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Six of the best… works by Lili Boulanger

Faust et Hélène (1913)

Based on a poem by Eugène Adenis – itself based on Goethe’s Faust – Boulanger crafted a thirty-minute cantata for choir and orchestra, featuring solo parts for mezzo-soprano, tenor and baritone. The work won her the 1913 Prix de Rome, the first time the prize had been awarded to a woman composer. She is said to have written it in just four weeks.

Du fond de l’abîme (1914-17)

This ambitious work, based on Psalm 130, was on Boulanger’s writing desk for a long while, largely thanks to the outbreak of war. During the war years, the composer volunteered for the Franco-American Committee; she also became quite ill during this period. The work is arranged for contralto, tenor, chorus, organ and orchestra.

• 9 of the best contemporary female composers
• 5 of the best works by Clara Schumann

Vieille Prière Bouddhique (1914-17)

Another work which Boulanger had to find time to return to during the war years was her take on a Buddhist prayer (indeed ‘a daily prayer for the whole universe’). An intensely spiritual work, it remains one of the composer’s greatest accomplishments and sits in quite stark contrast to the more nihilistic Du fond de l’abîme of the same period.

La princesse Maleine (1916-18)

The writer Maurice Maeterlinck was no stranger to his works being taken on by composers; the most famous example might be Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande. Maeterlinck’s La princesse Maleine, however, was one piece he was quite protective of. The only composer he allowed to take it on was Lili Boulanger. It’s said she identified greatly with Maleine, but progress on the five-act opera was slow and she struggled to complete the work. Only fragments of it remain, which leads most scholars to believe it went unfinished.

• Six of the most inspiring women in music
• Nine of the best classical works inspired by the sun

D’un soir triste / D’un matin de printemps (1917-18)

This two-part work was completed just a couple of months before her death in 1918, the first half being the moving portrait D’un soir triste (Of a sad evening). Boulanger originally arranged the piece for cello and piano. The second half, D’un matin de printemps (Of a spring morning), is the sprightlier of the two works that make up this musical diptych, and was originally arranged for flute/violin and piano. Both halves were also arranged for piano trio and orchestra.

Pie Jesu (1918)

Her final work, the Pie Jesu is a deeply emotional and personal work that is in many ways her own Requiem. So unwell was she while working on the music, she actually finished it on her deathbed, dictating what was required to her sister. Nadia Boulanger is said to have been so distraught at Lili’s death, she turned her back on her own composing and decided to focus on teaching instead.

• 5 composers with synesthesia
• The best recordings of Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue

An introduction to Shostakovich's Symphony No. 3

Symphony No. 3 ‘May Day’ Op. 20 (1929)

Premiered: Leningrad, 1930

The Third Symphony (which he also discouraged Maxim from conducting) is titled ‘May Day’, but its effect is ironic rather than rousing. At the time Shostakovich wrote this, he was newly married, and simply needed the money. But it turned out to be an opportunity to see how much grotesque satire his audience could recognise. 

‘The Second and Third symphonies are very difficult to perform properly and it took me a long time to work out how to make them feel logical. They need to settle in your mind. By the Third you feel he’s really starting to be very ironic about the text and about the message. The poetry he uses is banal, amateur, and he’s mocking it – showing how absurd and empty the words were.’

• Five of the best Shostakovich conductors

Vasily Petrenko is, like Shostakovich, a son of Leningrad/St Petersburg, and grew up singing the composer’s songs in its Capella Boys Music School. In 1997 he won first prize in the Shostakovich Choral Conducting Competition and was made chief conductor of the St Petersburg State Academic Symphony Orchestra, during which time he took on the principal conductorship of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic.

On his arrival in the city in 2006, at just 30, he launched a project with Naxos to record all Shostakovich’s 15 symphonies. The series has drawn international acclaim and, as the final instalment is released, he looks back on his nine-year journey. ‘To work with an orchestra on one composer for so many years has meant we could build a style, an approach to his language,’ he says. ‘At first, it felt like an exhilarating challenge: there are huge demands. Now, we are of one mind.’ 

• 11 important Shostakovich quotes

Petrenko, born a year after the composer’s death, grew up in the Soviet Union. A beneficiary of its uniquely rigorous teaching system, he witnessed its dissolution when he was 15, the re-writing of history books, and even the emergence of a nostalgia for that dark era. He’s in touch with those who remember Shostakovich, and the times through which he lived, but has experienced the Western view of this controversial figure.

‘When I conduct these symphonies in Russia, there’s still an unspoken understanding of the songs, the messages. We talk more about the composer’s personal life. When I conduct in the West, it’s important to give the historical context. There’s still so much we don’t know; the family destroyed many letters when Shostakovich died. The State would probably have requisitioned them anyway.’ 

• The politics of Dmitri Shostakovich

A guide to the soundtrack of BBC’s Poldark

The main theme for BBC’s period drama Poldark is written by British composer Anne Dudley, who has also written music for TV programmes and films including Jeeves and Wooster, The Hustle, Mamma Mia – Here We Go Again and The Full Monty, for which she won an Oscar for Best Original Musical or Comedy Score. She also worked as music producer on the film adaptation of Les Miserables, starring Anne Hathaway and Hugh Jackman.

As well as her work for screen, she is known as one of the founding members of the synthpop band Art of Noise, and was the BBC Concert Orchestra’s first Composer in Association in 2001.

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The main theme in Poldark uses modes, often found in the folk music from Cornwall, where the programme is set. It features a solo violin set over a magnificent orchestral accompaniment, performed by the Chamber Orchestra of London. 

‘The music needed to underscore the sweeping Cornish landscapes and passionate love story,' says Dudley. 

Pianist Lang Lang has performed a solo piano arrangement of this opening theme, a recording that features on the album below:

• Six of the best Lang Lang performances
• What's the music on the BBC's Wimbledon TV coverage?

Seasons 1-5 of Poldark can be viewed here.

Free Download: Carbonelli's Sonata No. 10 by violinist Bojan Čičić and the Illyria Consort

This week’s free download is the second movement from Carbonelli’s Sonata da Camera No. 10, performed by violinist Bojan Čičić and the Illyria Consort. It was recorded on Delphian and was awarded four stars in the September issue of BBC Music Magazine.

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The BBC Music Magazine Playlist

Every Monday, the BBC Music Magazine team choose their favourite new recordings of the past week. The tracks are compiled into The Playlist, which can be accessed via the BBC Music Magazine Spotify page. An alternative version of The Playlist can be found on the BBC Music Magazine curator page on Apple Music.

This week's playlist:

The listings for previous playlists are featured below.

Vol. 32

José Ferrer Sérénade espagnole, Op. 34 (Jørgen Skogmo, Jens Franke)

Laura Kaminsky A Christmas Story (Sasha Cooke, Kelly Markgraf, Fry Street Quartet)

Dustin O’Halloran Op. 28 (American Contemporary Music Ensemble)

Piazzolla Milonga del angel (arr. Benítez for guitar) (Rupert Boyd)

Debussy La Mer: III. Dialogue du vent et de la mer (L’Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Paris Conservatoire Orchestra/Ernest Ansermet)

JS Bach Christ lag in Todesbanden: II. Christ lag in Todesbanden (Vox Luminis/Lionel Meunier)

Amir Mahyar Tafreshipour Broken Times (Darragh Morgan, Patrick Savage, Fiona Winning, Deirdre Cooper)

Handel Brockes Passion: No. 5, Der Gott, dem alle Himmelskreise (Festspielorchester Göttingen/Laurence Cummings)

Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 6 ‘Pathétique’: III. Allegro molto vivace (Berlin Philharmonic/Kirill Petrenko)

Vol. 31

Honegger Symphony No. 2 for string orchestra and trumpet: III. Vivace non troppo (Baltic Chamber Orchestra/Emmanuel Leducq-Baromé)

Mozart Piano Concerto No. 27, Arr. for accordion and chamber orchestra: II. Larghetto (Viviane Chassot, Camerata Bern)

Janáček On an Overgrown Path: No. 10, The Barn Owl Has Not Flown Away! Andante (Jan Bartoš)

Wolfram Buchenberg Dum medium silentium (Cantabile Regensburg/Matthias Beckert)

