CD Review

Date: Saturday 13th January 2007
Time: 09:00 to 13:00 (4 hours long)

Andrew McGregor presents the weekly survey of new releases and recommended recordings, beginning with some CDs hot off the press. 9.30 Building a Library: Stephen Johnson surveys the available recordings of Bruckner's Symphony No 9. 10.15 A round-up of recently re-issued recordings. 10.45 Colin Lawson reviews some recent discs of string quartets and other chamber music by Schumann and Mozart. 11.15 Interview: Andrew talks to soprano Juliane Banse. 11.45 The Listening Booth: Listeners request the latest CD releases from the programme website. 12.15 Disc of the Week: H K Gruber: Rough Music (Concerto for percussion and orchestra). Martin Grubinger (percussion), Tonkunstler Orchestra/Kristjan Jarvi.

Too esoteric for me, most of the time.

Well, it depends on taste. I find it a good source of information both for CD purchases and to either confirm or disconfirm my opinions.

I find the comparison of different versions of the same piece is sometimes startling - you can really hear the differences in performance and form your own opinions about what is good and what is bad.

But it is hardly esoteric to review the available recordings of one of the most popular works in the classical repertoire and to play musical excerpts as illustrations - much better than a written review. This is meat and drink for anyone interested in classical music.

Do not "Rolling Stone" and like magazines do the same for Rock and Pop, and there are similar magazines for jazz. There are also countless books doing the same process of comparison and elimination. On the web there are countless sites comparing and reviewing books, electronic equipment, etc. even giving them star ratings.

If someone is really not interested in the quality of sound of a music system they might label a hi-fi magazine as esoteric. If someone is not interested in pedigree animals they might label a publication devoted to this as esoteric. If someone is not interested in Shakespeare they might label a discussion of two different productions as esoteric.

So where do you stand?

Date: Saturday 20th January 2007
Time: 09:00 to 13:00 (4 hours long)

Andrew McGregor presents the weekly survey of new releases and recommended recordings, beginning with some CDs hot off the press. 9.30 Building a Library: Roger Parker explores currently available recordings of Verdi's La Traviata. 10.20 A round-up of recently re-issued recordings. 11.10 Jonathan Swain reviews some recent orchestral discs, including two new recordings of Sibelius's Kullervo and Tchaikovsky from Rome and Toulouse. 11.45 The Listening Booth: Listeners request the latest CD releases from the programme website. 12.20 Disc of the Week: Ravel: Violin Sonata. Stravinsky: Suite Italienne (after Pulcinella). Viktoria Mullova (violin), Katia Labeque (piano).

This Saturday at 9.00am:

9.30am
Building a Library: Lowri Blake compares the available recordings of Shostakovich's Cello Sonata.

10.20am
A round-up of recently re-issued recordings.

10.45am
Geoffrey Smith reviews a selection of DVDs from the 2005 Salzburg Festival's Mozart opera celebrations, from La Finta Giardiniera with Ivor Bolton and the Mozart Orchestra Salzburg to a staging of Lucia Silla from Venice's La Fenice Theatre.

11.15am
Andrew talks to conductor Jose Serebrier about his own work as composer and orchestrator, his bringing Glazunov to Glasgow, and his work with the legendary Leopold Stokowski.

11.45am
The Listening Booth: Listeners request the latest CD releases from the programme website.

12.20pm
Disc of the Week: Szymanowski: Harnasie
Timothy Robinson (tenor)
City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus and Orchestra
Simon Rattle (conductor)

CD review is a weekly programme on Radio 3, starting at 9.00am for 4 hours every Saturday. It reviews new recordings and the Building a Library slot reviews available recordings of a particular work and chooses a best recording and a best buy.

On tomorrow's programme:

9.30am
Building a Library: David Nice explores the available recordings of Prokofiev's Symphony No 7, his last complete work.

10.15am
Andrew examines The Essential Sibelius, BIS Records' major contribution to this year's Sibelius anniversary.

11.00am
Andrew talks to Colin Davis about conducting Sibelius and Berlioz, and about recording concerts for the LSO Live label, including the new release of Beethoven's Fidelio.

11.30am
Disc of the Week: 40 Voices: The Summit of Polyphony (including Thomas Tallis's Spem in Alium) Huelgas Ensemble
Paul Van Nevel (director)

Tomorrow:

9.30am
Building a Library: William Mival compares the available recordings of Beethoven's Archduke Piano Trio.

10.30am
Piers Burton-Page reviews romantic orchestral music, including Brahms's Symphony No 3 from Marin Alsop and the LPO and a world premiere recording of some Nordic Folk Dances from Denmark.

11.15am
Producer Maria Vandamme talks about recording the State Opera of South Australia's highly acclaimed 2004 production of Wagner's Ring Cycle.

11.30am
Disc of the Week
Bruch: Violin Concerto No 1
Janine Jansen (violin)
Gewandhausorchester
Riccardo Chailly (conductor)

In this week's programme:

Building a Library: David Owen Norris compares the available recordings of Elgar's 1st Symphony.

Bruce Wood joins Andrew to review some recent releases from Lyrita, including music by Gerald Finzi, John Ireland and Gustav Holst.

Jennifer Bate talks about recording Mendelssohn's complete works for organ.

09:00

BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No.1 in C, Op.15 (excerpt from 1st movement played)
(c/w Piano Concerto No.2 in C minor, Op.37):
(recorded live at Beethovenfest, Bonn, 2006)
Mikhail Pletnev (piano), Russian National Orchestra, Christian Gansch (conductor)
DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON 4776415 (CD)

VIVALDI In Furore Iustissimae Irae, RV626 (excerpt played)
(from CD entitled 'Amor Sacro (Sacred Love): Four Solo Motets' - also including Nulla in Mundo Pax Sincera, RV630; In Turbato Mare Irato, RV627; Sum in Medio Tempestatum, RV632):
Simone Kermes (soprano), Venice Baroque Orchestra, Andrea Marcon (conductor)
ARCHIV PRODUKTION 4775980 (CD)

VIVALDI Concerto, RV532 (excerpt played)
(from CD entitled 'Musica per mandolin e liuto' - also including Concertos RV93, RV425 & RV540; Trios, RV82 & RV85):
Rolf Lislevand (lute, baroque guitar, mandolin) & ensemble
NAIVE OP30429 (CD)

PURCELL Pavan a 4
(from CD entitled 'Purcell Fantazias: musiques pour violes' - a collection of 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 & 8 part Fantazias for viol consort):
Ricercar Consort, Philippe Pierlot (director)
MIRARE MIR012 (CD)

09:30
Building A Library Recommendations

ELGAR Symphony No.1 in A flat, Op.55

Reviewer: David Owen Norris

Details will be published on Saturday 17th March.

Next week, David Vickers chooses from the the available recordings of Buxtehude's Membra Jesu Nostri.

10:15
New Releases and Re-issues from Lyrita

Reviewer: Bruce Wood
(in conversation with Andrew McGregor)

FINZI Prelude for strings, Op.25 (excerpt played)
(c/w A Severn Rhapsody, Op.3; Nocturne (New Year Music), Op.7; Three Soliloquies for small orchestra (from the Suite Love's Labours Lost Op.28); Romance for strings, Op.11; The Fall of the Leaf, Op.20; Introit for small orchestra and solo violin, Op.6*; Eclogue for piano and strings Op.10+; Grand Fantasia & Toccata for piano and orchestra, Op.38+):
London Philharmonic Orchestra, Adrian Boult (conductor), Rodney Friend (violin)*, Peter Katin (piano)+, New Philharmonia Orchestra+, Vernon Handley (conductor)+
LYRITA SRCD239 (CD)

FINZI Intimations of Immortality; HADLEY The Trees so High, Symphonic Ballad in A minor* (excerpts played):
Ian Partridge (tenor), Guildford Philharmonic Choir & Orchestra, Vernon Handley (conductor), Thomas Allen (baritone)*, Guildford Philharmonic Choir*, New Philharmonia Orchestra*
LYRITA SRCD238 (CD)

MOERAN Sinfonietta*; Symphony in G minor+ (excerpts played)
(c/w Overture for a Masque*)
London Philharmonic Orchestra*, New Philharmonia Orchestra+, Sir Adrian Boult (conductor)
LYRITA SRCD247 (CD)

IRELAND These Things Shall Be (excerpt played)
(c/w Legend for piano and orchestra; Overture 'Satyricon'; Piano Concerto; Two symphonic studies (arr. Geoffrey Bush)):
Eric Parkin (piano), John Carol Case (baritone), London Philharmonic Orchestra, London Philharmonic Choir, Sir Adrian Boult (conductor)
LYRITA SRCD241 (CD)

GIPPS Horn Concerto, Op.58; BOWEN Concerto for Horn, string orchestra and timpani, Op.150 (excerpts played)
(c/w JACOB Concerto for Horn and Strings; ARNOLD Concerto No.2 for Horn and Strings, Op.58; VINTER Hunter's Moon):
David Pyatt (horn), London Philharmonic Orchestra, Nicholas Braithwaite (conductor)
LYRITA SRCD316 (CD)

BENJAMIN North American Square Dance Suite; Symphony (excerpts played)
(c/w Overture to an Italian Comedy*; Cotillon, A Suite of Dance Tunes+):
London Philharmonic Orchestra, Barry Wordsworth (conductor), Royal Philharmonic Orchestra*, Myer Fredman (conductor)*, London Symphony Orchestra+, Nicholas Braithwaite (conductor)+
LYRITA SRCD314 (CD)

COATES March 'The Dam Busters' (excerpt played)
(c/w The Merrymakers Overture*; Summer Days Suite*; From Meadow to Mayfair Suite (extract)*; The Three Elizabeths Suite (extract)*; The Three Bears Phantasy*; GRAINGER Children's March 'Over the Hills and far away'; DELIUS Marche Caprice*; WALTON Hamlet: Funeral March; VAUGHAN WILLIAMS The Wasps: March past of the kitchen utensils*; ROSSINI arr.BRITTEN Soirees Musicales: March; HOLST Suite in E flat, Op.28 No.1: March):
London Philharmonic Orchestra, New Philharmonia Orchestra*, Sir Adrian Boult (conductor)
LYRITA SRCD246 (CD)

HOLST Suite de Ballet in E flat, Op.10 (excerpt played)
(c/w Walt Whitman Overture, Op.7; Suite in E flat, Op.28 No.1 (orch. Gordon Jacob); A Hampshire Suite, Op.28 No.2 (orch. Gordon Jacob); A Moorside Suite (orch. Gordon Jacob)):
London Philharmonic Orchestra, Nicholas Braithwaite (conductor)
LYRITA SRCD210 (CD)

11:00
Interview with organist Jennifer Bate

MENDELSSOHN Prelude and Fugue in C minor, Op.37 No.1 (excerpt played)
(from Complete Organ Works, Volume 1):
Jennifer Bate (organ of Wimborne Minster, Dorset)
SOMM RECORDINGS SOMMCD050 (CD, mid-price)

MENDELSSOHN Allegro vivace in F (excerpt played)
(from Complete Organ Works, Volume 3):
Jennifer Bate (organ of St John's Church, Upper Norwood, London)
SOMM RECORDINGS SOMMCD052 (CD, mid-price)

MENDELSSOHN Allegro moderato maestoso in C*; Sonata No.6 in D minor, Op.65+ (excerpts played)
(from Complete Organ Works, Volume 2):
Jennifer Bate (organs of St Matthew's Church, Bayswater, London* & St John's Church, Upper Norwood, London+)
SOMM RECORDINGS SOMMCD051 (CD, mid-price)

For full details of these and the other discs in the Mendelssohn Complete Organ Works series visit the Somm Recordings website

11:15
Listener Suggestions

Details will be published on Monday 19th March.

