Programme information

Saturday 9th January to Friday 15th January 2021

WEEK 2

THE CLASSIC FM CONCERT with JOHN SUCHET: GREAT COMPOSERS MONTH – JOSEPH HAYDN

Tuesday 12th January, 8pm to 10pm

John celebrates one of most influential composers of the classical era: Joseph Haydn. A mentor to both Mozart and Beethoven, he was much celebrated across Europe during his lifetime.

We hear the final of Haydn’s 104 symphonies, an achievement which earned him the nickname ‘Father of the Symphony’, as performed by the Swiss-Italian Orchestra. Before then, Wynton Marsalis plays Haydn’s Trumpet Concerto, written for the composer’s friend Anton Weldinger to celebrate his newly developed keyed trumpet.

There’s also a rousing chorus from The Creation, and the great Steven Isserlis plays Haydn’s Cello Concerto No.2.

Classic FM is available across the UK on 100-102 FM, DAB digital radio and TV, on Global Player on your smart speaker (“play Classic FM”), iOS or Android device and at ClassicFM.com.

1 WEEK 2

SATURDAY 9TH JANUARY

4pm to 7pm: MOIRA STUART’S HALL OF FAME CONCERT

Moira presents a programme shining the spotlight on the Best of British in the Classic FM Hall of Fame.

There’s an Oscar-winning score by John Barry, a wild and windy walk through the Scottish Highlands in Hamish MacCunn’s The Land of the Mountain and the Flood, and a peaceful Butterworth favourite. Elsewhere, the Choir of King’s College, Cambridge sings Parry and Lang Lang is the soloist in Nigel Hess’ Piano Concerto, a work commissioned by HRH The Prince of Wales.

John Barry Out of Africa – Main Title John Williams conducts the London Symphony Orchestra

John Rutter A Gaelic Blessing John Rutter conducts the City of London Sinfonia and Cambridge Singers

Symphony No.1 in A-flat major Opus 55 Vasily Petrenko conducts the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra

Hamish MacCunn The Land of the Mountain and the Flood Alexander Gibson conducts the Royal Scottish National Orchestra

George Butterworth The Banks of Green Willow Mark Elder conducts the Halle Orchestra

Gerald Finzi 5 Bagatelles Clarinet: Robert Plane Howard Griffiths conducts the Royal Northern Sinfonia

William Walton Crown Imperial Louis Fremaux conducts the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra

Ralph Vaughan Williams 5 Variants of ‘Dives & Lazarus’ Richard Hickox conducts the London Symphony Orchestra

Ronald Binge The Watermill Ronald Corp conducts the New London Orchestra

Continued…

2 SATURDAY 9TH JANUARY

4pm to 7pm: MOIRA STUART’S HALL OF FAME CONCERT

Continued…

Nigel Hess Piano Concerto Piano: Lang Lang Christopher Warren-Green conducts the London Chamber Orchestra

Karl Jenkins Palladio London Philharmonic Strings

Hubert Parry I Was Glad Stephen Cleobury conducts the Choir of King’s College, Cambridge

7pm to 9pm: SATURDAY NIGHT AT THE MOVIES with ANDREW COLLINS

Andrew Collins celebrates films of epic proportion. Join him as he explored the soundtracks of the best blockbusters, record-breakers, and those films where no expense was spared. The dynamic score to Sam Mendes' war drama 1917 by Thomas Newman features, alongside John Williams' scores to Lincoln and Jurassic Park. There’s also a journey to Middle Earth with the music from The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and James Horner's soundtrack to Titanic.

9pm to 10pm: DAVID MELLOR

Join David as he presents a specially curated selection of music perfect for a Sunday evening, including personal favourites, exciting new releases and rediscovered gems from his musical archive.

3 SUNDAY 10TH JANUARY

4pm to 7pm: JOHN HUMPHRYS

John marks the birthday of the world-renowned cellist Mischa Maisky with a fine performance of The Swan from Saint Saen’s Carnival of the Animals.

He also has music to celebrate the anniversary of two premiere performances; firstly, of the Symphonie Fantastique by Berlioz, and then John plays a recording from the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet - 80 years after it made its debut in Leningrad.

7pm to 9pm: SMOOTH CLASSICS AT SEVEN with CHARLOTTE HAWKINS

Charlotte's Young Classical Star this week is the vocalist Cormac Thompson, who recently recorded his debut album after an unexpected rise to fame at the end of 2020. The 11-year-old from Lancashire first recorded a song to send to his grandparents in Northern Ireland during lockdown, but his talent quickly garnered wider recognition, including from the record label Decca.

Tonight, Charlotte features a track from his debut, Hear My Voice.

9pm to 10pm: SIR TREVOR McDONALD’S HEADLINERS (2 /8)

Sir Trevor McDonald is back on Classic FM, with more star musicians and composers who made, or still make, headlines.

This week, Sir Trevor reveals which composer successfully sabotaged the first performance of Rossini’s opera The Barber of Seville, before we hear the late Leon Fleischer playing Chopin’s Mazurka in C-sharp minor. Fleischer lost the use of his right hand in 1964, but it didn’t slow down his career; this piece is from a 2004 recording, the first time he had recorded with both hands in 40 years. Finally, Sir Trevor plays a piece by Beethoven that features on the record that left earth on board the Voyager spacecraft. The Budapest String Quartet’s performance of Beethoven’s String Quartet No.13 is currently more than 14 billion miles from Earth.

