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Celebrating classical greats

Ian Skelly plays the best in classical music, with discoveries and surprises rubbing shoulders with familiar favourites.

Ian Skelly plays the best in classical music, with discoveries and surprises rubbing shoulders with familiar favourites.

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”.

27 days left to listen

3 hours, 30 minutes

Music Played

  • George Frideric Handel

    Sinfonia, 'Arrival of the Queen of Sheba' (Solomon)

    Orchestra: Academy of Ancient Music. Conductor: Christopher Hogwood.
    • Pachelbel/Handel/Vivaldi/Gluck: Academy of Ancient Music/Hogwood.
    • L'Oiseau-Lyre.
    • 5.
  • Camille Saint‐Saëns

    Piano Concerto No 5 'Egyptian' (3rd mvt)

    Orchestra: Tapiola Sinfonietta. Conductor: Jean‐Jacques Kantorow.
    • Saint-Saëns: Piano Concertos Nos. 3-5.
    • BIS.
    • 303.
  • Samuel Coleridge-Taylor

    Romance, Op 39

    Performer: Elena Urioste. Orchestra: Chineke! Orchestra. Conductor: Kevin John Edusei.
    • DECCA.
  • Ludwig van Beethoven

    Symphony No 8 in F major, Op 93 (4th mvt)

    Orchestra: London Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Bernard Haitink.
    • LSO Live.
  • Thomas Tomkins

    Be Strong and of Good Courage

    Choir: The Sixteen. Director: Harry Christophers.
    • CORO.
  • Reynaldo Hahn

    Piano Quartet in G Major: IV. Allegro assai

    Performer: Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective.
    • Hahn: Piano Quintet, Songs, Piano Quartet.
    • Chandos.
    • 112.
  • Michael Haydn

    Concerto for organ, viola and strings in C major (3rd mvt)

    Performer: Andra Darzins. Performer: Jürgen Essl. Orchestra: Urban Camerata.
    • Hoffmeister, Stamitz & M. Haydn: Viola Concertos.
    • CPO.
    • 303.
  • Sergey Rachmaninov

    Vocalise Op.34 no.14

    Orchestra: Budapest Festival Orchestra. Conductor: Iván Fischer.
    • Rachmaninov: Symphony No. 2 in E minor, Op. 27, etc.: BFO, Fischer.
    • Channel Classics.
    • 5.
  • Robert Schumann

    Die Blume der Ergebung, Op 83 No 2

    Performer: Carolyn Sampson. Performer: Joseph Middleton.
    • Fleurs.
    • BIS.
    • 16.
  • Leos Janáček

    Jealousy

    Orchestra: Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor: Edward Gardner.
    • CHANDOS.
  • Ottorino Respighi

    Bergamasca (Ancient Airs and Dances - Suite no.2)

    Orchestra: Academy of St Martin in the Fields. Conductor: Neville Marriner.
    • Respighi: Ancient Airs and Dances.
    • HMV.
    • 8.
  • Élisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre

    Violin Sonata no.2 in D major

    Performer: Riccardo Minasi. Ensemble: Bizzarrie Armoniche.
    • Ïշ.
  • Modest Mussorgsky

    A Night on the Bare Mountain

    Music Arranger: Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. Orchestra: The Philadelphia Orchestra. Conductor: Riccardo Muti.
    • Mussorgsky: Pictures At An Exhibition; A Night On The Bare Mountain.
    • Decca Music Group Ltd..
    • 16.
  • Francis Poulenc

    éԳDZ

    Performer: Pascal Rogé.
    • Decca.
  • Ethel Smyth

    March Of The Women

    Music Arranger: Juliette Pochin. Choir: Kantos Chamber Choir. Ensemble: Suffrage Sinfonia. Conductor: Alice Farnham.
    • The Lost Women Of Music.
    • Decca (UMO) (Classics).
    • 1.
  • Luigi Boccherini

    Quintet in C major 'La musica notturna delle strade di Madrid' (Passacalle)

    Performer: Eckart Runge. Ensemble: Casals Quartet.
    • Harmonia Mundi.
  • William Walton

    Overture 'The Globe Playhouse' (Henry V)

    Choir: Choristers of Westminster Cathedral. Orchestra: Academy of St Martin in the Fields. Conductor: Neville Marriner.
    • Chandos.
  • Charles Gounod

    Meditation sur le 1er prelude de Bach [Ave Maria]

    Singer: Cecilia Bartoli. Performer: Cinzia Maurizio. Orchestra: Orchestra of the Academy of Santa Cecilia, Rome. Conductor: Myung-Whun Chung.
    • Sospiri: Cecilia Bartoli.
    • Decca.
    • 18.
  • Valerie Coleman

    Afro-Cuban Concerto (3rd mvt)

    Ensemble: Imani Winds.
    • Koch International Classics.
  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

    Piano Sonata No 10 in C major, K 330 (2nd mvt)

    Performer: Daniel Barenboim.
    • Mozart The Collectors Edition 50 CDs The Masterpieces The Greatest Artists.
    • EMI Classics.
    • 5.
  • Ralph Vaughan Williams

    Suite for Viola & Orchestra, Group 3: II Polka Mélancolique. Molto moderato

    Performer: Timothy Ridout. Orchestra: Lausanne Chamber Orchestra. Conductor: Jamie Phillips.
    • Music for Viola and Chamber Orchestra.
    • Claves.
    • 7.
  • Gioachino Rossini

    The Barber of Seville (Overture)

    Orchestra: Chamber Orchestra of Europe. Conductor: Claudio Abbado.
    • Rossini Overtures - The Chamber Orchestra Of Europe.
    • Deutsche Grammophon.
    • 1.
  • Johann Sebastian Bach

    Concerto in A minor for flute, violin and keyboard, BWV 1044

    Performer: Trevor Pinnock. Ensemble: The English Concert. Conductor: Trevor Pinnock.
    • Bach: Works for Orchestra: The English Concert/Pinnock.
    • Archiv Produktion.
    • 8.
  • Hugo Alfvén

    Shepherd Girl's dance (The Mountain king)

    Orchestra: Malmö SymfoniOrkester. Conductor: James DePreist.
    • Orchestral Works: Malmo Symphony Orchestra / DePriest.
    • BIS.
    • 20.
  • Hedwige Chrétien

    Dernier rêve!

    Performer: Edwige Herchenroder. Lyricist: Ludovic Fortolis. Singer: Kitty Whately.
    • Horizons: French Mélodies.
    • Chandos.
    • 126.
  • Edward Elgar

    Sursum corda Op.11

    Orchestra: ѿý Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Andrew Davis.
    • Elgar: The Music Makers/Short Pieces: ѿý SO/Davis.
    • Teldec.
    • 5.
  • Antonín Dvořák

    String Quartet in E flat major Op.51 (4th mvt)

    Ensemble: Albion Quartet.
    • Dvořák: String Quartets Nos. 8 & 10.
    • Signum Classics.
    • 8.
  • Edvard Grieg

    Piano Concerto in A minor, Op 16 (3rd mvt)

    Performer: Leif Ove Andsnes. Orchestra: Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor: Dmitri Kitayenko.
    • Leif Ove Andsnes: A Portrait.
    • EMI Classics.
    • 3.

Broadcast

  • Monday 09:30

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