Send your suggestions for new releases you would like to hear in CD Review

11:45
Disc Of The Week

JANACEK The Makropulos Case (in English):
Cheryl Barker (Emilia Marty), Neal Davies (Dr Kolenaty), John Graham-Hall (Vitek), Elena Xanthoudakis (Kristina), Robert Brubaker (Albert Gregor), John Wegner (Baron Jaroslav Prus), Thomas Walker (Janek Prus), Graham Clark (Count Hauk-Sendorf)
English National Opera Orchestra and Chorus, Sir Charles Mackerras (conductor)
CHANDOS CHAN31382 (2-CD)

I'm particularly looking forward to hearing the Finzi pieces - a wonderful composer steeped in English romanticism.

Today's programme:

Playlist:
Including at 9.30am
Building a Library: David Vickers looks for a library recommendation of Buxtehude's seven part Holy Week cantata, Membra Jesu Nostri.

10.45am Cliff Eisen reviews some provocative recordings of Mozart and looks at some of the issues they raise about period performance. Included are a new Jupiter Symphony from Rene Jacobs and the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, concertos from Maxim Vengerov and the Verbier Festival Orchestra and a recording from Andreas Staier featuring one of the rarest of all keyboard instruments.

11.45am Disc of the Week: Michael Berkeley: Concerto for Orchestra (Seascapes)
BBC National Orchestra of Wales
Richard Hickox (conductor)

5 May 2007
Saturday 5 May 2007 9:00-12:15 (Radio 3)

Andrew McGregor introduces Radio 3's weekly programme devoted to all that's new in the world of recorded music. In this week's programme:

Building a Library: Nicholas Anderson chooses from the available recordings of Bach's Brandenburg Concertos.

Andrew has been watching archive DVDs of violinists Nathan Milstein and Ivry Gitlis.

And Hilary Finch reviews Mozart operas on DVD: Cosi fan tutte and Don Giovanni from Glyndebourne and Salzburg.

09:00

HAYDN Symphony No.101 'The Clock' (2nd movement played)
(c/w Symphony No.88 'The Letter V'; Overture 'L'isola disabitata'):
Austro-Hungarian Haydn Philharmonic, Adam Fischer (conductor)
DABRINGHAUS UND GRIMM MDG9011441-6 (SACD/CD Hybrid)

BRAHMS Symphony No.1 in C minor, Op.68 (live recording 2005 - 2nd movement played)
(c/w BEETHOVEN 'Egmont' Overture, Op.84):
Munich Philharmonic, Christian Thielemann (conductor)
DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON 4776404 (CD)

HAYDN The Creation (live recording 2005 - extract from 2nd Part played)
Miah Persson (soprano), Topi Lehtipuu (tenor), David Wilson-Johnson (baritone), Salzburger Bachchor, Mozarteum Orchester Salzburg, Ivor Bolton (conductor)
OEHMS CLASSICS OC609 (2-SACD/CD Hybrid)

09:30
Building A Library Recommendations

BACH Brandenburg Concertos (complete)

Reviewer: Nicholas Anderson

Details will be published on Saturday 5th May.

Next week, Peter Quantrill chooses from the available recordings of Mahler's 9th Symphony.

10:15
Ivry Gitlis and Nathan Milstein on DVD

DVD entitled 'The Christopher Nupen Films - Nathan Milstein in Portrait (some memories of a quiet magician)' - including BEETHOVEN Kreutzer Sonata, Op.47*; BACH Chaconne from Partita in D minor, BWV1004:
Nathan Milstein (violin), Georges Pludermacher (piano)*
ALLEGRO FILMS A06CND (DVD)

BEETHOVEN Violin Concerto in D, Op.61; VAUGHAN WILLIAMS Symphony No.8 in D minor:
Nathan Milstein (violin), London Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Adrian Boult (conductor)
EMI CLASSICS DVB38845690 (DVD)

TCHAIKOVSKY Violin Concerto in D, Op.35*; works by BRAHMS, BARTOK, ELGAR, WIENAWSKI, SAINT-SAENS, MOSZKOWSKI / SARASATE, ALBENIZ / KREISLER and PAGANINI:
Ivry Gitlis (violin), Orchestre National de l'ORTF*, Francesco Mander (conductor)* - also featuring Tasso Janopoulo (piano), Georges Pludermacher (piano), Warsaw National Philharmonic Orchestra, Stanislaw Wislocki (conductor)
EMI CLASSICS DVB38846994 (2-DVD)

10.45
Mozart Operas on DVD

Reviewer: Hilary Finch

MOZART Cosi Fan Tutte
(recorded at the 2006 Glyndebourne Festival)
Miah Persson (Fiordiligi), Anke Vondung (Dorabella), Pisaroni (Guglielmo), Topi Lehtipuu (Ferrando), Ainhoa Garmendia (Despina), Luca Nicolas Rivenq (Don Alfonso), Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, The Glyndebourne Chorus, Ivan Fischer (conductor), Nicholas Hytner (stage director)
OPUS ARTE OA0970D (DVD)

MOZART Cosi Fan Tutte
(recorded at the 2006 Salzburg Festival):
Ana Maria Martinez (Fiordiligi), Sophie Koch (Dorabella), Stephane Degout (Guglielmo), Shawn Mathey (Ferrando), Helen Donath (Despina), Sir Thomas Allen (Don Alfonso), Vienna State Opera, Wiener Philharmoniker, Manfred Honeck (conductor), Ursel Herrmann & Karl-Ernst Herrmann (stage directors)
DECCA 0743165 (DVD)

MOZART Don Giovanni
(recorded at the 2006 Salzburg Festival):
Thomas Hampson (Don Giovanni), Ildebrando D'Arcangelo (Leporello), Robert Lloyd (Commendatore), Christine Schaefer (Donna Anna), Piotr Beczala (Don Ottavio), Melanie Diener (Donna Elvira), Isabel Bayrakdarian (Zerlina), Luca Pisaroni (Masetto)
Vienna State Opera, Mozarteum Orchester Salzburg, Wiener Philharmoniker, Daniel Harding (conductor), Martin Kusej (stage director)
DECCA 0743162 (DVD)

11:15
Listener Suggestions

Details will be published on Tuesday 8th May.

Send your suggestions for discs you would like to hear on the programme

11:45
Disc Of The Week

DEBUSSY Preludes (arranged for orchestra by Colin Matthews)
(c/w La Mer)
Halle Orchestra, Mark Elder (conductor)
HALLE CDHLL7513 (CD, mid-price)

I'm looking forward to the review of recordings of Vaughan Williams Sea Symphony tomorrow.

19 May 2007
Saturday 19 May 2007 9:00-12:15 (Radio 3)

Andrew McGregor introduces Radio 3's weekly programme devoted to all that's new in the world of recorded music. In this week's programme:

Piers Burton-Page explores the available recordings of Vaughan Williams' Sea Symphony.

Anthony Burton listens to new chamber music releases.

9.30am
Building a Library: Expert guidance on which recording of a famous work to choose. Piers Burton-Page chooses from the available recordings of Vaughan Williams's Symphony No 1 (A Sea Symphony).

10.30am
Anthony Burton reviews new recordings of chamber music by Czech composers, including Dvorak, Suk and Martinu.

11.45am
Disc of the Week: Mahler: Symphony No 1 in D (The Titan)
Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra
David Zinman (conductor)

Hi,I have a question....ummm...is this topic about classical music?

Good question Arroy, yes it is. Here is the blurb about the programme:

Andrew McGregor introduces Radio 3's weekly programme devoted to all that's new in the world of recorded classical music.

In this week's programme:

Robert Layton sifts through the available recordings of Grieg's Lyric Pieces.

Richard Wigmore reviews some recent issues of classic vocal recordings.

09:00

VIVALDI Concerto RV414 in G (1st movement played)
(from CD entitled 'Concerti per violoncello Vol.1 - also including concertos RV398, RV406, RV409, RV410, RV419 and RV421):
Christophe Coin (piccolo cello), Il Giardino Armonica, Giovanni Antonini (conductor)
NAIVE OP30426 (CD)

ATTERBERG Concerto for Cello and Orchestra, Op.21 (extract played)
(c/w BRAHMS String Sextet No.2 in G, Op.36 - arranged for string orchestra by Kurt Atterberg):
Truls Mork (cello), The Symphony Orchestra of Norrlands Opera, Kristjan Jarvi (conductor)
BIS CD-1504 (CD)

TUUR Dedication for cello and piano
(c/w Salve Regina for male choir and ensemble*; Ardor - Concerto for Marimba and Orchestra^; Oxymoron (Music for Tirol)+):
Leho Karin (cello), Marrit-Gerretz-Traksmann (piano), Vox Clamantis*, NYYD Ensemble*+, Pedro Carneiro (marimba)^, Estonian National Symphony Orchestra^, Olari Elts (conductor)*+^
ECM NEW SERIES 4765778 (CD)

09:30
Building a Library Recommendations

Edvard GRIEG Lyric Pieces

Details will be published on Saturday 26th May.

