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Five of the best twelve-tone works

Schoenberg Variations for Orchestra, Op. 31 (1928)

This was his first serial work for full orchestra and a demonstration piece of the possibilities of the 12-tone row. In the mysterious, then turbulent, Introduction, the row is assembled note by note; the expressive, long-phrased theme, played by the cellos, comprises four successive forms of the row – prime, retrograde-inversion, retrograde, inversion – harmonised by other row forms; Variation 1 has the Theme in the bass – and so on. The score alternates between the harshest and most delicate textures, vividly orchestrated.

Berg Violin Concerto (1935)

Prompted by the death of the young Manon Gropius and composed in Berg’s last summer, this concerto is a haunting study in ambiguity. For, although 12-tone in structure, it uses a note row comprising a succession of thirds which incorporate the tuning of the violin’s open strings plus a five-note scale – elements that enable Berg constantly to insinuate nostalgic echoes of tonality, and even to introduce a Carinthian folk tune and a Bach chorale. The work has a more secure place in the repertoire than any other 12-tone score.

Boulez 12 Notations (1945)/Notations I-IV, VII (1980/98)

In 1945, when he was still studying with Messiaen and Leibowitz, 20-year-old Boulez composed a set of tiny, violently contrasted piano studies, each only 12 bars long, exploring the possibilities of 12-tone technique. Thirty years later, be began to orchestrate these, completing Nos I-IV in 1980, and adding VII in 1998. These are not just arrangements, however, but recompositions, amplifying tiny gestures in the original pieces into great swirls and tirades of complex and colourful texture for vast orchestra.

Copland Inscape (1967)

Copland’s last substantial work for orchestra uses two 12-tone rows. The first forms the awesome 12-note chords that frame the work’s course; the second row generates the austere contrapuntal argument that builds to a rhetorical climax before dissolving in a passage of mystical withdrawal – the ‘inscape’ of the title.

Copland once said that he took up serialism because it helped him discover chords he would not otherwise have heard. Yet the hard-bitten textures of Inscape sound no less characteristic of him than his popular Americana.

• Five essential works by Aaron Copland

Stravinsky Agon (1953-57)

Stravinsky’s ballet was composed over several years. In proceeding from modal fanfares, via dances devised from chromatic four-tone motifs, to fully 12-tone dances at its centre, it reflects his gradual approach to 12-tone composition. Its mix of stylistic allusions, from Medieval cadences and Monteverdi to Webern and jazz, also pre-echoes the status of serialism more recently as just one technique among many.

Yet, the pervasive influence of Stravinsky’s idiosyncratic personality ensures that this most disparate of his scores comes over as a perfectly balanced whole.

• The best recordings of Stravinsky's Rite of Spring

An introduction to Shostakovich's Symphony No. 7

Symphony No. 7 ‘Leningrad’ Op. 60 (1941)

Premiered: Kuibyshev, 1942

When World War II broke out, Shostakovich was offered the chance to teach at a conservatoire in Tashkent, but insisted on remaining in Leningrad with his family, working as a fire officer, until they were finally evacuated. He took the draft score of the Seventh Symphony with him, completing the last movement in the war capital Kuibyshev, where it was premiered. 

VASILY PETRENKO: ‘The people of Russia were caught between two evils: which would they prefer? Stalin was a murderer but gave them national identity; Nazism promised genocide. I feel here he was raging against all anti-human force. At the beginning we are dealing with some of the most beautiful music ever written, which is then systematically destroyed.

You can hear that senseless, mechanical force in the motoric drums, the chilling banality of the march. You can hear his experience, too, of being a fire warden on the roofs of St Petersburg.

He refused to leave for a long time yet he was still evacuated before the really horrible things happened, before people started eating each other. What he had witnessed was the amazing strength of the human spirit, in defending each other and their city. 

‘He felt a responsibility to get as many musicians as possible back from the front line to play in the Leningrad performance. They were given food: that’s why there are so many extra brass, harps, woodwinds – he was literally saving lives.

And so the Symphony is a memorial to the people of Leningrad. The live broadcast was a powerful symbol of resilience, for the country, and for the Allies.’

• 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

Steve Reich’s best works for percussion

Drumming

In the 1960s Steve Reich developed ‘phasing’, a system of gradually moving two identical lines of music out of sync with one another. He initially used tape loops in film soundtracks, then later applied this technique in a live setting where he used percussion to explore the concept further. 

Drumming was composed in 1971 on Reich’s return to New York from Ghana, where he was inspired by the country’s music ensembles. With no changes in melody or rhythm, it’s the slight shifts in timing and pitch that create momentum.

• The best film soundtracks: our top picks 

Clapping Music

Testing the limits of minimalism, Reich then created a piece that uses nothing but the human body as an instrument. Clapping Music features two performers, one of whom maintains a 12-quaver-long clapping phrase, while the other shifts by one quaver every 12th bar. They move out of sync before returning to unison 144 bars later.

