Main content
Sorry, this episode is not currently available

Rachmaninov's 24 Preludes in Building a Library with Lucy Parham and Hannah French

In Building a Library, Lucy Parham chooses her favourite recording of Rachmaninov's piano preludes, plus some of the best new classical releases assessed by cellist Steven Isserlis.

Hannah French with the best new recordings of classical music.

9.30 am
Cellist Steven Isserlis brings a selection of new releases to the studio, and in On Repeat he shares a track with Hannah and explains his current preoccupation with it.

10.30 am
Building a Library
Lucy Parham chooses her favourite recording of Rachmaninov's piano preludes

Rachmaninov's 24 piano preludes in all the 24 major and minor keys are a glorious treasure trove of different pianistic styles from lyrical to barn-storming. He wrote and published them at different times, and didn't regard them as a unified set. Unlike the keyboard preludes of Bach and Chopin they are not organized according to their keys either. But for a feast of piano playing, they are an essential thing for your library. And some of the titans of the keyboard have recorded their interpretations, including the composer himself how recorded a selection of them.

11.20 am
Record of the Week
An exceptional new release.

Send us your On Repeat recommendations at recordreview@bbc.co.uk or tweet us @成人快手Radio3.

2 hours, 47 minutes

Music Played

  • Jos茅 de Nebra

    Donde hay violencia no hay culpa, Act I: Sinfonia

    Ensemble: Los Elementos. Conductor: Alberto Migu茅lez Rouco.
    • Nebra: Donde Hay Violencia, No Hay Culpa.
    • Glossa.
    • 2.
  • Michael Haydn

    Kaiser Constantin I "Feldzug und Sieg": Herr, dein Wort ist Recht und Licht

    Singer: Chantal Santon Jeffery. Singer: Em艖ke Bar谩th. Orchestra: Orfeo Orchestra. Conductor: Gy枚rgy Vashegyi.
    • Michael Haydn: Emperor Constantine I's Campaign and Victory.
    • Accent.
    • 9.
  • Maurice Ravel

    Sonate pour violon et piano: II. Blues. Moderato

    • 脌 Moune.
    • Challenge Classics.
    • 3.
  • Jean Sibelius

    Dance of the Shapes (The Tempest Op.109)

    Orchestra: Royal Danish Orchestra. Conductor: Okko Kamu.
    • Sibelius: The Tempest, Op. 109 (Live).
    • Naxos.
    • 117.
  • Henry Purcell

    Dido and Aeneas, Z626, Act 2 Scene 1: In Our Deep Vaulted Cell - Echo Dance of the Furies

    Ensemble: Les Argonautes. Conductor: Julie Roset.
    • Purcell: Dido & Aeneas, Circe.
    • Aparte.
    • 18.
  • Robert Schumann

    Violin Sonata No 2 in D minor, Op 121: I. Ziemlich langsam - lebhaft

    Performer: Andrew Wan. Performer: Charles Richard-Hamelin.
    • Schumann: The Three Violin Sonatas.
    • Anakekta.
    • 4.
  • Gabriel Faur茅

    Barcarolle No 9 in A minor, Op 101

    Performer: Jean鈥怭hilippe Collard.
    • Faur茅: 13 Barcarolles & Ballade Op. 19.
    • La Dolce Volta.
    • 9.
  • Em谩nuel Mo贸r

    Pieces lyriques for String Quartet, Op 139: III. Andante sostenuto

    Ensemble: Rosenstein String Quartet.
    • Em谩nuel Mo贸r: Music For Viola.
    • Toccata Classics.
    • 6.
  • Michel Legrand

    His Eyes, Her Eyes (From 'The Thomas Crown Affair')

    Performer: Alexandre Tharaud. Orchestra: Orchestra of the Academy of Santa Cecilia, Rome. Conductor: Sir Antonio Pappano.
    • Cinema.
    • Warner Classics.
    • 13.
  • Dmitri Kabalevsky

    Cello Concerto No 2, Op 77: II. Presto marcato

    Performer: Daniil Borisovich Shafran. Orchestra: St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor: Dmitri Kabalevsky.
    • Kabalevsky: Cello Concerto No. 2, Op. 77 - Prokofiev: Sinfonia Concertante, Op..
    • Russian Compact Disc.
    • 2.
  • Johann Sebastian Bach

    Christmas Oratorio, BWV 248 / Part Six - For The Feast Of Epiphany

    Lyricist: Christian Friedrich Henrici. Conductor: Sir John Eliot Gardiner. Orchestra: English Baroque Soloists. Choir: Monteverdi Choir.
    • John Eliot Gardiner: The Best Of Bach.
    • Decca (UMO).
    • 4.
  • Patricia Van Ness

    The Nine Orders of the Angels: Ii. Archangelus

    Conductor: Anna Lapwood. Choir: The Chapel Choir of Pembroke College, Cambridge.
    • A Pembroke Christmas.
    • Signum Classics.
    • 101.
  • Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

    Nutcracker - A Dramatic Symphony: Act 1 (excerpts)

    Orchestra: Baltic Sea Philharmonic. Conductor: Kristjan J盲rvi.
    • Tchaikovsky: Nutcracker - A Dramatic Symphony.
    • Sony.
    • 1.
  • Florence Price

    The Oak

    Orchestra: W眉rttembergische Philharmonie Reutlingen. Conductor: John Jeter.
    • Price: Songs of the Oak.
    • Naxos.
    • 103.
  • Reinhard Keiser

    Ich muss schweigend von dir gehen (from Fredegunda)

    Singer: Tom谩拧 Kr谩l. Orchestra: Wroclaw Baroque Orchestra. Conductor: Jaroslaw Thiel.
    • Kings in the North.
    • 础辫补谤迟茅.
    • 5.
  • Franz Schubert

    Symphonie Inachevee no 8 en Si mineur: I. Allegro moderato

    Orchestra: Le Concert des Nations. Conductor: Jordi Savall.
    • Schubert: Transfiguration.
    • Alia Vox.
    • 1.