Elgar Soliloquy for oboe and orchestra (Albrecht Mayer, Bamberg Symphony/Jakub Hrůša)

Schubert Die schöne Müllerin: No. 8, Morgengruß (Roderick Williams, Iain Burnside)

Heinrich Bach Ich danke dir Gott (Vox Luminix/Lionel Meunier)

Erika Fox Café Warsaw 1944: I. Prologue (Goldfield Ensemble/Richard Uttley)

Salieri Tarare, Act 5 Scene 4 ‘Atar, defends-nous’ (Les Talens Lyriques/Christophe Rousset)

Korngold String Quartet No. 2: IV. Waltz (Finale) (Jerusalem Quartet)

Vol. 30

Verdi La Traviata – Act 1: ‘Libiamo ne’ lieti calici’ (Brindisi) (Luciano Pavarotti, Joan Sutherland, The London Opera Chorus, National Philharmonic Orchestra/Richard Ronynge)

Philip Glass Vertigo (Arctic Philharmonic Orchestra)

Britten A Ceremony of Carols, Op. 28: This little Babe (The Sixteen/Harry Christophers)

Prokofiev Visions fugitives, Op. 22: XIV. Feroce (Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra/Sakari Oramo)

Howells Te Deum and Jubilate ‘Collegium Regale’: Te Deum (Choir of King’s College, Cambridge/Stephen Cleobury)

Hartmann Concerto funebre: IV. Choral. Langsamer Marsch (Fabiola Kim, Müncher Symphoniker/Kevin John Edusei)

Praetorius Dixit Dominus (David Skinner, Stephen Farr)

Gregson Sequence (Four) for Solo Violin and String Orchestra divisi (Mari Samuelsen, Konzerthausorchester Berlin/Jonathan Stockhammer)

Bartók The Wooden Prince, Op. 13: IX. The Princess is Curious (Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra/Susanna Mälkki)

Get It Straight – Live(Dan Berglund, Charenee Wade, Iiro Rantala, Anton Eger, Ernie Watts, Angelika Niescier)

Vol. 29

Mozart Piano Concerto No. 20: III. Allegro assai (Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, Manchester Camerata/Gábor Takács-Nagy)

Elgar String Quartet in E minoe: Piacevole. Poco andante (Brodsky Quartet)

Jonathan Dove Airport Scenes (Orchestral Suite from ‘Flight’): II. Storm (BBC Philharmonic/Timothy Redmond)

Kaija Saariaho Ciel d’hiver (After ‘Orion’ Movement II) (Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra/Hannu Lintu)

Josquin des Prez Nymphes des bois (La déploration de la mort de Johannes Ockeghem (Il Giardino Armonico/Giovanni Antonini)

Daniel Elms Islandia (Christian Barraclough, Jonathan French, Tomas Klement, Tereza Privatska, Julia Loucks, Tom Hankey, Adam Szabo)

Vivaldi arr. Max Richter The Four Seasons Recomposed: Summer I (Fenella Humphreys, Covent Garden Sinfonia/Ben Palmer)

Dvořák Piano Trio No. 1: IV. Finale. Allegro vivace (The Busch Trio)

Suk Pohádka, Op. 16: III. Funeral Music (Czech Philharmonic Orchestra/Jiří Bělohlávek)

JS Bach Es erhub sich ein Streit, BWV 19: I. Es erhub sich ein Streit (Gaechinger Cantorey, David Franke, Hans-Christoph Rademann)

Vol. 28

Qigang Chen The Joy of Suffering: IV. Thrilled by illusions (Maxim Vengerov, Shanghai Symphony Orchestra/Long Yu

David Robertson Movement I. St Louis to New Orleans (Wynton Marsalis, Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra/David Robertson)

Geminiani Concerto per flauto in G: I. Preludio. Adagio (Maurice Steger, La Cetra)

James MacMillan Cecilia virgo (The Elysian Singers/Sam Laughton)

Chopin Nocturne No. 20 in C-sharp minor (Charles Richard-Hamelin, Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal/Kent Nagano 

Striggio Ecce Beatam Lucem à 40 (Armonico Consort, Choir of Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge/Christopher Monks)

Weinberg Symphony No. 21 ‘Kaddish’: II. Allegro molto (City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra/Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla)

Wagner Siegfried: Siegfried’s Horn Call (Ben Goldscheider, Hallé/Mark Elder)

Monteverdi Vespers of 1610: Deus in adiutorium meum intende (The Sixteen/Harry Christophers)

Sibelius Lemminkäinen Suite ‘4 Legends: IV. Lemminkäinen’s Return (BBC Symphony Orchestra/Sakari Oramo)

Vol. 27

Jón Leifs Edda Pt. 2 Op. 42 ‘The Lives of the Gods’: VI. Warriors (Schola Cantorum Reykjavicensis, Iceland Symphony Orchestra/Hermann Bäumer)

Philip Glass Perpetulum: Part 1 (Third Coast Percussion)

Richard Strauss Violin Concerto: III. Rondo (Tasmin Little, BBC Symphony Orchestra/Michael Collins)

Jolivet Serenade for Wind Quintet: II. Caprice (Jolivet, Les Vents Français)

Beethoven Cello Sonata in F Op. 17: I. Allegro moderato (Leonard Elschenbroich, Alexei Grynyuk)

Mendelssohn Piano Concerto No. 2: III. Finale (Kristian Bezuidenhout, Freiburger Barockorchester/Pablo Heras-Casado)

Corelli Violin Sonata in D minor, Op. 5 No. 7 (arr. for harpsichord): III. Sarabande (Sophie Yates)

Richard Rodney Bennett Symphony No. 1: III. Molto vivace (BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra/John Wilson)

Fauré Piano Quartet No. 1 in C minor, Op. 15: III. Adagio (Evgeny Kissin, Emerson String Quartet)

Eric Vloiemans Crazy Witches (Calefax Reed Quintet)

Rachmaninov 13 Préludes, Op. 32: No. 5 in G. Moderato (Boris Giltburg)

Vol. 26

Jonathan Dove Seek Him That Maketh the Seven Stars (Choir of St John’s College, Cambridge/Andrew Nethsingha)

Glière Horn Concerto: III. Moderato (Markus Maskuniitty, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra/Sakari Oramo)

Porpora David e Bersabea: Dolce è su queste alte mie logge a sera (Giueseppina Bridelli, Le Concert de l’Hostel Dieu/Franck-Emmanuel Comte)

Haydn Die Sieben letzten Worte unseres Erlösers am Kreuze, Hob. XX: I. Introduzione. Maestoso ed adagio (Ensemble Resonanz/Riccardo Minasi)

Hindemith Violin Sonata Op. 11 No. 1: I. Frisch (Roman Mints, Alexander Kobrin)

Schubert Rosamunde Op. 26: IIIa. Entr’acte No. 2 (Andante) (Copenhagen Philharmonic Orchestra/Lawrence Foster)

Robert Schumann Liederkreis Op. 39: V. Mondnacht (arr. Clara Schumann) (Isata Kanneh-Mason)

Debussy Préludes, Book 1: No. 8 La fille aux cheveux de lin (Lisa Friend, Rohan de Silva)

Beethoven Triple Concerto: II. Largo (Laurence Equilbey, Alexandra Conunova, David Kadouch, Natalie Clein, Insula Orchestra)

Clara Schumann 3 Romances, Op. 11: II. Andante – Allegro passionate – Andante (Eric Le Sage)

Vol. 25

Duruflé Messe ‘Cum Jubilo’ pour choeur de barytons et orgue, Op. 11: II. Gloria (Ken Cowan, Houston Chamber Choir/Robert Simpson)

Mahler Symphony No. 10 (arr. Castelletti for chamber orchestra): II. Sherzo (Lapland Symphony Orchestra/John Storgårds)

Brahms Piano Quartet No. 1: II. Intermezzo (Skride Piano Quartet)

Tavener The Protecting Veil: I. The Protecting Veil (Matthew Barley, Sinfonietta Riga/Sukhvinder Singh Pinky)

Gibbons The Silver Swan (Apollo5)

