Richard Strauss's Second Horn Concerto in Building a Library with Sarah Willis and Andrew McGregor
Sarah Willis chooses her favourite recording of Richard Strauss's Second Horn Concerto, and Jeremy Sams emerges from this year's avalanche of Christmas albums mostly unscathed.
with Andrew McGregor
9.30 Building a Library
Sarah Willis chooses her favourite recording of Richard Strauss's Second Horn Concerto.
For Romantic Austro-German composers, the horn was an instrument freighted with associations of forest, folklore and heroism. But no composer knew the horn and its possibilities like Richard Strauss: throughout a career beginning in the late 19th century and spanning eight decades, Strauss's orchestral and operatic scores are littered with hundreds of wonderful horn moments, exploiting every aspect of the instrument's range and character. In 1942, 60 years after he had written his first horn concerto (for his father Franz, Europe's foremost horn virtuoso), Strauss dedicated his second 'to the memory my father'. It's a nostalgic work and, like the first concerto, fiendishly difficult to play. But it sums up Strauss's long and affectionate relationship with the horn: the heroic and rhapsodic first movement, followed by a radiant, long-breathed Andante which is capped by a rollicking finale.
10.45
So you don't have to, Jeremy Sams has been listening to this year's crop of Christmas albums and recommends some stocking fillers for friends and family.
11.20
Record of the Week
Andrew recommends an outstanding new release.
Last on
Music Played
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Luigi Boccherini
String Quintet No. 60 in C Major, G. 324 (4th & 5th mvts)
Music Arranger: Julian Azkoul. Ensemble: United Strings of Europe. Director: Julian Azkoul.- In Motion.
- BIS.
- 304.
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Giacomo Puccini
Recondita armonia (Tosca, SC 69)
Singer: Dmytro Popov. Orchestra: German Symphony Orchestra Berlin. Conductor: Mikhail Simonyan.- Hymns of Love.
- Orchid Classics.
- 101.
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William Walton
Piano Quartet in D Minor (2nd mvt)
Performer: Matthew Jones. Performer: Sarah-Jane Bradley. Performer: Tim Lowe. Performer: Annabel Thwaite.- Walton: Chamber Works.
- Naxos.
- 102.
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Caroline Shaw
and the swallow
Conductor: Paul Hillier. Choir: Ars Nova Copenhagen.- ...and....
- Naxos.
- 101.
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Johannes Brahms
Piano Concerto No. 1 in D minor, Op. 15 (3rd mvt)
Composer: Johannes Brahms. Performer: Joseph Moog. Performer: Joseph Moog. Orchestra: Deutsche Radio Philharmonie. Orchestra: Deutsche Radio Philharmonie. Conductor: Nicholas Milton. Conductor: Nicholas Milton.- Onyx Classics.
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Johannes Brahms
Piano Concerto No. 1 in D minor, Op. 15 (3rd mvt)
Composer: Johannes Brahms. Performer: Joseph Moog. Performer: Joseph Moog. Orchestra: Deutsche Radio Philharmonie. Orchestra: Deutsche Radio Philharmonie. Conductor: Nicholas Milton. Conductor: Nicholas Milton.- Onyx Classics.
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George Frideric Handel
Dear Adonis, Beauty's Treasure (aria from Venus and Adonis, HWV 85)
Singer: Dorothee Mields. Orchestra: Die Freitagsakademie.- Deutsche HM.
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Louise Farrenc
Piano Quintet No. 1 in A minor, Op. 30 (3rd mvt)
Ensemble: Ironwood.- ABC Classics.
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Steve Reich
Vermont Counterpoint
Performer: Anne Parisot. Performer: Delphine Roche.- Steve Reich: Eight Lines, City Life & Other Works.
- Naxos.
- 301.
-
David Shenton
Variations on "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" (After F. Chopin's Etudes)
Performer: Joanne Polk.- Variations on "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" (After F. Chopin's Etudes).
- Steinway and Sons.
- 101.
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Judith Bingham
Hark, the Glad Sound
Performer: Glen Dempsey. Choir: Choir of St John’s College, Cambridge. Conductor: Andrew Nethsingha.- Advent Live, Vol. 2.
- Signum Classics.
- 1201.
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Hannah Kendall
Nativity
Choir: The Choirs of St Catharine's College, Cambridge. Director: Edward Wickham.- Resonus Classics.
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Traditional Irish
The Wexford Carol
Music Arranger: Desmond Earley. Choir: UCD Choral Scholars. Orchestra: Irish Chamber Orchestra. Conductor: Desmond Earley.- Be All Merry.
- Signum Classics.
- 701.
-
Karim Al-Zand
The Mistletoe
Singer: Dietrich Henschel. Ensemble: Ensemble UnitedBerlin. Conductor: Vladimir Jurowski.- Farao.
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Gustav Holst
Terry Terlow
Composer: Trad.. Performer: Charlotte Evans. Performer: Alison Moncrieff-Kelly. Choir: Godwine Choir. Director: Alex Davan Wetton. Conductor: DeFex.- EM Records.
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Trad.
Maria durch ein Dornwald ging
Singer: Jonas Kaufmann. Choir: St. Florianer Sängerknaben. Orchestra: Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg. Conductor: Jochen Rieder.- Sony.
