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Britten's Peter Grimes with Kate Kennedy and Andrew McGregor

Kate Kennedy chooses her favourite recording of Britten's Peter Grimes in Building a Library, and conductor Ben Gernon reviews a box of reissues from conductor Bernard Haitink

Andrew McGregor with the best new recordings of classical music.

9.30 am
The conductor, Ben Gernon reviews a box of reissues from conductor Bernard Haitink and shares his 'On Repeat' track – a recording which he is currently listening to again and again.

10.30 am
Building a Library: Kate Kennedy chooses her favourite recording of Britten's Peter Grimes

The opera Peter Grimes is set in a fictional small town that bears some resemblance to Britten's home of Aldeburgh, Suffolk, on England's east coast. It is a drama about outsiders and oppression. As Britten himself said, it was "a subject very close to my heart – the struggle of the individual against the masses. The more vicious the society, the more vicious the individual". The score is full of great orchestral descriptions of the Suffolk coast and highly dramatic confrontations.

11.20 am
Record of the Week: Andrew’s top pick.

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

2 hours, 47 minutes

Music Played

  • Gustav Holst

    Mercury, the winged messenger (The Planets, Op.32)

    Orchestra: Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Daniel Harding.
    • The Planets.
    • BR-Klassik.
    • 103.
  • Joseph Haydn

    The Seven last words of our Saviour on the Cross (Introduction)

    Ensemble: London Haydn Quartet.
    • String Quartets Opp 42, 77 & Seven Last Words.
    • HYPERION.
    • 1.
  • Benjamin Britten

    The Nightingale and the Rose (The Poet's Echo Op.76)

    Performer: Abi Hyde-Smith. Performer: Jocelyn Freeman. Music Arranger: Abi Hyde-Smith. Music Arranger: Jocelyn Freeman. Singer: Gemma Summerfield.
    • The Poet's Echo.
    • Rubicon.
    • 15.
  • Johannes Brahms

    Symphony no.3 in F major Op.90 (3rd mvt)

    Orchestra: Lucerne Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Michael Sanderling.
    • Warner Classics.
  • Cecilia McDowall

    O Lord, make thy servant Elizabeth our Queen to rejoice in Thy strength'

    Performer: Sioned Williams. Choir: The Sixteen. Conductor: Harry Christophers.
    • Coronation - Music for Royal Occasions.
    • CORO.
    • 9.
  • Richard Wagner

    Lohengrin WWV 75 - Prelude to Act III

    Orchestra: Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. Conductor: Bernard Haitink.
    • Bernard Haitink - Concertgebouw Edition - Complete Studio Recordings.
    • Decca.
    • 5.
  • Johannes Brahms

    Symphony No.2 in D Op.73 Mvt I. Allegro non troppo

    Orchestra: Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. Conductor: Bernard Haitink.
    • Bernard Haitink - Concertgebouw Edition - Complete Studio Recordings.
    • Decca.
    • 1.
  • Gustav Mahler

    Symphony No.2 in C minor "Resurrection" - Mvt Vb. Maestoso. Sehr zurückhaltend - Wieder zurückhaltend

    Orchestra: Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. Conductor: Bernard Haitink.
    • Bernard Haitink - Concertgebouw Edition - Complete Studio Recordings.
    • Decca.
  • Claude Debussy

    La Mer L.111 Mvt. III Dialogue du vent et de la mer

    Orchestra: Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. Conductor: Bernard Haitink.
    • Bernard Haitink - Concertgebouw Edition - Complete Studio Recordings.
    • Decca.
    • 8.
  • Astor Piazzolla

    Fuga y misterio

    Music Arranger: José Carli.
    • Essential Tangos.
    • Warner Classics.
    • 201.
  • Richard Strauss

    Also sprach Zarathustra Op.30 (Opening)

    Orchestra: London Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: François‐Xavier Roth.
    • Strauss: Also sprach Zarathustra - Debussy: Jeux.
    • LSO Live.
    • 1-4.
  • Johann Sebastian Bach

    A Musical Offering BWV.1079 (extract)

    Ensemble: Ensemble Diderot. Conductor: Johannes Pramsohler.
    • A Musical Offering.
    • Audax Records.
    • 4-9.
  • Ludwig van Beethoven

    Piano Concerto no.2 in B flat major Op.19 (3rd mvt)

    Performer: Martha Argerich. Orchestra: Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor: Lahav Shani.
    • Avanti Classic.
  • William Byrd

    Songs in six parts: V. If in thine Heart

    Choir: Alamire. Ensemble: Fretwork. Director: David Skinner.
    • Songs of sundrie natures.
    • Inventa.
    • 15.
  • Gustav Mahler

    Symphony no.2 in C minor 'Resurrection' (3rd & 4th mvts)

    Singer: Christiane Karg. Singer: Elisabeth Kulman. Choir: Prague Philharmonic Choir. Orchestra: Czech Philharmonic. Conductor: Semyon Bychkov.
    • PENTATONE.