Victoria Bond Instruments of Revelation: III. The Fool (Chicago Pro musica)

Schumann Dichterliebe: VII. Ich grolle nicht (Stella Doufexis, Daniel Heide)

Annie Lennox (Hesperiidae) (Annie Lennox)

Vol. 24

Offenbach Madame Favart: Overture (Brandenburgisches Staatsorchester Frankfurt/Howard Griffiths)

JS Bach Cello Suite No. 4 in E-flat: V. Bourée (trans. Rachel Podger for violin) (Rachel Podger)

Björk Vespertine: Aurora (Live) (Women’s Choir of Nationaltheater Mannheim, Orchestra of Nationaltheater Mannheim)

Gershwin Lullaby for String Quartet (Chiaroscuro)

John Williams Hedwig’s Theme – from ‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Anne-Sophie Mutter, The Recording Arts Orchestra of Los Angeles)

Khachaturian Cello Concerto: III. Allegro battula (Torleif Thedéen, Staatsorchester Rheinische Philharmonie/Daniel Raiskin)

Debussy Chansons de Bilitis, L. 90: No. 1, La flute de Pan (Carolyn Sampson, Joseph Middleton)

Weber Clarinet Concerto No. 1: II. Adagio ma non troppo (Andreas Ottensamer, Yuja Wang, Berlin Philharmonic/Mariss Jansons)

Daniel Tarrab Prelude (Nester Marconi, Pablo Agri, Daniel Tarrab, Orquesta Filarmonica Nacional)

Vol. 23

Svante Henryson Black Run (Andrei Ionita)

Schubert 4 Impromptus: No. 1 in C minor (Khatia Buniatishvili)

Donizetti L’Ange de Nisida, Act 1: ‘Et vous Mesdames’ (Orchestra of the Royal Opera House/Mark Elder)

Beethoven Symphony No. 3 ‘Eroica’: II. Marcia funebre (London Philharmonic/Kurt Masur

Richard Strauss Malven, TrV 297 (Arr. Rihm) (Lise Davidsen, Philharmonia Orchestra/Esa-Pekka Salonen)

Gounod Symphony No. 2: III. Scherzo (Iceland Symphony Orchestra/Yan Pascal Tortelier)

Beethoven Piano Sonata No. 22: I. In tempo d’un menuetto (Jonathan Biss)

Weinberg Capriccio Op. 11 (Quatuor Capriccio)

Ives Piano Sonata No. 1: IVb. Allegro – Presto (Tamara Stefanovich)

Prokofiev Cello Sonata in C Op. 119: II. Moderato – Andante dolce (Mstislav Rostropovich) 

JS Bach Fuge G-Moll BWV 578 (Olivier Latry)

Beethoven String Quartet No. 10: III. Presto (Cuarteto Casals)

Howells Lady Audrey’s Suite, Op. 19: I. The Four Sleepy Golliwogs’ Dance (Dante Quartet)

Vol. 22

JS Bach Concerto for Violin and Oboe in C minor: I. Allegro (Isabelle Faust, Xenia Löffler, Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin/Bernhard Forck)

Messiaen Preludes for Piano: VII. Plainte calme (Alexandra Dariescu)

Purcell Hear My Prayer, O Lord (Gabrieli Consort/Paul McCreesh)

Mahler Symphony No. 7: III. Scherzo, Schattenhaft (Budapest Festival Orchestra/Iván Fischer)

Arensky Piano Trio No. 1: III. Elegia (Smetana Trio)
Brad Mehldau The Garden

Stravinsky Le Sacre du Printemps, Pt 1: L’Adoration de la Terre: Rondes printanières (New York Philharmonic/Jaap van Zweden)

Elgar Variations on an Original Theme, Op. 36, ‘Enigma’: XIV. Finale: Allegro Presto ‘E.D.U’ (Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra/Vasily Petrenko)

Massanet Le Poète et la Fantôme (Sandrine Piau, Le Concert de la Loge/Julien Chauvin)

Esa-Pekka Salonen Cello Concerto: III. (Yo-Yo Ma, Los Angeles Philharmonic/Esa-Pekka Salonen)

Britten 3 Divertimenti: II. Waltz. Allegretto (Doric String Quartet)

Vol. 21

Gesualdo O vos omnes (Monteverdi Choir/John Eliot Gardiner)

William Alwyn 3 Winter Poems: No. 1, Winter Landscape (Tippett Quartet)

JS Bach Cello Suite No. 2 in D minor, BWV 1008 (Transcribed by Rachel Podger for violin) (Rachel Podger)

Prokofiev Piano Sonata No. 7 in B-flat: I. Allegro inquieto – Andantino (Martin James Bartlett)

Shostakovich Symphony No. 7 ‘Leningrad’: II. Moderato (poco allegretto) (Live at Symphony Hall, Boston) (Boston Symphony Orchestra/Andris Nelsons)

John Sheppard Missa Cantate: Gloria (The Sixteen/Harry Christophers)

Busoni Piano Concerto: II. Pezzo giocoso (Live) (Kirill Gerstein, Boston Symphony Orchestra/Sakari Oramo)

JS Bach The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1: Fugue No. 15 in G (Steven Devine)

Kaija Saariaho Petals (Wilhemina Smith, Kaija Saariaho)

Mozart Piano Sonata No. 13 in B-flat ‘Linz’: I. Allegro (Lars Vogt)

Vol. 20

James MacMillan Saxophone Concerto: III. Jigs (Amy Dickson, Adelaide Symphony Orchetra/Nicholas Carter)

Steve Reich Clapping Music (Live (Colin Currie, Steve Reich)

Stravinsky Three Movements from Petrushka: II. Petrushka’s Room (Alexander Ullman)

Raaf Hekkema Dido’s Lament (Eric Vloeimans, Calefax Reed Quintet, Jasper van Hulten, Gulli Gudmundsson)

Gabriel Jackson The Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ: II. Anointing at Bethany (Emma Tring, Choir of Merton College, Oxford, Oxford Contemporary Sinfonia/Benjamin Nicholas)

Poulenc Flute Sonata (arr. for flute and organ): I. Allegretto malincolico (Erica Nygård, Niels Burgmann)

Roxanna Panufnik Love Abide – I. Love is the Master (Colla Voce Singers, London Mozart Players)

Niels Rosing-Schow #ViolaSounds (Rafael Altino)

Eric Whitacre Sainte-Chapelle (The Sixteen/Harry Christophers)

Couperin Pièces de viole, deuxième Suite: III. La Pompoe funèbre (Christophe Rousset, Atsushi Sakaï, Marion Martineau)

Vol. 19

Mendelssohn Piano Concerto No. 2: III. Finale. Presto scherzando (Kristian Bezuidenhout, Freiburger Braockorchester/Pablo Heras-Casado

Mahler Symphony No. 3: Part II, No. 5. Lustig im Tempo und keck im Ausdruck (Sara Mingardo, Gürzenich-Orchester Köln/François-Xavier Roth)

Bach BWV 974 – II Adagio (Rework) (Víkingur Ólafsson, Ryuichi Sakatmoto)

Bach Violin Concerto in D minor, BWV 1052R: III. Allegro (Isabelle Faust, Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin/Bernhard Forck)

Bruckner Locus iste (Choir of St John’s College, Cambridge/Andrew Nethsingha)

Mozart Symphony No. 40 in G minor: I. Molto allegro (Live) (NDR Radiophilharmonie/Andrew Manze)

Myaskovsky Cello Sonata No. 1 in D, Op. 12: I. Adagio – Andante (Bruno Philippe, Jérôme Ducros)

Falla La vida breve, Act 1: Ah, ande la tarea, que hay que trabajar! (Gustavo Pena, Cristina Faus, Spanish Radio and Television Chorus, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra/Juanjo Mena)

Victoria Alma redemptoris mater (I Fagiolini/Robert Hollingworth)

John Harle RANT! (Jess Gillam, BBC Concert Orchestra/Jessica Cottis)

Vol. 18

John Williams The Raiders March (from ‘Raiders of The Lost Ark’) (Los Angeles Philharmonic/Gustavo Dudamel)

Robert Schumann Adagio and Allegro, Op. 70 (Richard Watkins, Julius Drake)

