Radio 3 in Concert

Tuesday 4th October 2022 (starting this evening)
Time: 19:30 to 22:00 (2 hours and 30 minutes long)

The sea frames this concert from Birmingham, presented by Tom McKinney, in which the CBSO are conducted by Mirga Grazinyte-Tyla in a characteristically dramatic and broad programme. As well as scores from Britten and Debussy inspired by the English coastline, the CBSO present a symphony sourced by music from Thomas Ades's most recent opera The Exterminating Angel and the first performance of a rhapsody by a Polish composer whom Mirga has greatly championed - Mieczyslaw Weinberg. Britten: Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes; Ades: The Exterminating Angel Symphony. Interval. Weinberg: Jewish Rhapsody (first public performance); Debussy: La Mer.

Sunday 9th October 2022 (starting this evening)
Time: 19:30 to 22:30 (3 hours long)

Jess Gillam, Alexis Ffrench and Josie d'Arby presents as five soloists compete to win the prestigious prize. Each finalist performs a concerto with the BBC Philharmonic, conducted by Mark Wigglesworth, at Bridgewater Hall in Manchester in front of an expert jury.

Tuesday 11th October 2022 (starting this evening)
Time: 19:30 to 22:00 (2 hours and 30 minutes long)

Eric Lu Plays Chopin's Funeral Sonata.

Eric Lu plays Schumann, Brahms and Chopin's `Funeral Sonata" at Wigmore Hall. The young Chinese-American pianist, a current Radio 3 New Generation Artist and winner of the Leeds International Piano Competition, gave this memorable recital at a packed Wigmore Hall at the end of July. Presented by Martin Handley. Schumann: Arabeske in C, Op 18. Schumann: Waldszenen, Op 82. Brahms: Theme and Variations in D minor, Op 18b. Interval Music: The Consone Quartet plays Fanny Mendelssohn's Quartet in E flat. Bach: Toccata in C minor, BWV911. Chopin: Piano Sonata No 2 in B flat minor, Op 35 'Funeral March'.

Friday 14th October 2022 (starting this evening)
Time: 19:30 to 22:00 (2 hours and 30 minutes long)

The Royal Northern Sinfonia live in concert from Sage Gateshead, featuring music by Schumann, Beethoven and Kaija Saariaho. Kaija Saariaho: Nymphea Reflection; Robert Schumann: Cello Concerto; Beethoven: Symphony No. 8. Dinis Sousa conductor, Anastasia Kobekina cello, Royal Northern Sinfonia.
(Live)

Monday 17th October 2022 (starting this evening)
Time: 19:30 to 21:00 (1 hour and 30 minutes long)

Simon Rattle conducts Mahler's Ninth Symphony in Munich.

Sir Simon Rattle conducts Mahler's Ninth Symphony in a performance from the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra at the Hercules Hall, Munich. Mahler: Symphony no. 9. Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Sir Simon Rattle (conductor). Presented by Fiona Talkington.

Monday 24th October 2022 (starting this evening)
Time: 19:30 to 21:00 (1 hour and 30 minutes long)

CPE Bach oratorio The Israelites in the Desert.

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach's oratorio The Israelites in the Desert in a performance given at last month's Utrecht Early Music Festival. Fiona Talkington introduces this rare performance CPE Bach's oratorio which traces in extended arias, recitatives and short choruses the Old Testament story of the pain and suffering of the Israelites in the desert. Written for the consecration of Hamburg's Lazarettkirche in 1769, Bach wrote the piece with the intention that it be performed "not only on a solemn occasion, but at any time, inside or outside the Church." The work went on to achieve popularity in concert halls across Europe. Die Israeliten in der Wüste, Wq. 238 oratorio. Daniel Schiebeler (librettist), Marie Lys (soprano), Zoë Brookshaw (soprano), Valerio Contaldo (tenor), Stephan MacLeod (bass and conductor). Gli Angeli Genève.

Tuesday 25th October 2022 (starting this evening)
Time: 19:30 to 22:00 (2 hours and 30 minutes long)

Wigmore Soloists play Beethoven, Berwald and Zemlinsky.

Recorded last week at Wigmore Hall, the leading musicians of Wigmore Soloists play an engaging programme with septets by Beethoven and Franz Berwald, and Zemlinsky's Clarinet Trio. Franz Berwald: Septet in B flat; Alexander von Zemlinsky: Clarinet Trio in D minor, Op. 3. 8.30 Interval music (from CD) - Beethoven: 7 Bagatelles, Op. 33. Ronald Brautigam (fortepiano). 8.50 Beethoven: Septet in E flat, Op. 20. Michael Collins (clarinet), Robin O'Neill (bassoon), Alberto Menéndez Escribano (horn), Isabelle van Keulen (violin), Adrien La Marca (viola), Torleif Thedéen (cello), Tim Gibbs (double bass), Michael McHale (piano).

