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Relax into the day with classical

Georgia Mann plays the best in classical music, with discoveries and surprises rubbing shoulders with familiar favorites.

Georgia Mann plays the best in classical music, with discoveries and surprises rubbing shoulders with familiar favorites.

1000 Playlist starter – listen and send us your ideas for the next step in our musical journey today.

1030 Song of the Day – harnessing the magic of words, music and the human voice.

1115 Playlist reveal – a sequence of music suggested by you in response to our starter today.

1145 Slow Moment – time to take a break for a moment's musical reflection.

1230 Album of the Week.

To listen on most smart speakers say "Ask ѿý Sounds to play Essential Classics”

20 days left to listen

3 hours, 30 minutes

Last on

Fri 6 Jun 2025 09:30

Music Played

  • Zoltán Kodály

    Intermezzo (Hary Janos Suite)

    Orchestra: Budapest Festival Orchestra. Conductor: Iván Fischer.
    • Kodaly: "Hary Janos" Suite: Fischer.
    • Philips.
    • 15.
  • Franz Schubert

    Entr'acte in B flat major (Rosamunde)

    Orchestra: Chamber Orchestra of Europe. Conductor: Claudio Abbado.
    • DG.
  • Margaret Bonds

    Troubled Water

    Performer: Martin James Bartlett.
    • Till I Wake.
    • Warner Classics.
    • 2.
  • Georges Bizet

    L'Arlésienne - Suite No 1 (Entr'acte: Adagietto)

    Orchestra: Orquestra Simfònica de Barcelona i Nacional de Catalunya. Conductor: Pablo González.
    • Bizet: Carmen & L'arlésienne Suites.
    • Naxos.
    • 303.
  • Antonio Vivaldi

    Concerto in B minor for 4 violins, RV 580

    Performer: Boris Begelman. Performer: Elisa Citterio. Performer: Andrea Rognoni. Performer: Stefano Barneschi. Ensemble: Concerto Italiano. Director: Rinaldo Alessandrini.
    • Vivaldi - Bach.
    • NAIVE.
  • Catharina van Rennes

    Zegenbede (Benediction)

    Music Arranger: Martin Zonnenberg. Choir: Christelijk Sliedrechts Mannenkoor Ichthus. Conductor: Martin Zonnenberg.
    • Witter Dan Sneeuw.
    • P4Y JQZ.
    • 20.
  • Bedrich Smetana

    The Bartered Bride (Dance of the Comedians)

    Orchestra: Czech Philharmonic. Conductor: Václav Neumann.
    • Little Pearls of Czech Classics: Czech Philharmonic Orch/Neumann.
    • Supraphon.
    • 7.
  • Gerald Finzi

    Romance Op.11

    Orchestra: Aurora Orchestra. Conductor: Nicholas Collon.
    • Introit: The Music of Gerald Finzi.
    • Decca.
    • 12.
  • Athanasius Kircher

    Tarantella napoletana

    Music Arranger: Christina Pluhar. Director: Christina Pluhar. Ensemble: L’Arpeggiata.
    • La Tarantella: Antidotum Tarantulae.
    • Alpha Classics.
    • 3.
  • Leonie Cohen

    Light Finale (The Diary of Anne Frank)

    Performer: Louise King. Performer: Therese Milanovic.
    • Women of Note Vol 3.
    • ABC Classics.
    • 16.
  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

    Horn Concerto No 4 in E flat major, K 495 (3rd mvmt, Rondo)

    Performer: Louis‐Philippe Marsolais. Ensemble: Les Violons du Roy. Director: Mathieu Lussier.
    • ATMA Classique.
  • Samuel Coleridge-Taylor

    The Willow Song (Othello)

    Performer: Joseph Middleton. Singer: Carolyn Sampson.
    • Sounds and Sweet Airs - A Shakespeare Songbook.
    • BIS.
    • 35.
  • Mily Alexeyevich Balakirev

    Islamey, Op. 18

    Orchestrator: Sergei Mikhailovich Lyapunov. Orchestra: Singapore Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Lan Shui.
    • Russian Spectacular.
    • BIS.
    • 301.
  • Catharina van Rennes

    Zegenbede (Benediction)

    Music Arranger: Martin Zonnenberg. Choir: Christelijk Sliedrechts Mannenkoor Ichthus. Conductor: Martin Zonnenberg.
    • Witter Dan Sneeuw.
    • P4Y JQZ.
    • 20.
  • Hélène de Montgeroult

    Étude no.41 in E flat major

    Performer: Clare Hammond.
    • Hélène de Montgeroult: Études.
    • BIS.
    • 108.
  • Georg Philipp Telemann

    Suite in D major, TWV.55:D18 (Ouverture)