Edmund Finnis The Air, Turning (BBS Scottish Symphony Orchestra/Ilan Volkov

Will Todd Songs of Renewal: I. Me renovare (Bath Camerata, Benjamin Goodson

Rachmaninov String Quratet No. 1: I. Romance (Orava Quartet)

Richard Barbieri Vibra (Richard Barbieri)

Offenbach Les Bavards, Acte I Scène 3: Air d’Inès ‘Ce sont d’étranges personnages’ (Jodie Devos, Münchner Rundfunkorchester/Laurent Campellone)

Caroline Shaw Plan & Elevation: IV. The Orangery (Attacca Quartet)

JS Bach Oboe Concerto in D minor (Performed on Recorder): I. Allegro (Lucie Horsch, The Academy of Ancient Music/Bojan Cicic)

Berlioz L’Enfance du Christ, Pt. 3 ‘L’arrivée à Saïs’: Trio des Ismaélites (Prudence Davis, Sarah Beggs, Yinuo Mu, Andrew Davis)

Henry Cowell Banshee (Wilhem Latchoumia)

Vol. 17

Sibelius Symphony No. 1: III. Scherzo (Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra/Santtu-Matias Rouvali)

Brahms Die schöne Magelone: Traun! Bogen und Pfeil sind gut für den Feind (John Chest, Marcelo Amaral)

Danny Elfman Violin Concerto ‘Eleven Eleven’: III. Fantasma (John Mauceri, Royal Scottish National Orchestra/Sandy Cameron)

Verdi Macbeth: Patria oppressa! (Live) (Chicago Symphony Chorus, Chicago Symphony Orchestra/Riccardo Muti)

Camus Airs, à deux et trois parties: Laissez durer la nuit, impatiente Aurore (Anna Reinhold, Les Arts Florissants/William Christie)

Schubert Piano Sonata in B, III. Scherzo Allegretto (Paul Lewis)

Britten Five Flower Songs: IV. The Evening Primrose (RIAS Kammerchor/Justin Doyle)

Schumann Piano Sonata No. 3 in F minor ‘Concerto Without Orchestra’: IV. Prestissimo possibilie (Jean-Efflam Bavouzet)

Rameau Hippolyte et Aricie: ‘Espoir, unique bien…’ (Karine Deshayes, Le Concert Spirituel/Hervé Niquet)

Janáček String Quartet No. 2 ‘Intimate Letters’: I. Andante (Wihan Quartet)

Lutosławski Partita: V. Presto (Maksim Štšura, Michael Foyle)

Vol. 16

Handel Concerto Grosso for Oboe and Strings in D minor: V. Allegro (Le Consort, Marta Paramo, Emilia Gliozzi, Johanne Maitre)

Michael Nyman The Diary of Anne Frank (arr. Richard Boothby): If (Iestyn Davies, Fretwork)

Reger Piano Concerto, Op. 114: III. Allegretto con spirito (Markus Becker, NDR Radiophilharmonie/ Joshua Weilerstein)

Gabriel Jackson The Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ: VI. Crucifixion (Emma Tring, Guy Cutting, Choir of Merton College, Oxford)

Karl Jenkins The Armed Man – A Mass for Peace: XII. Benedictus (Karl Jenkins)

Liszt Sardanapalo: Sotto il tuo sguardo (Joyce El-Khoury, Airam Hernández, Staatskapelle Weimar/Kirill Karabits)

Musorgsky Pictures at an Exhibition: No. 10, The Great Gate of Kiev (London Symphony Orchestra/Gianandrea Noseda)

Bruno Sanfilippo Doll (Bruno Sanfilippo)

Liszt Ständchen (transc. From Schubert’s Schwanengesang No. 4) (Khatia Buniatishvili)

John Williams The Imperial March (from Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back) (Los Angeles Philharmonic/Gustavo Dudamel)

Vol. 15

Florence Price Symphony No. 1: IV. Finale (Fort Smith Symphony/John Jeter)

Chopin Mazurka in B, Op. 56 No. 1 (Maurizio Pollini)

Berlioz Le Carnaval Romain: Overture (Detroit Symphony Orchestra/Paul Paray)

Reinecke Cello Sonata No. 1: III. Finale. Allegro molto ed appassionato (Martin Rummel, Roland Kruger)

Mozart Piano Sonata No. 2: III. Presto (Peter Donohoe)

Nils Frahm Sweet Little Lie (Nils Frahm)

JS Bach Concerto for Violin and Oboe in C minor: I. Allegro (Isabelle Faust, Xenia Löffler, Bernhard Forck, Academy for Ancient Music)

Zemlinsky Clarinet Trio in D minor (Version for Violin Cello & Piano): III. Allegro (Stefan Zweig Trio)

Jean Français Imromptu for Flute and Strings: III. Scherzando (Ransom Wilson, BBC Concert Orchestra/Perry So)

Robert Schumann Phantasiestücke, Op. 88: II. Humoreske. Lebhaft (Live) (Gautier Capuçon, Martha Argerich, Renaud Capuçon)

Max Bruch Die Loreley, Op. 16, Act I: Ave Maria! (Michaela Kaune, Philharmonischer Chor Prag, Müncher Rundfunkorchester/Stefan Blunier)

Anon Ther is No Rose of Swych Virtu (The Telling)

Vol. 14

Mozart Symphony No. 13: I. Allegro (Folkwang Kammerorchester Essen/Johannes Klumpp)

Roxanna Panufnik The Sweet Spring (Blossom Street, Annabel Thwaite, Hilary Campbell)

Robert Schumann Cello Concerto: III. Sehr lebhaft (Live) (Gautier Capuçon, Chamber Orchestra of Europe/Bernard Haitink)

Weber Piano Sonata No. 2 in A-flat: II. Andante. Ben tenuto (Paul Lewis)

Janáček String Quartet No. 2 ‘Intimate Letters’: II. Adagio – Vivace (Wihan Quartet)

Sibelius Symphony No. 3: III. Moderato – Allegro (ma non tanto) (Orchestre de Paris/Paavo Järvi)

André Campra Achille et Déidamie: ‘Timbales et trompettes’ (Le Concert Spirituel/Hervé Niquet)

Corelli Concerto grosso in F: IV. Allegro (Marco Scorticati, Estro cromatico/Sara Campobasso)

Trio Tapestry Sparkle Lights (Joe Lovano, Marilyn Crispell, Carmen Castaldi)

Vol. 13

Berlioz Symphonie fantastique: II. Un Bal (Transcribed for piano duet) (Jean-François Heisser, Marie-Josèphe Jude)

Schubert Octet in F, III. Allegro vivace – Trio (OSM Chamber Soloists)

Schumann Three Romances: I. Nicht Schnell (Stephen Waarts, Gabriele Carcano)

Bernstein Mass: No. 2, Hymn & Psalm. A Simple Song (Arr. for voice, flute, electric guitar, harp and organ) (Anne Sofie von Otter, Sharon Bezaly, Fabian Fredriksson, Margareta Nilsson, Bengt Forsberg)

Juan Crisostomo de Arriaga Médée: Hymen, viens dissiper une vaine frayeur (Berit Norbakken Solset, BBC Philharmonic/Juanjo Mena)

Rzewski Four North American Ballads: No. 1, Dreadful Memories (After Aunt Molly Jackson) (Adam Swayne)

Johannes Ciconia O rosa bella, o dolce anima mia (The Telling)

Liszt Sardanapalo: Vieni! Risplendono festive faci (Damen des Opernchores des Deutschen Nationaltheaters Weimar, Staatskapelle Weimar/Kirill Karabits)

Florence Price Symphony No. 4: IV. Scherzo (Fort Smith Symphony/John Jeter)

Hoffmeister Double Bass Quartet No. 3 in D: I. Moderato (Niek De Groot, Minna Pensola, Antti Tikkanen, Tuomas Lehto)

Vol. 12

Mendelssohn Piano Concerto No. 2: III. Finale. Presto scherzando (Ronald Brautigam, Die Kölner Akademie/Michael Alexander Willens)

Haydn Concerto per il Corno da caccia in D: I. Allegro (Premysl Vojta, Martin Petrák, Haydn Ensemble Prague)