Next week, Bruce Wood explores the available recordings of Elgar's Introduction and Allegro

10:15
Universal Reissues

J.S. BACH Magnificat BWV243 (extract played)
(c/w Easter Oratorio BWV249):
Garbrieli Consort & Players, Paul McCreesh (conductor)
ARCHIV PRODUKTION 4776359 (CD, budget)

SCHUBERT Meeres Stille; Erlkonig
(from CD entitled 'An Die Musik - Favourite Schubert Songs'):
Bryn Terfel (baritone), Malcolm Martineau (piano)
DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON 4776358 (CD, budget)

SCHUBERT String Quintet in C, D956 (excerpts played):
Mstislav Rostropovich (cello), Melos Quartett
DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON 4776357 (CD, budget)

SAINT-SAENS Cello Concerto No.1 in A minor, Op.33 (extract played)
(c/w SCHUMANN Cello Concerto in A minor, Op.129 & works for cello by BORODIN, CHOPIN, GLAZUNOV, GRANADOS, HANDEL, PAGANINI, POPPER, PROKOFIEV and R. STRAUSS):
Mstislav Rostropovich (cello), Symphony Orchestra of the All-Union Radio, Grigory Stolyarov (conductor) - 2-CD set also features Symphony Orchestra of the Moscow State Philharmonic, Samuel Samosud (conductor), Moscow Youth Symphony Orchestra, Kirill Kondrashin (conductor), Alexander Dedyukhin (piano), Walter Naum (piano), Vladimir Yampolsky (piano)
DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON 4776505 (2-CD, budget)

10:45
Classic Vocal Recordings

Reviewer: Richard Wigmore
(in conversation with Andrew McGregor)

R. STRAUSS Four Last Songs (world premiere); WAGNER Excerpts from Tristan und Isolde and Gotterdammerung:
(recorded 1950)
Kirsten Flagstad (soprano), Philharmonia Orchestra, Wilhelm Furtwangler (conductor)
TESTAMENT SBT1410 (CD, mid-price)

CD entitled 'Elisabeth Schwarzkopf sings Strauss and Mozart' - MOZART Arias from Cosi fan Tutte; Don Giovanni; Le Nozze di Figaro and Die Zauberflote; R. STRAUSS Four Last Songs*:
(recorded 1952-55)
Elisabeth Schwarzkopf (soprano), Philharmonia Orchestra, Herbert von Karajan (conductor), John Pritchard (conductor), Otto Ackermann (conductor)*
ALTO ALC1008 (CD, budget)

CD entitled 'Elisabeth Schwarzkopf sings lieder' - works by BEETHOVEN, BRAHMS, MOZART, SCHUBERT, R. STRAUSS and WOLF):
(recorded 1946-54)
Elisabeth Schwarzkopf (soprano), Gerald Moore (piano), Wilhelm Furtwangler (piano), Walter Gieseking (piano), Edwin Fischer (piano)
REGIS RRC1268 (CD, budget)

BRAHMS Lieder - 24 songs including Vergebliches Standchen; Mondnacht; Herbstgefuhl:
(recorded 1960-68)
Janet Baker (mezzo-soprano), Ernest Lush (piano), Paul Hamburger (piano)
BBC LEGENDS BBCL42002-2 (CD, mid-price)

CD entitled 'Janet Baker - English Song Anthology' - including works by ARMSTRONG-GIBBS, DUNHILL, FINZI, GURNEY, HEAD, HOWELLS, IRELAND, VAUGHAN WILLIAMS, and WARLOCK:
(first issued 1964)
Janet Baker (mezzo-soprano), Martin Isepp (piano)
REGIS RRC1265 (CD, budget)

11:15
Listener Suggestions

Details will be published on Tuesday 29th May.

Send your suggestions for discs you would like to hear on the programme
www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/cdreview/#contactus

11:45
Disc Of The Week

BACH Suites for Solo Cello:
Steven Isserlis (cello)
HYPERION CDA67541-2 (2-CD)

Send your suggestions for new releases you would like to hear in CD Review

Subscribe to a weekly email newsletter from CD Review

In next week's programme:

Building a Library: Bruce Wood on Elgar's Introduction and Allegro.

David Vickers reviews some recent recordings of Baroque music.

Discs of the Week
Elgar: Prelude and Angel's Farewell from The Dream of Gerontius (David Owen Norris playing Elgar's square piano)

Elgar: Sea Pictures (Janet Baker, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Vernon Handley)

Another programme that touches on the Elgar celebrations this week.

Bruce Wood explores the available recordings of Elgar's Introduction and Allegro.

David Vickers reviews some recent releases of Baroque music.

09:00

MAHLER Symphony No.3 (excerpt from 1st movement played)
Michelle DeYoung (mezzo-soprano), Women of the Chicago Symphony Chorus, Chicago Children's Choir, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Bernard Haitink (conductor)
CSO RESOUND CSOR901701 (2-CD, mid-price)

BOURGEOIS Concerto Grosso, Op.61 (excerpt played)
(c/w OTTERLOO Serenade; WOUD The Call, the brass presented; GABRIELI Canzon in echo duodecimi toni a 10 from Sacrae Symphoniae No.11, C.180; HENZE Ragtime & Habaneras; SCHMIDT Variants with Solo Cadenzas for trumpet-quartet):
Brass of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Ivan Meylemans (conductor)
RCO LIVE RCO07002 (SACD/CD Hybrid, mid-price)

WALTON Viola Concerto - original version (excerpt played)
(c/w RUBBRA Meditations on a Byzantine Hymn for solo violin; Viola Concerto in A):
Lawrence Power (viola), BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Ilan Volkov (conductor)
HYPERION CDA67587 (CD)

09:30
Building a Library Recommendations

ELGAR Introduction and Allegro

Reviewer: Bruce Wood

Details will be published on Saturday 2nd June.

Next week, Christopher Cook compares the available recordings of Mozart's Idomeneo

10:15
RCA Living Stereo

SCHUBERT Symphony No.9 in C, D944 'The Great' (excerpt played)
(c/w Symphony No.8 in B minor, D759 'Unfinished'):
Boston Symphony Orchestra, Charles Munch (conductor)
(recorded 1955 and 1958)
RCA LIVING STEREO 88697 046032 (SACD/CD Hybrid)

R. STRAUSS Don Quixote, Op.35* (excerpt played); Don Juan, Op.20 (excerpt played):
Antonio Janigro (cello)*, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Fritz Reiner (conductor)
(recorded 1959 and 1954)
RCA LIVING STEREO 88697 046042 (SACD/CD Hybrid)

DE FALLA El amor brujo* (excerpt played); The Three-Cornered Hat (excerpt played)
(c/w La vida breve; ALBENIZ Iberia (extracts from Books 1, 2 & 4); GRANADOS Goyescas - Intermezzo):
Leontyne Price (soprano)*, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Fritz Reiner (conductor)
(recorded 1963* and 1958)
RCA LIVING STEREO 88697 046072 (SACD/CD Hybrid)

VILLA-LOBOS Prelude in E minor
(from CD entitled 'Julian Bream: Popular Classics for Spanish Guitar' - including works by ALBENIZ, DE FALLA, TORROBA, TURINA and VILLA-LOBOS):
Julian Bream (guitar)
(recorded 1962)
RCA LIVING STEREO 88697 046062 (SACD/CD Hybrid)

MOZART Sinfonia concertante in E flat, K.364* (excerpt played); BRAHMS Concerto in A minor for violin and cello, Op.102+ (excerpt played)
(c/w BACH Concerto in D minor for two violins, BWV1043^):
Jascha Heifetz (violin), William Primrose (viola)*, RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra*+, Izler Solomon (conductor)*, Gregor Piatigorsky (cello)+, Alfred Wallenstein (conductor)+, Erick Friedman (violin)^, New Symphony Orchestra of London^, Sir Malcolm Sargent (conductor)^
(recorded 1961, 1956 and 1960)
RCA LIVING STEREO 88697 046052 (SACD/CD Hybrid)

10:45
New Baroque Releases

Reviewer: David Vickers

CD entitled 'Concerti per violoncello Vol.1 - VIVALDI Concertos RV398, RV406, RV409, RV410, RV414, RV419 and RV421:
Christophe Coin (cello), Il Giardino Armonica, Giovanni Antonini (conductor)
NAIVE OP30426 (CD)

CD entitled 'Improvisata: Sinfonie con titoli' - VIVALDI Sinfonia 'Improvisata' in C; SAMMERTINI Overture (Sinfonia) in G minor; MONZA Sinfonia detta 'La tempesta di mare' in D; BOCCHERINI Sinfonia No.6 'La casa del diavolo' in D; DEMACHI Sinfonia 'Le campane di Roma' in F:
Europa Galante, Fabio Biondi (violin & direction)
VIRGIN CLASSICS 3634302 (CD)

CD entitled 'Music for the Chapel Royal' - HANDEL Let God arise, HWV265b; I will magnify Thee, O God, HWV250b; As pants the hart, HWV251d & HWV251a (excerpt); O sing unto the Lord, HWV249a:
Choir of the Chapel Royal, Musicians Extra-ordinary, Andrew Gant (conductor)
NAXOS 8557935 (CD, budget)

TELEMANN Ouverture for Recorder, Strings and Basso continuo in A minor; Fantasias for Recorder; Concerto for Recorder, Viola da gamba, Strings and Basso continuo in A minor:
Julien Martin (recorder), Josh Cheatham (viola da gamba), Capriccio Stravagante, Skip Sempe (conductor)
PARADIZO PA0002 (CD)

J.S. BACH Missae Breves: Lutheran Masses BWV 233-236:
Cantus Colln, Konrad Junghanel (conductor)
HARMONIA MUNDI HMC901939.40 (2-CD, mid-price)

SCHUTZ Opus ultimum - Schwanengesang (The Swansong): 11 motets on Psalm 119, SWV484-492; Psalm 100: 'Jauchzet dem Herren, alle Welt': SWV493; Deutsches Magnificat: 'Meine Seele erhebt den Herren', SWV494:
Collegium Vocale Gent, Concerto Palatino, Philippe Herreweghe (conductor)
HARMONIA MUNDI HMC901895.96 (2-CD, mid-price)

11:15
Listener Suggestions

Details will be published on Monday 4th June.

Send your suggestions for discs you would like to hear on the programme

11:45
Discs Of The Week

ELGAR Prelude and Angel's Farewell from The Dream of Gerontius - Elgar's own piano version
(from CD entitled 'Songs & Piano Music by Edward Elgar played on Elgar's 1844 Broadwood Square Piano' - including 7 Lieder; Sea Pictures, Op.37; Dream Children, Op.43 Nos.1 & 2 - piano solo; The Fringes of the Fleet - with chorus):
Amanda Pitt (soprano), Mark Wilde (tenor), Peter Savidge (baritone), David Owen Norris (piano)
AVIE AV2129 (2-CD)

ELGAR Sea Pictures
(c/w Symphonies 1 & 2; Enigma Variations; Cello Concerto; Chanson de nuit; Chanson de matin; Elegy for String Orchestra; Overture 'Cockaigne'; Froissart; Contrasts from Three Characteristic Pieces; Imperial March; In the South (Alassio); Serenade in E minor; Coronation March; Introduction and Allegro; The Sanguine Fan; Violin Concerto; Falstaff):
Dame Janet Baker (contralto), London Philharmonic Orchestra, Vernon Handley (conductor)
(5-CD box set also features performances conducted by Sir Edward Elgar, Sir Landon Ronald, Sir Adrian Boult, Sir Georg Solti and Sir Charles Mackerras)
LPO 0016-0020 (5-CD, budget)

Last Saturday's CD Review had a young Canadian playing the Korngold violin concerto - it sounded so much like Heifetz, whose recording I have. Then this morning I heard two things from another disc by this performer, and it was said that his models were Heifetz and Menuhin - I thought so!
I am glad that Korngold is enjoying a revival. I heard a superb performance of his opera 'Die Tote Stadt' at the Vienna Opera last year. I loved his film music as a teenager.

Yes, it's fascinating how traditions and styles of playing are passed on.

I have two recordings of the Korngold Vl. Concerto, one played by Gil Shaham and one by Perlman - both very different interpretations but equally wonderful.

