa de Arauxo (c. 1584-1654)
Tres glosas sobre el canto llano de la Immaculada Concepcion, FO 69

01:22 AM
Francisco Correa de Arauxo (c. 1584-1654)
Tiento de quinto tono, FO 5

01:27 AM
Tarquinio Merula (1595-1665)
La Monteverde

01:30 AM
Juan Bautista José Cabanilles (1644-1712)
Corrente Italiana
Joan Boronat Sanz (harpsichord)

01:36 AM
Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643)
Vespro della Beata Vergine (excerpts)
Elisabetta Tiso (soprano), Monica Piccinini (soprano), Lia Serafini (soprano), Carlos Mena (counter tenor), Lambert Climent (tenor), Lluís Vilamajó (tenor), Francesc Garrigosa (tenor), Furio Zanasi (baritone), Antonio Abete (bass), Daniele Carnovich (bass), Hespèrion XXI, Jordi Savall (conductor), La Capella Reial de Catalunya

01:55 AM
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Symphony No 41 in C major, K.551 'Jupiter'
Polish Radio Orchestra in Warsaw, Michal Klauza (conductor)

02:31 AM
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Piano Sonata No 18 in E flat major, Op 31 No 3
Zhang Zuo (piano)

02:53 AM
Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971)
Agon - ballet
BBC Symphony Orchestra, David Robertson (conductor)

03:17 AM
Mirko Krajči (b.1968)
Pains and Hopes (Dolore e speranze)
Mucha Quartet

03:31 AM
Erik Satie (1866-1925), Claude Debussy (orchestrator)
Gymnopédies No 3 and No 1
Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Katowice, Alexander Humala (conductor)

03:37 AM
Clara Schumann (1819-1896)
Variations on a theme by Robert Schumann for piano in F sharp minor, Op 20
Angela Cheng (piano)

03:47 AM
Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179)
O clarissima Mater (respond)
Rondellus

03:56 AM
Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741)
Concerto in G minor 'per l'Orchestra di Dresda'
Cappella Coloniensis, Hans-Martin Linde (conductor)

04:06 AM
Gaspar Sanz (1640-1710)
Xácaras and Canarios (Instrucción de música sobre la guitara española")
Eduardo Egüez (guitar)

04:15 AM
Daniel Auber (1782-1871)
Bolero - Ballet music No 2 from La Muette de Portici (Masaniello)
Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, Ondrej Lenárd (conductor)

04:22 AM
Nicola Matteis (c. 1650-after 1713), Lea Sobbe (arranger)
Diverse bizzarie sopra la vecchia sarabanda o pur ciaccona
Lea Sobbe (recorder), Halldór Bjarki Arnarson (harpsichord)

04:31 AM
Philippe Verdelot (1475-1552)
Italia Mia
Banchieri Singers, Dénes Szabó (conductor)

04:36 AM
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Contrapunctus 1 and 2 from 'Die Kunst der Fuge' ('The Art of Fugue')
Young Danish String Quartet

04:42 AM
Jean Sibelius (1865-1957)
Lemminkainen's Return (Lemminkainen Suite, Op 22)
BBC Philharmonic, Yan Pascal Tortelier (conductor)

04:49 AM
Arvo Pärt (b.1935)
Fratres
Petr Nouzovský (cello), Yukie Ichimura (piano)

05:02 AM
Florian Leopold Gassmann (1729-1774)
Stabat Mater
Capella Nova Graz, Unknown (continuo), Otto Kargl (conductor)

05:15 AM
Carl Maria von Weber (1786-1826)
Bassoon Concerto in F major, Op 75
Juhani Tapaninen (bassoon), Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Jukka-Pekka Saraste (conductor)

05:33 AM
Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
String Quartet No 2 in A minor, Op 13
Pacific Quartet Vienna

06:05 AM
Francesco Scarlatti (1666-after 1741)
Concerto Grosso no 4 in E minor
Chiave d'Arco Baroque Orchestra, Sigiswald Kuijken (director)

06:11 AM
Ferruccio Busoni (1866-1924)
Five pieces from "6 kurze Stucke zur Pflege" (1923)
Valerie Tryon (piano)


MON 06:30 Radio 3 Breakfast (m00302xb)
Brighten your day with classical music

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

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


MON 09:30 Essential Classics (m00302xd)
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 (m00302xg)
Beethoven’s 7th Symphony from the BBC Proms

Linton Stephens introduces a week of highlights from the BBC Proms, including, today, Beethoven's Symphony No.7 from the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Gustavo Dudamel, and Haydn's Nelson Mass, performed by the Choir & Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. Also in today's programme, we visit the Edinburgh international Festival for performances by mezzo-soprano Beth Taylor and pianist Hamish Brown, and brass music from The Wallace Collection. And you can hear Stile Antico singing Allegri's famous Miserere at last month's Summer Festivities of Early Music in Prague.

BBC Proms:
Jan Dismas Zelenka
Miserere in C minor
Choir & Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment
Peter Whelan (conductor)

Edinburgh International Festival:
John Wallace
Two Places in Fife (Methihill Scherzo and Dunsire St Rag)
The Wallace Collection and Friends
Clark Rundell (conductor)

BBC Proms:
Johann Sebastian Bach transc. Maurice Duruflé
Jesus bleibet meine Freude
Olivier Latry (organ)

BBC Proms:
Ludwig van Beethoven
Symphony No. 7 in A major
Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra
Gustavo Dudamel (conductor)

Summer Festivities of Early Music, Prague:
Gregorio Allegri
Miserere mei Deus
Stile Antico

Edinburgh International Festival:
Ethel Smyth
Three Moods of the Sea
Beth Taylor (mezzo-soprano)
Hamish Brown (piano)

BBC Proms:
Joseph Haydn
Mass in D minor 'Nelson'
Erin Morley (soprano)
Helen Charlston (mezzo-soprano)
Guy Cutting (tenor)
William Thomas (bass)
Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment
Peter Whelan (conductor)

To listen to this programme (using most smart speakers), just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Classical Live"


MON 16:00 Composer of the Week (m00302xj)
Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)

Sehnsucht and Wanderlust

This week, Kate Molleson follows Felix Mendelssohn's journeys across Europe. In today's episode, we explore the composer's privileged yet restless youth, from the cultural riches of the Mendelssohn household in Berlin to formative encounters with Goethe, Switzerland's mountain landscapes and the musical gatekeepers of Paris. As Mendelssohn's talent blossoms, so too does a lifelong love of travel. Along the way, we discover how family ambition, artistic mentorship and the lure of distant horizons helped shape one of the most gifted musical minds of the 19th century.