Record Review

The link below each recording takes you directly to the label鈥檚 website. Please be aware that non-UK labels may be cheaper via a record store or an online retailer.

9.00am

Nebra: Donde Hay Violencia, No Hay Culpa

Alicia Amo (Lucrecia)

Natalie Perez (Colatino)

Giulia Semenzato (Tulia)

Judit Subirana (Laureta)

Los Elementos

Alberto Miguelez Rouco

Glossa 听GCD923535

Michael Haydn: Emperor Constantine I's Campaign and Victory

Em艖ke Bar谩th (soprano)

Klara Kolonits (soprano)

Theodora Raftis (soprano)

Purcell Choir

Orfeo Orchestra

Gy枚rgy Vashegyi

Accent听 ACC26504 (2 CDs)

脌 Moune 鈥 music by Ravel

Pierre Goy (piano & luth茅al piano)

Lina Tur Bonet (violin)

Marco Testori (cello)

Challenge Classics听 CC72916 (Hybrid SACD)

Sibelius: The Tempest

The Royal Danish Opera Chorus

The Royal Danish Opera Orchestra

Okko Kamu

Naxos听 8574419

Purcell: Dido & Aeneas, Circe

Camille All茅rat (Dido)

Renato Dolcini (Aeneas)

Julie Roset (Belinda/Second Witch)

Anthea Pichanick (Sorceress)

Ana Veieira Leite (Second Woman/First Witch)

Les Argonautes

Jonas Descotte

Apart茅听 AP296

09.30am 鈥 Steven Isserlis: New Releases

Schumann: The Three Violin Sonatas

Andrew Wan (violin)

Charles Richard-Hamelin (piano)

Analekta 听AN29003

Faur茅: 13 Barcarolles & Ballade Op. 19

Jean-Philippe Collard (piano)

La Dolce Vita听 LDV91

Em谩nuel Mo贸r: Music For Viola

Dirk Hegemann (viola)

D谩vid B谩ll (piano)

Rosenstein String Quartet

Anima Musicae Chamber Orchestra

M谩ty谩s Antal

Toccata Classics听 TOCC0650

Cinema 鈥 music by Legrand, John Williams, Ennio Morricone, etc.

Alexandre Tharaud (piano)

Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia

Antonio Pappano

Warner Classics听 5419718461 (2 CDs)

Steven Isserlis: On Repeat

Kabalevsky: Cello Concerto No. 2, Op. 77 - Prokofiev: Sinfonia Concertante, Op. 125

Daniil Shafran (cello)

Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra

USSR State Symphony Orchestra

Dmitry Kabalevsky

Gennady Rozhdestvensky

Russian Compact Disc听 RCD13025

10:10 am

Listener On Repeat

Bach, J S: Christmas Oratorio, BWV248

Anthony Rolfe Johnson (Evangelist)

Nancy Argenta (soprano)

Anne Sofie von Otter (mezzo-soprano)

Hans Peter Blochwitz (tenor)

Olaf B盲r (bass)

Crispian Steele-Perkins (natural trumpet)

Monteverdi Choir

English Baroque Soloists

John Eliot Gardiner

DG Archiv听 4791759 (2 CDs)

A Pembroke Christmas 鈥 music by Ness, Briggs, Coleridge-Taylor, etc.

Emma Johnson (clarinet)

Wallis Power (cello)

The Chapel Choir of Pembroke College, Cambridge

The Pembroke College Girls' Choir

Anna Lapwood

Signum听 SIGCD724

Tchaikovsky: Nutcracker - A Dramatic Symphony

Baltic Sea Philharmonic

Kristjan J盲rvi

Sony 听G010004887761J

10.30am 鈥 Building a Library: Lucy Parham on Rachmaninov鈥檚 24 Preludes

Recommended recording:

Boris Giltburg (piano)

Naxos 听8.574025

Other recommendation:

Vladimir Ashkenazy (piano)

Decca 听4853176

Sviatoslav Richter (piano)

Olympia 听MKM51

11:15am

Florence Beatrice Price: Songs of the Oak

W眉rttembergische Philharmonie Reutlingen

John Jeter

Naxos 听8.559920

https://www.naxos.com/CatalogueDetail/?id=8.559920

Kings in the North 鈥 music by Keiser, Handel, Telemann, etc.

Tom谩拧 Kr谩l (baritone)

Wroclaw Baroque Orchestra

Jaros艂aw Thiel

Apart茅听 AP278

11.25am 鈥 Record of the Week

Schubert: Transfiguration (Symphonies Nos. 8 & 9)

Le Concert des Nations

Jordi Savall

Alia Vox听 AVSA9950 (2 Hybrid SACDs)

Broadcast

  • Sat 31 Dec 2022 09:00

Composers A to Z

Composers A to Z

Visit the extensive Radio 3 audio archive of programmes about composers and their works.

Browse previous episodes of the Record Review Podcast

Browse previous episodes of the Record Review Podcast

All episodes since 2010, listed alphabetically by composer surname.

Why the music we love as teens stays with us for life

Cognitive neuropyschology can explain why we return to old favourites again and again.