• Classical music's rule-breakers

Nagoya Marimbas

Nagoya Marimbas, composed in 1994 for a brace of marimbas, signalled a change in Reich’s compositional style, with motifs undergoing more melodic development, while still maintaining the technique of phasing.

Quartet

Reich’s most recent percussion work, Quartet, was dedicated to Currie, and features two pianos and vibraphones. With constant changes of key, melodies are continually introduced and abandoned alongside a strong pulse.

• The best electronic orchestral music 

BBC National Orchestra of Wales chooses Ryan Bancroft as next principal conductor

The BBC National Orchestra and Chorus of Wales (BBC NOW) has chosen Ryan Bancroft to succeed renowned Danish conductor Thomas Søndergård as its next principal conductor. Bancroft will occupy the position for an initial period of three years beginning in September 2020.

Søndergård, who was BBC NOW’s principal conductor for six years, will be joining the Royal Scottish National Orchestra as music director with tours to China and the US planned for next season.

29-year-old Californian conductor Ryan Bancroft has been in high demand since winning both First Prize and the Audience Prize at Copenhagen’s Malko Competition for Young Conductors in April 2018. Besides previous concerts with BBC NOW last season in Aberystwyth and at the Vale of Glamorgan Festival, he has appeared with the Stockholm Philharmonic, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Norwegian National Opera Orchestra and the BBC Scottish Symphony.

• Six of the best orchestral players
• The 20 Greatest Conductors of all time

Bancroft was born in Los Angeles in 1989. He studied the trumpet, harp, flute and cello as well as Ghanaian music and dance at the California Institute of the Arts in Santa Clarita. Moving to Europe, Bancroft then studied orchestral conducting at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, where he also played the trumpet for the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. His principal mentors were Edward Carroll, Kenneth Montgomery and Jac van Steen. He is now based in the Netherlands.

‘My passion is for the people who play music and the audiences who love it,’ says Bancroft. ‘That puts me in excellent company here in Wales. Our recipe for spellbinding performances combines our unique sounds and stories with equal parts collaboration, growth and vision.’

Additionally, BBC NOW has announced that the current conductor laureate Tadaaki Otaka, who joined the ensemble in 1987, will continue his work with the orchestra for another three years during Bancroft’s tenure.

Ryan Bancroft in the final round of the Malko Competition for Young Conductors in April 2018

Free Download: Janáček’s The Diary of One Who Disappeared

This week’s free download is Then Farewell from Janáček’s The Diary of One Who Disappeared, performed by Nicky Spence (tenor), Václava Housková (mezzo-soprano), Victoria Samek (clarinet), VOICE and Julius Drake (piano). It was recorded on Hyperion and was given five stars in the September issue of BBC Music Magazine. 

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BBC Radio 3 launches a year of Beethoven in new season of programming

BBC Radio 3 has today announced its plans for the coming season, including a celebration of the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth. Throughout 2020, Beethoven Unleashed will take over Composer of the Week on a fortnightly basis to explore the master’s tormented life and the history of his works.

The 25 weeks of programmes will examine the great composer's legacy and address the question of his status as a ‘hero’ in music history. Live recordings of performances by the BBC Orchestras and Choirs will complete Donald Macleod’s Composer of the Week in this anniversary series.

Radio 3 will also be celebrating the 100th anniversary of Germany’s Weimar Republic, the interwar government which lasted from 1919 to 1933 and saw rapid artistic growth in the country. Weimar Week will feature on Radio 3’s evening schedule, with special editions of The Essay and Free Thinking discussing the period’s innovations.

Sara Mohr-Pietsch moves from her role as presenter of Choir and Organ, which has come to an end, to a new late-night classical music programme Night Tracks.

Early Music Now is a permanent addition to Radio 3’s listings, aiming to present Europe’s best Baroque recordings. The BBC Radio 3 New Generation Baroque Ensemble, partnering with the Royal College of Music, will make its debut to promote the work of young performers of Early Music. 

Elizabeth Alker’s Unclassified, which had made appearances on the station as a temporary series, will become a permanent fixture, focusing on contemporary and experimental music.  Joining Radio 3’s current contemporary programme the New Music Show, Unclassified will present composers whose works are influenced by pop, electronica and jazz as well as classical music. 

Following the 2018 premiere of the specially commissioned ambient NHS Symphony, acclaimed young composer Alex Woolf returns to Radio 3 with M1 Symphony, a soundscape inspired by Britain’s first motorway juxtaposing recorded speech and sound effects with an orchestral score performed by the BBC Philharmonic.

Finally, a new late-night jazz programme will be launched in early November. The programme will focus on modern jazz, bringing up-to-date news and music by both British and international jazz-players. It replaces Geoffrey Smith's Jazz, which will finish at the end of September.

Other new programmes include another series of Slow Radio, with a sonic journey down the Thames and landscape recordings made in Greenland. Plus, Gareth Malone will host a programme about people who refuse to listen to music. Finally, a partnership with New York’s prestigious Museum of Modern Art will explore the relationship between personal experience and the spectator’s perception of modern art through the theme of sight.