Kornglod, along with others such as Szymanowsky are becoming more popular, deservedly so, because of the recording companies - they are still not played generally in concert.

Did anyone catch this week's episode of CD review. I only just caught it myself and heard a wonderfully inspiring piece, a recording of vaughan williams' symphony no. 5 from 1952. Is there anyway I can listen to the original as played on the programme?

Amazon.com has snippets of many classical pieces (maybe 30 or 60 seconds of each movement). I took a look at Youtube, and didn't find Ralph Vaughan Williams' 5th Symphony there. There are now stores that you can easily listen to snippets of CD's. I just bought a CD of John Tavener's "Veil of the Temple", based on listening to a snippet in a Barnes & Nobles store.

I was in Glasgow last weekend and couldn't listen to CD Review. I must download it and have a listen tonight before the link expires.

The original 1952 version, I think I heard about this. Only one recording available? But, if so, CD Review must have played this and given information about the company and cd number.

Sounds fascinating anyway - the 5th is my absolute favourite VW symphony.

CD Review 09:00 to 12:15 (3 hours and 15 minutes long). Andrew McGregor introduces Radio 3's weekly programme devoted to all that's new in the world of recorded music. Including 9.30 Building a Library: Berta Joncus with a personal recommendation from the available recordings of Bach's partitas for solo violin. 10.45 Richard Wigmore discusses new chamber music recordings, including Schumann violin sonatas from Carolin Widmann and Denes Varjon and Brahms string quartets from Cuarteto Casals. 11.45 Disc of the Week: Mahler: Symphony No 5. Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich/David Zinman.

CD Review 09:00 to 12:15 (3 hours and 15 minutes long). Including 9.30 Building a Library: William Mival gives his personal recommendation from the available recordings of Debussy's La mer. 10.30 Harpsichordist and scholar Davitt Moroney talks about his recent recording of music from the Borel Manuscript, a collection of over 100 diverse works put together in late 17th century France. The recordings were made on two of the finest extant instruments of the period. 11.15 John Fallas examines some recent recordings of intriguing music from the Italian avant garde. 11.45 Disc of the Week: Berg: Marsch (Three Orchestral Pieces, Op 6); Rondo (Symphonic Fragments from the opera Lulu). Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra/Daniele Gatti.

CD Review 09:00 to 12:15 (3 hours and 15 minutes long). Including 9.30 Building a Library: Jeremy Summerly recommends a recording of Herbert Howells's Requiem, long suppressed by the composer for deeply personal reasons and which has now taken its place as one of the key works of 20th century choral music. 10.30 Graeme Kay looks at some recent releases of organ music including a recent discovery of a work by Bach and an improvisation on Amazing Grace from Naji Hakim. 11.35 Disc of the Week: Schumann: Violin Sonata No 2 in D minor. Carolin Widmann (violin), Denes Varjon (piano).

I am not always a fan of Herbert Howells, so I went to Youtube to see if there was any of his Requiem there. I found a 6 minute piece from this reqieum, Salvator Mundi, which was quite listenable, and also obviously heart-felt. This video was by a Spanish orchestra in Segovia. This is the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRiZjYziMsM
So maybe, I should change my view of Herbert Howells.

Yesterday's CD review is well worth listening to, then, VP. There was some gorgeous music and choral singing to be heard.

Saturday 15th November 2008. Time: 09:00 to 12:15 (3 hours and 15 minutes long). Including 9.30 Building a Library: David Owen Norris recommends a recording of Haydn's Piano Sonata in C, H XVI 50. 10.30 Edward Seckerson assesses recent releases of late Romantic orchestral music, including Mahler, Bruckner and some of their lesser-known contemporaries. 11.45 Disc of the Week: Beethoven: Sonata in A flat, Op 110. Andras Schiff (piano).

Saturday 22nd November 2008. Time: 09:00 to 12:15 (3 hours and 15 minutes long).

Andrew McGregor introduces Radio 3's weekly programme devoted to all that's new in the world of recorded music. Including 9.30 Building a Library: Jonathan Swain with a personal recommendation for Vaughan Williams's ballet Job - Masque for Dancing. 10.30 Vivaldi expert Michael Talbot joins Andrew to discuss a selection of recent releases of Vivaldi concertos. 11.45 Disc of the Week: Bartok Concertos. Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Tamara Stefanovich (pianos), Gidon Kremer (violin), Yuri Bashmet (viola), London Symphony Orchestra, Berlin Philharmonic/Pierre Boulez.

Saturday 29th November.
Time: 09:00 to 12:15 (3 hours and 15 minutes long)

Including 9.30 Building a Library: David Nice with a personal recommendation from the available recordings of Sibelius's 6th Symphony. 10.30 Harriet Smith with a round-up of recent releases of chamber music, including new recordings of cello sonatas by Grieg and Alkan. 11.45 Disc of the Week: Richard Strauss: Salome (sung in English). Soloists, Philharmonia Orchestra/Charles Mackerras.

Saturday 13th December 2008
Time: 09:00 to 12:15 (3 hours and 15 minutes long)

Andrew McGregor introduces Radio 3's weekly programme devoted to all that's new in the world of recorded music and focuses on some of the more promising releases of music for Christmas 2008. Including 9.30 Building a Library: David Fanning with a personal recommendation from the available recordings of Rachmaninov's Symphony No 1. 10.30 Stephen Plaistow with a round-up of recent piano recordings, including Chopin from Maurizio Pollini and Nikolai Demidenko. 11.45 Disc of the Week: Bizet: Carmen (DVD). Anna Caterina Antonacci (Carmen), Jonas Kaufmann (Don Jose), Royal Opera Chorus and Orchestra/Antonio Pappano (conductor), Francesca Zambello (stage director).

Saturday 20th December 2008
Time: 09:00 to 12:15 (3 hours and 15 minutes long)

Guests Rob Cowan, Hilary Finch and Stephen Johnson choose some of their favourite new recordings of the past year and Radio 3 listeners set them some Christmas challenges.

Saturday 27th December 2008
Time: 09:00 to 12:15 (3 hours and 15 minutes long)

Including 9.30 Building a Library: Richard Strauss: Also Sprach Zarathustra. Chris de Souza chooses a personal recommendation from among available recordings. 11.45 Disc of the Week: Mozart: Piano Concerto in F, K459. Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne/Christian Zacharias (piano).

Saturday 3rd January 2009
Time: 09:00 to 12:15 (3 hours and 15 minutes long)

Including 9.30 Building a Library: Simon Heighes compares available recordings of Dixit dominus by Handel, the 250th anniversary of whose birth is celebrated in 2009. 10.30 James Jolly joins Andrew to discuss the wealth of recent and upcoming releases marking the four major composer anniversaries in 2009 - Purcell, Handel, Haydn and Mendelssohn. 11.35 Disc of the Week: Brahms: Piano Quartet No 3 in C minor, Op 60. Renaud Capucon (violin), Gerard Causse (viola), Gautier Capucon (cello), Nicholas Angelich (piano).

Saturday 10th January 2009
Time: 09:00 to 12:15 (3 hours and 15 minutes long)

Including 9.30 Building a Library: Martin Cotton with a personal recommendation from the available versions of Berg's Lyric Suite. 10.30 Andrew talks to Jordi Savall about his project exploring the musical and cultural history of the city of Jerusalem. 11.50 Disc of the Week: Elgar Violin Concerto. Gil Shaham (violin), Chicago Symphony Orchestra/David Zinman.

Saturday 17th January 2009
Time: 09:00 to 12:15 (3 hours and 15 minutes long)

Including 9.30 Building a Library: Richard Wigmore with a personal recommendation from the available versions of Haydn's final symphony, known as the London Symphony. 10.30 Andrew talks to members of the Endellion String Quartet - which celebrates its birthday in 2009 - about their project to record all of Beethoven's string quartets. 11.50 Disc of the Week: Colin Matthews: Horn Concerto. Richard Watkins (horn), Halle Orchestra/Mark Elder.

Saturday 24th January 2009
Time: 09:00 to 12:15 (3 hours and 15 minutes long)

Including 9.30 Building a Library: Anthony Burton compares available recordings of Bohuslav Martinu's 6th Symphony (Fantaisies symphoniques). 10.30 Andrew talks to pianist Stephen Kovacevich about his new recording of Beethoven's Diabelli Variations, the piece that first brought Kovacevich worldwide fame in 1968. 11.45 Disc of the Week: Platti: Concerti grossi after Corelli. Akademie fur Alte Musik Berlin.

Saturday 31st January 2009
Time: 09:00 to 12:15 (3 hours and 15 minutes long)

Including 9.30 Building a Library: Stephen Johnson recommends a recording of Beethoven's Quartet in F minor, Op 95. 10.30 Rob Cowan talks about some recent issues to do with orchestral music, including Brahms from Marek Janowski and historic Tchaikovsky from Stokowski. 11.45 Disc of the Week: Rossini instrumental music from the Budapest Festival Orchestra conducted by Ivan Fischer.

Saturday 7th February 2009
Time: 09:00 to 12:15 (3 hours and 15 minutes long)

Including 9.30 Building a Library: Schubert: Winterreise. Daniel Leech-WIlkinson recommends a recording of a work considered one of the masteprieces of the song repertory. 10.30 Dermot Clinch reviews new recordings of chamber music by Beethoven, his disciple Carl Czerny and the French-born George Onslow whose music is enjoying something of a revival on disc. 11.45 Disc of the Week: Purcell: Dido and Aeneas. Sarah Connolly (Dido), Gerald Finlay (Aeneas), Choir and Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment/Elizabeth Kenny, Steven Devine.

Saturday 28th February 2009
Time: 09:00 to 12:15 (3 hours and 15 minutes long)

Andrew McGregor introduces Radio 3's weekly programme devoted to all that's new in the world of recorded music. Including: 9.30 Building a Library: Harriet Smith compares the available recordings of Bach's two and three-part keyboard Inventions played on the piano, while Francis Knights listens to the same works performed on the harpsichord and clavichord. 10.30 William Mival talks about some recent issues of Mahler's Second Symphony (Resurrection) from Claudio Abbado in Lucerne, Christoph Eschenbach in Philadelphia, David Zinman in Zurich and Leonard Bernstein in Paris. 11.50 Disc of the Week: Haydn: Piano Trio in F sharp minor, H XV 26. The Florestan Trio.

Saturday 7th March 2009 (starting tomorrow morning)
Time: 09:00 to 12:15 (3 hours and 15 minutes long)

Andrew McGregor introduces Radio 3's weekly programme devoted to all that's new in the world of recorded music. Including 9.30 Building a Library. Hilary Finch with a personal recommendation from the available recordings of Britten's sleep-infused Nocturne. 10.30 Andrew talks to young Canadian violinist James Ehnes about his latest project Homage, which showcases twelve of the world's most valuable violins and violas. 11.45 Disc of the Week: Shostakovich: Symphony No 11. Royal Liverpool Philharmonic/Vasily Petrenko.

Including:

9.30am
Building a Library
Misha Donat compares available recordings of Haydn's Piano Trio No 43 in C, H XV 27.

