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Rachmaninov's 24 Preludes in Building a Library with Lucy Parham and Hannah French

In Building a Library, Lucy Parham chooses her favourite recording of Rachmaninov's piano preludes, plus some of the best new classical releases assessed by cellist Steven Isserlis.

Hannah French with the best new recordings of classical music.

9.30 am
Cellist Steven Isserlis brings a selection of new releases to the studio, and in On Repeat he shares a track with Hannah and explains his current preoccupation with it.

10.30 am
Building a Library
Lucy Parham chooses her favourite recording of Rachmaninov's piano preludes

Rachmaninov's 24 piano preludes in all the 24 major and minor keys are a glorious treasure trove of different pianistic styles from lyrical to barn-storming. He wrote and published them at different times, and didn't regard them as a unified set. Unlike the keyboard preludes of Bach and Chopin they are not organized according to their keys either. But for a feast of piano playing, they are an essential thing for your library. And some of the titans of the keyboard have recorded their interpretations, including the composer himself how recorded a selection of them.

11.20 am
Record of the Week
An exceptional new release.

Send us your On Repeat recommendations at recordreview@bbc.co.uk or tweet us @鶹ԼRadio3.

2 hours, 47 minutes

Music Played

  • José de Nebra

    Donde hay violencia no hay culpa, Act I: Sinfonia

    Ensemble: Los Elementos. Conductor: Alberto Miguélez Rouco.
    • Nebra: Donde Hay Violencia, No Hay Culpa.
    • Glossa.
    • 2.
  • Michael Haydn

    Kaiser Constantin I "Feldzug und Sieg": Herr, dein Wort ist Recht und Licht

    Singer: Chantal Santon Jeffery. Singer: Emőke Baráth. Orchestra: Orfeo Orchestra. Conductor: György Vashegyi.
    • Michael Haydn: Emperor Constantine I's Campaign and Victory.
    • Accent.
    • 9.
  • Maurice Ravel

    Sonate pour violon et piano: II. Blues. Moderato

    • À Moune.
    • Challenge Classics.
    • 3.
  • Jean Sibelius

    Dance of the Shapes (The Tempest Op.109)

    Orchestra: Royal Danish Orchestra. Conductor: Okko Kamu.
    • Sibelius: The Tempest, Op. 109 (Live).
    • Naxos.
    • 117.
  • Henry Purcell

    Dido and Aeneas, Z626, Act 2 Scene 1: In Our Deep Vaulted Cell - Echo Dance of the Furies

    Ensemble: Les Argonautes. Conductor: Julie Roset.
    • Purcell: Dido & Aeneas, Circe.
    • Aparte.
    • 18.
  • Robert Schumann

    Violin Sonata No 2 in D minor, Op 121: I. Ziemlich langsam - lebhaft

    Performer: Andrew Wan. Performer: Charles Richard-Hamelin.
    • Schumann: The Three Violin Sonatas.
    • Anakekta.
    • 4.
  • Gabriel Fauré

    Barcarolle No 9 in A minor, Op 101

    Performer: Jean‐Philippe Collard.
    • Fauré: 13 Barcarolles & Ballade Op. 19.
    • La Dolce Volta.
    • 9.
  • Emánuel Moór

    Pieces lyriques for String Quartet, Op 139: III. Andante sostenuto

    Ensemble: Rosenstein String Quartet.
    • Emánuel Moór: Music For Viola.
    • Toccata Classics.
    • 6.
  • Michel Legrand

    His Eyes, Her Eyes (From 'The Thomas Crown Affair')

    Performer: Alexandre Tharaud. Orchestra: Orchestra of the Academy of Santa Cecilia, Rome. Conductor: Sir Antonio Pappano.
    • Cinema.
    • Warner Classics.
    • 13.
  • Dmitri Kabalevsky

    Cello Concerto No 2, Op 77: II. Presto marcato

    Performer: Daniil Borisovich Shafran. Orchestra: St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor: Dmitri Kabalevsky.
    • Kabalevsky: Cello Concerto No. 2, Op. 77 - Prokofiev: Sinfonia Concertante, Op..
    • Russian Compact Disc.
    • 2.
  • Johann Sebastian Bach

    Christmas Oratorio, BWV 248 / Part Six - For The Feast Of Epiphany

    Lyricist: Christian Friedrich Henrici. Conductor: Sir John Eliot Gardiner. Orchestra: English Baroque Soloists. Choir: Monteverdi Choir.
    • John Eliot Gardiner: The Best Of Bach.
    • Decca (UMO).
    • 4.
  • Patricia Van Ness

    The Nine Orders of the Angels: Ii. Archangelus

    Conductor: Anna Lapwood. Choir: The Chapel Choir of Pembroke College, Cambridge.
    • A Pembroke Christmas.
    • Signum Classics.
    • 101.
  • Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

    Nutcracker - A Dramatic Symphony: Act 1 (excerpts)

    Orchestra: Baltic Sea Philharmonic. Conductor: Kristjan Järvi.
    • Tchaikovsky: Nutcracker - A Dramatic Symphony.
    • Sony.
    • 1.
  • Florence Price

    The Oak

    Orchestra: Württembergische Philharmonie Reutlingen. Conductor: John Jeter.
    • Price: Songs of the Oak.
    • Naxos.
    • 103.
  • Reinhard Keiser

    Ich muss schweigend von dir gehen (from Fredegunda)

    Singer: Tomáš Král. Orchestra: Wroclaw Baroque Orchestra. Conductor: Jaroslaw Thiel.
    • Kings in the North.
    • 貹é.
    • 5.
  • Franz Schubert

    Symphonie Inachevee no 8 en Si mineur: I. Allegro moderato

    Orchestra: Le Concert des Nations. Conductor: Jordi Savall.
    • Schubert: Transfiguration.
    • Alia Vox.
    • 1.