Dvořák Symphony No. 9 ‘From the New World’: III. Molto vivace (Bamberg Symphony Orchestra/Jakub Hrusa)

Vivaldi Tito Manlio: ‘Combatta un gentil cor’ (Cecilia Bartoli, Serge Tizac, Ensemble Matheus/Jean-Christophe Spinosi)

Giuseppe Sammartini Recorder Concerto in F: II. Siciliano (Lucie Horsch, The Academy of Ancient Music/Bojan Cicic)

CPE Bach Solo in G: II. Allegro (Anaïs Gaudemard)

Robert O’Dwyer Act I Scene I: An tráth a mbíonn an spéir fá scáil (Imelda Drumm, Irish National Opera Chorus, RTE National Symphony Orchestra/Fergus Sheil)

Ami Maayani Toccata (Elisa Netzer)

Tchaikovsky Swan Lake: Act III. No. 17 Scène: Entrée des invites (Fanfares) et la valse (Allegro) (London Symphony Orchestra/Anatole Fistoulari)

Vol. 11

Piazzolla Tango para una ciudad (Quinteto Astor Piazzolla)

Schumann Cello Concerto in A minor: II. Langsam (Sol Gabetta, Kammerorcheser Basel/Giovanni Antonini)

Schumann Zwölf Gedichte, Op. 35 No. 5, Sehnsucht nach der Waldgegend (Christian Gerhaher, Gerold Huber)

Bruch Concerto for Clarinet and Viola in E minor: III. Allegro molto (Dimitri Ashkenazy, Anton Kholodenko, Royal Baltic Festival Orchestra/Mats Liljefors)

Schoenberg Drei Klavierstücke Op. 11 No. 1: ‘Mässige Virtel’ (Jeremy Denk)

Verdi et al. Messa per Rossini: 11. Agnus Dei (Veronica Simeoni, Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala di Milano/Riccardo Chailly)

Ethel Smyth Violin Sonata in A minor: IV. Finale. Allegro vivace (Tasmin Little, John Lenehan)

Berlioz Harold en Italie: 3. Sérénade d’un montagnard des Abbruzes à sa maîtresse (Tabea Zimmermann, Les Siècles/François-Xavier Roth)

Xenakis Pléïades: IV. Mélanges (DeciBells, Domenico Melchiorre)

Schubert Symphony No. 3: IV. Presto vivace (City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra/Edward Gardner)

Vol. 10 

Vivaldi Il Giustino, Act II: Scene 1. Sento in seno ch’in pioggia di lagrime (Anastasio) (Accademia Bizantina, Ottavio Dantone, Silke Gäng)

Gulda Concerto for Cello, Wind Orchestra and Band: I. Overture (Edgar Moreau, Raphaël Merlin, Les Forces Majeures)

Roxanna Panufnik Magnificat & Nunc Dimittis: I. Magnificat (Richard Johnson, Exultate Singers/David Ogden)

Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 4: IV. Finale (London Symphony Orchestra/Gianandrea Noseda)

Weber Piano Sonata No. 2: III. Menuetto capriccioso. Presto assai (Paul Lewis)

Francis Lai Love Story – Theme (Arr. Campbell) (Jess Gillam, BBC Concert Orchestra/Ben Dawson)

Berlioz Harold in Italy: II. Marche de pèlerins chantant la prière du soir (Tabea Zimmermann, Les Siècles/François-Xavier Roth)

Arthur Lourié A Phoenix Park Nocturne (Vladimir Feltsman)

Ramin Djawadi The Rains of Castamere (Arr. Lawson) (VOCES8)

Philip Glass Etude No. 2 (Jeremy Denk)

Tallis Suscipe quaeso Domine (prima pars) (The Gentlemen of HM Chapel Royal, Hampton Court Palace/Carl Jackson)

Debussy Livre I: II. Pour les tierces (Roger Muraro)

Vol. 9

Rachmaninov Prelude in G minor, Op. 23 No. 5 (Live at Philharmonie, Berlin) (Yuja Wang)

Stravinsky The Firebird: Tableau II, XIX: Disparition du palais et des sortilèges de Kastchei, animation des chevaliers petrifies. Allegresse génerale (Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra/Vasily Petrenko

Amy Beach Violin Sonata in A minor, Op. 34: II. Scherzo. Molto vivace (Tasmin Little, John Lenehan)

Hauscha Dew and Spiderwebs (Hauschka)

Frank Horvat The Thailand HRDs: No. 5, Boonsom Nimnoi (Mivos Quartet)

Trad. Deep River (Arr. Coleridge-Taylor, Kanneh-Mason) (Sheku Kanneh-Mason, Isata Kanneh-Mason, Braimah Kanneh-Mason)

Mendelssohn Lieder ohne Worte, Op. 19: No. 6 in G minor (Andante sostenuto) ‘Venetian Gondola Song’ (Jan Lisiecki)

Wim Henderickx Nostalgia (Boho Strings)

Mozart Così fan tutte, Act 1: Aria ‘Come scoglio’ (Héloise Mas, Alexander Sprague, Nazan Fikret, Francesco Vultaggio, European Opera Centre, Biagio Pizzuti, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra/Laurent Pillot)

Philip Glass Melodies for Saxophone (arr. for trumpet): No. 3 (Craig Morris)

Giovanni Paisiello Partimento in F minor (Nicoleta Paraschievescu)

Ramin Djawadi The Rains of Castamere (VOCES8)

Triumphal Parade (Scottish National Jazz Orchestra/Tommy Smith)

Vol. 8

Josquin Des Prez Miserere mei, Deus, IJ. 50: I. Miserere mei, Deus (Cappella Amsterdam/Daniel Reuss)

Scriabin Sonata N. 10, Op. 70 (James Kreiling)

Kaija Saariaho Cloud Trio: I. Calmo, meditato (Jennifer Koh, Hsin Yun Huang, Wilhelmina Smith)

Dowland Flow, my tears (Stile Antico)

JS Bach Keyboard Partita in D, BWV 828: VII. Gigue (Federico Colli)

Prokofiev Violin Concerto No. 2, III. Allegro ben marcato (Joseph Swensen, Scottish Chamber Orchestra)

Bellini Norma: Casta Diva… Fine al rito (Orchestra E Coro Del Teatro Massimo Di Palermo, Jader Bignamini, Marina Rebeka)

Lyatoshinsky Symphony No. 3 ‘To the 25^th Anniversary of the October Revolution’: III. Allegro feroce (Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra/Kirill Karabits)

Handel Armida abbandonata, HWV 105: ‘Ah crudele! E pur ten’ vai’ (Emmanuelle Haïm, Le Concert d’Astrée, Sabine Devieilhe

David Lang Mystery Sonatas: No. 1, Joy (Augustin Hadelich)

Antheil Archipelago ‘Rhumba’ (BBC Philharmonic Orchestra/John Storgards)

Vol. 7

Thea Musgrave Loch Ness (Daniel Trodden, BBC National Orchestra of Wales/William Boughton)

Cheryl Frances-Hoad Love Bytes (Verity Wingate, Philip Smith, Beth Higham-Edwards, Anna Menzies, George Jackson)

Lutosławski Symphony No. 1: III. Allegretto misterioso (Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra/Hannu Lintu)

Purcell King Arthur, Z628, Act 1: ‘I Call, I Call’ (Stefanie True, Vox Luminis/Lionel Meunier)

Finzi Violin Concerto: I. Allegro (Ning Feng, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra/Carlos Miguel Prieto)

Brahms Two Rhapsodies, Op. 79 No. 2 in G minor – Molto passionato, ma non troppo allegro (Charles Owen)

Copland Letters from Home (Version for Chamber Orchestra) (BBC Philharmonic Orchestra/John Wilson

Szymanowski Nocturne and Tarantella in E minor, Op. 28: I. Nocturne (Jennifer Pike, Petr Limonov)

Beethoven Fidelio, Op. 72: O welche Lust (James Gaffigan, Zürcher Sing-Akademie, Luzerner Sinfonieorchester)

Liszt Études d’exécution transcendante d’après Paganini: No. 1 in G minor (Elisa Tomellini)

