Main content
Sorry, this episode is not currently available

Friday - 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 Saint-Saens's Cello Concerto No 2.

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 challenge. Two pieces of music are played together - can you work out what they are?

10am
Rob's guest this week is Nitin Sawhney. A composer, producer, songwriter, DJ and multi-instrumentalist, Nitin is one of the 91热爆'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 91热爆 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. To celebrate this 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.

厂补颈苍迟-厂补毛苍蝉
Cello Concerto No. 2 in D minor, Op. 119
Steven Isserlis (cello)
NDR Symphony Orchestra
Christoph Eschenbach (conductor).

3 hours

Music Played

  • Johann Sebastian Bach

    Jesu meine Freude

    Choir: The Hilliard Ensemble.
    • ECM.
  • 5 REASONS TO LOVE...BACH ORGAN WORKS

    • Johann Sebastian Bach

      Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor, BWV582

      Performer: Ton Koopman.
      • ARCHIV.
  • Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

    Mazeppa: Introduction

    Orchestra: KIV Orchestra. Conductor: Valery Gergiev.
    • PHILIPS.
  • Jacques Ibert

    Trois pi猫ces br猫ves

    Performer: Philharmonisches Bl盲serquintett Berlin.
    • BIS.
  • Wilhelm Stenhammar

    I skogen (Sanger och visor)

    Singer: Camilla Tilling. Performer: Paul Rivinius.
    • BIS.
  • Richard Strauss

    Don Juan

    Orchestra: Berliner Philharmoniker. Conductor: Herbert von Karajan.
    • DG.
  • Ralph Vaughan Williams

    The Turtle Dove

    Singer: Gabriel Crouch. Choir: Tenebrae. Conductor: Nigel Short.
    • SIGNUM.
  • NITIN SAWHNEY'S CHOICE NO.1

    • Hans Zimmer

      Vide Cor Meum (Hannibal)

      Composer: Patrick Cassidy. Singer: Danielle de Niese. Singer: Bruno Lazzaretti. Orchestra: The Lyndhurst Orchestra. Conductor: Gavin Greenaway.
      • DECCA.
  • NITIN SAWHNEY'S CHOICE NO.2

    • Arvo P盲rt

      Spiegel im Spiegel

      Performer: Lisa Batiashvili. Performer: H茅l猫ne Grimaud.
      • DG.
  • NITIN SAWHNEY'S CHOICE NO.3

    • Gunther Schuller

      Concertino for Jazz Quartet and Orchestra - 3rd movement

      Performer: John Lewis. Performer: Milt Jackson. Performer: Percy Heath. Performer: Connie Kay. Ensemble: The Modern Jazz Quartet. Orchestra: Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
      • COLLECTABLES.
  • Sergey Prokofiev

    II. Allegro marcato (Symphony No.5)

    Orchestra: Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Sergiu Celibidache.
    • DG.
  • Dmitry Shostakovich

    Piano Trio No.1 in C minor, Op.8

    Performer: Julian Rachlin. Performer: Mischa Maisky. Performer: Itamar Golan.
    • ONYX.
  • George Butterworth

    I fear thy kisses

    Performer: Iain Burnside. Singer: Roderick Williams.
    • NAXOS.
  • ARTIST OF THE WEEK: STEVEN ISSERLIS

    • Camille Saint鈥怱a毛ns

      Cello Concerto No 2 in D minor, Op 119

      Performer: Steven Isserlis. Orchestra: North German Radio Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Christoph Eschenbach.
      • RCA.
  • Erkki-Sven T眉眉r

    Psalmody

    Choir: Eesti Filharmoonia Kammerkoor. Orchestra: Tallinna Kammerorkester. Conductor: T玫nu Kaljuste.
    • ECM.
  • Johann Sebastian Bach

    Keyboard Concerto No. 6, BWV 1057

    Performer: Andreas Staier. Orchestra: Freiburg Baroque Orchestra. Director: Petra M眉llejans.
    • HARMONIA MUNDI.

Imperfect Harmony

The music played:

Bruch
Violin Concerto No.1 in G minor: 1st Movement
Daniel Hope (violin)
Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra
Sakari Oramo (conductor)
DG

Vaughan Williams
The Turtle Dove
Gabriel Crouch (baritone)
Tenebrae
Nigel Short (conductor)
SIGNUM

Broadcast

  • Fri 2 Oct 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.