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The very best of classical music

Georgia Mann plays the best in classical music, with familiar favourites alongside new discoveries and musical surprises.

Georgia Mann plays the best in classical music, with familiar favourites alongside new discoveries and musical surprises.

1000 Playlist starter 鈥 listen and send us your ideas for the next step in our musical journey today.

1030 Song of the Day 鈥 harnessing the magic of words, music and the human voice.

1115 Playlist reveal 鈥 a sequence of music suggested by you in response to our starter today.

1145 Slow Moment 鈥 time to take a break for a moment's musical reflection.

1230 Album of the Week

To listen on most smart speakers say "Ask 91热爆 Sounds to play Essential Classics鈥

20 days left to listen

3 hours, 30 minutes

Music Played

  • Ludwig van Beethoven

    Violin Sonata no.5 in F major Op.24 'Spring' (1st mvt)

    Performer: James Ehnes. Performer: Andrew Armstrong.
    • Onyx Classics.
  • George Frideric Handel

    Water Music: Suite in F major, HWV 348 (Air)

    Orchestra: Scottish Chamber Orchestra. Conductor: Nicholas McGegan.
    • Handel: Fire & Water.
    • Classic FM.
    • 12-13.
  • Pawel Lukaszewski

    Ave Maria

    Choir: Tenebrae. Conductor: Nigel Short.
    • Signum.
  • James Oswald

    Airs for the Seasons (Spring: Crocus)

    Performer: Matthew Dixon. Ensemble: Broadside Band. Director: Jeremy Barlow.
    • Airs for The Seasons.
    • Dorian.
    • 34-35.
  • Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

    Swan Lake Suite (Waltz)

    Orchestra: Berliner Philharmoniker. Conductor: Mstislav Rostropovich.
    • 111 Years Of Deutsche Grammophon The Collector's Edition Vol.2.
    • Deutsche Grammophon.
    • 2.
  • Erik Satie

    Trois morceaux en forme de poire: No.2 - Enlev茅

    • Erik Satie: The Complete Solo Piano Music.
    • Decca Music Group Ltd..
    • 4.
  • Erno Dohnanyi

    Sextet for piano, clarinet, horn and string trio in C major, Op 37 (4th mvt)

    Ensemble: Nash Ensemble.
    • Hyperion.
  • Ethel Smyth

    Serenade in D Major: I. Allegro non troppo

    Conductor: Joshua Weilerstein. Orchestra: Lausanne Chamber Orchestra.
    • American and English Orchestral Music.
    • Claves Records.
    • 10.
  • Johann Sebastian Bach

    Brandenburg concerto no.4 in G major BWV.1049 (1st mvt)

    Performer: Jeanne Lamon. Performer: Marion Verbruggen. Performer: Alison Melville. Orchestra: Tafelmusik. Director: Jeanne Lamon.
    • J.S. Bach: Six Brandenburg Concertos; Tafelmusik, Lamon.
    • Sony Classical.
    • 1.
  • Hugo Alfv茅n

    Skogen Sofrer [The Forest Sleeps] Op.28 no.6

    Performer: Bengt Forsberg. Singer: Anne Sofie von Otter.
    • Wing in the Night.
    • DG.
    • 019.
  • Gerald Finzi

    Forlana (5 Bagatelles Op.23)

    Music Arranger: Lawrence Ashmore. Performer: Robert Plane. Orchestra: Royal Northern Sinfonia. Conductor: Howard Griffiths.
    • Finzi: Clarinet Concerto, Five Bagatelles: Robert Plane, Northern Sinfonia.
    • Naxos.
  • Fran莽ois Couperin

    Passacaille (Pi猫ces de violes No 1)

    Performer: Paolo Pandolfo. Performer: Thomas Boysen. Performer: Markus H眉nninger.
    • Couperin: Pieces de violes: Paolo Pandolfo.
    • Glossa.
    • 7.
  • Franz Liszt

    Etudes d'execution transcendante S.139 for piano ....: no.11...Harmonies du soir

    Performer: Sir Stephen Hough.
    • Stephen Hough's Dream Album.
    • Hyperion.
    • 7.
  • Alexander Borodin

    In the Steppes of Central Asia

    Orchestra: Philharmonia Orchestra. Conductor: Geoffrey Simon.
    • Borodin: Requiem/Polovtsian Dances: Philharmonia Orchestra: Geoffrey Simon.
    • Cala.
    • 8.
  • Reynaldo Hahn