    Orchestra: Berlin Academy for Early Music.
    • Telemann: Orchestral Suites.
    • Harmonia Mundi.
    • 1.
  • Edvard Grieg

    Holberg Suite (Air)

    Orchestra: Academy of St Martin in the Fields. Conductor: Neville Marriner.
    • Grieg: Holberg Suite / Sibelius: Rakastava / Nielsen: Little Suite / Wirén: Sere.
    • Decca Music Group Ltd..
    • 4.
  • Dame Ethel Mary Smyth

    The Wreckers (Overture)

    Orchestra: Royal Scottish National Orchestra. Conductor: Alexander Gibson.
    • EMI.
  • Catharina van Rennes

    Zegenbede (Benediction)

    Music Arranger: Martin Zonnenberg. Choir: Christelijk Sliedrechts Mannenkoor Ichthus. Conductor: Martin Zonnenberg.
    • Witter Dan Sneeuw.
    • P4Y JQZ.
    • 20.
  • Thomas Tallis

    If ye love me

    Ensemble: The Gesualdo Six. Director: Owain Park.
    • English Motets.
    • Hyperion.
    • 5.
  • Christoph Willibald Gluck

    Dance of the Blessed Spirits (Orfeo ed Euridice)

    Orchestra: Orpheus Chamber Orchestra.
    • Classical Hits: Orpheus Chamber Orchestra.
    • Deutsche Grammophon.
    • 3.
  • John Rutter

    A Gaelic Blessing

    Choir: The Cambridge Singers. Orchestra: City of London Sinfonia. Conductor: John Rutter.
    • The Ultimate Collection.
    • Decca (UMO).
    • 18.
  • Dmitry Shostakovich

    Foxtrot [Blues] (Suite for Jazz Band no.1)

    Orchestra: Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. Conductor: Riccardo Chailly.
    • Shostakovich: The Jazz Album - Brautigam, Masseurs.
    • Decca.
    • 3.
  • Antoine Reicha

    Andante No 1 in E flat major

    Ensemble: Philharmonisches Bläserquintett Berlin.
    • BIS.
  • George Frideric Handel

    Concerto Grosso in B flat major, Op 6 No 7 (5th mvt, Hornpipe)

    Orchestra: Academy of Ancient Music. Director: Andrew Manze.
    • HARMONIA MUNDI.
  • Helena Munktell

    Violin Sonata in E flat major Op.21 (3rd mvt)

    Performer: Cecilia Zilliacus. Performer: Bengt Forsberg.
    • db Productions.
  • Gioachino Rossini

    The Barber of Seville (Overture)

    Orchestra: Orchestra of the Academy of Santa Cecilia. Conductor: Sir Antonio Pappano.
    • Rossini Overtures.
    • WARNER.
    • 3.
  • Richard Strauss

    Duett-Concertino for Clarinet, Bassoon and Strings

    Performer: Joy Farrall. Performer: Julie Andrews. Ensemble: Britten Sinfonia. Conductor: Nicholas Cleobury.
    • Strauss: Horn Concertos Nos.1 & 2 / Duet Concertino / Serenade.
    • Warner Classics.
    • 4-6.
  • Meredith Monk

    Night Travel (Atlas)

    Orchestra: Orchestra. Conductor: Wayne Hankin.
    • ECM.
  • Frédéric Chopin

    Nocturne in E minor Op.72`1

    Performer: Maria João Pires.
    • Chopin: The Nocturnes: Maria Joao Pires.
    • Deutsche Grammophon.
    • 9.
  • Orlando Gibbons

    Pavan and Galliard for 6 viols

    Ensemble: Fretwork.
    • My Days.
    • Signum Records.
    • 1-2.
  • Antonín Dvořák

    Rusalka's Song to the Moon

    Performer: Phillip McCann. Performer: Black Dyke Band. Music Arranger: Gordon Langford. Conductor: Roy Newsome.
    • CHANDOS.
  • Errollyn Wallen

    Dances for Orchestra (No 3)

    Orchestra: ѿý Concert Orchestra. Conductor: John Andrews.
    • Errollyn Wallen: Orchestral Works.
    • Resonus Classics.
    • 3.
  • Arcangelo Corelli

    Violin Sonata in E minor, Op 5 No 8 (3rd mvt, Sarabanda)

    Ensemble: Locatelli Trio.
    • Corelli: Violin Sonatas: The Locatelli Trio.
    • Hyperion.
    • 7.
  • Camille Saint‐Saëns

    Wedding-cake Op.76

    Performer: Sir Stephen Hough. Orchestra: City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Sakari Oramo.
    • Hyperion.

Broadcast

  • Fri 6 Jun 2025 09:30

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