10.30am
Andrew talks to David Fanning about some recent, and unmissable, re-releases of Stravinsky.

11.45am
Disc of the Week
Josquin des Pres: Missa Malheur me bat (excerpt)
The Tallis Scholars
Peter Phillips (conductor).

Saturday 21st March 2009 (starting in 1 day)
Time: 09:00 to 12:15 (3 hours and 15 minutes long)

Including 9.30 Building a Library: Jeremy Summerly with a personal recommendation from the available recordings of Purcell's opera Dido and Aeneas. 10.30 Round-up of recent cello releases, including a Schumann recital from Steven Isserlis and Denes Varjon, and a DVD of concerts given by Miklos Perenyi and Andras Schiff. 11.45 Disc of the Week: Ravel: L'Enfant et les sortileges (excerpts). Soloists, Berlin Philharmonic/Simon Rattle.

Saturday 28th March 2009
Time: 09:00 to 12:15 (3 hours and 15 minutes long)

Including 9.30 Building a Library: Jeremy Thurlow compares the available recordings of Faure's String Quartet. 10.30 New Releases: Rene Jacobs conducting Telemann's Brockes-Passion and the latest Bach Cantata recordings from Herreweghe, Gardiner and Suzuki. 11.45 Disc of the Week: Mozart: Violin Sonatas. Petra Mullejans (violin), Kristian Bezuidenhout (fortepiano).

Saturday 4th April 2009
Time: 09:00 to 12:15 (3 hours and 15 minutes long)

Including 9.30 Building a Library: Ivan Hewett with a personal recommendation from available recordings of Sibelius's Violin Concerto. 10.30 Rob Cowan talks to Andrew about the latest instalment in the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra's survey of their own radio recordings, featuring 1980s performances conducted by Kirill Kondrashin, Colin Davis and Nikolaus Harnoncourt among others. 11.45 Disc of the Week: Tchaikovsky Songs. Christianne Stotijn (mezzo), Julius Drake (piano).

Saturday 18th April 2009 (starting tomorrow morning)
Time: 09:00 to 12:15 (3 hours and 15 minutes long)

Including 9.30 Building a Library: Colin Lawson with a personal recommendation from the available recordings of Handel's Water Music. 10.30 Recent releases of piano music, including the start of a new Schubert cycle from Imogen Cooper. 11.45 Disc of the Week: Elizabeth Maconchy: The Sofa; The Departure. Soloists, Independent Opera Ensemble/Dominic Wheeler.

Saturday 25th April 2009 (starting tomorrow morning)
Time: 09:00 to 12:15 (3 hours and 15 minutes long)

Including 9.30 Building a Library: David Owen Norris with a personal recommendation from the available recordings of Brahms's Six Pieces for Piano, Op 118. 10.30 Andrew talks to conductor Semyon Bychkov about recent releases, including a live recording of Wagner's opera Lohengrin. 11.40 Disc of the Week: Mahler: Symphony No 4. Budapest Festival Orchestra/Ivan Fischer.

Saturday 9th May 2009
Time: 09:00 to 12:15 (3 hours and 15 minutes long)

CD Review.

All that's new in the world of recorded music, with a focus on recordings of Mendelssohn. Including 9.30 Building a Library: Piers Burton-Page with a personal recommendation from the available recordings of Mendelssohn's Octet. 10.15 Andrew is joined by Harriet Smith and Ivan Hewett to discuss recent Mendelssohn releases including the Violin Concerto from Anne-Sophie Mutter and choral music from the Stuttgart Chamber Choir. 11.45 Disc of the Weekend: Mendelssohn: Piano Concertos. Murray Perahia (piano), Academy of St Martin in the Fields/Neville Marriner.

Saturday 23rd May 2009
Time: 09:00 to 12:15 (3 hours and 15 minutes long)

Including 9.30 Building a Library: William Mival recommends a recording of Schoenberg's Pelleas und Melisande, a symphonic poem for huge orchestra based on a play by Maeterlinck. 10.30 Simon Heighes assesses some recent recordings of music by Bach, including the Well Tempered Clavier from Angela Hewitt, cantata arias from Anne-Sophie von Otter and the Art of Fugue from the label Winter und Winter. 11.40 Disc of the Week: Mozart: Sinfonia Concertante, K364. Renaud Capucon (violin), Antoine Tamestit (viola), Scottish Chamber Orchstra/Louis Langree.

Saturday 30th May 2009
Time: 09:00 to 12:15 (3 hours and 15 minutes long)

Including 9.30 Building a Library: Tess Knighton recommends a recording of Monteverdi's Eighth Book of Madrigals of 1638, subtitled Madrigals of War and Love. 10.30 Geoffrey Smith assesses some recent releases of the music of James MacMillan. 11.45 Disc of the Week: Schumann: Heine Lieder. Florian Boesch (baritone), Malcolm Martineau (piano).

Saturday 6th June 2009
Time: 09:00 to 12:15 (3 hours and 15 minutes long)

Including 9.30 Building a Library: Jonathan Swain recommends a recording of Haydn's Surprise symphony, a work given its first performance in London in 1792. 10.30 Stephen Farr assesses some recent recordings featuring important historic European organs. 11.45 Disc of the Week: Janacek: The Makropulos Affair Suite, arr Peter Breiner. New Zealand Symphony Orchestra/Peter Breiner.

Saturday 13th June 2009
Time: 09:00 to 12:15 (3 hours and 15 minutes long)

Including 9.30 Building a Library: Graham Sadler recommends a recording of Rebel's Les elemens. Written in 1737, this ballet opens with a famous depiction of Chaos, which employs the first note clusters in musical history. 10.30 Valery Gergiev talks candidly about the challenges of recording Shostakovich's The Nose at the Mariinsky Theatre, St Petersburg, and Mahler's Symphony of a Thousand in St Paul's Cathedral, London. 11.45 Disc of the Week: John Eccles: The Judgement of Paris. Benjamin Hulett (tenor), Roderick WIlliams (baritone), Susan Bickley (mezzo-soprano), Claire Booth, Lucy Crowe (soprano), Early Opera Company/Christian Curnyn.

Saturday 20th June 2009
Time: 09:00 to 12:15 (3 hours and 15 minutes long)

ncluding 9.30 Building a Library: Robert Philip recommends a recording of Mendelssohn's choral Symphony No 2 (Lobgesang), which is enjoying a revival. 10.30 Erica Jeal asseses some recent releases of Beethoven Piano Concertos, including recordings from Richard Goode with Ivan Fischer and the Budapest Festival Orchestra, as well as Artur Pizarro with Charles Mackerras and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. 11.45 Disc of the Week: Charpentier: Missa Assumpta est Maria. Le Concert Spirituel/Herve Niquet.

Saturday 4th July 2009 (starting tomorrow morning)
Time: 09:00 to 12:15 (3 hours and 15 minutes long)

Including 9.30 Building a Library: Anthony Burton with a personal recommendation from the available recordings of Mozart's Serenade in B flat for 13 winds (Gran Partita). 10.15 John Deathridge assesses some new recordings of Wagner including Lohengrin from Semyon Bychkov and the Ring Cycle on DVD from Danish Opera. 11.45 Disc of the Week: Albinoni: Sinfonie a cinque. Ensemble 415/Chiara Banchini.

Saturday 11th July 2009 (starting tomorrow morning)
Time: 09:00 to 12:15 (3 hours and 15 minutes long)

Andrew McGregor reviews new recordings, including 9.30 Building a Library: David Vickers on the available recordings of Handel's masque Acis and Galatea. 10.15 Richard Wigmore assesses recent recordings of concertos and orchestral works by Mozart. 11.45 Disc of the Week: Piotr Anderszewski at Carnegie Hall. Piano music by Bach, Schumann, Janacek, Beethoven and Bartok.

if you were to get a cd you should get the blackeye peas they song boom boom pow rocks so much it still stuck in my head this every minute ttyl

Interesting. I just came across the following quote from a member of the BlackEye Peas:

It classical music is not like pop music, which is just repetition; anyone can do it. Will.I.Am, from the pop group The Black Eyed Peas.

Saturday 18th July 2009 (starting tomorrow morning)
Time: 09:00 to 12:15 (3 hours and 15 minutes long)

9.00 Recent releases of music by Vivaldi from Magdalena Kozena, La Serenissima and I Barocchisti as well as some new discoveries heard for the first time. 9.30 Four new recordings of Ravel's Daphnis et Chloe, including releases on the Boston Symphony Orchestra's own label from James Levine and on the Chicago Symphony Orchestra label from Bernard Haitink. 10.15 Harpsichordist Mitzi Meyeson talks about the Componimenti Musicali by Gottlieb Muffat, one time imperial organist to the Viennese Court. These colourful and varied keyboard suites are presented complete on two CDs for the first time. 10.45 Recent Mahler recordings from Klaus Tennstedt, David Zinman, Bernard Haitink and Paavo Jarvi. 11.45 Beethoven's Fidelio, recorded at Glyndebourne Festival Opera. Anja Kampe, soprano (Leonore); Torsten Kerl, tenor (Florestan); Brindley Sherratt, bass (Rocco), London Philharmonic Orchestra/Mark Elder.

Meyerson came across as a rejuvenating and independent musician.

Saturday 25th July 2009 (starting tomorrow morning)
Time: 09:00 to 12:15 (3 hours and 15 minutes long)

Including 9.00 Recent releases of music by Bach including the B minor Mass from Marc Minkowski and Les Musiciens du Louvre, the latest cantata instalment from John Eliot Gardiner and romantic piano transcriptions of Bach by Reger, Saint-Saens and others. 9.50 Bruckner releases from the Dresden Staatskapelle and Fabio Luisi, L'Orchestre des Champs-Elysees and Philippe Herreweghe, and the Bavarian State Orchestra and Kent Nagano among others. 11.00 Giuseppe Martucci : Alexandra Wilson explores recordings of music by this contemporary of Puccini. The teacher of Respighi, he turned his back on the world of opera in favour of orchestral and chamber music. 11.45 Recent recordings of the Delius Violin Sonatas and the premiere on disc of his Double Concerto for violin, viola and orchestra.

Saturday 8th August 209
Time: 09:00 to 12:15 (3 hours and 15 minutes long)

Including: 9.00 Recent recordings of choral music including the 20th century Requiems of John Tavener, Herbert Howells and Pizzetti, and Tudor Music from the Eton Choir Book sung by the Choir of Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford. 10.00 Rob Cowan discusses a set of live recordings which documents the work of the great conductor Willhelm Furtwangler between 1947 and 1954. This important new release, some of it of previously unreleased material, is derived from master tapes held by RIAS Berlin. 11.00 Andrew samples an ongoing series of recordings of music for player piano by maverick American Conlon Nancarrow, and rarely-heard music by French Surrealist Marcel Duchamp, better known for a certain fountain. 11.30 Tchaikovksy and Stravinsky recordings including a budget priced The Rake's Progress from Robert Craft, a live Firebird from the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake from the Symphony Orchestra of South West German Radio. 12.00 Boismortier: Daphnis et Chloe - a pastorale - directed by Herve Nicquet.