Symphony No. 4 in A major 'Italian', Op. 90
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
Edward Gardner, conductor

Rondo capriccioso in E major, Op. 14
Bertrand Chamayou, piano

Overture to A Midsummer Night's Dream, Op. 21
Boston Symphony Orchestra
Seiji Ozawa, conductor

Piano Quartet in F minor, Op. 2 (Adagio)
The Schubert Ensemble

Octet in E flat major, Op. 20 (Allegro moderato)
Quatuor Ébène
Belcea Quartet

Produced by Ellie Ajao for BBC Audio Wales and West.


MON 17:00 In Tune (m00302xl)
Clare Hammond, George Vass, and Cristian Măcelaru

Pianist Clare Hammond plays live on In Tune and is joined by George Vass Artistic Director of the Presteigne Festival.

Petroc also talks to conductor Cristian Măcelaru about his BBC Prom.


MON 19:00 BBC Proms (m00302xn)
2026

Copland and Stravinsky

Live at the BBC Proms: BBC National Orchestra of Wales and Ryan Bancroft perform with clarinetist Anthony McGill.

Presented by Alexandra Humphreys, live from the Royal Albert Hall, London

Copland: Billy the Kid (suite)
Gabriel Kahane: Clarinet Concerto, ‘If love will not swing wide the gates’ [BBC co-commission: European premiere]

c.7.50pm
Interval: Theatre historian and performer Naomi Paxton discusses the puppet figures popularised by the Commedia dell'arte in the Italian middle ages, which Stravinsky drew upon in his ballet. She also shares her research into a Suffragette version of Punch and Judy.

c.8.10pm
Stravinsky: Petrushka (1947 version)

BBC National Orchestra of Wales
Ryan Bancroft (conductor)
Anthony McGill (clarinet)

Two 20th-century ballets lie at the heart of this colourful concert by Ryan Bancroft and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. Puppets come to life at a bustling Shrovetide Fair in Stravinsky’s Petrushka – a giddy musical collage of folk tunes and modernist invention – while cowboy songs swirl through the score of Copland’s Billy the Kid: a musical portrait of the infamous outlaw. Dedicatee Anthony McGill is the soloist in a new Clarinet Concerto, ‘If love will not swing wide the gates’, by Portland-based composer and songwriter Gabriel Kahane. A collaborator of Sufjan Stevens and Rufus Wainright, Kahane blends classical forms with folk-pop influences in his melodic, anthemic writing.


MON 22:00 Night Tracks (m00302xq)
Harmonious music for nighttime listening

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


MON 23:30 'Round Midnight (m00302xs)
Gretchen Parlato’s Flowers

This week, Soweto welcomes celebrated American jazz singer Gretchen Parlato as his Flowers guest. Known for her melodic and luminous voice, Parlato is a notable bandleader and has performed with artists including Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Esperanza Spalding, and Robert Glasper.

From Monday to Thursday, Gretchen is giving Flowers to some of the artists that continue to inspire her. To begin, she gives her first bouquet to a long-time collaborator and multi-instrumentalist that she deeply appreciates.

Also in the programme, there is music from Lee Morgan, Hana Amaya, and Nikki Yeoh.

‘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 18 AUGUST 2026

TUE 00:30 Through the Night (m00302xv)
Ravel, Salonen & Lutosławski from Sweden

British conductor Nicholas Collon and Swedish soprano Camilla Tilling, with the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, perform Ravel's song cycle Shéhérazade. Also featured are the Swedish premiere of Salonen's Gemini, Ravel's Ma Mère l'Oye and Lutosławski's Concerto for Large Orchestra. Jonathan Swain presents.

12:31 AM
Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)
Ma mère l'oye (suite)
Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Nicholas Collon (conductor)

12:48 AM
Esa-Pekka Salonen (b.1958)
Gemini
Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Nicholas Collon (conductor)

01:12 AM
Maurice Ravel (1875-1937), Tristan Klingsor (author)
Shéhérazade, song cycle
Camilla Tilling (soprano), Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Nicholas Collon (conductor)

01:31 AM
Witold Lutosławski (1913-1994)
Concerto for Orchestra
Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Nicholas Collon (conductor)

02:01 AM
Witold Lutosławski (1913-1994)
Epitaph, for oboe & piano
Adrian Wilson (oboe), Joanne Seeley (piano)

02:07 AM
Ludvig Norman (1831-1885)
String Quartet in E major, Op 20 (1855)
Berwald Quartet

02:31 AM
Henry Purcell (1659-1695)
The Fairy Queen, Z.629
Elodie Fonnard (soprano), Rachel Redmond (soprano), Reinoud van Mechelen (tenor), Yannis Francois (bass baritone), European Union Baroque Orchestra, Paul Agnew (director)

03:17 AM
Fryderyk Chopin (1810-1849)
Ballade No 4 in F minor, Op 52
Seung-Hee Hyun (piano)

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)

03:36 AM
Mikhail Glinka (1804-1857)
Nocturno for harp
Branka Janjanin-Magdalenič (harp)

03:41 AM
Johann Friedrich Fasch (1688-1758)
Sonata in D major, FaWV.ND1
Ensemble Augelletti

03:50 AM
Alice Mary Smith (1839-1884)
The Masque of Pandora (Overture)
BBC Concert Orchestra, Bramwell Tovey (conductor)

04:02 AM
Jacques Arcadelt (c.1505-1568)
Ave Maria
Tallinna Poistekoor [Tallinn Boys Choir], Lydia Rahula (conductor)

04:05 AM
Nadia Boulanger (1887-1979)
3 Pieces for cello and piano
Zoltán Despond (cello), Vesselin Stanev (piano)

04:12 AM
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Rondino in E flat major, WoO.25
Festival Winds

04:19 AM
Robert Kajanus (1856-1933)
Finnish Rhapsody No 1
Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Leif Segerstam (conductor)

04:31 AM
Andreas Hammerschmidt (1611/2-1675)
Vom Leiden Christi
Ensemble Polyharmonique, Alexander Schneider (director), {oh!} Orkiestra Historyczna, Martyna Pastuszka (conductor)