Corelli Violin Sonata in C Op. 5 No. 3 (transcribed for viola da gamba): III. Adagio (Lucile Boulanger)

Mozart String Quintet No. 5: IV. Allegro (Klenke Quartett, Harald Schoneweg)

Vol. 6

Saint-Saëns Ascanio, Acte I, Tableau 1: Scène 1 ‘Très bien!’ (Jean-François Lapointe, Joé Bertili, Chœrs de la Haute École de Musique de Genève/Guillaume Tourniaire

Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 III. Allegro con fuoco (Xiayin Wang, Royal Scottish National Orchestra/Peter Oundjian

Purcell Come Ye Sons of Art (Birthday Ode for Queen Mary): ‘Strike the Viol, Touch the Lute’ (Tim Mead, Les Musiciens de Saint-Julien/François Lazarevitch)

Aleksander Sedlar Savcho 3 (Nemanja Radulovic, Double Sense, Stéphanie Fontanarosa/Aleksander Sedlar)

Barbara Strozzi Arie, Op. 8 No. 2: ‘Che si può fare’ (Emoke Baräth, Il Pomo d’Oro/Francesco Corti)

Josef Suk 6 Piano Pieces, Op. 7: No. 1, Liebeslied (arr. for violin and orchestra) (Eldbjørg Hemsing, Antwerp Symphony Orchestra/Alan Buribayev)

Scheidemann Pavana Lachrymae in D minor (Yoann Moulin)

Beethoven String Quartet in E minor ‘Razumovsky’: III. Allegretto (Elias String Quartet)

Mozart Violin Sonata in D Major, K306: III. Allegretto (Isabelle Faust, Alexander Melnikov)

Moteverdi Vespro della Beata Vergine: VIII. Paslmus 126. Nisi Dominus a dieci voci (Bruno Boterf, Ludus Modalis)

Vol. 5

Tchaikovsky Swan Lake, Act 1 (1877 Version): No. 8, Danse des coupes. Tempo di polacca (State Academic Symphony Orchestra of Russia ‘Evgeny Svetlanov’/Vladimir Jurowski

John Harbison Requim, Pt. 1: II. Sequence I. Dies irae (Nashville Chorus, Nashville Symphony/Giancarlo Guerrero)

Richard Strauss 5 Lieder, Op. 41: No. 1, Wiegenlied (Arabella Steinbacher, WDR Symphony Orchestra/Lawrence Foster)

Parry English Lyrics, Set 12: No. 7, The Sound of Hidden Music (Sarah Fox, Andrew West)

Andrzej Panufnik I Kwartet smyczkowy: III. Postlude (Apollon Musagete Quartett)

Chopin Piano Sonata No. 2: II. Scherzo (Live) (Eric Lu)

Szymanowski Nocturne & Tarantella in E minor, Op. 28: II. Tarantella (Jennifer Pike, Peter Limonov)

Einaudi Life (Live) (Angèle Dubeau, La Pietà)

Giovanni Antonio Pandolfi Mealli 6 Sonatas for Violin and Continuo, Op. 3: Sonata No. 2 ‘La Cesta’ (Elicia Silverstein, Mauro Valli)

Dvořák Piano Trio No. 4 in E minor: II. Poco adagio (Christian Tetzlaff, Tanja Tetzlaff, Lars Vogt)

Florence Price Symphony No. 4: III. Juba Dance (Fort Smith Symphony/John Jeter)

Mozart Piano Concerto No. 16: III. Allegro di molto (Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, Manchester Camerata, Gábor Takács-Nagy

Haydn Piano Sonata in G major, Op. 30 No. 5: I. Allegro con brio (Roman Rabinovich)

Johann Strauss I Radetzky-Marsch, Op. 228 (Christian Theilemann, Vienna Philharmonic

Vol. 4

Arvo Pärt Passacaglia (Victoria Mullova, Estonian National Symphony Orchestra/Paavo Järvi)

Michael Higgins The Angel Gabriel (Sonoro/Neil Ferris)

Debussy Cello Sonata in D minor: I. Prologue. Lent. Sostenuto e molto risoluto (Jean-Guiden Queyras, Javier Perianes)

Massanet Hérodiade, Act 1: ‘Celiu dont la parole efface… Il est doux, il est bon’ (Salomé) (Elsa Dreisig, Orchestre national Montpellier Occitanie/Michael Schonwandt

Poulenc Concerto for Organ, Strings and Timpani in G minor: I. Andante (Live) (James O’Donnell, London Philharmonic Orchestra/Yannick Nézet-Séguin)

Schumann Fantasiestücke Op. 72: I. Zart und mit Ausdruck (Sol Gabetta, Bertrand Chamayou)

Gurney Since I Believe in God the Father Almighty (Teberae/Nigel Short)

Peter Gregson Bach: The Cello Suites: Recomposed by Peter Gregson – Suite No. 1 in G, BWV 1007: I. Prelude (Peter Gregson, Richard Harwood, Reinoud Ford, Tim Lowe, Ben Chappell, Katherine Jenkinson)

JS Bach Concerto in D minor, BWV 974: III. Presto (Víkingur Ólafsson)

Purcell King Arthur, Act 1: ‘Come If You Dare’ (Robert Buckland, Vox Luminis/Lionel Meunier)

Messiaen La Nativité du Seigneur: V. Les enfants de Dieu (Richard Gowers)

George Onslow String Quartet No. 29 in E-flat, Op. 73 Elan Quintet)

Cécile Chaminade Arabesque No. 1, Op. 61 (Mark Viner)

Enescu Strigoii, Pt. 3: Bătrânu-și pleacă geana și iar rămâne orb (Alin Anca, Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin/Gabriel Bebeșelea)

Max Richter Mary Queen of Scots: The Shores of Scotland

Tchaikovsky Swan Lake, Act II (1877 version): No. 13a, Danses des cygnes I. Tempo di valse

Vol. 3

Emilie Mayer Symphony No. 4: IV. Presto (Neubrandenburg Philharmonie/Stefan Malzew)

Weber Clarinet Quintet in B-flat Major: IV. Rondo - Allegro giocoso (Julian Bliss & Carducci String Quartet)

John Hess Vous, qui passez sans me voir (Julien Behr, Orchestre de l'Opéra de Lyon/Pierre Bleuse)

John Francis Wade Adeste fideles (arr. M Suzuki for Choir and Organ) (Bach Collegium Japan Chorus/Masato Suzuki & Masaaki Suzuki)

Schumann Fantasiestücke: I. Zart und mit Ausdruck (Sol Gabetta, Bertrand Chamayou)

Domenico Sarro Messa a 5 voci: 'Laudamus te' (Maxim Emelyanychev, Jakub Józef Orliński, Il Pomo d'Oro)

Holst Invocation Op. 19 No. 2 (Guy Johnston, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra/Andrew Davis)

Dowland Come, Heavy Sleep (Grace Davidson, David Miller)

Schumann Humoreske Op. 20: II. Hastig (William Youn)

RO Morris Love Came Down at Christmas (arr. Stephen Cleobury) (Stephen Cleobury, Henry Websdale, Choir of King's College, Cambridge)

Tchaikovsky The Seasons Op. 37a: XII. December. Christmas (Barry Douglas)

Berlioz Roméo et Juliette: Pt. 3, Finale - Oath of Reconciliation (San Francisco Symphony Orchestra & Chorus/Michael Tilson Thomas)

Elgar Chanson de nuit (Hallé Orchestra/Mark Elder)

James Burton Tomorrow Shalle Be My Dancing Day (Jack Hawkins, Michael Bell, James Adams, Joseph Wicks, Choir of St John's College, Cambridge)

Vol. 2

Julian Anderson Heaven is Shy of Earth: III. Gloria (With Bird) (Susan Bickley, BBC Symphony Orchestra & Chorus/Oliver Knussen)

Richard Strauss Horn Concerto No. 1: III. Rondo. Allegro (Live) (William Caballero, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra/Manfred Honeck)

Derek Bermel Murmurations: I. Gathering at Gretna Green (ROCO)

Frank Martin Ballade for Flute & Piano (Bridget Bolliger, Andrew West)

