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Tuesday - Sarah Walker with Mariella Frostrup

With Sarah Walker. Including Music in Time: Beethoven: Piano Sonata in A flat; Artist of the Week: Harry Christophers, featured conducting music by Tavener and Barber.

9am
Sarah sets the tone and mood of the day's programme with a range of music to intrigue, surprise and entertain.

9.30am
Take part in today's musical challenge: identify a piece of music played backwards.

10am
Sarah's guest this week is the columnist, arts broadcaster and campaigner, Mariella Frostrup. Mariella is the host of Radio 4's Open Book, a programme which celebrates new writing as well as unearthing lost classics. She also presents the series Bringing Up Britain, a discussion about modern-day parenting, and writes a weekly agony aunt column in The Observer magazine. Throughout the week, Mariella reflects on her life and work and shares some of her favourite classical music with Sarah, including pieces by Scarlatti, Philip Glass and Handel.

10.30am
Music in Time: Romantic
Sarah places Music in Time, heading back to the beginning of the Romantic period to hear Beethoven's Piano Sonata in A flat, Op.110. This ground-breaking work shows Beethoven exploring the sonorities available from the entire range of the newly extended piano keyboard.

Double Take
Sarah explores the nature of performance focusing on Elgar's miniature La Capricieuse, in two different interpretations, one for violin and the other for cello.

11am
Artist of the Week: Harry Christophers
Sarah's artist of the week is the conductor Harry Christophers. Best known as the founder and conductor of The Sixteen, Christophers is also Artistic Director of Boston's Handel and Haydn Society and Principal Guest Conductor of the Granada Symphony Orchestra. Christophers developed The Sixteen from an unnamed group of 16 singers and friends in 1977 into one of the most famous and highly respected chamber choirs in the world. Under his leadership the choir has become well known for balancing individual brilliance with sensitive ensemble, qualities which has allowed it to succeed in a wide range of music. Together the choir and Christophers have made definitive recordings of Handel oratorios, Purcell operas and Renaissance choral music, including Palestrina and music from the Eton Choirbook, as well as Lotti's Crucifixus, and Tallis's Spem in Alium, both of which we hear this week. Christophers has also made his mark with performances of contemporary music, by John Tavener and Frank Martin.

Tavener
The Lamb
The Sixteen
Harry Christophers (conductor)

Barber
Agnus Dei
The Sixteen
Harry Christophers (conductor).

3 hours

Music Played

  • Frank Martin

    Chansons: 2. le cocou

    Choir: The Sixteen. Director: Harry Christophers.
    • CORO.
  • Gioachino Rossini

    La Gazza Ladra: Overture

    Orchestra: Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Fritz Reiner.
    • RCA.
  • Amy Beach

    Eskimos, Op.64

    Performer: Kirsten Johnson.
    • GUILD.
  • Sarah Walker's Featured Work

    • Toru Takemitsu

      Music of Training and Rest (Jose Torr茅s)

      Orchestra: London Sinfonietta. Conductor: John Adams.
      • ELEKTRA NONESUCH.
  • Anton铆n Dvo艡谩k

    Serenade

    Performer: Ji艡铆 Panocha. Performer: Miroslav Sehnoutka. Performer: Ji艡铆 V谩lek. Performer: Graham Melville-Mason.
    • SUPRAPHON.
  • William Walton

    Scapino - overture

    Orchestra: Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Andrew Litton.
    • DECCA.
  • George Frideric Handel

    Suite No.5 in E major, HWV430

    Performer: Blandine Verlet.
    • ASTREE AUVIDIS.
  • Mariella Frostrup's Choice No.1

    • Ennio Morricone

      Gabriel's Oboe (The Mission)

      Performer: Joan Whiting. Orchestra: London Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor: Ennio Morricone.
      • VIRGIN.
  • Mariella Frostrup's Choice No.2

    • Richard Wagner

      DIe Walkure: The Ride of the Valkyries

      Conductor: Klaus Tennstedt. Orchestra: Berliner Philharmoniker.
      • EMI.
  • Mariella Frostrup's Choice No.3

    • Vincenzo Bellini

      Norma: Casta Diva

      Singer: Maria Callas. Choir: Chorus of La Scala, Milan. Orchestra: Orchestra of La Scala, Milan. Conductor: Tullio Serafin.
      • EMI.
  • Fritz Kreisler

    Sch枚n Rosmarin (Old Viennese Dances)

    Performer: Maxim Vengerov. Performer: Itamar Golan.
    • Virtuoso Vengerov.
    • Teldec.
    • 4.
  • Music in Time: Romantic

    • Ludwig van Beethoven

      Piano Sonata in A flat, Op.110

      Performer: Maurizio Pollini.
      • DG.
  • Edward Elgar

    La Capricieuse Op.17 for violin and piano

    Performer: Leonidas Kavakos. Performer: Enrico Pace.
    • DECCA.
  • Edward Elgar

    La capricieuse, Op 17

    Performer: Natalie Clein. Orchestra: Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor: Vernon Handley.
    • Warner Classics.
  • Artist of the Week: Harry Christophers

    • John Tavener

      The Lamb

      Choir: The Sixteen. Director: Harry Christophers.
      • CORO.
    • William Byrd

      Infelix ego for 6 voices

      Choir: The Sixteen. Conductor: Harry Christophers.
      • Ceremony and Devotion: Music for the Tudors.
      • Coro.
      • 10.
  • Felix Mendelssohn

    Symphony No. 5 in D, Op. 107 'Reformation'

    Conductor: Kurt Masur. Orchestra: Gewandhausorchester Leipzig.
    • Mendelssohn: Symphonies 1 & 5: Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Masur.
    • Teldec.
  • Samuel Barber

    Agnus Dei

    Choir: The Sixteen. Director: Harry Christophers.
    • COLLINS CLASSICS.
  • Isaac Alb茅niz

    Suite espa帽ola No 1 (Cadiz)

    Performer: Alicia de Larrocha.
    • Albeniz: Iberia; Navarra; Suite Espanola - Larrocha.
    • Decca.
    • 8.

Musical Challenge: Recording Rewind

The piece of music we reversed was the Air from the Air and Variations from Handel's Harpsichord Suite No.5 in E major - otherwise known as 'The Harmonious Blacksmith'.

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  • Tue 24 Jan 2017 09:00

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