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Andrew McGregor with William Mival and Anna Lapwood

The best new classical and choral releases and, in Building a Library, William Mival compares recordings of Mahler's Symphony No 3 and picks a favourite.

9.30
Building a Library: William Mival compares recordings of Mahler's 3rd Symphony - and picks a favourite.

Mahler's monumental 3rd Symphony, completed in 1896, remains to this day the longest symphony in the standard repertory, and one of the most powerful, taking around 90 minutes to perform all six movements. Composed largely in Mahler's hut on the edge of the Attersee in Austria, his 3rd Symphony is a musical embodiment of nature and the 6 movements together depict what Mahler wrote to his friend Max Marschalk as 'A Summer's Midday Dream. There are traces of subtitles to each movement, although they were dropped before publication, and the whole symphony opens as 'Pan Awakes' and 'Summer Marches In'. The first movement takes 30 minutes alone and forms Part 1 of the symphony, while the remaining five movements form Part 2. The fourth movement sets words from Nietzsche's 'Thus Spoke Zarathustra', to be sung by mezzo-soprano, and the fifth movement sets words from Das Knaben Wunderhorn.

10.50
Conductor and organist, Anna Lapwood, joins Andrew to discuss new and recent releases of choral music.

11.25
Andrew chooses an outstanding new release as his Recording of the Week.

2 hours, 47 minutes

Music Played

  • Ludwig van Beethoven

    Piano Sonata No. 7 in D Op. 10 no. 3 i. Presto

    Performer: Jonathan Biss.
    • Orchid Classics.
  • George Frideric Handel

    Otton qual portentoso fulmine (Agrippina)

    Singer: Jakub J贸zef Orli艅ski. Ensemble: Il Pomo d鈥橭ro. Conductor: Maxim Emelyanychev.
    • Erato.
  • George Frideric Handel

    Voi ch'udite il mio lamento (Agrippina)

    Singer: Jakub J贸zef Orli艅ski. Ensemble: Il Pomo d鈥橭ro. Conductor: Maxim Emelyanychev.
    • Erato.
  • Johannes Brahms

    Piano Quintet in F minor Op. 34 iii. Scherzo: Allegro

    Performer: Kirill Gerstein. Ensemble: Hagen Quartett.
    • Myrios Classics.
  • Pau Casals

    Song of the Birds

    Performer: Daniel M眉ller鈥怱chott.
    • Orfeo.
  • Johann Sebastian Bach

    Overture No. 4 in D BWV1069 i. Ouverture

    Ensemble: Concerto Italiano. Director: Rinaldo Alessandrini.
    • Naive.
  • Avet Terterian

    Symphony No. 3 (3rd mvt.)

    Performer: Tigran Aleksanyan. Performer: Vahe Hovanesian. Orchestra: Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Kirill Karabits.
    • Chandos.
  • Sephardic folk song

    Durme, Durme

    Music Arranger: Christian Meister. Ensemble: Singer Pur.
    • Oehms Classics.
  • Juris Karlsons

    Ora Pro Nobis

    Choir: Latvian Radio Choir. Orchestra: Sinfonietta R墨ga. Conductor: Sigvards K募ava.
    • Ondine.
  • Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina

    Lectio III - Jerusalem, Jerusalem

    Choir: Cinquecento.
    • Hyperion.
  • Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina

    Victimae paschali laudes

    Choir: The Sixteen. Conductor: Harry Christophers.
    • Coro.
  • Kenneth Leighton

    Magnificat from the Second Service

    Performer: Glen Dempsey. Choir: Choir of St John鈥檚 College, Cambridge. Director: Andrew Nethsingha.
    • Signum Classics.
  • Clara Schumann

    Konzertsatz in F Minor (extract)

    Performer: Lucy Parham. Orchestra: 大象传媒 Concert Orchestra. Conductor: Barry Wordsworth.
    • Deux-Elles.
  • Lucy Parham

    In our early years...

    Performer: Lucy Parham. Narrator: Harriet Walter. Orchestra: 大象传媒 Concert Orchestra. Conductor: Barry Wordsworth.
    • Deux-Elles.
  • Clara Schumann

    3 Romanzen, Op. 11: I. Romance in E flat minor

    Performer: Lucy Parham. Orchestra: 大象传媒 Concert Orchestra. Conductor: Barry Wordsworth.
    • Deux-Elles.
  • Lucy Parham

    In order to bring...