Saturday 29th August 2009
Time: 09:00 to 11:00 (2 hours long)

Including 9.00 Recent releases of Handel organ concertos from Richard Egarr with the Academy of Ancient Music, and opera arias by Vivaldi from Magdalena Kozena and the Venice Baroque Orchestra under Andrea Marcon. 9.30 Adams: Doctor Atomic Symphony (exc). Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra/David Robertson. Mahler: Symphony No 7 (exc). Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra/David Zinman. 10.00 Three 20th century opera recordings come under the spotlight, by Kaija Saariaho on SACD and by Tan Dun and Oliver Knussen on DVD. 10.30 Beethoven: Sonata in F, Op 24 (Spring). Alexander Melnikov (piano), Isabelle Faust (violin).

Saturday 19th September 2009 (starting tomorrow morning)
Time: 09:00 to 12:15 (3 hours and 15 minutes long)

Including 9.30 Building a Library: Bach Cantata: Eine fest Burg, BWV80. Simon Heighes makes a personal recommendation of a recording of Bach's great Lutheran cantata. 10.30 Geoffrey Norris reviews recent releases of Russian orchestral music, including Tchaikovsky from Vladimir Jurowski and Andris Nelsons, and Glazunov from Jose Serebrier. 11.45 Disc of the Week: Frank Peter Zimmerman's recording of violin concertos by Szymanowski and Britten.

Saturday 26th September 2009
Time: 09:00 to 12:15 (3 hours and 15 minutes long)

Including 9.30 Building a Library: Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde. Stephen Johnson makes a personal recommendation of a recording of Mahler's late symphony in song. 10.30 Recent releases of Baroque music including an oratorio by Alessandro Scarlatti, Pergolesi's Stabat Mater and chamber music by Lully and Leclair. 11.45 Disc of the Week: Rachmaninov: Sonata No 1 in D minor, Op 28; Etudes-tableaux, Op 39. Yuri Paterson-Olenich (piano).

Saturday 10th October 2009
Time: 09:00 to 12:15 (3 hours and 15 minutes long)

Radio 3's weekly programme devoted to all that's new in the world of recorded music.

Building a Library features Mendelssohn's String Quartet in F minor. Disk of the week is SCHOENBERG: Gurrelieder
Stig Andersen (Waldemar) / Andreas Conrad (Klaus-Narr) / Soile Isokoski (Tove) / Monica Groop (Waldtaube) / Ralf Lukas (Bauer) / Barbara Sukowa (Sprecher) / Philharmonia Voices / City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus / The Philharmonia Orchestra / Esa-Pekka Salonen (conductor)
Signum SIGCD173 (2 Hybrid SACD)

Saturday 17th October 2009
Time: 09:00 to 12:15 (3 hours and 15 minutes long)

Including 9.30 Building a Library: Schumann: Kerner-Lieder, Op 35. Hilary Finch makes a personal recommendation for an available recording of this least well-known of Schumann song cycles. 10.30 Dame Nellie Melba: The London recordings of 1904. Roger Neill talks about the recent discovery of a series of recordings which capture the first superstar of the recording industry at the height of her powers. 11.45 Disc of the Week: Schumann: Scenes from Goethe's Faust. Chrisitan Gerhaher (baritone), Christiane Iven (mezzo-soprano), Alastair Miles (bass), Netherlands Radio Choir, Netherlands Children's Choir, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra/Nikolaus Harnoncourt.

Saturday 7th November 2009
Time: 09:00 to 12:15 (3 hours and 15 minutes long)

Including 9.30 Building a Library: Britten: War Requiem. Jonathan Swain recommends a recording of Britten's choral masterpiece written for the consecration of the new Coventry Cathedral in 1962. 10.30 New releases of music for solo violin. Conductor and violinist Roy Goodman joins Andrew to assess a recording of the Bach Partitas from Alina Ibragimova and Paganini Caprices from Thomas Zehetmair and James Ehnes. 11.40 Disc of the Week: Chopin: Complete Waltzes. Ingrid Fliter (piano).

Saturday 14th November 2009
Time: 09:00 to 12:15 (3 hours and 15 minutes long)

Including 9.30 Building a Library: Piers Burton-Page with a personal recommendation from the available recordings of John Ireland's piano concerto. 10.30 Andrew talks to Ivan Hewett about a brace of recent Haydn discs, including a new Creation from Rene Jacobs, the Seven Last Words from Jordi Savall and the Florestan Trio's latest recording of piano trios. 11.40 Disc of the Week: Debussy: Khamma (piano version by the composer). Jean-Efflam Bavouzet (piano).

Saturday 21st November 2009
Time: 09:00 to 12:15 (3 hours and 15 minutes long)

Including 9.30 Building a Library: Bruckner: Symphony No 5. William Mival recommends a recording of Bruckner's pivotal symphony. 10.30 New releases of music by Henry Purcell: Andrew is joined by Purcell expert Bruce Wood to review recent recordings of Purcell's works, including his opera Dido and Aeneas. 11.45 Disc of the Week: Songs by Schubert, Wolf, Faure and Ravel. Simon Keenlyside (baritone), Malcolm Martineau (piano).

Saturday 28th November 2009
Time: 09:00 to 12:15 (3 hours and 15 minutes long)

Including 9.30 Louis Spohr: Anniversary round-up. Anthony Burton considers some of the more recent recordings of music by this prolific and once popular and influential Romantic master who died 150 years ago. 10.30 Warwick Thompson discusses recent releases of operatic arias from Renee Fleming, Bryn Terfel, Marcello Alvarez and Alfie Boe. 11.40 Discs of the Week: Mahler Symphony No 9. Two new recordings - from the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic conducted by Alan Gilbert and the Bamberger Symphony Orchestra conducted by Jonathan Nott.

Saturday 12th December 2009 (starting in 1 hour and 49 minutes)
Time: 09:00 to 12:15 (3 hours and 15 minutes long)

A Christmas edition. Guests Rob Cowan, Hilary Finch and Simon Heighes chose some of their favourite new recordings of 2009 and Radio 3 listeners set them some Christmas challenges.

Saturday 2nd January 2010
Time: 09:00 to 12:15 (3 hours and 15 minutes long)

Including 9.30 Building a Library: David Fanning with a personal recommendation from the available recordings of Tchaikovsky's The Seasons for piano. 10.30 New Releases: A round-up of recent Bach discs, including partitas from pianists Murray Perahia and Andras Schiff, and cantatas from John-Eliot Gardiner and Sigiswald Kuijken. 11.40 Disc of the Week: Alfred Brendel: The Farewell Concerts.

Saturday 9th January 2010
Time: 09:00 to 12:15 (3 hours and 15 minutes long)

Including 9.30 Building a Library: Franck Trois chorals for organ. Graeme Kay recommends a recording of Cesar Franck's valedictory organ chorales. 10.30 New Releases: Gunter Wand conducts the Deustsches Symphonie Orchester Berlin. Martin Cotton explores a box of eight CDs which survey some of the core works in Wand's repertoire. These include symphonies by Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms and Brucker. 11.40 Disc of the Week: Handel: Olinto pastore - Le Cantate Italiane di Handel VI. Roberta Invernizzi and Yetzabel Arias Fernandez (sopranos), Romina Basso (contralto), La Risonanza/Fabio Bonizzoni.

Saturday 16th January 2010
Time: 09:00 to 12:15 (3 hours and 15 minutes long)

Including 9.30 Building a Library: Rachmaninov: Symphonic Poem. Geoffrey Norris recommends a recording of Rachmaninov's early Symphonic Poem. 11.40 Disc of the Week: Bach: Magnificat, BWV243. Maria Keohane (soprano), Carlos Mena (alto), Hans-Jorg Mammel (tenor), Stephan MacLeod (bass). Ricercar Consort/Philippe Pierlot.

Saturday 23rd January 2010
Time: 09:00 to 12:15 (3 hours and 15 minutes long)

Including 9.30 Building a Library: Graham Sadler with a personal recommendation from the available recordings of Schutz's Musikalisches Exequien, or Funeral Music. 10.30 Andrew talks to pianist Iain Burnside, who has been delving into a 70-CD set of Vladimir Horowitz's volcanic recordings. 11.40 Disc of the Week: Wagner: Der Ring des Nibelungen. Soloists, Bayreuth Festival Orchestra and Chorus/Christian Thielemann.

Saturday 6th February 2010
Time: 09:00 to 12:15 (3 hours and 15 minutes long)

Including 9.30 Building a Library: Berlioz: Te Deum. Peter Quantrill recommends a recording of Berlioz's large-scale choral work. 10.30 Andrew is joined by Rob Cowan to review recent box set releases of recordings by Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Sviatoslav Knushevitsky and the David Oistrakh Trio. 11.40 Disc of the Week: Strauss: Rosenkavalier-Suite; Ein Heldenleben, Op 40. City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra/Andris Nelsons.

Saturday 20th February 2010 (starting tomorrow morning)
Time: 09:00 to 12:15 (3 hours and 15 minutes long)

Including 9.30 Building a Library: Debussy: Suite Bergamasque. David Owen Norris recommends a recording of Debussy's Suite bergamasque, the piano work which, in Clair de Lune, contains one of the composer's most enduring melodies. 10.30 Andrew is joined by Robert Philip to review a newly released set of recordings of conductor Carlo Maria Giulini with the Berlin Philharmonic. 11.45 Disc of the Week: Igor Stravinsky: The Complete music for violin and piano. Anthony Marwood (violin), Thomas Ades (piano).

Saturday 27th February 2010
Time: 09:00 to 12:15 (3 hours and 15 minutes long)

Including 9.30 Building a Library: Anthony Burton makes a personal recommendation from the recordings available of Britten's Violin Concerto. 10.30 Andrew talks to Nicholas Gethin about a recent reissue of fellow-cellist Paul Tortelier's recordings. 11.40 Disc of the Week: Bach Motets. Sette Voci/Peter Kooij.

Saturday 6th March 2010 (starting tomorrow morning)
Time: 09:00 to 12:15 (3 hours and 15 minutes long)

Including 9.30 Chopin: As part of Radio 3's celebration of Chopin's 200th anniversary, Andrew is joined by pianist Piers Lane to discuss the composer's Four Scherzos for piano and to select, from available recordings, an ideal line-up of pianists to play these pieces. 11.45 Disc of the Week: Thomas Ades: Tevot; Violin Concerto; Three Studies from Couperin; Dances (Powder Her Face). Berlin Philharmonic/Simon Rattle; Anthony Marwood (violin), Chamber Ochestra of Europe/Thomas Ades; National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain/Paul Daniel.

Saturday 13th March 2010 (starting tomorrow morning)
Time: 09:00 to 12:15 (3 hours and 15 minutes long)

Including 9.30 Building a Library: Hilary Finch with a personal recommendation from the available recordings of Brahms' song cycle Die schone Magelone. 10.30 Andrew talks to Berta Joncus about recent releases of early vocal music. 11.45 Disc of the Week: Prokofiev string quartets. Pavel Haas Quartet.