04:36 AM
Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757),Walter Gieseking (1895-1956)
Chaconne on a Theme by Scarlatti after Keyboard Sonata in D minor, K.32
Joseph Moog (piano)

04:43 AM
Gabriel Fauré (1845 - 1924)
Pavane for orchestra, Op 50
BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Grant Llewellyn (conductor)

04:50 AM
György Ligeti (1923-2006)
Lux Aeterna
Norwegian Soloists' Choir, Grete Helgerød (conductor)

05:00 AM
Valentin Villard (b.1985)
Quercus
Delta Piano Trio

05:10 AM
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)
Capriccio Italien, Op 45
Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Andrey Boreyko (conductor)

05:26 AM
Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Fantasy for piano in C major, D.760 "Wandererfantasie"
Alfred Brendel (piano)

05:47 AM
Franjo von Lucic (1889-1972)
Missa Jubilaris
Ivan Goran Kovacic Academic Chorus, Croatian Army Symphony Wind Orchestra, Unknown (organ), Mladen Tarbuk (conductor)

06:16 AM
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Prelude, Fugue & Allegro in E flat major, BWV.998
Konrad Junghänel (lute)


TUE 06:30 Radio 3 Breakfast (m00302b1)
The best classical music wake-up call

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 (m00302b3)
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 (m00302b5)
Gershwin’s Piano Concerto from the BBC Proms

Linton Stephens introduces highlights from this year's Proms, including Gershwin's jazz-inspired Piano Concerto from Yeol Eum Son and the BBC Symphony Orchestra. Olivier Latry also makes the Royal Albert Hall organ shake with his performance of Bach's mighty Toccata & Fugue in D minor. Plus performances from mezzo-soprano Beth Tyler & pianist Hamish Brown, and from the Venice Baroque Orchestra at the Edinburgh International Festival. And from the Carinthian Summer Music Festival in Austria, Camerata Salzburg plays Beethoven's Symphony No.5.

Edinburgh International Festival:
Antonio Vivaldi
Concerto for 2 cellos in G minor, RV. 531
Venice Baroque Orchestra
Andrea Marcon (conductor)

BBC Proms:
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Masonic Funeral Music
Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment
Peter Whelan (conductor)

Edinburgh International Festival:
Augusta Holmès
Pareil a la mer profonde; Le Vin
Beth Taylor (mezzo-soprano)
Hamish Brown (piano)

BBC Proms:
George Gershwin
Piano Concerto in F major
Yeol Eum Son (piano)
BBC Symphony Orchestra
James Gaffigan (conductor)

BBC Proms:
Johann Sebastian Bach
Toccata & Fugue in D minor, BWV. 56
Olivier Latry (organ)

Summer Festivities of Early Music, Prague:
Thomas Crecquillon
Andreas Christi famulus
Stile Antico

Carinthian Summer Music Festival, Austria
Ludwig van Beethoven
Symphony No.5 in C minor, Op.67
Camerata Salzburg
Antonello Manacorda (conductor)

Edinburgh International Festival:
Connie Converse
Cassandra Cycle (excerpts)
Beth Taylor (mezzo-soprano)
Hamish Brown (piano)

Edinburgh International Festival:
Antonio Vivaldi
Flute Concerto in C major, RV. 443
Venice Baroque Orchestra
Andrea Marcon (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 (m00302b7)
Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)

London Calling

This week, Kate Molleson follows Felix Mendelssohn's journeys across Europe. Today, the 20-year-old composer arrives in London – a city he would come to adore. Battling seasickness, social expectations and musical politics, Mendelssohn quickly wins over audiences with his brilliance as a conductor, pianist and composer. From triumphant Philharmonic Society concerts to encounters with industrial pioneers and London's cultural elite, we explore the beginnings of a lifelong love affair between Mendelssohn and Britain.

Symphony No. 1 in C minor, Op. 11 (1829 London Version): Scherzo
London Symphony Orchestra
Sir John Eliot Gardiner, conductor

Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage, Op. 27
Bamberger Symphoniker
Claus Peter Flor, conductor

Symphony No. 1 in C minor, Op. 11: Allegro di molto
Chamber Orchestra of Europe
RIAS Kammerchor
Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor

Wer nur den lieben Gott lasst walten
Nanette Mans, soprano
Ars Musica
Patrick van der Linden, conductor

Piano Concerto No. 1 in G minor, Op. 25: I and II
Jan Lisiecki, piano
Orpheus Chamber Orchestra

Produced by Ellie Ajao for BBC Audio Wales and West.


TUE 17:00 In Tune (m00302b9)
Meraki Duo play live from their debut album

Meraki Duo - flautist Meera Maharaj and guitarist James Girling, play live from their debut album Notes from the Living Room, which is released in September.


TUE 19:00 BBC Proms (m00302bc)
2026

Shostakovich's Tenth

Live at the BBC Proms: the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Cristian Măcelaru perform Shostakovich's masterly Symphony No.10, plus Édith Canat de Chizy's Skyline.

Presented by Hannah French, live from the Royal Albert Hall, London.

Édith Canat de Chizy: Skyline (Concerto for three percussionists, timpani and orchestra) (BBC co-commission: UK premiere)

c.7.20
Interval: Níall McLaughlin was awarded the 2026 Royal Gold Medal for Architecture for a career which has included a prize-winning library and a striking chapel. He discusses his musical interests and the inspirations which can feed into an architectural design.

c. 7.40
Dmitry Shostakovich: Symphony No. 10 in E minor

Lucy Landymore, Emma Arden, Delia Stevens (Percussion)
Richard Cartlidge (Timpani)
BBC Symphony Orchestra
Cristian Măcelaru (Conductor)

Cristian Măcelaru, whose own childhood was spent in communist Romania, conducts the BBC Symphony Orchestra in Shostakovich’s devastatingly powerful Symphony No. 10. Premiered after Stalin’s death in 1953, it’s a work whose fierce rage, violence and grief tell a terrifying story of life in the dictator’s Russia – a painfully personal history and one shot through with the composer’s own musical signature: DSCH. The concert opens with the UK premiere of Édith Canat de Chizy’s intricately textured Skyline for three percussionists, timpani and orchestra – a musical vision of the cosmos, from void to teeming, multiplying musical life.


TUE 22:00 Night Tracks (m00302bf)
Blissful sounds for night owls

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


TUE 23:30 'Round Midnight (m00302bh)
New from Deirdre Cartwright’s ORGANIK

Gretchen Parlato has a second artist to spotlight tonight and this time she chooses an American singer-songwriter and guitarist who blends jazz, indie rock, folk and chamber pop.

