Main content
Sorry, this episode is not currently available

Wednesday - Sarah Walker, plus Rob Cowan with guest Eddie Izzard

With Sarah Walker. Including Five Reasons to Love Nordic Song; Comedian and actor Eddie Izzard; Music in Time: Paganini: 24 Caprices; Nordic recordings: Grieg: Piano Concerto.

Discover definitive recordings of the greatest classical music with your trusted guide, Sarah Walker. Plus Rob Cowan talks to the comedian Eddie Izzard.

9am
A selection of music including '5 reasons to love... Nordic song'. As part of Radio 3's Northern Lights season Sarah shares a selection of Nordic songs, showcasing their lyrical beauty, sense of melancholy and nostalgia, the way they celebrate nature, and the dramatic stories that they tell. Sarah hears from singers including Camilla Tilling, Anne Sofie von Otter and Anders Andersson as she explores these vocal works from the frozen North.

9.30am
Take part in our daily music-related challenge: listen to the clues and identify the mystery person.

10am
Rob talks to Eddie Izzard. Comedian, actor and multiple marathon runner, Eddie is one of the foremost stand-ups of his generation and has entertained audiences the world over. Eddie's epic Force Majeure tour, which he has toured around 28 countries (and performed in four languages), will be coming to London next year. Eddie spills the secrets of his unique brand of humour, and shares a selection of his favourite classical music, every day at 10am.

10.30am
Sarah places Music in Time as she explores the Romantic rise of the celebrity performer, and music written as a way of showing off virtuosic technique, with Paganini's 24 Caprices.

11am
Sarah features recordings of major works by leading Nordic composers. Throughout the week Sarah travels through Finland, Norway, Denmark and Sweden as she shares a selection of music by Crusell, Sibelius, Grieg, Nielsen and Stenhammar.

Grieg
Piano Concerto in A minor
Sigurd Sl氓ttebrekk (piano)
Oslo Philharmonic
Michail Jurowski (conductor).

3 hours

Music Played

  • Judith Weir

    El Rey de Francia

    Ensemble: Schubert Ensemble.
    • NMC.
  • George Frideric Handel

    Concerto grosso in D major Op.3`6

    Ensemble: Concerto Copenhagen. Conductor: Lars Ulrik Mortensen.
    • CPO.
  • 5 REASONS TO LOVE...NORDIC SONG

    • Ture Rangstr枚m

      The Wind and the Tree

      Singer: Miah Persson. Performer: Roger Vignoles.
      • HYPERION.
    • Wilhelm Stenhammar

      I skogen (In the Forest)

      Performer: Roger Vignoles. Singer: Miah Persson.
      • HYPERION.
  • Johan Svendsen

    Carnival in Paris Op.9

    Orchestra: Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor: Neeme J盲rvi.
    • CHANDOS.
  • Mats Lidstr枚m

    Tango

    Performer: Mats Lidstr枚m. Performer: Bengt Forsberg.
    • CAPRICE.
  • Niels Wilhelm Gade

    O du, der du die Liebe bist

    Choir: Danish National Radio Choir. Conductor: Jesper Grove J酶rgensen.
    • CHANDOS.
  • Franz Liszt

    Mephisto Waltz no.2 S.515

    Performer: Leif Ove Andsnes.
    • EMI.
  • Carl Nielsen

    Maskarade (Overture)

    Orchestra: San Francisco Symphony. Conductor: Herbert Blomstedt.
    • DECCA.
  • EDDIE IZZARD'S CHOICE NO.1

    • Claude Debussy

      Clair de lune (Suite bergamasque)

      Performer: Pascal Rog茅.
      • DECCA.
  • EDDIE IZZARD'S CHOICE NO.2

    • Hans Zimmer

      Chevaliers de Sangreal (from the soundtrack to The Da Vinci Code)

      Orchestra: Orchestra. Choir: Choir. Conductor: Richard Harvey.
      • DECCA.
  • Antonio Vivaldi

    Concerto in D minor for 2 violins and cello, RV 565

    Ensemble: Sirena Recorder Quartet.
    • BIS.
  • MUSIC IN TIME: ROMANTIC

    • Niccol貌 Paganini

      Caprices, Op.1 Nos. 1, 23 & 24

      Performer: Julia Fischer.
      • DECCA.
  • Johan Halvorsen

    Bergensiana

    Orchestra: Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor: Neeme J盲rvi.
    • Chandos.
  • William Byrd

    Domine, secundum actum meum for 6 voices

    Ensemble: The Cardinall鈥檚 Musick. Conductor: Andrew Carwood.
    • Byrd: Complete works Vol.4: The Cardinall's Musick/Carwood.
    • ASV.
    • 11.
  • NORDIC MASTERPIECE

    • Edvard Grieg

      Piano Concerto

      Performer: Sigurd Sl氓ttebrekk. Orchestra: Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor: Michail Jurowski.
      • SIMAX.
  • Percy Grainger

    To a Nordic Princess

    Orchestra: Danish National Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Richard Hickox.
    • CHANDOS.
  • Gustav Holst

    Songs from The Princess, Op 20a

    Ensemble: Holst Singers. Conductor: Stephen Layton.
    • HYPERION.

Mystery Person

Answer: Carl Nielsen

Broadcast

  • Wed 9 Dec 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.