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Felix Bernard
Winter Wonderland
Singer: Jonas Kaufmann. Ensemble: Cologne Studio Big Band. Director: Wieland Reissmann.- Sony.
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Mel Tormé
The Christmas Song
Composer: Robert Wells. Performer: Daniel Hope. Orchestra: Zürcher Kammerorchester.- Deutsche Grammophon.
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Bohuslav Martinů
Violin Concerto No. 1, H. 226
Performer: Frank Peter Zimmermann. Orchestra: Bamberg Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Jakub Hrůša.- Martinů: Violin Concertos Nos. 1 & 2 - Bartók: Sonata for Solo Violin.
- BIS.
- 4-6.
Record Review
9.00am
Ìý
In Motion: Schubert, Hindson, Boccherini, Corrales, Farr
Amalia Hall (violin)
United Strings of Europe
Julian Azkou (director)
Franck Fontcouberte (conductor)
BIS BIS2529 (Hybrid SACD)
Ìý
Hymns of Love: Puccini, Gounod, Bizet, Tchaikovsky, Ponchielli etc.
Dmytro Popov (tenor)
Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin
Mikhail Simonyan (conductor)
Orchid Classics ORC100148
Ìý
William Walton: Piano Quartet, Violin Sonata & Toccata
Matthew Jones (violin)
Sarah-Jane Bradley (viola)
Tim Lowe (cello)
Annabel Thwaite (piano)
Naxos 8573892
Ìý
…a²Ô»å…
Arvo Pärt · Julia Wolfe · Caroline Shaw · Anon-Italy
Ars Nova Copenhagen
Paul Hillier (director)
Naxos 8574281
Ìý
Brahms: Piano Concerto No.1 & Four Pieces for Piano Op. 119
Joseph Moog (piano)
Deutsche Radio Philharmonie
Nicholas Milton (conductor)
Onyx ONYX4214
Ìý
9.30am – Building a Library – Sarah Willis on Richard Strauss’s Horn Concerto No. 2 in E flat major, AV132
Ìý
Composer: Richard Strauss
Reviewer: Sarah Willis
Recommended Recording:
Norbert Hauptmann (horn)
Berliner Philharmoniker
Herbert von Karajan
Deutsche Grammophon ÌýE4577252
Recommended Historical Recording(s):
Ìý
Dennis Brain (horn)
Philharmonia Orchestra
Wolfgang Sawallisch (conductor)
Warner Classics 2060102 (4 CDs)
Ìý
Ìý
10.15am – New Releases
Ìý
Handel's Tea Time
Dorothee Mields (soprano)
Die Freitagsakademie
Deutsche HM 19439792732
Ìý
Farrenc & Saint-Saens: Quintets For Piano and Strings
Ironwood
ABC Classics ABC4819887
Ìý
Reich: Eight Lines, City Life and other works
Steve Reich (sampler)
Anne Parisot (flute)
Delphine Roche (flute)
Andrea Nagy (clarinet)
Jörg Schweinbenz (piano)
Holst-Sinfonietta
Klaus Simon (conductor/piano)
Naxos 8559682
Ìý
Schubert: The Symphonies
Chamber Orchestra of Europe
Nikolaus Harnoncourt (conductor)
ica classics ICAC 5160 (4 CDs)
Ìý
10.45am – New Releases – Jeremy Sams on new Christmas releases
Ìý
Variations on 'Santa Claus Is Coming to Town' (After F. Chopin's Etudes)
Joanne Polk (piano)
Steinway & Sons Steinway30167 (download only)
Ìý
Advent Live, Vol. 2
Choir of St John's College, Cambridge
Andrew Nethsingha (conductor)
Signum SIGCD661
Ìý
Alpha & O: Music for Advent & Christmas
The Choirs of St Catharine's College, Cambridge
Edward Wickham (conductor)
Resonus Classics RES10268
Ìý
Be All Merry
The Choral Scholars of University College Dublin
Irish Chamber Orchestra
Desmond Earley (conductor)
Signum SIGCD643
Ìý
Xmas – Contemporary
Dietrich Henschel (baritone)
Simone Rubino (percussion)
ensemble unitedberlin
Vladimir Jurowski (conductor)
Farao B108106
Ìý
Alpha and Omega: Gustav Holst Christmas Music
Godwine Choir
John Wright (organ)
Alex Davan Wetton, Edward Hughes (conductors)
EM Records EMRCD062
Ìý
Jonas Kaufmann - It's Christmas!
Jonas Kaufmann (tenor)
Till Brönner (trumpet)
Florian Pedarnig (harp)
Bachchor Salzburg
St. Florianer Sängerknaben
Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg
Jochen Rieder (conductor)
Cologne Studio Big Band
Wieland Reissmann (conductor)
Sony 19439786762 (2 CDs)
Ìý
Christmas with Hope
Daniel Hope (violin, director)
Zürcher Kammerorchester
Deutsche Grammophon 00028948398973 (download only)
Ìý
11.15am – Record of the Week
Ìý
Martinů: Violin Concertos Nos. 1 & 2 - Bartók: Sonata for Solo Violin
Frank Peter Zimmermann (violin)
Bamberger Symphoniker
Jakub Hruša (conductor)
BIS BIS2457 (Hybrid SACD)
Ìý
Broadcast
- Sat 5 Dec 2020 09:00´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio 3
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