Also in the programme, there is music from Ralph Alessi, Hannah Horton, and Bruno Berle.

‘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 19 AUGUST 2026

WED 00:30 Through the Night (m00302bm)
Joshua Bell and Górecki's Symphony of Sorrowful Songs

Dalia Stasevska leads the BBC Symphony Orchestra with Joshua Bell performing the UK premiere of Thomas de Hartmann's Violin Concerto at the Proms. The second half of the concert is Górecki's stunning and powerful third symphony, his 'Symphony of Sorrowful Songs' with soprano Francesca Chiejina. Jonathan Swain presents.

12:31 AM
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750), Ottorino Respighi (orchestrator)
Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland
BBC Symphony Orchestra, Dalia Stasevska (conductor)

12:37 AM
Thomas de Hartmann (1885-1956)
Violin Concerto
Joshua Bell (violin), BBC Symphony Orchestra, Dalia Stasevska (conductor)

01:08 AM
Fryderyk Chopin (1810-1849), Joshua Bell (arranger)
Nocturne in E flat, Op 9 No 2
Joshua Bell (violin), BBC Symphony Orchestra, Dalia Stasevska (conductor)

01:14 AM
Henryk Górecki (1933-2010)
Symphony No 3 'Symphony of Sorrowful Songs'
Francesca Chiejina (soprano), BBC Symphony Orchestra, Dalia Stasevska (conductor)

02:04 AM
Johann Christoph Bach (1642-1703)
Der Mensch von Weibe geboren
Vox Luminis, Lionel Meunier (director)

02:09 AM
Karol Szymanowski (1882-1937)
Piano Sonata No 3, Op 36
Jerzy Godziszewski (piano)

02:31 AM
Sergey Rachmaninov (1873-1943)
Symphony No 1 in D minor, Op 13
BBC Philharmonic, John Storgårds (conductor)

03:15 AM
Henry Purcell (1659-1695)
Timon of Athens, the man-hater - incidental music, Z.632
Lynne Dawson (soprano), Gillian Fisher (soprano), Rogers Covey-Crump (tenor), Paul Elliott (tenor), Michael George (bass), Stephen Varcoe (bass), Monteverdi Choir, English Baroque Soloists, John Eliot Gardiner (conductor)

03:37 AM
Maya Le Roux-Obradovic
Ballade de la vallée magique
Maya Le Roux-Obradovic (guitar), Sinfonietta Belgrade, Aleksandar Vujic (conductor)

03:53 AM
Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179)
Alma Redemptoris Mater & Ave Maria, O auctrix vite
Sequentia, Elizabeth Gaver (medieval fiddle), Elisabetta de Mircovich (medieval fiddle)

04:05 AM
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Prelude and Fugue in G minor
Ligita Sneibe (organ)

04:12 AM
Peter Maxwell Davies (1934-2016)
A Sad paven for these distracted tymes for string quartet
Pavel Haas Quartet

04:20 AM
Leif Strand (1942-2021), Øivind Westby (arranger)
Men går jag över engarna (But I Walk Across the Meadows)
Ole Edvard Antonsen (trumpet), Argovia Philharmonic, Rune Bergmann (conductor)

04:26 AM
Alessandro Piccinini (1566-c.1638)
Toccata VI
Axel Wolf (lute)

04:31 AM
Otto Nicolai (1810-1849)
Overture, The Merry Wives of Windsor
Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Łukasz Borowicz (conductor)

04:40 AM
Camilla de Rossi (fl.1707-1710)
Cielo, pietoso Cielo (Sant' Alassio)
Agnieszka Kowalczyk (soprano), Musica Fiorita, Daniela Dolci (director)

04:44 AM
Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757)
Sonata in C major, K.86
Eduardo Lopez Banzo (harpsichord)

04:51 AM
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Constanze's aria "Martern aller Arten" from 'Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail Act 2
Cyndia Sieden (soprano), Prima La Musica, Dirk Vermeulen (conductor)

05:01 AM
Carlo Gesualdo da Venosa (1566-1613), Peter Maxwell Davies (arranger)
2 Motets arr. Maxwell Davies for brass quintet
Graham Ashton Brass Ensemble

05:10 AM
Ruth Gipps (1921-1999)
Wind Sinfonietta, Op 73
BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Jonathan Bloxham (conductor)

05:28 AM
Edward Elgar (1857-1934)
Variations on an original theme 'Enigma', Op 36
Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Christopher Warren-Green (conductor)

05:59 AM
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
String Quartet No 10 in E flat major, Op 74 "Harp"
Florian Kellerhals (violin), Harald Grimsrud (violin), Elisabeth Sijpkens (viola), Hjalmar Kvam (cello)


WED 06:30 Radio 3 Breakfast (m003038c)
Start the day on the right note with classical music

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

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


WED 09:30 Essential Classics (m003038f)
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 (m003038h)
Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition from the Edinburgh Festival

Elizabeth Alker introduces highlights from this year's BBC Proms, including Samuel Barber's Symphony No. 1 from the BBC Symphony Orchestra and conductor James Gaffigan. We also visit the Edinburgh International Festival for highlights from three concerts today, including a dazzling brass band arrangement of Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition, and performances of Handel and Geminiani from the Venice Baroque Orchestra.

Edinburgh International Festival:
Georg Frideric Handel
Concerto Grosso in G major, Op. 6 No. 1
Venice Baroque Orchestra
Andrea Marcon (conductor)

BBC Proms:
Samuel Barber – Symphony No. 1
BBC Symphony Orchestra
James Gaffigan (conductor)

Edinburgh International Festival:
Modest Mussorgsky arr. Elgar Howarth
Pictures at an Exhibition
The Wallace Collection & Friends

Summer Festivities of Early Music, Prague:
Giovanni da Palestrina
Missa Papae Marcelli (Credo)
Stile Antico

Edinburgh International Festival:
Francesco Geminiani
Concerto Grosso in D minor “La Folia” (after Corelli’s Violin Sonata in D minor, Op. 5 No. 12)
Venice Baroque Orchestra
Andrea Marcon (conductor)

To listen to this programme (using most smart speakers), just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Classical Live".