    Narrator: Harriet Walter.
    • Deux-Elles.
  • Robert Schumann

    Album f眉r die Jugend, Op. 68: XVI. Erster Verlust

    Performer: Lucy Parham. Orchestra: 大象传媒 Concert Orchestra. Conductor: Barry Wordsworth.
    • Deux-Elles.
  • Lucy Parham

    A few years later...

    Narrator: Harriet Walter.
    • Deux-Elles.
  • Johannes Brahms

    6 Klavierst眉cke: I. Intermezzo in A

    Performer: Lucy Parham. Orchestra: 大象传媒 Concert Orchestra. Conductor: Barry Wordsworth.
    • Deux-Elles.
  • Lucy Parham

    But as our life...

    Narrator: Harriet Walter.
    • Deux-Elles.
  • Robert Schumann

    Faschingsschwank aus Wien, Op. 26: IV. Intermezzo in E flat minor

    Performer: Lucy Parham. Orchestra: 大象传媒 Concert Orchestra. Conductor: Barry Wordsworth.
    • Deux-Elles.

Record Review

9.00am

Royal Fireworks: music by Bach, Handel, Purcell and Telemann

Alison Balsom (trumpet)

Balsom Ensemble

Warner Classics 9029537006

Beethoven: Piano Sonatas, Vol. 9

Op.10 No.3, Op.31 No.3, Op.111

Jonathan Biss (piano)

Orchid Classics ORC100109

Facce d'Amore: arias by Cavalli, Boretti, Bononcini, Handel etc.

Jakub J贸zef Orli艅ski (countertenor)

Il Pomo d鈥橭ro

Maxim Emelyanychev (conductor)

Erato 9029542338

Brahms: String Quartet Op. 67 and Piano Quintet Op. 34

Kirill Gerstein (piano)

Hagen Quartett

Myrios MYR021

#CelloUnlimited: music for solo cello by Kod谩ly, Hindemith, Prokofiev, Casals, Henze and Crumb

Daniel M眉ller-Schott (cello)

Orfeo C984191



9.30am 鈥 Building a Library 鈥 William Mival on Mahler鈥檚 Symphony No. 3

Composer: Gustav Mahler

Reviewer: William Mival

Recommended Recording:

Jessye Norman (soprano)

Wiener Staatsoper

Wiener S盲ngerknaben

Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra

Claudio Abbado (conductor)

Deutsche Grammophon 410 7152 (2CDs) or 447 0232 (12CDs)

Other Recommended Recordings:

Christa Ludwig (mezzo-soprano)

New York Choral Artists

Brooklyn Boys Chorus

New York Philharmonic

Leonard Bernstein (conductor)

Deutsche Grammophon E4273282 (2CDs)

Martha Lipton (mezzo-soprano)

Women's Chorus of The Schola Cantorum

Boys' Choir of The Church of The Transfiguration

Leonard Bernstein (conductor)

New York Philharmonic

SONY听 88697943332 (download only)

10.20am 鈥 New Releases

Ouvertures for Orchestra: music by Johann Sebastian Bach, Johann Bernhard Bach and Johann Ludwig Bach

Concerto Italiano

Rinaldo Alessandrini (conductor)

Na茂ve OP30578 (2CDs)

In Nomine II

Fretwork

Signum SIGCD576

Avet Rubeni Terterian: Symphony Nos. 3 and 4

Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra

Kirill Karabits (conductor)

Chandos CHSA5241 (Hybrid SACD)

10.45am 鈥 New Releases 鈥 Anna Lapwood on new choral discs

Horizons: choral music by Palestrina, Rossi, Pfingst, Fairouz etc.

Singer Pur

Oehms OC1714

Juris Karlsons: Oremus - Sacred Choral Works

The Latvian Radio Choir

Sigvards K募ava (conductor)

Ondine ODE13422

Palestrina: Lamentations Book 2

Cinquecento

Hyperion CDA68284

Palestrina Vol. 8: Missa fratres ego enim accepi etc.

The Sixteen

Harry Christophers (conductor)

Coro COR16175



11.15am 鈥 Disc of the Week

I, Clara - Clara Schumann - A Life in Music

Lucy Parham (piano)

Harriet Walter (narrator)

大象传媒 Concert Orchestra

Barry Wordsworth (conductor)

Deux-Elles DXL1179 (2CDs)

Broadcast

  • Sat 9 Nov 2019 09:00

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