Record Review

The link below each recording takes you directly to the label’s website. Please be aware that non-UK labels may be cheaper via a record store or an online retailer.

9.00am

Nebra: Donde Hay Violencia, No Hay Culpa

Alicia Amo (Lucrecia)

Natalie Perez (Colatino)

Giulia Semenzato (Tulia)

Judit Subirana (Laureta)

Los Elementos

Alberto Miguelez Rouco

Glossa GCD923535

Michael Haydn: Emperor Constantine I's Campaign and Victory

Emőke Baráth (soprano)

Klara Kolonits (soprano)

Theodora Raftis (soprano)

Purcell Choir

Orfeo Orchestra

György Vashegyi

Accent ACC26504 (2 CDs)

À Moune – music by Ravel

Pierre Goy (piano & luthéal piano)

Lina Tur Bonet (violin)

Marco Testori (cello)

Challenge Classics CC72916 (Hybrid SACD)

Sibelius: The Tempest

The Royal Danish Opera Chorus

The Royal Danish Opera Orchestra

Okko Kamu

Naxos 8574419

Purcell: Dido & Aeneas, Circe

Camille Allérat (Dido)

Renato Dolcini (Aeneas)

Julie Roset (Belinda/Second Witch)

Anthea Pichanick (Sorceress)

Ana Veieira Leite (Second Woman/First Witch)

Les Argonautes

Jonas Descotte

Aparté AP296

09.30am – Steven Isserlis: New Releases

Schumann: The Three Violin Sonatas

Andrew Wan (violin)

Charles Richard-Hamelin (piano)

Analekta AN29003

Fauré: 13 Barcarolles & Ballade Op. 19

Jean-Philippe Collard (piano)

La Dolce Vita LDV91

Emánuel Moór: Music For Viola

Dirk Hegemann (viola)

Dávid Báll (piano)

Rosenstein String Quartet

Anima Musicae Chamber Orchestra

Mátyás Antal

Toccata Classics TOCC0650

Cinema – music by Legrand, John Williams, Ennio Morricone, etc.

Alexandre Tharaud (piano)

Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia

Antonio Pappano

Warner Classics 5419718461 (2 CDs)

Steven Isserlis: On Repeat

Kabalevsky: Cello Concerto No. 2, Op. 77 - Prokofiev: Sinfonia Concertante, Op. 125

Daniil Shafran (cello)

Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra

USSR State Symphony Orchestra

Dmitry Kabalevsky

Gennady Rozhdestvensky

Russian Compact Disc RCD13025

10:10 am

Listener On Repeat

Bach, J S: Christmas Oratorio, BWV248

Anthony Rolfe Johnson (Evangelist)

Nancy Argenta (soprano)

Anne Sofie von Otter (mezzo-soprano)

Hans Peter Blochwitz (tenor)

Olaf Bär (bass)

Crispian Steele-Perkins (natural trumpet)

Monteverdi Choir

English Baroque Soloists

John Eliot Gardiner

DG Archiv 4791759 (2 CDs)

A Pembroke Christmas – music by Ness, Briggs, Coleridge-Taylor, etc.

Emma Johnson (clarinet)

Wallis Power (cello)

The Chapel Choir of Pembroke College, Cambridge

The Pembroke College Girls' Choir

Anna Lapwood

Signum SIGCD724

Tchaikovsky: Nutcracker - A Dramatic Symphony

Baltic Sea Philharmonic

Kristjan Järvi

Sony G010004887761J

10.30am – Building a Library: Lucy Parham on Rachmaninov’s 24 Preludes

Recommended recording:

Boris Giltburg (piano)

Naxos 8.574025

Other recommendation:

Vladimir Ashkenazy (piano)

Decca 4853176

Sviatoslav Richter (piano)

Olympia MKM51

11:15am

Florence Beatrice Price: Songs of the Oak

Württembergische Philharmonie Reutlingen

John Jeter

Naxos 8.559920

https://www.naxos.com/CatalogueDetail/?id=8.559920

Kings in the North – music by Keiser, Handel, Telemann, etc.

Tomáš Král (baritone)

Wroclaw Baroque Orchestra

Jarosław Thiel

Aparté AP278

11.25am – Record of the Week

Schubert: Transfiguration (Symphonies Nos. 8 & 9)

Le Concert des Nations

Jordi Savall

Alia Vox AVSA9950 (2 Hybrid SACDs)

Broadcast

  • Sat 31 Dec 2022 09:00

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