Tuesday 1st November 2022 (starting this evening)
Time: 19:30 to 22:00 (2 hours and 30 minutes long)

Schmidt's Second Symphony.

Jonathan Berman conducts the BBC National Orchestra of Wales in Franz Schmidt: Symphony No. 2, They are joined by Matthew Featherstone for Lowell Liebermann's Flute Concerto. Presented by Nicola Heywood Thomas, and recorded on 21st of October in Hoddinott Hall, Cardiff. Bach, arr Markevitch: Ricercare a 3 (The Musical Offering, BWV 1079); Lowell Liebermann: Flute Concerto, Op 39. 8.10 Interval Music. 8.30 Schmidt: Symphony No 2 in E flat major. Matthew Featherstone (flute), BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Jonathan Berman (conductor).

Thursday 17th November 2022 (starting this evening)
Time: 19:30 to 22:00 (2 hours and 30 minutes long)

Twilight of the Gods.

Ryan Wigglesworth conducts the BBC SSO in a recent work by Hans Abrahamsen, and they are joined by soprano Katherine Broderick for a symphonic take on Wagner's Götterdämmerung. Live from City Halls, Glasgow. Presented by Kate Molleson. Abrahamsen: Vers le Silence. 8.00 Interval: Recordings of music to complement this evening's concert. 8.20 Part Two. Wagner (arranged Wigglesworth): Götterdämmerung - A Symphonic Journey. Katherine Broderick (soprano). Ryan Wigglesworth (conductor). BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra.

Wednesday 23rd November 2022 (starting this evening)
Time: 19:30 to 22:00 (2 hours and 30 minutes long)

Mahler's Ninth Symphony.

The BBC National Orchestra of Wales and conductor Markus Stenz perform Mahler: 9th Symphony. It was the last symphony he would finish before his impending death, and many believe it to be an evocation of the end of life. Presented by Nicola Heywood Thomas and recorded in St. David's Hall, Cardiff on the November 17. Mahler: Symphony No 9. BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Markus Stenz (conductor).

Monday 28th November 2022 (starting this evening)
Time: 19:30 to 21:00 (1 hour and 30 minutes long)

Julia Fischer Plays Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto.

Fiona Talkington presents Cristian Macelaru conducting the Orchestre National de France in Bizet's Symphony in C, Respighi's Pines of Rome, and Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto, with soloist Julia Fischer. Recorded at Radio France, Paris in October. Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto in E minor, Op 64. Bizet: Symphony in C. Respighi: The Pines of Rome. Julia Fischer (violin), Orchestre National de France, Cristian Macelaru (conductor).

Friday 2nd December 2022 (starting this evening)
Time: 19:30 to 22:00 (2 hours and 30 minutes long)

A Child of Our Time.

"The world turns on its dark side": so begins Michael Tippett's choral masterpiece 'A Child of Our Time', composed during the early years of the Second World War, and giving expression to Tippett's hopes for a better world. Tippett's secular oratorio is built around the plangent melodies of African American spirituals - and for this performance, the LPO forces are joined by the London Adventist Chorale. Plus an exceptional team of soloists. Vaughan Williams's Serenade to Music - written just a year earlier, by another musical visionary - offers radiant calm before Tippett's emotional storm. Vaughan Williams: Serenade to Music Tippett: A Child of Our Time. Nadine Benjamin (soprano), Sarah Connolly (mezzo), Kenneth Tarver (tenor), Roderick Williams (baritone). London Philharmonic Choir. London Adventist Chorale. Soloists of the Royal College of Music. London Philharmonic Orchestra. Edward Gardner (conductor).

Monday 5th December 2022 (starting this evening)
Time: 19:30 to 21:00 (1 hour and 30 minutes long)

Martha Argerich and Maria Joao Pires.

Fiona Talkington introduces a concert at Victoria Hall, Geneva, from December 2021 in which Martha Argerich and Maria Joao Pires play Mozart's Piano Concerto No 10 in E flat for Two Pianos, K365, and Daniel Harding conducts the Suisse Romande Orchestra in Mahler's First Symphony. Two of the greatest pianists of modern times collaborate in the delightful double concerto that Mozart wrote in 1779, probably to perform with his sister Nannerl. After the interval, the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande plays Mahler's First Symphony, another product of youth, but nevertheless - like the Mozart - stylistically fully formed. Mozart: Piano Concerto No 10 in E flat for Two Pianos, K 365. Mahler: Symphony No 1 in D - Titan. Martha Argerich (piano), Maria Joao Pires (piano), Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Daniel Harding (conductor).

