Main content
Sorry, this episode is not currently available

Sound Frontiers: Wednesday - Sarah Walker with John Finnemore

Live from London's Southbank Centre. My Favourite Contemporary Choral Music; Rimsky-Korsakov Capriccio espagnol; Artist of the Week: Andrew Manze, in Biber: Rosary Sonata No 9.

9am
My favourite... contemporary choral music. Sarah shares a selection of contemporary choral works that are ear catching, innovative and often very beautiful. Sarah has long had a soft spot for this repertoire and throughout the week she seeks out some of her favourite pieces by composers including Gabriel Jackson, Judith Weir, Eriks EÅ¡envalds and Antony Pitts. You'll be signing up to your local choir in no time.

9.30am
Take part in our daily musical challenge. Two pieces of music are played together. Can you identify them?

10am
Sarah's guest is the writer and comedian John Finnemore. John is best known for writing and starring in the multi-award winning Radio 4 sitcom Cabin Pressure, and for his radio sketch show John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme. He has written for other comedy shows including That Mitchell and Webb Look, Dead Ringers, The Now Show and The Unbelievable Truth, and has also appeared as a panelist on shows including Just a Minute and The News Quiz. John will be talking music, comedy and wordplay every day at 10am, and sharing a selection of his favourite classical works, including Janacek's The Cunning Little Vixen and Mozart's Bassoon Concerto. And on Friday, as part of Radio 3's 70th anniversary celebrations, John and friends will be performing a specially written musical sketch show live in the Radio 3 pop-up studio at Southbank Centre, London.

10.30am
Music in Time: Romantic
Sarah places Music in Time and looks at a piece that composer Rimsky-Korsakov described as a 'composition for the whole orchestra' - his colourful Capriccio Espagnol. Through extensive and clever use of the full symphony orchestra, including a large percussion section and effects such as the strings imitating guitars, Rimsky-Korsakov created a piece that is quintessentially Romantic.

11am
Sarah's Artist of the Week is the violinist and conductor Andrew Manze, who has been called "the first modern superstar of the baroque violin". Sarah explores some of Manze's finest recordings of works by composers including Biber and J.S. Bach, featuring the two groups with which he's most closely associated, the Academy of Ancient Music and The English Concert. Beyond the baroque, Sarah will also share some of Manze's work as a conductor, including his recent collaboration with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and his recording of the complete cycle of symphonies by Vaughan Williams.

Biber
Rosary Sonata No.9: Jesus carries his cross
Andrew Manze (violin)
Richard Egarr (organ).

3 hours

Music Played

  • Gabriel Jackson

    Airplane Cantata: Toccata aeronautica

    Performer: Rex Lawson.
    • SIGNUM.
  • Hubert Parry

    The Birds: Bridal March

    Orchestra: London Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor: Adrian Boult.
    • Lyrita.
  • MY FAVOURITE...CONTEMPORARY CHORAL MUSIC

    • Gabriel Jackson

      That wind blowing and that tide

      Performer: Joel Garthwaite. Choir: Truro Cathedral Choir. Performer: Luke Bond. Director: Chris Gray.
      • REGENT.
  • George Frideric Handel

    Concerto Grosso in B flat major, Op.6 No.7

    Orchestra: Handel and Haydn Society. Conductor: Christopher Hogwood.
    • L’OISEAU LYRE.
  • Robert Schumann

    Kreisleriana Op.16: No.3 Sehr aufgeregt

    Performer: Mitsuko Uchida.
    • PHILIPS.
  • Paul Dukas

    La Peri

    Orchestra: Ulster Orchestra. Conductor: Yan Pascal Tortelier.
    • CHANDOS.
  • Frédéric Chopin

    Nocturne in F sharp major, Op.15 No.2

    Performer: Maurizio Pollini.
    • DG.
  • JOHN FINNEMORE'S CHOICE NO.1

    • Camille Saintâ€Saëns

      Suite for cello & orchestra, Op.16

      Performer: Maria Kliegel. Orchestra: Bournemouth Sinfonietta. Conductor: Jean-François Monnard.
      • NAXOS.
  • MUSIC IN TIME: ROMANTIC

    • Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov

      Capriccio espagnol, Op.34

      Orchestra: London Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Igor Markevitch.
      • PHILIPS.
  • Tomás Luis de Victoria

    Taedet animam meam

    Choir: The Hilliard Ensemble.
    • ECM.
  • Aaron Copland

    An Outdoor Overture

    Orchestra: London Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Aaron Copland.
    • SONY.
  • ARTIST OF THE WEEK: ANDREW MANZE

    • Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber

      Rosary Sonata No.9: The Carrying of the Cross

      Performer: Andrew Manze. Performer: Richard Egarr.
      • HARMONIA MUNDI.
  • Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach

    Sonata in C minor, Wq.65/31

    Performer: Mikhail Pletnev.
    • DG.
  • Vassily Kalinnikov

    Symphony No.1 in G minor

    Orchestra: Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor: Kees Bakels.
    • BIS.

Imperfect Harmony

The music played:

Chopin
Nocturne in F sharp major, Op.15 No.2
Vladimir Feltsman (piano)
NIMBUS ALLIANCE
Ìý
Ravel
Mother Goose: Laideronnette, Princess of the Pagodas
Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra
Yannick Nezet-Seguin (conductor)
EMI

Broadcast

  • Wed 28 Sep 2016 09:00

Our Classical Century

Our Classical Century

Radio 3 explores 100 key musical moments that shaped us, from 1918 to the present day.

Time Travellers: the podcast

Time Travellers: the podcast

Eleanor Rosamund Barraclough presents quirky tales gathered from the corners of history.