Monday - Rob Cowan with James May
With Rob Cowan. Including Five Reasons to Love Orchestral Lollipops; Musical Challenge: Mapping the Music; conductor Riccardo Muti; Rob's Essential Choice: Schubert: Symphony No 8.
Discover definitive recordings of the greatest classical music with your trusted guide, Rob Cowan. His guest is journalist and presenter of ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ's Top Gear programme, James May.
9am
A selection of music including '5 Reasons to Love... orchestral lollipops'. Throughout the week Rob welcomes in the New Year with a selection of orchestral lollipops recalling the tradition of Thomas Beecham's orchestral bons-bons. The San Francisco Symphony conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas play familiar favourites include Rachmaninov's Vocalise, Delius's On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring, Schubert's Entracte No.3 from Rosamunde and Litolff's celebrated Scherzo.
9.30am
Musical challenge: Mapping the Music
10am
Rob's guest this week, sharing his favourite classical music every day at 10am, is James May. Best known as co-presenter of the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ's Top Gear programme, the Renaissance man of motoring takes off his driving gloves and returns to Essential Classics to dig deeper into another of his great passions. A former chorister and occasional flautist, May is a classical music enthusiast with a particular love of the keyboard.
10.30am
This week Rob's featured artist is the eminent Italian conductor Riccardo Muti, whose performances combine probing intelligence and an intense conviction. Rob will feature benchmark recordings throughout the week from his prestigious career with orchestras such as the Berlin Philharmonic, the Chicago Symphony, the Vienna Philharmonic and from his tenure as music director at La Scala, Milan. Not forgetting his memorable New Year's Day Concert of 2000.
11am
Today's Essential Choice is taken from the Building a Library recommendation from last Saturday's CD Review.
Schubert
Symphony no.8 in B minor, D759 ('Unfinished').
Last on
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Music Played
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Thomas Morley
Now is the Month of Maying
Director: Anthony Rooley. Ensemble: The King’s Singers. Ensemble: The Consort of Musicke.- EMI.
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Joseph Haydn
Fantasia in C, Hob XVII:4
Performer: Sir András Schiff.- WARNER.
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5 reasons to love... orchestral miniatures
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Gabriel Fauré
Pavane, Op.50
Conductor: Michael Tilson Thomas. Orchestra: San Francisco Symphony.- SFS MEDIA.
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George Frideric Handel
Organ Concerto in B flat, Op.7 No.6
Conductor: Jaap Schröder. Performer: Daniel Chorzempa. Orchestra: Concerto Amsterdam.- PHILIPS.
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Artist of the week: Riccardo Muti
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Luigi Cherubini
Requiem Mass in C minor; Agnus Dei
Conductor: Riccardo Muti. Ensemble: Ambrosian Singers. Orchestra: Philharmonia Orchestra.- EMI.
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Ludwig van Beethoven
The Creatures of Prometheus, Op.43
Conductor: Otto Klemperer. Orchestra: Philharmonia Orchestra.- EMI.
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James May's Choice No. 1
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John Cage
Sonata 1 for Prepared Piano
Performer: Boris Berman.- NAXOS.
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James May's Choice No. 2
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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Sonata 4 (E flat) K282 – Adagio
Performer: Sir András Schiff.- DECCA.
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Thomas Tallis
Benedictus
Ensemble: Chapelle du Roi. Conductor: Alistair Dixon. -
Artist of the week: Riccardo Muti
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Béla Bartók
Two Pictures for Orchestra, Op.10
Conductor: Riccardo Muti. Orchestra: La Scala Philharmonic.- SONY.
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Georg Philipp Telemann
Paris Quartet No. 4 (Sonata Seconda)
Performer: Barthold Kuijken. Performer: Wieland Kuijken. Performer: Sigiswald Kuijken. Performer: Gustav Leonhardt. -
The Building a library recommendation from last Saturday's CD Review
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Franz Schubert
Symphony No.8 in B minor, D759
Orchestra: London Classical Players. Conductor: Sir Roger Norrington.- EMI.
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Ludwig van Beethoven
Sonata for Piano and Violin in G. Op 96
Performer: Pamela Frank. Performer: Claude Frank. -
Edward Elgar
Bavarian Dance no.1
Orchestra: Bournemouth Sinfonietta. Conductor: Norman Del Mar.- Elgar: Favourites: Bournemouth Sinfonietta/Del Mar/Hurst.
- Chandos.
- 12.
Mapping the Music
The location was Pest, Hungary:
The music played:
Liszt
Hungarian Rhapsody no.9 in E flat, S244/9ÌýÌýÌýÌý
Roberto Szidon (piano)
DG 477 9525
Broadcast
- Mon 29 Dec 2014 09:00³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Radio 3