Debussy Violin Sonata in G minor: III. Finale. Très animé (Isabelle Faust, Alexander Melnikov)

Anonymous Now May We Singen (ORA Singers/Suzi Didby)

Rachmaninov Prelude in G minor Op. 23 No. 5 (Live at Philharmonie, Berlin/2018) (Yuja Wang)

James Newton Howard Violin Concerto: II. Andante semplice (James Ehnes, Detroit Symphony Orchestra/Cristian Măcelaru)

Sally Beamish In the Stillness (Sonoro/Neil Ferris)

Parry Suite moderne (arr. J Dibble for Orchestra): III. Romanza. Lento (BBC National Orchestra of Wales/Rumon Gamba)

Jonathan Dove A Brief History of Creation: X. Whales Return to the Sea (Hallé Children's Choir, Hallé Orchestra/Mark Elder)

Purcell King Arthur, Act 1: 'Come if You Dare' (Robert Buckland, Vox Luminis/Lionel Meunier)

Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 4 (Live at Kimmel Center, Philadelphia) (Daniil Trifonov, The Philadelphia Orchestra/Yannick Nézet-Séguin)

Fagerlund Höstsonaten, Act 1: charlotte Andergast! Vilken konstnär! (Krista Kujala, Mari Sares, Jere Martikainen, Jarmo Ojala, Finnish National Opera Chorus, Finnish National Opera Orchestra/John Storgards

Vol. 1

Julian Anderson Heaven is Shy of Earth: III. Gloria (With Bird) (Susan Bickley, BBC Symphony Chorus, BBC Symphony Orchestra/Oliver Knussen)

Zemlinsky Albumblatt (Erinnerung aus Wien) (William Youn)

Schreker The Birthday of the Infanta: Suite I. Reigen (Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra/JoAnn Falletta)

Mozart Violin Concerto No. 1 K.207: III. Presto (Nikolaj Znaider, London Symphony Orchestra)

Tchaikovsky The Seasons, Op. 37a, TH 135: XII. December. Christmas (Barry Douglas)

Holst In the Bleak Midwinter (Sheku Kanneh-Mason, Isata Kanneh-Mason)

Glazunov The Seasons ‘L’été: No. 9, Scène de l’été (Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra/Dmitri Kitayenko

JS Bach Prelude & Fugue BVW 855a: Prelude No. 10 in B minor (Vikingur Ólafsson)

Magnus Lindberg Tempus fugit Pt. 1 (Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra/Hannu Lintu)

Gurney Since I Believe in God the Father Almighty (Tenebrae/Nigel Short)

Tchaikovsky The Nutcracker Act 1: No. 6 Clara and the Nutcracker (Los Angeles Philharmonic/Gustavo Dudamel)

Ravel Ma mère l’Oye Suite, M. 60: V. Le jardin féerique (Prague Philharmonia/Emmanuel Villaume)

Eric Whitacre Deep Field: Earth Choir (Eric Whitacre Singers, Virtual Choir 5, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra/Eric Whitacre)

Five essential works by Messiaen

Quatuor pour la fin du temps

Written for the available musicians in a prisoner of war camp – a violinist, clarinettist, cellist and pianist (Messiaen himself) – the result is a most unusual and magical sounding work.

Recommended recording:
Gruenberg, de Peyer, Pleeth & Béroff
EMI 586 5252

• What was the impact of World War One on music?

Turangalîla-symphonie

Messiaen’s most exuberant work for orchestra includes the unforgettably delirious sound of the ondes martenot.

Recommended recording:
Peter Donohoe (piano), Tristan Murail (ondes martenot); CBSO/Rattle
EMI 586 5252

• The 20 greatest symphonies of all time 

La nativité du Seigneur

This is a work to convert anyone who fears that organ music is dull and ‘fusty’. By turns dramatic and utterly other-worldly, Messiaen’s music revolutionised the organ’s perceived character.

Recommended recording:
Jennifer Bate
Regis RRC 1086

• Five facts about the Royal Albert Hall organ

Vingt regards sur l’enfant-Jésus

In this epic piano cycle, lasting about two hours, Messiaen presents several contemplations of the ‘child-God’, ranging from reflective to ebullient.

Recommended recording:
Peter Hill
Regis RRC 2055

• The twenty greatest pianists of all time 

Des Canyons aux étoiles… 

Written to celebrate the bicentenary of the United States Declaration of Independence, Messiaen, inspired by the Bryce Canyon in Utah, creates stunning colours from just 44 players.

Recommended recording:
Radio France PO/Myung-Whun Chung
DG 471 6172

Inspector Morse: five of the best musical moments

Barrington Pheloung, the Australian composer who died aged 65 on 31 July, enjoyed a successful career writing a string of fine scores for the big and small screen. He will, however, be forever remembered for one piece above all: the haunting theme music to TV’s Inspector Morse. Cleverly based on the rhythm of the letters of MORSE spelt out in Morse Code, Pheloung’s music superbly captures the dark, tormented world of the Oxford-based police detective.

Based on the books by Colin Dexter, the TV series ran from 1987 to 2000. Aside from Pheloung’s peerless theme tune, it is choc-a-bloc with classical music. In many instances it is simply played in the background, while in others it provides the basis of the plot itself. Here are five of classical music's most notable starring moments…

The Dead of Jericho (1987)

The very first episode of Inspector Morse begins, appropriately enough, with classical music. The conductor of an amateur choir taps his baton to start a rehearsal of Parry’s My soul, there is a country, but one seat is empty. It should be filled by Morse, but he is out investigating shenanigans at a local car body repair garage. The music he plays in his vintage Jag, meanwhile, is Vivaldi’s Gloria. He eventually makes it to choir practice, but only in time to sing the anthem’s final ‘Thy Cure’.

• Six of the best British television tunes

Service of All the Dead (1987)

One of the most deeply disturbing of the entire Morse series, Service of All the Dead is introduced by the sound of the organ of St Oswald’s church playing JS Bach’s Prelude and Fugue in A minor, BWV 543. As the body count mounts up during the course of the episode and Morse finds his investigation getting nowhere, he eventually declares that ‘We need divine inspiration’. This means attending a service at St Oswald’s, where the choir sings Bruckner’s anthem Locus Iste.

• Six of the best pop songs inspired by classical music

Masonic Mysteries (1990)

An already fraught amateur production of Mozart’s Magic Flute takes a turn for the worse when Beryl, a soprano in the chorus, is stabbed to death off-stage during the dress rehearsal. Morse, who is singing baritone in the same chorus, soon finds himself implicated in the murder. Unsurprisingly, Mozart’s opera dominates the soundtrack of this episode, which opens with the Overture and features various arias thereafter.

• Who composed the music for HBO's Chernobyl?

Cherubim and Seraphim (1992)

Allegri provides the star musical turn in this episode, as a remixed moment from his Miserere provides the background to a plot that tackles the rave scene and the fatal side effects of contaminated hallucinogenic drugs. Choral buffs hoping to hear the work’s famous top C will be disappointed, however – here it is transposed down a fourth, so the soprano only reaches a G.

• Six of the best pieces of television theme music

Twilight of the Gods (1993)

The name of this episode gives more than a little clue as to which composer it will feature. We begin, in fact, with a masterclass in Wagner being given by the Welsh soprano Dame Gwladys Probert at Oxford’s Holywell Music Room. ‘I’m sorry, lovey, but you sound like you’re giving the weather forecast,’ is her scathing put-down of her student’s rendition of the Immolation Scene from Götterdämmerung. A sniper’s bullet later ensures that Dame Gwladys, alas, will not make it to the end of the episode. And, no, it wasn’t the student…

An introduction to Shostakovich's Symphony No. 2

Symphony No. 2 ‘To October’ Op. 14 (1927)

Premiered: Leningrad, 1927

The bizarre Second Symphony is, at 19 minutes, the shortest of them all. It was written to mark the tenth anniversary of the October Revolution, with a poem by 
A Bezymensky celebrating Lenin’s ‘victory over oppression and darkness’. Shostakovich later disowned it, according to his son Maxim.