WED 15:00 Choral Evensong (m003038k)
St Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral, Edinburgh

Live from St Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral, Edinburgh, as part of the Edinburgh Festivals.

Introit: Save us, O Lord (Bairstow)
Responses: Rose
Psalms 98, 99, 100, 101 (Garrett, Russell, Ouseley, Brewer)
First Lesson: Acts 8 vv14-25
Canticles: Jackson in G
Second Lesson: John 6 vv1-15
Anthem: The Lord is my Shepherd (Stanford)
Hymn: Guide me O thou great redeemer (Cwm Rhondda)
Voluntary: Sonata in E flat (Allegro giocoso) (Bairstow)

Duncan Ferguson (Director of Music)
Imogen Morgan (Assistant Director of Music)

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


WED 16:00 Composer of the Week (m003038m)
Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)

Pastures Green (and Grey)

This week, Kate Molleson follows Felix Mendelssohn's journeys across the British Isles. Today, a summer tour takes the young composer north to Scotland, where dramatic landscapes, Highland culture and the Hebrides leave an indelible (though not always positive) mark on his imagination. Along the way, he finds inspiration for some of his best-loved music, including the Scottish Symphony and Hebrides Overture. But not every destination proves equally enchanting, as a rain-soaked stay in Wales leaves Mendelssohn with rather different impressions.

Symphony No. 3 in A minor, Op. 56, Scottish: II. Vivace non troppo
Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra
Lahav Shani, conductor

Symphony No. 3 in A minor, Op. 56, Scottish: IV. Allegro vivacissimo – Allegro maestoso assai
Berliner Philharmoniker
Herbert von Karajan, conductor

Hebrides Overture, Op. 26
Scottish Chamber Orchestra
Jaime Laredo, conductor

Fantasia in F sharp minor, Op. 28 (Scottish Sonata)
Zecharia Plavin, piano

Three Fantasies (or Caprices), Op. 16
Valerie Tryon, piano

Produced by Ellie Ajao for BBC Audio Wales and West.


WED 17:00 In Tune (m003038p)
Hesperi Ensemble & the Buskaid Soweto String Ensemble

Hesperi Ensemble and the Buskaid Soweto String Ensemble perform live on In Tune ahead of their Baroque Bridges concert.

Petroc also chats to Miho Hazama about conducting the BBC's Miles Davis Centenary Prom.


WED 19:00 BBC Proms (m003038r)
2026

‘Ariadne auf Naxos’ from Glyndebourne

Live at the BBC Proms: Glyndebourne Festival Opera conducted by Robin Ticciati in a semi-staged performance of Strauss's opera within an opera, Ariadne auf Naxos.

Presented by Andrew McGregor, live from the Royal Albert Hall, London

Richard Strauss: Ariadne auf Naxos part 1 (Prologue)

c.7.40pm
Interval: The classicist and author Emily Hauser joins Andrew to explore the mythology behind Ariadne, re-examine the agency of women in the literature of antiquity, and consider how stories that have long been told through the actions of men might be recovered through the women who shaped their fates.

c.8.00pm
Richard Strauss: Ariadne auf Naxos part 2

Rachel Willis-Sørensen - Ariadne
David Butt Philip - Bacchus
Alina Wunderlin - Zerbinetta
Mikhail Timoshenko - Harlequin
Caspar Singh - Scaramuccio
Liam James Karai - Truffaldino
Liam Bonthrone - Brighella
Samantha Hankey - Composer
Michael Kraus - Music Master
Ru Charlesworth - Dancing Master
Anna Denisova - Naiad
Ekaterina Chayka Rubinstein - Dryad
Eirin Rognerud - Echo
Glyndebourne Festival Opera
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Robin Ticciati (conductor)

The richest man in Vienna has commissioned an evening’s entertainment. But when an opera and a comedy troupe are forced to share the same stage, all bets are off. Strauss’s Ariadne auf Naxos is part farce, part dream-like fantasy, set to one of the composer’s most luscious scores. It comes fresh from the Glyndebourne Festival, performed complete at the Proms for the first time in nearly half a century.


WED 22:00 Night Tracks (m003038t)
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.


WED 23:30 'Round Midnight (m003038w)
Brand new from DOMi & JD Beck

Tonight, Gretchen Parlato is back to highlight the next artist that she would like to put focus on for Flowers, and this time, she chooses a pioneering American musician who she reveres.

There is also music from Daniel Casimir, Penny Goodwin, and Leif Kaner-Lidstrom.

‘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 20 AUGUST 2026

THU 00:30 Through the Night (m003038y)
Hungarian National Day

A concert of Bartók, Kurtág and Stravinsky from the Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra in Budapest is the centrepiece of the programme. Celebrating St Stephen's Day in Hungary, the rest of the night has a focus on Hungarian composers and performers. Jonathan Swain presents.

12:31 AM
Béla Bartók (1881-1945)
Romanian folk dances, Sz.56
Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Budapest, Gergely Vajda (conductor)

12:37 AM
György Kurtág (b.1926)
Colindă-Baladă
Georgi Sztojanov (tenor), Hungarian Radio Chorus, Budapest, Máté Szabó Sipos (choirmaster), Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Budapest, Gergely Vajda (conductor)

12:55 AM
Béla Bartók (1881-1945)
Village Scenes, Sz.78
Hungarian Radio Chorus, Budapest, Máté Szabó Sipos (choirmaster), Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Budapest, Gergely Vajda (conductor)

01:07 AM
Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971)
Ebony Concerto, for clarinet and jazz ensemble
Mihály Borbély (clarinet), Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Budapest, Gergely Vajda (conductor)

01:18 AM
Béla Bartók (1881-1945)
Divertimento, Sz.113
Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Budapest, Gergely Vajda (conductor)

01:44 AM
Franz Liszt (1811-1886)
Piano Sonata in B minor, S.178
Lukas Geniušas (piano)

02:15 AM
Mihály Mosonyi (1815-1870)
Unnepi zene
Hungarian Radio Orchestra, Adam Medveczky (conductor)

02:25 AM
Vittorio Monti (1868-1922)
Csardas (orig. for violin and piano) arr. unknown for brass ensemble
Hungarian Brass Ensemble

02:31 AM
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Piano Concerto No 17 in G major, K.453
Dezső Ránki (piano), Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra, Janos Rolla (leader)

03:00 AM
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
String Quartet in G major, Op 18 No 2
Bartók String Quartet