Saturday 20th March 2010 (starting tomorrow morning)
Time: 09:00 to 12:15 (3 hours and 15 minutes long)

9.30 Building a Library: Richard Wigmore with a personal recommendation from the available recordings of Bach's cantata Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen, BWV56. 10.30 Andrew talks to Richard Morrison about recent song recital discs. 11.45 Disc of the Week: Beethoven: Incidental Music to Egmont, etc. New Zealand Symphony Orchestra/James Judd.

Saturday 27th March 2010
Time: 09:00 to 12:15 (3 hours and 15 minutes long)

Including 9.30 Building a Library: Piers Burton-Page with a personal recommendation from the available recordings of Mozart's String Quartet in D minor, K421. 10.30 Jeremy Summerly joins Andrew to discuss some recent recordings of music for Holy Week including the eagerly awaited performance of Bach's St Matthew Passion from the Choir of St Thomas' church and the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra conducted by Riccardo Chailly. Also up for discussion are some recent settings of the Lamentations and the Passion stories from contemporary composers. 11.45 Disc of the Week: Schubert: Die schone Mullerin. Jonas Kaufmann (tenor), Helmut Deutsch (piano).

Saturday 3rd April 2010
Time: 09:00 to 12:15 (3 hours and 15 minutes long)

Including 9.30 Building a Library: Pergolesi: Stabat Mater. Simon Heighes recommends a recording of this popular work from Baroque Naples. 10.30 Stephen Plaistow joins Andrew to discuss a major new release of pianist Sviatoslav Richter's broadcasts, recordings made by Hungarian Radio over a period of 40 years. 11.45 Disc of the Week: Pergolesi's Saint Emilius Mass - a work for two choirs and orchestras written in the wake of the Naples earthquakes of 1732 and dedicated to the city's patron saint. Pergolesi: Saint Emidius Mass. Veronica Cangemi (soprano), Sara Mingardo (contralto), Choir of Swiss Radio and Television, Orchestra Mozart/Claudio Abbado.

Saturday 10th April 2010
Time: 09:00 to 12:15 (3 hours and 15 minutes long)

Including 9.30 Building a Library: Martin Cotton recommends a recording of Josef Suk's Asrael (The Angel of Death Symphony). 10.30 The Tallis Scholars 30 years of recording. Andrew talks to the Tallis Scholars' conductor Peter Phillips about the developments in repertoire and recording techniques since he and sound engineer Steve C. Smith launched the choir and its associated record label three decades ago. 11.30 Disc of the Week: Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique. The period instruments of Anima Eterna are conducted by Jos Van Immerseel.

Saturday 17th April 2010 (starting tomorrow morning)
Time: 09:00 to 12:15 (3 hours and 15 minutes long)

Including 9.30 Building a Library: Rob Cowan with a personal recommendation from the available recordings of Bartok's opera Bluebeard's Castle. 10.30 Andrew talks to Ivan Hewett who's been listening to recent orchestral discs including Bernstein, Barber, Stravinsky and Lindberg. 11.45 Disc of the Week: Chopin: The Nocturnes. Nelson Freire (piano).

Saturday 24th April 2010
Time: 09:00 to 12:15 (3 hours and 15 minutes long)

Including 9.30 Building a Library: Misha Donat recommends a recording of Schubert's Sonata in C (Grand Duo) for four-handed piano. 10.30 Esther Jones discusses some recent recordings of sacred choral music sung by British cathedral choirs. 11.40 Disc of the Week: Strauss: Alpine Symphony. London Symphony Orchestra/Bernard Haitink.

Saturday 1st May 2010
Time: 09:00 to 12:15 (3 hours and 15 minutes long)

Including 9.30 Building a Library: William Mival with a personal recommendation from the available recordings of Lutoslawski's Concerto for Orchestra. 10.30 Andrew talks to pianist Roger Vignoles, who has been watching recent DVDs of Rossini operas - The Barber of Seville, La Cenerentola and the lesser-known L'Equivoco Stravagante. 11.45 Disc of the Week: Tchaikovsky: Piano Concertos. Stephen Hough (piano), Minnesota Orchestra/Osmo Vanska.

Saturday 8th May 2010 (starting tomorrow morning)
Time: 09:00 to 12:15 (3 hours and 15 minutes long)

Including 9.30 Building a Library: Jonathan Swain with a personal recommendation from the available recordings of Tchaikovsky's Francesca da Rimini. 10.30 Andrew talks to pianist Alexander Melnikov about recording Russian music, his chamber music collaboration with violinist Isabelle Faust, and his new recording of the complete Shostakovich Preludes and Fugues. 11.45 Disc of the Week - songs by Benjamin Britten, Finzi and Frederic Delius. Susan Gritton (soprano), BBC Symphony Orchestra/Edward Gardiner.

Saturday 15th May 2010 (starting tomorrow morning)
Time: 09:00 to 12:15 (3 hours and 15 minutes long)

Including 9.30 Building a Library: David Vickers recommends a recording of Carissimi's Jephtha. 10.30 Music and the Holocaust: Recent releases of Russian music. 11.45 Disc of the Week: Shostakovich: Preludes and Fugues. Alexander Melnikov (piano).

Saturday 22nd May 2010
Time: 09:00 to 12:15 (3 hours and 15 minutes long)

Including 9.30 Julian Johnson and Edward Seckerson assess recent releases of Mahler conducted by David Zinman, Roger Norrington, Klaus Tennstedt, Ivan Fischer and Christoph Eschenbach. 11.40 Disc of the Week Monteverdi: L'incoronazione di Poppea. La Venexiana.

Saturday 29th May 2010 (starting tomorrow morning)
Time: 09:00 to 12:15 (3 hours and 15 minutes long)

Including 9.30 Building a Library: Bach: Mass in B minor. Jonathan Freeman-Attwood gives his personal recommendation. 10.30 The Virtual Haydn: Christopher Dingle reviews an ambitious Blu-ray release of the complete Haydn keyboard sonatas recorded on specially recreated 'virtual acoustics' and played on a range of instruments of Haydn's time, including clavichord, harpsichord, and Viennese and English pianos. 11.30 Disc of the Week: Britten String Quartets from the Elias Quartet.

Saturday 5th June 2010
Time: 09:00 to 12:15 (3 hours and 15 minutes long)

Including 9.30 Building a Library: Schumann: Dichterliebe. Hilary Finch and Richard Wigmore make a case for their own favourite performances of this great Romantic song cycle. 10.30 Colin Lawson reviews some recent recordings of music for wind bands by some Bohemian contemporaries of Mozart and Beethoven. 11.40 Disc of the Week: Bach, Brahms and Britten. Miklos Perenyi (cello), Denes Varjon (piano).

Saturday 12th June 2010 (starting tomorrow morning)
Time: 09:00 to 12:15 (3 hours and 15 minutes long)

Including 9.30 Building a Library: Schumann: Piano Concerto. Harriet Smith and Kenneth Hamilton make a case for their own favourite performances in conversation with Andrew. 10.30 Andrew talks to Rob Cowan who has been listening to recent Dvorak symphony recordings from conductors including Ivan Fischer, Marin Alsop and Charles Mackerras. 11.45 Disc of the Week: Bach: Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin. Isabelle Faust (violin).

Hello antimuzak! I can't seem to get BAL by podcast any more (since Bach's B minor mass). I wonder if you, or any one else, is having this problem - and if there's a solution. When I check the BAL home page I see a note to the effect that there are no podcasts available. I wonder if this podcast has come to an end?

The BBC website says that there are currently no downloads available Chris. See here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/bal

Saturday 19th June 2010 (starting tomorrow morning)
Time: 09:00 to 12:15 (3 hours and 15 minutes long)

Including 9.30 Building a Library: Peter Quantrill with a personal recommendation from the available recordings of Haydn's String Quartet in F, Op 77 No 2. 10.30 Andrew talks to Simon Broughton about recent recordings of works written during the Holocaust. 11.40 Disc of the Week: Schubert: Symphonies Nos 8 and 9. Swedish Chamber Orchestra/Thomas Dausgaard.

Saturday 26th June 2010
Time: 09:00 to 12:15 (3 hours and 15 minutes long)

Including 9.30 Building a Library: Delibes: Coppelia. David Nice recommends a recording of this ever-popular sentimental comic ballet, based on two macabre stories by ETA Hoffmann. 10.30 Some recent releases of Romantic orchestral repertoire, including Strauss' Alpine Symphony and premiere recordings of music by Alfredo Casella. 11.40 Disc of the Week: Beethoven Violin Sonatas. Viktoria Mullova (violin), Kristian Bezuidenhout.

Saturday 3rd July 2010 (starting tomorrow morning)
Time: 09:00 to 12:15 (3 hours and 15 minutes long)

Including 9.30 Building a Library: Barber: Knoxville Summer of 1915. Chris de Souza recommends a recording of a nostalgic vocal reverie which has become an American classic. 10.30 Anthony Noble joins Andrew to talk about some recent releases of keyboard music including new harpsichord recordings from Trevor Pinnock and Christophe Rousset, CPE Bach on the clavichord from Miklos Spanyi and a three-disc set of the earliest published works written specifically for the piano: Ludovico Giustini's 12 Sonate da Cimbalo di piano e forte. 11.40 Disc of the Week: Vaughan Williams: Sancta Civitas. Andrew Staples (tenor), Matthew Brook (baritone), Bach Choir, Winchester Cathedral Choristers, Winchester Cathedral Quiristers, Bournemoth Symphony Orchestra/David Hill.

Saturday 10th July 2010 (starting tomorrow morning)
Time: 09:00 to 12:15 (3 hours and 15 minutes long)

Including 9.30 Building a Library: Stravinsky: The Fairy's Kiss. Jonathan Swain recommends a recording of this extraordinary ballet, based on a short story by Hans Christian Andersen and written in homage to Tchaikovsky. 10.15 A review of some recent Handel discs including the last of Glossa's Italian Cantata cycle and a recording of Berenice from Il Complesso Barocco. 10.45 Andrew is joined by Stravinsky biographer Stephen Walsh to discuss recent recordings including The Rite of Spring from the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela under Gustavo Dudamel and Oedipus Rex from the Mariinsky Soloists, Orchestra and Chorus under Vladinir Gergiev. 11.40 Disc of the Week: Wagner: Gotterdammerung. Soloists, The Halle, Halle Choir, BBC Symphony Chorus, London Symphony Chorus, The Royal Opera Chorus and Extra Chorus/Mark Elder.