Tuesday 6th December 2022 (starting this evening)
Time: 19:30 to 22:00 (2 hours and 30 minutes long)

Landscapes in Sound.

Sir Simon Rattle conducts the London Symphony Orchestra in music in which vast landscapes merge with the human soul: Sibelius tone poems and Bruckner's radiant Seventh Symphony. Recorded at Barbican Hall in London and presented by Martin Handley. Sibelius: The Oceanides. Sibelius: Tapiola. 8.05 Interval Music. 8.25 Bruckner: Symphony No 7. London Symphony Orchestra, Sir Simon Rattle (conductor).

Monday 19th December 2022 (starting this evening)
Time: 19:30 to 21:00 (1 hour and 30 minutes long)

Bach: Christmas Oratorio Parts 1-3.

Fiona Talkington introduces a performance of Parts 1, 2 and 3 of Bach's Christmas Oratorio, with Vaclav Luks conducting the Radio France Chorus, the National Orchestra of France and an all-star cast in a concert given last week at the Auditorium of Radio France. The Christmas Oratorio contains some of the most beautiful and uplifting music that Bach wrote. After a jubilant chorus of joy at the Birth of Christ, it traces the Christmas story from the Annunciation to the Adoration of the shepherds, all woven together by the voice of the tenor narrator and a sequence of arias, pastorals and chorales of exquisite tenderness. Bach: Christmas Oratorio, BWV 248, Parts 1-3. Katharina Ruckgaber (soprano), Lucile Richardot (contralto), Julian Prégardien (tenor), Tobias Berndt (baritone), Radio France Chorus, National Orchestra of France, Vaclav Luks (conductor).

Wednesday 11th January 2023 (starting this evening)
Time: 19:30 to 22:00 (2 hours and 30 minutes long)

Schubert from Wigmore Hall.

Paul Lewis plays three of Schubert's piano sonatas spanning three periods in composer's very short career, from London's Wigmore Hall. Presented by Ian Skelly. Schubert: Piano Sonata in E flat D568; Piano Sonata in A minor D784; Piano Sonata in D D850. Paul Lewis (piano).

Monday 16th January 2023 (starting this evening)
Time: 19:30 to 21:15 (1 hour and 45 minutes long)

Pablo Heras-Casado conducts the Radio France Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus and violinist Renaud Capuçon in Schubert, Goldmark and Brahms. Schubert's The Song of the Spirits on the Waters is a sublime page that one listens to with renewed emotion, while Brahms' Second is not the most famous of his four symphonies, but is perhaps the best structured and most colourful. But this concert will allow us to hear a little-known concerto: that of Karl Goldmark (1830-1915), born three years before Brahms and dying four years after Mahler. Capuçon is the soloist in Karl Goldmark's little-known Violin Concerto No 1 in A, a work full of reminiscences of Hungarian folk music, but also of Mendelssohn and Dvorak. Schubert: Gesang der Geister über den Wassern, D 714. Goldmark: Violin Concerto No 1 in A minor, Op 28 - Allegro moderato; Air: Andante; Moderato - Allegretto. Brahms: Symphony No 2 in D, Op 73. Radio France Chorus, Lionel Sow (chorus director), Renaud Capuçon (violin), Radio France Philharmonic Orchestra, Pablo Heras-Casado (conductor).

Thursday 19th January 2023 (starting this evening)
Time: 19:30 to 22:00 (2 hours and 30 minutes long)

A Soul in Love: Carolyn Sampson sings Handel, live at Wigmore Hall.

The Finnish Baroque Orchestra performs instrumental music by Scarlatti, father and son, and is joined by soprano Carolyn Sampson for three of Handel's ravishing Italian Cantatas. Introduced live from Wigmore Hall by Ian Skelly. Handel: Andante (Trio Sonata in C minor HWV386a). Alpestre monte HWV81. Alessandro Scarlatti: Sonata in A for 2 flutes, 2 violins and continuo. Domenico Scarlatti: Sonata in A Kk208. Handel: Un'alma innamorata HWV173. 8.20pm Interval Music (from CD) Mozart: Gigue in G, K574 Kristian Bezuidenhout (fortepiano). Beethoven: 12 Variations on Handel's "See the Conqu'ring Hero comes". Anssi Karttunen (cello). Tuija Hakkila (fortepiano). Handel/Mozart: Merkt auf! Ich Kuendige ein Geheimnis an; Sie schallt, die Posaun' (Der Messias, K572). Marek Rzepka (bass). Hannover Chamber Orchestra. Jürgen Budday (conductor). 8.40 Alessandro Scarlatti: Sonata nona in A minor for recorder, strings and continuo. Handel: Tra le fiamme HWV170. Carolyn Sampson (soprano). Finnish Baroque Orchestra.
(Live)

Wednesday 25th January 2023 (starting this evening)
Time: 19:30 to 22:00 (2 hours and 30 minutes long)

Edward Gardner Conducts Elgar, Tippett and Coleridge-Taylor.

