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The perfect classical half hour

Take time out with a 30-minute soundscape of classical favourites, including music by Brahms, Chaminade and Mahler.

An engaging mix of classical music for half an hour, featuring George Gershwin’s iconic summertime lullaby from Porgy and Bess, Cecile Chaminade’s setting of Ronsard’s poetic evocation of youthful pleasures and the passage of time, and the haunting purgatorio vignette from Mahler’s tenth symphony, penned during a period of personal crisis for the composer.

26 days left to listen

30 minutes

Last on

Monday 19:00
BBC Radio 3

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Music Played

  • Johannes Brahms

    Serenade No 2 in A major, Op 16

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

  • Domenico Scarlatti

    Sonata in C major, Kk.72

    Performer: Alexandre Tharaud.
    • D. Scarlatti: Sonatas: Alexandre Tharaud.
    • Virgin Classics.
    • 2.

  • George Gershwin

    Porgy and Bess - a symphony Picture: Bess, You is My Woman Now

    Orchestra: Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Barbara Hannigan.
    • Alpha.

  • Cécile Chaminade

    Mignonne

    Performer: Bengt Forsberg. Lyricist: Pierre de Ronsard. Singer: Anne Sofie von Otter.
    • Chaminade: Songs; Chamber Music.
    • Deutsche Grammophon (DG).
    • 4.

  • Robert de Visée

    La muzette. Rondeau

    Performer: Rolf Lislevand.
    • ECM New Series.

  • Gustav Mahler

    Symphony No. 10 in F-Sharp Major "Unfinished" (Completed by D. Cooke): III. Purgatorio. Allegretto moderato

    Conductor: Osmo Vänskä. Orchestra: Minnesota Orchestra.
    • Mahler: Symphony No. 10 in F-Sharp Major "Unfinished" (Completed by D. Cooke).
    • BIS.
    • 103.

  • William Henry Harris

    Bring us, O Lord God

    Choir: Gabrieli Consort & Players. Conductor: Paul McCreesh.
    • The Road to Paradise.
    • DG.
    • 11.

Broadcast

  • Monday 19:00
    BBC Radio 3

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