Saturday 17th July 2010 (starting in 1 hour and 23 minutes)
Time: 09:00 to 12:15 (3 hours and 15 minutes long)

The summer edition of the progamme devoted to new recorded music. Andrew McGregor celebrates artists appearing in this week's BBC Proms and revisits favourite recordings of the past 12 months. Including 9.00 Liadov: The Enchanted Lake. BBC National Orchestra of Wales/Thierry Fischer. 9.10 Leoncavallo: I Medici (excerpts). Placido Domingo (tenor), Carlos Alvarez (baritone), Daniela Dessi (soprano), Chorus and Orchestra of Maggio Musicale, Florence/Alberto Veronesi. 9.40 Schubert: Moments musicaux, D780. Imogen Cooper (piano). 10.10 Beethoven: Symphony No 5 in C minor, Op 67. Basle Chamber Orchestra/Giovanni Antonini. 10.50. Andrew talks to harpsichordist Christophe Rousset about recent recordings of Froberger and Louis Couperin. 11.30. Rachmaninov: Concerto No 3 in D minor, Op 30. Simon Trpceski (piano), Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra/Vasily Petrenko.

Saturday 24th July 2010
Time: 09:00 to 12:15 (3 hours and 15 minutes long)

Andrew McGregor reviews recordings featuring artists appearing at BBC Proms this week and revisits favourite recordings of the past 12 months. Including 9.02 Telemann: Overture and Suite in D. Le Concert des Nations/Jordi Savall. 9.10 Mozart: Symphony No 32 in G, K318. Scottish Chamber Orchestra/Charles Mackerras. 9.25 Scriabin: White Mass Sonata, No 7 Op 64. Arcadi Volodos (piano). 9.50 Brahms: Piano Concerto No 2 in B flat, Op 83. Nicholas Angelich (piano), Frankfurt RSO/Paavo Jarvi. 10.45 Recent releases of music by anniversary composer Robert Schumann. 11.50 Schumann: Konzertstuck for Four Horns, Op 86. Hector McDonald, Eric Kushner, Markus Obmann and Georg Sonnleitner (horns). Vienna SO/Fabio Luisi.

Saturday 31st July 2010
Time: 09:00 to 12:15 (3 hours and 15 minutes long)

Including a celebration of artists appearing in this week's BBC Proms and revisiting favourite recordings of the last twelve months. Including: 9.00 Martinu: Piano Trio No 1 (Cinq pieces breves). The Florestan Trio. 9.15 Bizet: Carmen (excerpts). Soloists; Chorus and Philharmonic Orchestra of Radio France/Myung-Whun Chung. 9.35 Recently released live recordings of pianist Sviatoslav Richter playing Prokofiev and Gershwin, and the Amadeus Quartet in Schubert. 10.15 Gretry: Andromaque (excerpts). Soloists; Le Concert Spirituel/Herve Niquet. 10.40 Andrew talks to Rob Cowan about two new complete Mahler Edition box sets. 11.40 Stravinsky: Les noces. Soloists; Mariinsky Chorus/Valery Gergiev.

Saturday 28th August 2010
Time: 09:00 to 12:15 (3 hours and 15 minutes long)

Andrew McGregor celebrates artists appearing in this week's BBC Proms and revisits favourite recordings of the past 12 months. Including 9.00 Dowland: In darkness let me dwell. Carolyn Sampson (soprano), Matthew Wadsworth (lute). Pergolesi: Flute Concerto in G. Ashley Solomon (flute), Florilegium. Handel: Keyboard Suite No 5 in E, HWV430. Laurence Cummings (harpsichord). 9.30 Una Odissea and Una Iliade: Exploring the collaborations between Neapolitan singer and poet Marco Beasley, and composer and harpsichordist Guido Morini and the Netherlands Wind Ensemble. Orff: Carmina Burana (excerpts). Patricia Petibon (soprano), Hans-Werner Bunz (countertenor), Christian Gerhaher (baritone), Chorus and Symphony Orchestra of the Bavarian Radio/Daniel Harding. 10.30 Conductor Osmo Vanska talks about his celebrated Beethoven recordings with the Minnesota Orchestra and his latest release - Bruckner's Symphony No 4. 11.40 Dvorak: Rusalka. Excerpts from the recording made at the 2009 Glyndebourne Festival and starring Anna Maria Martinez as Rusalka. Glyndebourne Festival Chorus, London Philharmonic Orchestra/Jiri Belohlavek.

Saturday 4th September 2010 (starting in 1 hour and 37 minutes)
Time: 09:00 to 12:15 (3 hours and 15 minutes long)

Andrew McGregor celebrates artists appearing in this week's BBC Proms and revisits favourite recordings of the past 12 months. Including 9.00 Brahms: Symphony No 3 in F, Op 90. Orchestre Revolutionnaire et Romantique/John Eliot Gardiner. 9.30 Britten: String Quartet No 2 in C, Op 36. Elias Quartet. 10.00 Chopin: Piano Sonata No 3 in B minor, Op 58. Martha Argerich (piano). 10.25 Webern: Im Sommerwind. Chicago Symphony/Bernard Haitink. 10.40 Dvorak: Requiem, Op 89 (excerpts). Soloists, Wiener Singverein, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra/Mariss Jansons. 11.10 Roussel: Symphony No 4 in A, Op 53. Royal Scottish National Orchestra/Stephane Deneve. 11.40 Beethoven: Sonata in C, Op 53 (Waldstein). Steven Osborne (piano).

Saturday 11th September 2010
Time: 09:00 to 12:15 (3 hours and 15 minutes long)

Andrew McGregor celebrates artists featured in the 2010 Last Night of the Proms and broadcasts from the 2010 Edinburgh International Festival. Including 9.03 Jonathan Dove: The Star-Song. Jonathan Vaughn (organ), Wells Cathedral Choir/Matthew Owens. 9.30 Korngold: String Quartet No 1, Op 16 (excerpts). Aron Quartett. 10.00 Bach: Suite No 1 in G for cello solo, BWV1007 (transcr for viola) - excerpts. Maxin Rysanov (viola). 11.00 Beethoven: Concerto in D for violin and orchestra, Op 61 (excerpts). Ida Haendel (violin), Czech Philharmonic/Karel Ancerl. 11.45 Suk: Symphony in E, Op 14 (excerpts). BBC Symphony Orchestra/Jiri Belohlavek.

Saturday 18th September 2010
Time: 09:00 to 12:15 (3 hours and 15 minutes long)

Including 9.30 Building a Library: Stephen Johnson with a personal recommendation from the available recordings of Sibelius's Symphony No 7. 10.30 Andrew talks to Kenneth Hamilton about recently-released Beethoven performances from Wilhelm Backhaus and Friedrich Gulda. 11.40 Disc of the Week - Wagner: Parsifal. Soloists, Mariinsky Orchestra and Chorus/Valery Gergiev.

Saturday 25th September 2010
Time: 09:00 to 12:15 (3 hours and 15 minutes long)

Including 9.30 Building a Library: Brahms String Quartet in C minor, Op 51 No 1. Piers Burton-Page recommends an available recording of a work which Brahms saw as a compositional milestone and Schoenberg viewed as revolutionary. 10.30 William Mival explores new orchestral releases, including Brahms from John Eliot Gardiner and the Orchestre Revolutionnaire et Romantique, Richard Strauss from Mariss Jansons and the Bavarian Radio SO, Mahler from the Frankfurt Radio SO and Paavo Jarvi, and a recreation of a wind band concert which the young Gustav Mahler might have heard in his home town. 11.45 Disc of the Week: Mahler, recomposed Matthew Herbert: Symphony No 10.

Saturday 2nd October 2010
Time: 09:00 to 12:15 (3 hours and 15 minutes long)

Including 9.30 Building a Library: Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov. Stephen Walsh recommends a recording of this Pushkin-inspired operatic masterpiece. 10.30 Simon Heighes reviews some recent recordings of music by some of Handel's near contemporaries, including a premiere recording of Oxford-based William Hayes's oratorio The Passions, featuring Antony Rooley; harpsichordist Mitzi Meyerson's two-disc set of keyboard suites by Robert Jones; and London Baroque's latest disc - The Eighteenth Century Trio Sonata. 11.40 Disc of the Week: Mozart: Die Zauberflote. Daniel Behle (Tamino), Marlis Petersen (Pamina), Daniel Schmutzhard (Papageno), Sunhae Im (Papagena), Anna-Kristiina Kaapola (Queen of the Night), Marcos Fink (Sarastro), Kurt Azesberger (Monostatos), RIAS Kammerchor, Akademie fur Alte Musik, Berlin/Rene Jacobs.

Saturday 9th October 2010 (starting tomorrow morning)
Time: 09:00 to 12:15 (3 hours and 15 minutes long)

Including 9.30 Building a Library: Dvorak's first set of Slavonic Dances, Op 46. Rob Cowan makes a recommendation from the available recordings of Dvorak's own orchestration of the lively, nationalistic dances which helped to make his name. 10.45 Cliff Eisen talks to Andrew about some recent releases of Mozart's early opera Idomeneo from Adam Fischer in Denmark, a seminal Glyndebourne recording from 1964, a Neapolitan recording on Naxos and a recording of the ballet music from the work made by Apollo's Fire in Cleveland. 11.50 Disc of the Week: Bach Violin Concertos: Brecon Baroque/Rachel Podger (violin).

Saturday 16th October 2010
Time: 09:00 to 12:15 (3 hours and 15 minutes long)

Including 9.30 Building a Library: Schumann Das Paradies und die Peri. Peter Quantrill recommends a recording of this once-popular cantata which has enjoyed a recent revival on disc. 10.30 Martin Cotton assesses some recent EMI ICONS reissues of recordings by cellist Pierre Fournier and conductor Leopold Stokowski. 11.40 Disc of the Week: Bartok Piano Concertos. Jean-Efflam Bavouzet (piano), BBC Philharmonic/Giandrea Noseda.

Saturday 23rd October 2010
Time: 09:00 to 12:15 (3 hours and 15 minutes long)

9.30 Building a Library Update: Ivan Hewett compares and asseses some recent recordings of Beethoven violin sonatas. 10.40 Baroque focus: Recent discs of music by Bach, Telemann and their German contemporaries. 11.40 Disc of the Week: Szymanowski: Symphony No 3 (Song of the Night). Steve Davislim (tenor), Vienna Singverein and Philharmonic/Pierre Boulez.

Saturday 6th November 2010 (starting tomorrow morning)
Time: 09:00 to 12:15 (3 hours and 15 minutes long)

Including 9.30 Building a Library: Hilary Finch with a personal recommendation from the available recordings of Mahler's Ruckert-Lieder. 10.30 Andrew talks to conductor Paul Hillier about working with three choral ensembles and recent recordings of Weill, Schutz and Buxtehude. 11.40 Disc of the Week: Debussy: Le martyre de Saint Sebastien; Khamma. Orchestre National de Lyon/Jun Markl.

Saturday 13th November 2010 (starting tomorrow morning)
Time: 09:00 to 12:15 (3 hours and 15 minutes long)

Including 9.30 Building a Library: Jonathan Swain with a personal recommendation from the available recordings of Honegger's Symphony No 3. 10.30 Stephen Plaistow discusses some of Robert Schumann's less well-known piano works. 11.40 Disc of the Week: Verdi - Requiem. Soloists, Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus/Riccardo Muti.