Edward Gardner conducts the London Philharmonic Orchestra in Elgar's First Symphony, and Steven Osborne is the soloist in Tippett's Piano Concerto. Live from the Royal Festival Hall and introduced by Martin Handley. Samuel Coleridge-Taylor: Solemn Prelude (London premiere). Tippett: Piano Concerto. 8.15 Interval. Elgar: Symphony No. 1 in A flat major Op.55. Steven Osborne (piano), London Philharmonic Orchestra, Edward Gardner (conductor).
(Live)

Tuesday 31st January 2023 (starting this evening)
Time: 19:30 to 22:00 (2 hours and 30 minutes long)

Alim Beisembayev Plays Liszt.

Leeds International Piano Competition winner 2022 Alim Beisembayev returns to the city for a recital of JS Bach, Schubert and Liszt. Presented by Tom McKinney. JS Bach: French Suite No 2, BWV.813. Schubert: Piano Sonata, D.958. Liszt: Ètudes d'exécution transcendante, S.139. iii Paysage. iv Mazeppa. v Feux follets. ix Ricordanza. x Allegro agitato molto. xi Harmonies du soir. xii Chasse-neige. Alim Beisembayev (piano).

Monday 6th February 2023 (starting this evening)
Time: 19:30 to 22:00 (2 hours and 30 minutes long)

Herbert Blomstedt Conducts Symphonies by Schubert and Berwald.

Fiona Talkington presents Herbert Blomstedt conducting the Danish National Symphony Orchestra in Schubert's Symphony No 6 in C and Berwald's Symphony No 2 in D, also known as Capricieuse. Recorded last November in Copenhagen's DR Koncerthuset. Schubert: Symphony No 6 in C, D 589. 8.05 Interval Music (from CD) Berwald: Duo for Piano and Cello, Op 7. Mats Lidstrom (cello), Bengt Forsberg (piano). 8.25 Berwald: Symphony No 2 in D - Capricieuse. Danish National Symphony Orchestra, Herbert Blomstedt (conductor).

Thursday 9th February 2023 (starting this evening)
Time: 19:30 to 22:00 (2 hours and 30 minutes long)

Mahler: Ninth Symphony.

Donald Runnicles conducts the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra in Mahler's Ninth Symphony. Live from City Halls, Glasgow. Presented by Kate Molleson. Mahler: Symphony No. 9. Donald Runnicles (conductor). BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra.
(Live)

Tuesday 28th February 2023 (starting this evening)
Time: 19:30 to 22:00 (2 hours and 30 minutes long)

John Eliot Gardiner Conducts Mendelssohn, Elgar and Dvorak.

John Eliot Gardiner conducts the Philharmonia in Mendelssohn's Hebrides Overture and Dvorak's Symphony No 5, and mezzo-soprano Alice Coote sings Elgar's Sea Pictures, recorded earlier this month at London's Royal Festival Hall. Introduced by Martin Handley. Mendelssohn: Overture: The Hebrides (Fingal's Cave), Op. 26. Elgar: Sea Pictures, Op. 37. 8.10 Interval. Dvorak: Symphony No. 5 in F major, Op. 76. Alice Coote (mezzo-soprano), Philharmonia Orchestra, John Eliot Gardiner (conductor).

Tuesday 14th March 2023 (starting this evening)
Time: 19:30 to 22:00 (2 hours and 30 minutes long)

The BBC Singers Perform Brahms.

The BBC Singers perform Brahms: A German Requiem from St Martin-in-the-Fields, London. Presented by Martin Handley at St Martin-in-the-Fields, London. BBC Singers, Libby Burgess and Caroline Jaya-Ratnam, pianos, Krista Audere, conductor. Brahms: A German Requiem.

Wednesday 15th March 2023 (starting this evening)
Time: 19:30 to 22:00 (2 hours and 30 minutes long)

Mirga Gražinyte-Tyla and the CBSO, Live.

Tom McKinney introduces a programme of live music from Symphony Hall, Birmingham, from the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, marking one of Mirga Gražinyte-Tyla's final appearances as the orchestra's chief conductor. Weinberg: Sinfonietta No 1; Schumann: Piano Concerto. Kirill Gerstein (piano). Interval - Prokofiev: Romeo and Juliet (highlights). CBSO, Mirga Gražinyte-Tyla (conductor).
(Live)