Programming changes:

Early Music Now will air on Mondays 4.30-5pm, from 16 September.

Unclassified will air on Thursdays 11.30-12.30pm, from 3 October.

The new jazz programme will air at midnight on Saturdays, from 2 November.

Night Tracks will air Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays 11pm-12.30am, and on Thursdays 11-11.30pm, beginning on 30 September.

Geoffrey Smith's Jazz will be replaced by a new programme focusing on modern jazz.

Choir and Organ will be replaced by Jazz Record Requests on Sundays from 4-5pm. 

A guide to Jonny Greenwood on film...

An early solo departure – the documentary score, Bodysong, in 2003 – lead Greenwood to receive his first orchestral commission.

2004’s Smear was premiered by the London Sinfonietta and in the same year Greenwood was announced as Composer in Residence with the BBC Concert Orchestra.

His first commission for the BBCCO, Popcorn Superhet Receiver, would play a role in his first full film score in 2007.

Paul Thomas Anderson’s There Will Be Blood is an Oscar-nominated masterpiece – though Greenwood’s visceral score was ineligible thanks to the use of that earlier piece.

He was, however, nominated for his first BAFTA and won both a Critics Choice award and a London Evening Standard award.

His second score, for Anh Hung Tran’s film Norwegian Wood (2010) would see the composer utilise another existing work, this time Doghouse (composed the same year). Music from that score would go on to be performed at the BBC Proms.

Greenwood would compose the score to yet another critically acclaimed film in 2011. We Need To Talk About Kevin, Lynne Ramsey’s uncompromising 2011 family drama, saw the composer create an unsettling soundscape. 

The following year Greenwood reunited with Paul Thomas Anderson for The Master, which cemented their creative partnership. They followed it with Inherent Vice in 2016 and Phantom Thread in 2017. 2017 also saw him reunite with Lynne Ramsey for the acclaimed film You Were Never Really Here, starring Joaquin Phoenix. Greenwood received his first Oscar and Golden Globe nominations for Phantom Thread, not to mention an Ivor Novello award.

His film work has proffered some of the most intense and original scores for some while, with pretty much all of them dealing with humanity’s dark side, its flaws and complex emotional depths.

Jonny Greenwood – Filmography

Bodysong (2003)

There Will Be Blood (2007)

Norwegian Wood (2010)

We Need To Talk About Kevin (2011)

The Master (2012)

Inherent Vice (2016)

You Were Never Really Here (2017)

Phantom Thread (2017)

Jonny Greenwood's Three Miniatures from Water - No. 3, 88 (No. 1) and Horror vacui - for solo violin and 68 strings are performed at the BBC Proms on Tuesday 10 September at 10.15pm

Image: wonker [CC BY 2.0]

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. 33

Holst The Planets: IV. Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity (Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra/Andrew Litton)

Handel Riccardo Primo HWV 23: II. Volo così fido al dolce (Lucy Crowe, London Early Opera/Bridget Cunningham)

Fanny Mendelssohn Capriccio in A-flat (Johannes Moser, Alasdair Beatson)

Wynton Marsalis Violin Concerto: I. Rhapsody (Nicola Benedetti, Philadelphia Orchestra/Cristian Măcelaru)

Henze Englische Liebeslieder: VI. Sonett (Anssi Kartuunen, BBC Symphony Orchestra/Oliver Knussen)

Mason Bates Sirens: No. 1, From ‘The Odyssey’ (Book XII) (Cappella SF/Ragnar Bohlin)

Dvořák Symphony No. 8: III. Allegretto grazioso (Bamberg Symphony/Jakub Hrůša)

John Luther Adams Become Desert (Seattle Symphony Orchestra & Chorus/Ludovic Morlot)

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)

A guide to Bernstein’s ‘The Age of Anxiety’ Symphony

When Leonard Bernstein read WH Auden’s 1947 poem The Age of Anxiety, he found himself, to use his own words, ‘breathless’ in his excitement. Describing the Pulitzer Prize-winning work as ‘one of the most shattering examples of pure virtuosity in the history of English poetry’, the composer set himself the challenge of writing a symphony inspired by it. 

• Five essential works by Bernstein

He follows the course of Auden’s poem closely, beginning with a sombre Prologue in which four people – Malin, Quant, Rosetta and Emble– are depicted sitting in a NewYork bar, meditating on life. In the five movements that follow – called The Seven Ages, The Seven Stages, The Dirge, The Masque and The Epilogue – we join the characters as they get tipsy, take a cab back to Rosetta’s flat, party and then head off or fall asleep.

• A guide to Bernstein's On the Town

While Bernstein called the work his Second Symphony, the piano part gives it more of a feeling of a concerto. There is more than a hint of Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G, with glimpses of Shostakovich, Stravinsky, Gershwin and even Brahms. Bernstein played the piano part at the premiere, on 8 April 1949, with its dedicatee Serge Koussevitzky conducting.

Simon Rattle and Magdalena Kožená • Girl Choristers • BBC Philharmonic App

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