03:24 AM
Károly Goldmark (1830-1915)
An die Georgina, Op 46 No 2
Katalin Szõkefalvi-Nagy (soprano), Klára Körmendy (piano)

03:28 AM
Viktor Vaszy (1903-1979)
Comedy Overture
Hungarian Radio Orchestra, Viktor Vaszy (conductor)

03:34 AM
Dietrich Buxtehude (1637-1707)
Jubilate Domino, omnis terra for alto, viola da gamba and continuo, BuxWV.64
Zoltán Gavodi (counter tenor), Sándor Sászvárosi (viola da gamba), Zsuzsanna Nagy (harpsichord), Sonora Hungarica Consort

03:45 AM
Ernst von Dohnányi (1877-1960)
Passacaglia for flute solo, Op 48 No 1
Lóránt Kovács (flute)

03:55 AM
Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)
Trumpet Concerto in E flat major, H.7e.1
Gyõrgy Geiger (trumpet), Hungarian Radio Orchestra, András Ligeti (conductor)

04:09 AM
Josquin des Prez (c1440 - 1521)
Chanson: Ma bouche rit
Banchieri Singers, Dénes Szabó (conductor)

04:14 AM
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)
Voyevoda - Symphonic Ballad, Op 78
Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Tamás Vásáry (conductor)

04:26 AM
Richard Heuberger (1850-1914)
Midnight Bells from 'Der Opernball'
Barnabas Kelemen (violin), Zóltan Kocsis (piano)

04:31 AM
Zoltán Kodály (1882-1967)
Hymn to King Stephen
Hungarian Radio Chorus, Péter Erdei (conductor)

04:36 AM
Fryderyk Chopin (1810-1849)
Waltz in A minor, Op 34 No 2
Zóltan Kocsis (piano)

04:42 AM
Franz Liszt (1811-1886)
Orpheus - symphonic poem S.98 for orchestra
Hungarian State Orchestra, János Ferencsik (conductor)

04:53 AM
Franz Doppler (1821-1883)
L'oiseau des bois (Bird in the woods) - idyll for flute and 4 horns, Op 21
János Balint (flute), Jenö Keveházi (horn), Peter Fuzes (horn), Sandor Endrodi (horn), Tibor Maruzsa (horn)

04:59 AM
Pongrác Kacsóh (1873-1923)
Janos Vitez - excerpts
Magda Kalmár (soprano), János Berkes (tenor), Lajos Miller (baritone), Hungarian State Opera Orchestra, János Kerekes (conductor)

05:12 AM
László Lajtha (1892-1963)
Symphony No 4, Op 52, 'Spring'
Hungarian State Orchestra, János Ferencsik (conductor)

05:37 AM
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714-1788)
Sonata for flute/recorder and keyboard in E flat major, BWV.1031
Imre Lachegyi (recorder), Zsuzsanna Nagy (harpsichord)

05:49 AM
Gabriel Fauré (1845 - 1924)
Dolly - Suite for piano duet, Op 56
Erzsébet Tusa (piano), István Lantos (piano)

06:03 AM
Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)
String Quartet in B flat major, Op 71 No 1 (Hob III:69)
Tátrai Quartet

06:26 AM
Philippe Verdelot (1475-1552)
Dormend Un'Giorno
Banchieri Singers, Dénes Szabó (conductor)


THU 06:30 Radio 3 Breakfast (m0030295)
Rise and shine 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 (m0030297)
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 (m0030299)
Stravinsky's Petrushka from the BBC Proms

Elizabeth Alker introduces highlights from the BBC Proms, including ballet music from Stravinsky's Petrushka and Copland's Billy the Kid, performed by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and conductor Ryan Bancroft. Karol Szymanowski's choral masterpiece, his Stabat mater, inspired by Mary's words at the Cross, with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and Ryan Bancroft. Plus more from the Venice Baroque Orchestra concert at the Edinburgh International Festival, and we visit the Alhambra Palace in Granada for a performance of Mozart's Symphony No. 39 from the Orchestra of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino and conductor Zubin Mehta.

BBC Proms:
Aaron Copland
Billy the Kid Suite
BBC National Orchestra of Wales
Ryan Bancroft (conductor)

BBC Proms:
Johann Sebastian Bach
Prelude & Fugue in D minor, BWV. 539
Olivier Latry (organ)

Edinburgh International Festival:
Cameron Biles-Liddell – The Breakers
Beth Taylor (mezzo-soprano)
Hamish Brown (piano)

BBC Proms:
Igor Stravinsky – Petrushka (1947 version)
BBC National Orchestra of Wales
Ryan Bancroft (conductor)

Edinburgh International Festival:
Antonio Vivaldi
Concerto for 2 violins in G major, RV. 516
Venice Baroque Orchestra
Andrea Marcon (conductor)

Summer Festivities of Early Music, Prague:
John Taverner - O Wilhelme, pastor bone
Stile Antico

RAI Summer Festival, Turin:
Georges Bizet
Carmen Suite
RAI National Symphony Orchestra
David Giménez Carreras (conductor)

BBC Proms:
Antonio Vivaldi transc. Johann Sebastian Bach
Concerto in A minor, BWV. 593
Olivier Latry (organ)

Granada International Festival of Music & Dance:
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Symphony No.39 in E flat, K. 543
Orchestra of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino
Zubin Mehta (conductor)

To listen to this programme (using most smart speakers), just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Classical Live"


THU 16:00 Composer of the Week (m003029c)
Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)

An Italian Winter

This week, Kate Molleson follows Felix Mendelssohn's travels across Europe. Today, Italy provides the backdrop for one of the happiest periods of the composer's life. From the canals of Venice to the artistic riches of Rome and the bustling streets of Naples, Mendelssohn soaks up new sights, sounds and landscapes while forging friendships with fellow artists, including Hector Berlioz. Yet alongside the beauty of his surroundings, he encounters political upheaval, religious spectacle and musical traditions that challenge his deeply held convictions.

Venetian Gondola Song
Bohdan Warchal, piano

Ave Maria
The Sixteen
Harry Christophers, conductor

Symphony No. 5 in D major 'Reformation', Op. 107: IV. Chorale, "Ein feste Burg"
Freiburger Barockorchester
Pablo Heras-Casado, conductor

Psalm No. 115, Nicht unserm Namen, Herr, Op. 31
Gulbenkian Choir and Orchestra
Michel Corboz, conductor

Symphony No. 4 in A major 'Italian', Op. 90 (movements 3 and 4)
London Symphony Orchestra
Claudio Abbado, conductor

Produced by Ellie Ajao for BBC Audio Wales and West.