Record Review

9.00am


Gustav Holst: The Planets

Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra

Daniel Harding

BR Klassik 900208

Haydn: String Quartets Opp 42, 77 & Seven Last Words

The London Haydn Quartet

Hyperion CDA68410 (2CDs)

The Poet’s Echo – music by Britten, Prokofiev, Shostakovich

Gemma Summerfield (soprano)

Gareth Brynmor John (baritone)

Abi Hyde-Smith (cello)

Jocelyn Freeman (piano)

Rubicon RCD1115

Brahms: The Four Symphonies, Piano Quartet no.1

Lucerne Symphony Orchestra

Michael Sanderling (conductor)

Warner Classics 5419748237 (5CDs)

Coronation - Music for Royal Occasions. Music by Tallis, Byrd, Tippett, Britten, McDowall etc

David Clegg (counter-tenor)

Angus Davidson (counter-tenor)

Jonathan Arnold (bass baritone)

Ben Davies (bass)

Kirsty Hopkins (soprano)

Jeremy Budd (tenor)

George Pooley (tenor)

The Sixteen

The Sixteen Orchestra

Harry Christophers (conductor)

Coro COR16196

09.30am – Ben Gernon: Reissues

andOn Repeat


Concertgebouworkest: Bernard Haitink Complete Studio Recordings

Concertgebouw Orchestra

Bernard Haitink (conductor)

Decca 4852737(113CDs & 4DVDs)

On Repeat

50 x 12: Half a Century of Music. Styne, Goldsmith, Youmans, Shearing, Williams, Piazzolla etc

The 12 Cellists of the Berlin Philharmonic

Warner Classics 5419739290 (Digital download)



Listener On Repeat


Elgar: Symphony No. 2, The Wand of Youth Suite No. 1

London Philharmonic Orchestra

Sir Adrian Boult (conductor)

Regis RRCD005



10.10am – New Releases


Music by R Strauss and Debussy

London Symphony Orchestra

François-Xavier Roth (conductor)

LSO Live LSO0833 (SACD Hybrid)

Bach: enigma. The canons of the Musical Offering

Ensemble Diderot

Johannes Pramsohler (violin & direction)

Audax ADX13871 (digital download only)



10.30am – Building a Library: Kate Kennedy on Benjamin Britten’s Peter Grimes


Recommended recording:

Britten: Peter Grimes

Philip Langridge (Peter Grimes)

Ned Harrison (Boy [John])

Janice Watson (Ellen Orford)

Alan Opie (Captain Balstrode)

Ameral Gunson (Auntie)

Yvonne Barclay (Niece 1)

Pamela Helen Stephen (Niece 2)

John Graham Hall (Bob Boles)

John Connell (Swallow)

Anne Collins (Mrs (Nabob) Sedley)

John Fryatt (Rev. Horace Adams)

Roderick Williams (Ned Keene)

Matthew Best (Hobson)

Opera London

London Symphony Chorus

City of London Sinfonia

Richard Hickox (conductor)

Chandos CHAN 9447/8 (2CDs)

Other recommendations:

Britten: Peter Grimes

Anthony Dean Griffey (Peter Grimes)

Vivian Tierney (Ellen Orford)

Stephen Page (Captain Balstrode)

Susan Gorton (Auntie)

Camilla Tilling (Niece 1)

Linda Tuvas (Niece 2)

John Graham Hall (Bob Boles)

Stafford Dean (Swallow)

Hilary Summers (Mrs Sedley)

Wolfgang Ablinger-Sperrhacke (Rev. Horace Adams)

Christopher Maltman (Ned Keene)

Michael Druiett (Hobson)

Michael Haughey (Dr Crabbe)

The Glyndebourne Chorus

London Philharmonic Orchestra

Mark Wigglesworth (conductor)

Glyndebourne GFOCD00800 (3CDs)

Britten: Peter Grimes

Peter Pears (Peter Grimes)

Claire Watson (Ellen Orford)

James Pease (Captain Balstrode)

David Kelly (Hobson)

Owen Brannigan (Swallow)

Lauris Elms (Mrs Sedley)

Jean Watson (Auntie)

Marion Studholme (Niece 1)

Iris Kells (Niece 2)

Raymond Nilsson (Bob Boles)

John Lanigan (The Rector)

Geraint Evans (Ned Keene)

Marcus Norman (John)

Royal Opera House Chorus

Royal Opera House Orchestra

Benjamin Britten (conductor)

Decca 414 5772 (3CDs)



11:15 am

Martha Argerich plays Beethoven & Ravel

Martha Argerich (piano)

Israel Philharmonic Orchestra

Lahav Shani (conductor)

Avanti Classic AVA10662

Byrd 1589: Songs of sundrie natures

Rachel Haworth (soprano)

Martha McLorinan (mezzo soprano)

Clare Wilkinson (mezzo soprano)

Nicholas Todd (tenor)

Simon Wall (tenor)

Timothy Scott Whiteley (baritone)

Robert Macdonald (bass)

Jacob Heringman (lute)

Lynda Sayce (lute)

Alamire

Fretwork

David Skinner (conductor)

Inventa Records INV1011 (2CDs)

11.25am – Record of the Week

Mahler: Symphony no.2

Christiane Karg (soprano)

Elisabeth Kulman (mezzo soprano)

Prague Philharmonic Choir

Czech Philharmonic

Semyon Bychkov

Pentatone PTC 518 6992


Broadcast

  • Sat 8 Apr 2023 09:00

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