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January

• Each of the four composers features as Composer Of The Week, beginning with Purcell (5-9 Jan), Handel (12-16 Jan), Haydn (19 - 23 Jan) and Mendelssohn (26 - 30 Jan).
• First cycle of all of Handel's 40-plus operas begins (8 Jan). The operas are to be broadcast in chronological order on Thursday afternoons.
• Complete cycle of Haydn's 104 symphonies begins (2 Jan) and will continue in numerical order twice weekly throughout the year on Wednesday and Friday mornings and will include live performances from venues around the country.
• Concerts featuring music for St Cecilia by Handel, Purcell and Haydn from the Barbican performed by Les Musiciens du Louvre and Marc Minkowski (21 & 24 Jan).

February

• Radio 3 joins with the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) to present a day of programming to celebrate Mendelssohn's 200th birthday (1 Feb).
• A week of Mendelssohn symphonies on Afternoon On 3 (2–6 Feb).
• Among the live concerts broadcast are Haydn's Harmoniemesse performed by the Northern Sinfonia under Thomas Zehetmair (10 Feb); Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto from Leila Josefowicz and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra (16 Feb) and Haydn's Cello Concerto in C from the London Philharmonic Orchestra with Truls Mørk (17 Feb).

March

• The first of two weekends dedicated to Purcell, in which explorations of his life and work permeates Radio 3 programmes from CD Review and The Early Music Show to the Sunday Feature. Particular highlights include a Music Matters that goes in search of the "real" Purcell (21 Mar); Choral Evensong live from Westminster Abbey, where Purcell lived, worked, died and is buried (18 Mar, repeated 22 Mar); and a Discovering Music about Dido And Aeneas (22 Mar).
• The Birth of British Music on ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Two (dates tbc).
• A live performance of Mendelssohn's Elijah from the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ National Orchestra of Wales and Iván Fischer from St David's Hall, Cardiff (1 Mar); Haydn symphonies from Sir Charles Mackerras and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (11 Mar) and Mark Elder and the Hallé who perform Mendelssohn's Scottish Symphony (16 Mar).

April

• Easter week (12-19 Apr) is given over almost entirely to Handel, including a live performance of Messiah from Westminster Abbey, marking exactly the 250th anniversary of his death (14 Apr); a Sunday Feature about Handel's finances (12 Apr) and five essays about different aspects of his life and work; explorations of Handel on CD; "Eight Great" Harpsichord Suites from the Handel House Museum (13–17 Apr); and a day of Handel-focused concerts from across Europe in collaboration with the EBU (19 Apr).

May

• A weekend packed full of all things Mendelssohn (8–10 May), including a live broadcast of In Tune from Birmingham Town Hall – where Mendelssohn's Elijah was first performed in 1846 – to include live performances from the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Philharmonic, organist Thomas Trotter, New Generation Artist Tai Murray (violin) and Radio 2 Young Chorister Of The Year Alice Halstead, presented by Sean Rafferty.
• Other highlights of the weekend include a performance of Elijah by Ex Cathedra, also recorded at Birmingham Town Hall (8 May); Tim Carroll's A Midsummer Night's Dream from the historic Middle Temple Hall in London, Mendelssohn's incidental music played by the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment; performances of O For The Wings Of A Dove by choirs throughout the UK (10 May); and a feature by Mendelssohn's great-great-great niece, the celebrated filmmaker Sheila Hayman, called Mendelssohn, The Nazis And Me.

June

• Six weeks of Haydn coverage start on 31 May, the 200th anniversary of his death, when Radio 3 relays major performances of his works from cities around Europe with which he was associated, including London, Paris, Vienna and Esterházy. There is also a week of concerts on Performance On 3 (6-10 Jul) which includes The Seasons from the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, and a rare performance of Haydn's oratorio The Return Of Tobias by the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment under Sir Roger Norrington. During that week there are five editions of The Essay devoted to different aspects of Haydn, including his humour, his faith, his penchant for strange and exotic instruments and how he came to lose his head! All the mature string quartets are broadcast in Afternoon On 3 (1 Jun-17 Jul), recorded in concert at Wigmore Hall and performed by quartets including the Hagen, Belcea, Jerusalem and Mosaïques quartets.

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• The four composers feature as part of the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Proms in 2009. Full details to be announced on 8 April.

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• Full details for this period are still to be confirmed but will include a second Purcell weekend in November on the anniversary of his death (10 Nov).

Check bbc.co.uk/composers for updates