THU 17:00 In Tune (m003029g)
Amy Harman performs live

Petroc Trelawny is joined by bassoonist Amy Harman in 80A. She performs live, accompanied by pianist Anyssa Neumann, ahead of her appearance at the BBC Proms with the Academy of St Martins in the Fields and director Benjamin Marquise Gilmore, at the Royal Albert Hall in London on 23/08.


THU 19:00 BBC Proms (m003029j)
2026

Miles Davis Centenary

Live at the BBC Proms: Miho Hazama and the BBC Concert Orchestra are joined by trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire in a tribute to the jazz legend in his centenary year.

Presented by Kevin Le Gendre, live from the Royal Albert Hall, London.

Gershwin, arr. Gil Evans & Miles Davis, orch. Miho Hazama: Porgy and Bess – ‘Bess, you is my woman now’; ‘Gone, gone, gone’; ‘Summertime’; ‘I loves you, Porgy’
Gil Evans: Boplicity
de Falla. arr. Gil Evans & Miles Davis, orch. Miho Hazama: El amor brujo medley – Dance of Terror; Song of the Will-o’-the-Wisp; Ritual Fire Dance

Interval: George Cole, author of The Last Miles: The Music of Miles Davis 1980-1991, joins Kevin Le Gendre live at the Royal Albert Hall to talk about the life and career of Miles Davis.

Weill. arr. Gil Evans, orch. Miho Hazama; My Ship
Miles Davis/Gil Evans, orch, Miho Hazama: Miles Ahead
Eddie Barclay: Once Upon a Summertime (La Valse des lilas)
Rodrigo, arr. Gil Evans & Miles Davis, orch. Miho Hazama; En Aranjuez con tu amor (after the Adagio of ‘Concierto de Aranjuez’)

Ambrose Akinmusire {trumpet)
Sam Harris (piano)
Harish Raghavan (bass)
Kendrick Scott (drums)
BBC Concert Orchestra
Conductor Miho Hazama

The Proms marks Miles Davis’s centenary with a concert combining his influences – works by Rodrigo and Gershwin – with his own hits. Trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire joins the BBC Concert Orchestra and Miho Hazama for a celebration of a jazz legend.


THU 22:00 Night Tracks (m003029l)
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.


THU 23:30 'Round Midnight (m003029n)
Fresh from Christ-Stéphane Boizi

All this week, from Monday to Thursday, American jazz singer Gretchen Parlato has been highlighting some of the artists that she is inspired by, for Flowers.

To conclude her week, she chooses a highly prolific musician and long-time friend who she continues to take influence from. Gretchen's latest album called "Wise Ones" is out next month.

There is music from Mark Guiliana, Julieta Eugenio, and WILLOW and Mei Semones.

‘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 21 AUGUST 2026

FRI 00:30 Through the Night (m003029q)
2025 Banff International String Quartet Competition

From the Romantic Round of the Banff International String Quartet Competition, quartets by Mendelssohn, Debussy and Brahms. Jonathan Swain presents.

12:31 AM
Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
String Quartet No 2 in A minor, Op 13
Quartet KAIRI

01:02 AM
Claude Debussy (1862-1918)
String Quartet in G minor, Op 10
Cong Quartet

01:28 AM
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
String Quartet No 3 in B flat, Op 67
Poiesis Quartet

02:00 AM
Claude Debussy (1862-1918)
Jardins sous la pluie (Estampes, L.100)
Karina Sabac (piano)

02:05 AM
Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
A Midsummer Night's Dream - incidental music, Op 61
Danish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Michael Schønwandt (conductor)

02:31 AM
Felix Nowowiejski (1877-1946)
Missa pro pace, Op 49 No 3
Polish Radio Choir, Andrzej Bialko (organ), Wlodzimierz Siedlik (conductor)

03:09 AM
Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
Humoreske for piano in B flat major, Op 20
Ivetta Irkha (piano)

03:33 AM
Dmitry Shostakovich (1906-1975)
Festive Overture, Op 96
Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, Uri Mayer (conductor)

03:39 AM
Alexej Lebedjew (1923-1993)
Concerto in one movement (Concerto No 1) in A minor
Csaba Wagner (trombone), Katalin Sarkady (piano)

03:47 AM
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)
Pezzo capriccioso - morceau de concert
Narek Hakhnazaryan (cello), Katya Apekisheva (piano)

03:54 AM
Jacques Hétu (1938-2010), Émile Nelligan (author)
Le jardin d'antan; Gondolar - from Les Illusions Fanees, Op 46
Phoenix Chamber Choir, Ramona Luengen (conductor)

04:00 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)

04:09 AM
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Praeludium and Fughetta in G major, BWV.902
Andreas Staier (harpsichord)

04:19 AM
Giuseppe Tartini (1692-1770), Øivind Westby (arranger)
Trumpet Concerto in D major
Ole Edvard Antonsen (trumpet), Argovia Philharmonic, Rune Bergmann (conductor)

04:31 AM
Johann Christoph Pezel (1639-1694), Ronald Romm (arranger)
Suite of German dances, arr for brass ensemble
Canadian Brass

04:39 AM
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
12 Variations for piano in B flat major, K.500
Simon Crawford-Phillips (piano)

04:48 AM
Chiara Margarita Cozzolani (1602-c.1678)
Laudate pueri - psalm for 8 voices
Cappella Artemisia, Maria Christina Cleary (harp), Francesca Torelli (theorbo), Bettini Hoffmann (gamba), Miranda Aureli (organ), Candace Smith (director)

04:57 AM
Leopold Ebner (1769-1830)
Trio in B flat major
Zagreb Woodwind Trio

05:04 AM
Edvard Grieg (1843-1907)
Evening in the Mountains, Op 68 No 4; At the cradle, Op 68 no 5
CBC Vancouver Orchestra, Mario Bernardi (conductor)

05:13 AM
Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741)
Concerto in F major for treble recorder, RV.442
Michael Schneider (recorder), Camerata Köln

05:21 AM
Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904)
String Serenade in E major, Op 22
Festival Strings Lucerne, Daniel Dodds (conductor)

05:49 AM
Fryderyk Chopin (1810-1849)
Fantasy in F minor, Op 49
Jakub Kuszlik (piano)

06:02 AM
Christoph Ernst Friedrich Weyse (1774-1842)
Symphony No 6 in C minor
Danish Radio Concert Orchestra, Ádám Fischer (conductor)


FRI 06:30 Radio 3 Breakfast (m00302kg)
Roll out of bed into 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 (m00302kj)
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 (m00302kl)
Shostakovich's 10th Symphony from the BBC Proms

Elizabeth Alker introduces highlights from the BBC Proms, including Shostakovich's dramatic 10th Symphony from the BBC Symphony Orchestra and conductor Cristian Măcelaru; song from the Edinburgh International Festival from mezzo-soprano Beth Taylor and pianist Hamish Brown; and Zubin Mehta conducting the Orchestra of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in two Mozart symphonies at the Alhambra Palace in Granada.

