Main content
Sorry, this episode is not currently available

Tuesday - Rob Cowan with Nitin Sawhney

With Rob Cowan. Including Five Reasons to Love Bach Organ Works; musical challenge; Artist of the Week: cellist Steven Isserlis, featured in Faure's Cello Sonata No 2 in G minor.

9am
Rob presents '5 reasons to love... Bach organ works'. Throughout the week Rob puts Bach's organ works centre stage, showcasing their complexity, and the virtuosity required to perform them. He highlights their flashes of humour, as well as their gravitas and sheer power, plus the way Bach often reinvented pre-existing works. Rob hand-picks recordings by organists including Helmut Walcha, Simon Preston and Ton Koopman.

9.30am
Take part in today's music-related challenge: listen to the clues and identify the mystery person.

10am
Rob's guest this week is Nitin Sawhney. A composer, producer, songwriter, DJ and multi-instrumentalist, Nitin is one of the 91ȱ's Ambassadors for the new Ten Pieces project. His musical credentials include collaboration with artists from Sir Paul McCartney to the London Symphony Orchestra. As a child Nitin trained as a classical pianist, moving on to classical and flamenco guitar and learning to play sitar and tabla. He has since toured the world with his band, and recorded nine studio albums, winning accolades for his amalgamation of styles including jazz, flamenco, electronica and classical Indian ragas. He has composed for theatre, film, television and video games with credits including writing the BAFTA-winning soundtrack for The Human Planet, scoring ad campaigns for brands such as Yves Saint Laurent and Nike and writing a new score for Alfred Hitchcock's The Lodger. Nitin will be sharing a selection of his favourite classical music with Rob, every day at 10am.

10.30am Ten Pieces
The 91ȱ has just launched the new Ten Pieces for secondary schools, opening up the world of classical music to children and inspiring them to respond creatively to what they hear. As part of Radio 3's Ten Pieces season, Rob chooses music that complements this exciting selection of works.

11am
Rob's featured artist is the cellist Steven Isserlis. A musician who wears his considerable virtuosity lightly, Isserlis has received worldwide acclaim for his technique, musicianship and command of the instrument. Throughout the week Rob presents recordings by Isserlis including an elegant interpretation of Haydn's Cello Concerto No.1, a lyrical performance of Grieg's Cello Sonata and a rendition of Prokofiev's Cello Concerto that captures the bittersweet language of the work.

󲹳ܰé
Cello Sonata No.2 in G minor, Op. 117
Steven Isserlis (cello)
Thomas Ades (piano).

3 hours

Music Played

  • Frank Bridge

    Cherry ripe

    Ensemble: Nash Ensemble.
    • HYPERION.
  • 5 REASONS TO LOVE: BACH ORGAN WORKS

    • Johann Sebastian Bach

      Organ Concerto in A minor, BWV593 (after Vivaldi’s Op.3 No.8)

      Performer: David Goode.
      • SIGNUM.
  • ARTIST OF THE WEEK: STEVEN ISSERLIS

    • Gabriel 󲹳ܰé

      Papillon Op.77

      Performer: Steven Isserlis. Performer: Pascal Devoyon.
      • RCA.
  • Bedrich Smetana

    Sarka (Ma Vlast)

    Orchestra: Boston Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Rafael Kubelík.
    • DG.
  • Claude Debussy

    Pierrot

    Performer: Sir András Schiff. Singer: Juliane Banse.
    • ECM.
  • Carl Maria von Weber

    Invitation to the Dance

    Orchestrator: Hector Berlioz. Orchestra: Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Fritz Reiner.
    • RCA LIVING STEREO.
  • Francis Poulenc

    Sonata for horn, trumpet and trombone

    Ensemble: Nash Ensemble.
    • HYPERION.
  • Igor Stravinsky

    Pulcinella (Overture)

    Orchestra: Philharmonia Orchestra. Conductor: Robert Craft.
    • NAXOS.
  • NITIN SAWHNEY'S CHOICE NO.1

    • Johann Sebastian Bach

      Prelude in C minor for lute, BWV 999 arr for guitar in D minor

      Performer: Julian Bream.
      • RCA.
  • NITIN SAWHNEY'S CHOICE NO.2

    • Tomatito

      Manduka (Bulerias)

      Performer: Tomatito.
  • NITIN SAWHNEY'S CHOICE NO.3

    • Erik Satie

      Gnossiennes: No.1 - lent

      Performer: Reinbert de Leeuw.
      • PHILIPS.
  • Maurice Ravel

    Pavane pour une infante défunte

    Orchestra: London Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Claudio Abbado.
    • DG.
  • Benjamin Britten

    Dies Irae (War Requiem)

    Performer: London Symphony Orchestra. Singer: Peter Pears. Singer: Galina Pavlovna Vishnevskaya. Singer: Dietrich Fischer‐Dieskau. Choir: Bach Choir. Ensemble: Melos Ensemble. Conductor: Benjamin Britten.
    • DECCA.
  • William Byrd

    Confirma hoc Deus

    Choir: Stile Antico.
    • HARMONIA MUNDI.
  • ARTIST OF THE WEEK: STEVEN ISSERLIS

    • Gabriel 󲹳ܰé

      Cello Sonata No 2 in G minor, Op 117

      Performer: Steven Isserlis. Performer: Thomas Adès.
      • HYPERION.
  • Johannes Brahms

    Symphony No.3 in F major, Op.90

    Orchestra: NDR Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Günter Wand.
    • RCA.
  • Robert Schumann

    Arlequin (Carnaval Op.9 No.3)

    Performer: Mitsuko Uchida.
    • PHILIPS.

Mystery Person

Answer: Pulcinella

Broadcast

  • Tue 29 Sep 2015 09:00

Our Classical Century

Our Classical Century

Radio 3 explores 100 key musical moments that shaped us, from 1918 to the present day.

Time Travellers: the podcast

Time Travellers: the podcast

Eleanor Rosamund Barraclough presents quirky tales gathered from the corners of history.