VASILY PETRENKO: ‘For me the Second and Third symphonies are experimental and abstract in the way that visual art of the 1920s was. Think of artists like Malevich, that particular brand of abstract constructivism – and cubism, too. Here we enter a crazy laboratory of the grotesque in music.

The young composer is trying to use the 12-tone system in that slithering beginning. It’s not so obvious at first because we tend to interpret Shostakovich’s themes as melodies or ciphers, like DSCH, but they are often actually serial. The Second Symphony, while not a great work, is for me a genuine, brave response to a commission. He’s showing that he’s learned to write for a larger orchestra and for chorus.’ 

• Five of the best Shostakovich conductors

Vasily Petrenko is, like Shostakovich, a son of Leningrad/St Petersburg, and grew up singing the composer’s songs in its Capella Boys Music School. In 1997 he won first prize in the Shostakovich Choral Conducting Competition and was made chief conductor of the St Petersburg State Academic Symphony Orchestra, during which time he took on the principal conductorship of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic.

On his arrival in the city in 2006, at just 30, he launched a project with Naxos to record all Shostakovich’s 15 symphonies. The series has drawn international acclaim and, as the final instalment is released, he looks back on his nine-year journey. ‘To work with an orchestra on one composer for so many years has meant we could build a style, an approach to his language,’ he says. ‘At first, it felt like an exhilarating challenge: there are huge demands. Now, we are of one mind.’ 

• 11 important Shostakovich quotes

Petrenko, born a year after the composer’s death, grew up in the Soviet Union. A beneficiary of its uniquely rigorous teaching system, he witnessed its dissolution when he was 15, the re-writing of history books, and even the emergence of a nostalgia for that dark era. He’s in touch with those who remember Shostakovich, and the times through which he lived, but has experienced the Western view of this controversial figure.

‘When I conduct these symphonies in Russia, there’s still an unspoken understanding of the songs, the messages. We talk more about the composer’s personal life. When I conduct in the West, it’s important to give the historical context. There’s still so much we don’t know; the family destroyed many letters when Shostakovich died. The State would probably have requisitioned them anyway.’ 

• The politics of Dmitri Shostakovich

Five of the best composer-violinist partnerships

Johann Georg Pisendel and Vivaldi/JS Bach/Telemann

Over the centuries, composers and violinists have collaborated in the creation of some of the instrument’s greatest works. In the 18th century, for instance, Vivaldi, JS Bach and Telemann were all friends with violinist Johann Georg Pisendel, leader of the Dresden Court Orchestra. Pisendel helped to popularise Vivaldi in Germany and it’s thought that his own Sonata for Solo Violin in A minor may have been one of the major influences on Bach’s music for solo violin.

• The 20 Greatest Violinists of all time 

Joseph Joachim and Brahms

Moving into the next century, Joseph Joachim, a protégé of Mendelssohn, later enjoyed close relations with Brahms. When writing his Violin Concerto in 1878, Brahms sent a copy of the first movement to Joachim, the work’s dedicatee, instructing him to point out bits that might be unplayable and, tellingly, to ‘correct it, not sparing the quality of the composition’.

• The 20 Greatest Violinists...how the musicians voted

Kreisler and Elgar

It was Fritz Kreisler who, in 1905, persuaded Elgar to compose his Violin Concerto. Over the next five years, Kreisler made recommendations as the concerto took shape, and declared the finished article as the ‘greatest violin concerto produced since Beethoven’s’. 

• Five essential works by Elgar

Oistrakh and Prokofiev/Shostakovich/Khachaturian

In the Soviet Union, David Oistrakh was a great source of encouragement to Prokofiev, prompting him to transform his Flute Sonata, Op. 94 into his Violin Sonata No. 2 in 1943. When, 25 years later, Shostakovich penned his Violin Sonata as a 60th-birthday present to Oistrakh, it was partly in thanks to a friend who had, over the years, often advised him on matters of technique and sound. And Oistrakh collaborated closely with Khachaturian too, submitting his own cadenza for the latter’s Violin Concerto in 1940. 

• Four of the best Khachaturian recordings 

Akiko and Rautavaara 

Today’s composers also rely on soloists’ expertise. Anne Akiko Meyers’s work with Rautavaara in 2016 resulted in the Finn incorporating her changes to the bowing directions in Fantasia, one of his very last works. 

A guide to the music of Disney's The Lion King

Disney is on a quest to reimagine its most popular animated features for the modern day, with vividly lifelike (photorealistic) computer animation and the occasional human being. Where once was ink and paint, are now pixels and people.

As the likes of Beauty and the Beast, The Jungle Book and Aladdin have shown, one thing that remains at the heart of the new versions of these classic film stories is the music and songs. So, while things might look quite different, the sound of the films is familiar – albeit with a few necessary tweaks and additions.

As with Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin, the producers of The Lion King knew it made sense to bring back the original composer and songwriters to give their respective works a lick of paint. And so it is that Oscar-winning composer Hans Zimmer returns to the pridelands along with Sirs Elton John and Tim Rice, not to mention South African singer and composer Lebo M, plus an additional voice in the shape of Beyonce.

Zimmer is said to have agreed to the return after he ‘rediscovered’ the music whilst on his recent concert tours and wanted the recording to capture the joy of the live experience. It’s true to say that there is a celebratory zeal to the performances by the orchestra, singers and instrumentalists.

• Article: Four of the best John Williams recordings

Zimmer’s Oscar was actually for his original Lion King score (awarded at the ceremony in 1995), the same year the original soundtrack album went 10x Platinum. Both things are representative of the impact and popularity of the original film’s music, which plays a hugely important role. From the first frame and that now iconic opening sequence, featuring Lebo M’s inimitable vocal, to the last, it's a story carried by music. 

‘The Circle of Life’, written by Elton John and Tim Rice’, is one of a handful of set piece songs the pair wrote for the film. ‘I Just Can’t Wait to Be King’, ‘Hakuna Matata’ and ‘Can You Feel The Love Tonight’ – which won the songwriters an Oscar – remain hugely popular and are all present and correct in the new film, albeit with new vocalists in the roles. ‘Be Prepared’, evil Scar’s somewhat camp call to arms in the first film, is perhaps most changed, having a bit more bite now. It always was the song you’d skip on that chart-topping album… 

One song, ‘The Morning Report’ was axed from the original film, and went unrecorded. It was reinstated, however, when the film was released on DVD, though with different actors singing the roles. Suffice to say it stood out like a sore paw.

Hans Zimmer’s original score remains one of his very best, a masterful amalgamation of African rhythm, orchestral power and comic appeal (where required). He retains his main themes in the new film, but due to additional scenes and a reworking of more familiar moments he has necessarily had to revise, add to and re-record his 1994 work. 

The original film was so inspiring to Zimmer, Lebo M and the musicians that they wrote more material than could be used, so Disney agreed to a follow-up album. Rhythm of the Pridelands was released in 1995 and went platinum in 1998, with its music and songs thrown into the mix when Disney decided to mount a Broadway show of the story. 

• Article: Six of the best sci-fi movie soundtracks

One of Disney’s biggest theatrical successes, The Lion King as seen and heard on stage is a spectacle. Musically it, too, retains much of Elton John and Tim Rice’s songs, portions of Hans Zimmer’s score and the music from that sequel album composed by Zimmer, Lebo M, Mark Mancina and Jay Rifkin - including the song 'He Lives In You', which also comes full circle and appears in the new film. 

In 2014, to mark the 20th anniversary of the original film, Disney released an expanded soundtrack album as part of it’s brilliant ‘Legacy Collection’. It featured an additional 30 minutes of music, mainly from Zimmer’s score. 

Then there are the film sequels that were released on home video… The Lion King 2: Simba’s Pride featured an original score by Nick Glennie-Smith (who had conducted the original film’s score), while The Lion King 3: Hakuna Matata (aka The Lion King 1 and a half) saw music by Don Harper. 

It’s Hans Zimmer’s graceful, thrilling and full-blooded music for that original film that sticks in the memory, though. Would it be as perfect without Lebo M’s influence? Who knows? But one thing is for certain, it has become a modern masterpiece of movie music.

'This Land'

To Die For

The Lion King - Live in Prague...
Hans Zimmer, feat. Lebo M