Granada International Festival of Music & Dance:
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Symphony No.40 in G minor, K. 550
Orchestra of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino
Zubin Mehta (conductor)

BBC Proms:
Johann Sebastian Bach
Chorale “Kommst du nun, Jesu, vom Himmel herunter”, BWV. 650
Olivier Latry (organ)

Edinburgh International Festival:
Germaine Tailleferre
Pancarte pour une Porte d’entrée (excerpts)
Beth Taylor (mezzo-soprano)
Hamish Brown (piano)

BBC Proms:
Dmitri Shostakovich
Symphony No.10 in E minor, Op. 93
BBC Symphony Orchestra
Cristian Măcelaru (conductor)

Summer Festivities of Early Music, Prague
William Byrd
Justorum animae
Stile Antico

Edinburgh International Festival:
Antonio Vivaldi
Concerto for strings in G minor, RV.157
Venice Baroque Orchestra
Andrea Marcon (conductor)

Granada International Festival of Music & Dance:
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Symphony No. 41 in C major, K. 551 (Jupiter)
Orchestra of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino
Zubin Mehta (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 (m00302kn)
Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)

No Place Like Home

This week, Kate Molleson has followed Felix Mendelssohn's travels across Europe. In the final episode, Mendelssohn returns to Germany after years on the road, determined to build a life as a composer. Personal loss, professional disappointment and battles with musical conservatism all lie ahead. Yet from setbacks in Berlin and Düsseldorf emerge some of his greatest achievements, including his transformative work in Leipzig, where he helped shape one of Europe's leading orchestras and founded a conservatory whose influence would be felt for generations.

String Quintet No. 1 in A major, Op. 18: III. Adagio e lento
Robert Mann, viola
Mendelssohn String Quartet

Songs Without Words, Book I, Op. 19b
Jacopo Salvatori, piano

Trumpet Overture, Op. 101
London Symphony Orchestra
Claudio Abbado, conductor

Paulus, Op. 36, Part 1: "Herr! Der du bist der Gott"
Gewandhausorchester Leipzig
Leipzig Radio Choir
Gewandhaus Kinderchor
Kurt Masur, conductor

Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64: I. Allegro molto appassionato
Janine Jansen, violin
Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra
Riccardo Chailly, conductor

Produced by Ellie Ajao for BBC Audio Wales and West.


FRI 17:00 In Tune (m00302kq)
Erland Cooper live in studio

Composer Erland Cooper joins Katie Derham live in studio. They discuss the upcoming, immersive late-night Prom (27/08 @ Royal Albert Hall in London) inspired by Radio 3 Unwind’s show Ultimate Calm. Erland presents his new piece "Sula bassana" with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra to Katie and listeners, and also performs at the piano.


FRI 19:00 BBC Proms (m00302ks)
2026

Mahler's 'Song of the Earth'

Live at the BBC Proms: BBC Philharmonic and Anja Bihlmaier are joined by Jamie Barton and Clay Hilley for Mahler's 'Das Lied von der Erde'.

Presented by Martin Handley live from the Royal Albert Hall, London

Bushra El-Turk: Mosaic
Joseph Haydn: Symphony No.45 in F sharp minor 'Farewell'

c7.40pm
Interval: Writer and Broadcaster Katy Hamilton talks to Martin Handley about Mahler's 'Song of the Earth', which is not only an epic work for tenor, alto and full symphony orchestra but also an intensely personal expression of mortality and the beauty of nature.

Gustav Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde

'How should I describe such a colossal crisis?' Mahler wrote in 1909. 'Yet I am thirstier than ever for life...'. Personal and professional loss had taken the composer to the brink, but even as he faced tragedy he experienced the pleasure of living with renewed intensity. It's this strange, urgent ecstasy that runs through 'Das Lied von der Erde' ('The Song of the Earth') - a collision of symphony and song, life and loss. This epic musical farewell meets the witty musical parting of Haydn's 'Farewell' Symphony, with its famous final movement of ever-shrinking forces. Bushra El-Turk's 'Mosaic' opens the concert with nods to 'Das Lied' in a meditation on identity, otherness and exoticism.

Jamie Barton (mezzo-soprano)
Clay Hilley (tenor)
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
Anja Bihlmaier (conductor)


FRI 22:00 Late Junction (m00302kv)
Deviant Echoes

Jennifer Lucy Allan presents a playlist of new releases for adventurous listeners. And guest Lauren Martin shares how dubstep has shaped experimental music cultures in the UK and beyond. Martin's new book ‘Aftershock: The Seismic Impact of Dubstep’ delves into the birth and development of the UK dubstep scene, charting an oral history of the genre’s pivotal role in British electronic underground. Lauren joins Jennifer to discuss pivotal tracks that show the journey of the genre’s experimental and rudimentary beginnings to its outsized influence on dance and experimental music culture worldwide.

Elsewhere, a delightfully dubbed-out yet delicate return from The Bug, partnering with Dis Fig for the first in his ‘Ladybug’ series in which soulfully reflective vocals are paired with earth-shuddering bass. And Oren Ambarchi's new project 'Cooked' weaves together a litany of musical elements into something that is both woozy and sharp. Also, Yannick Soland provides a melding of bowed koto, flutes, and modular synths to create “Japanese court music if it had a late-night fever dream”, and the dub continues with Prince Riser, bringing vintage Jamaican rhythms into the digital age and allowing them to echo out into space.

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

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


FRI 23:30 'Round Midnight (m00302kx)
Saxophonist Soweto Kinch picks jazz from all eras, with a focus on new British artists.