    Piano Quartet in G Major: IV. Allegro assai

    • Hahn: Piano Quintet, Songs, Piano Quartet.
    • Chandos.
    • 112.
  • Sergey Prokofiev

    March (The Love for Three Oranges - suite)

    Orchestra: S茫o Paulo Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Marin Alsop.
    • Prokofiev: Orchestral Works.
    • Naxos.
    • 201.
  • Gabriel Faur茅

    Souvenirs de Bayreuth

    Performer: Kathryn Stott. Performer: Martin Roscoe.
    • Faure: The Complete Music for Piano: Kathryn Stott.
    • Hyperion.
    • 8.
  • Joseph Haydn

    String Quartet in E flat major, Op 33 No 2, 'The Joke' (Finale)

    Ensemble: Doric String Quartet.
    • Chandos.
  • Arthur Sullivan

    Pineapple Poll (Opening Dance)

    Music Arranger: Charles Mackerras. Orchestra: London Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor: Charles Mackerras.
    • 100 Best Ballet.
    • Warner Classics.
  • Morten Lauridsen

    O Magnum Mysterium

    Choir: The Sixteen. Conductor: Harry Christophers.
    • Song of the Nativity.
    • CORO.
    • 1.
  • Joseph Haydn

    Symphony No 102 in B flat major (4th mvt)

    Orchestra: City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Sir Simon Rattle.
    • EMI.
  • Anatoly Konstantinovich Lyadov

    The Enchanted Lake, Op.62

    Orchestra: G眉rzenich-Orchester K枚ln. Conductor: Dmitri Kitayenko.
    • Mussorgsky, Rimsky-Korsakov & Lyadov: Works.
    • Oehms Classics.
  • Louise Farrenc

    Nonet in E flat major, Op.38 (4th mvt)

    Ensemble: Consortium Classicum.
    • Farrenc: Nonet & Clarinet Trio.
    • Divox.
    • 4.
  • Adolph von Henselt

    Piano Concerto in F Minor, Op. 16: 1st mvt

    • von Henselt/Bronsart von Schellendorff - Piano Concertos.
    • BIS.
    • 1.
  • George Frideric Handel

    Serse, HWV 40, Act 1: "Ombra mai f霉"

    Singer: Joyce DiDonato. Ensemble: Il Pomo d鈥橭ro. Conductor: Maxim Emelyanychev.
    • EDEN (Deluxe Edition).
    • Warner Classics.
    • 16.
  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

    Violin Concerto No 4 in D major, K 218 (3rd mvt)

    Performer: David Oistrakh. Orchestra: Berliner Philharmoniker. Director: David Oistrakh.
    • Mozart The Collectors Edition 50 CDs The Masterpieces The Greatest Artists.
    • EMI Classics.
    • 3.
  • Malcolm Arnold

    4 English dances - set 2 Op.33 (no.1)

    Orchestra: London Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor: Malcolm Arnold.
    • Malcolm Arnold: English, Irish, Scottish & Cornish Dances: LPO/Arnold.
    • Lyrita.
    • 5.
  • Bj枚rn Ulvaeus & Benny Andersson

    SOS

    Composer: Bj枚rn Ulvaeus & Benny Andersson. Music Arranger: Bo Wiget. Music Arranger: Bo Wiget. Ensemble: Lautten Compagney. Ensemble: Lautten Compagney. Conductor: Wolfgang Katschner. Conductor: Wolfgang Katschner.
    • Dancing Queen - Rameau meets ABBA.
    • Deutsche Harmonia Mundi.
    • 18.
  • Anton Bruckner

    Christus factus est 1884 version

    Choir: Polyphony. Conductor: Stephen Layton.
    • Bruckner: Mass in E minor/Motets: Polyphony/Britten Sinfonia/Layton.
    • Hyperion.
    • 9.
  • Johann Friedrich Fasch

    Concerto for trumpet, 2 oboes and strings in D major

    Performer: Mark Bennett. Performer: Paul Goodwin. Performer: Lorraine Wood. Ensemble: The English Concert. Conductor: Trevor Pinnock.
    • Fasch: Concertos/Orchestral suite: The English Concert/Pinnock.
    • Archiv.
    • 1.
  • Felix Mendelssohn

    Piano Trio no.2 in C minor Op.66 (4th mvt)

    Ensemble: Gould Piano Trio.
    • Mendelssohn - Piano Trios Nos. 1 & 2: Gould Piano Trio.
    • Naxos.
    • 8.

Broadcast

  • Wed 12 Feb 2025 09:30

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.