4 MONDAY 11TH JANUARY

8pm to 10pm: THE CLASSIC FM CONCERT with JOHN SUCHET: GREAT COMPOSERS MONTH – EDWARD ELGAR

John begins the second week of Great Composers Month by showcasing a jewel in the crown of British music: Edward Elgar.

To begin, Elgar’s Cockaigne Overture; a joyful romp through London town, before John plays one of the most celebrated recordings of the 20th century, as Jacqueline du Pré perform’s Elgar’s Cello Concerto, joined by the London Symphony Orchestra and John Barbirolli.

The ‘Enigma’ variations also feature, and we hear a new recording of Chanson de Matin by violinist Charlie Siem and pianist Itamar Golan, released in November 2020.

Cockaigne Overture opus 40 Charles Mackerras conducts the London Symphony Orchestra

Cello Concerto in E minor Opus 85 Cello: Jacqueline du Pré John Barbirolli conducts the London Symphony Orchestra

Variations on an Original Theme Opus 36 (‘Enigma’) Vasily Petrenko conducts the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra

Ave Maria Opus 2 No.2 Organ: Huw Williams Harry Christophers conducts The Sixteen

Chanson de Matin Opus 15 No.2 Violin: Charlie Siem Piano: Itamar Golan

Serenade in E minor for Strings Opus 20 Pinchas Zuckerman directs the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra from the violin

Coronation March Paul McCreesh conducts the Gabriel Consort

5 TUESDAY 12TH JANUARY

8pm to 10pm: THE CLASSIC FM CONCERT with JOHN SUCHET: GREAT COMPOSERS MONTH – JOSEPH HAYDN

John celebrates one of most influential composers of the classical era: Joseph Haydn. A mentor to both Mozart and Beethoven, he was much celebrated across Europe during his lifetime.

We hear the final of Haydn’s 104 symphonies, an achievement which earned him the nickname ‘Father of the Symphony’, as performed by the Swiss-Italian Orchestra. Before then, Wynton Marsalis plays Haydn’s Trumpet Concerto, written for the composer’s friend Anton Weldinger to celebrate his newly developed keyed trumpet.

There’s also a rousing chorus from The Creation, and the great Steven Isserlis plays Haydn’s Cello Concerto No.2.

Trumpet Concerto in E-flat major Hob.VIIe:1 Trumpet: Wynton Marsalis Raymond Leppard conducts the National Philharmonic Orchestra

Symphony No.104 in D major Howard Shelley conducts the Swiss-Italian Orchestra

‘Die Himmel erzahlen die Ehre Gottes’ (‘The heavens are telling the glory of God’ from The Creation) Harry Christophers conducts the Handel and Haydn Society

Cello Concerto No.2 in D major Steven Isserlis directs the German Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra from the cello

Piano Sonata in E major Hob. XVI:31 Piano: Jean-Efflam Bavouzet

String Quartet in F major Opus 50 NO.5 London Haydn Quartet

6 WEDNESDAY 13TH JANUARY

8pm to 10pm: THE CLASSIC FM CONCERT with JOHN SUCHET: GREAT COMPOSERS MONTH – EDWARD GRIEG

John dedicates his concert to Norway’s greatest musical hero: Edvard Grieg, a man devoted to his homeland, who spent much of his life studying and re-working folk music.

To begin, there’s some world-famous opening chords, as Stephen Hough plays Grieg’s Piano Concerto, which the composer wrote at the age of just 25 and revised seven times before it became the version we know today, followed by his incidental music to Ibsen’s play Peer Gynt.

After, there’s a joyful piece Grieg wrote for his own silver wedding anniversary, originally titled ‘The well-wishers are coming’, and a peaceful musical landscape, depicting the Norwegian countryside.

Piano Concerto in A minor Opus 16 Piano: Stephen Hough Andrew Litton conducts the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra

Peer Gynt Suite No.1 Leonard Bernstein conducts the New York Philharmonic Orchestra

Ave Maris Stella Paul McCreesh conducts the Gabrieli Consort

Hoberg Suite Opus 40 Seiji Ozawa conducts the Mito Chamber Orchestra

In Autumn Opus 11 Sakari Oramo conducts the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra

Wedding Day at Troldhaugen Opus 65 No.6 Piano: Alice Sara Ott

Norwegian Dances Opus 35 Neeme Järvi conducts the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra

7 THURSDAY 14TH JANUARY

8pm to 10pm: THE CLASSIC FM CONCERT with JOHN SUCHET: GREAT COMPOSERS MONTH – GEORGES BIZET

Bizet is the focus of tonight’s concert in Great Composers Month, where John celebrates the most famous works of the classical greats, alongside their lesser-known gems.

To begin, the first of Bizet’s Arlésienne Suites, which opens with a traditional French melody ‘March of the Kings’, before John delves into the archive for a 1951 recording of the Pearl Fishers Duet from Jussi Bjorling and Robert Merril.

John also features Bizet’s Symphony in C, which the composer wrote as a 17 year old student for an assignment at the Paris Conservatoire, but which was never performed in his lifetime.

L’Arlésienne Suite No.1 Claudio Abbado conducts the London Symphony Orchestra

The Pearl Fishers – Duet Tenors: Jussi Bjorling and Robert Merril Renato Cellini conducts the RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra

Carmen Suite No.2 Pablo Gonzalez conducts the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra

Agnus Dei Soprano: Jessye Norman Organ: Jean-Louis Gill Lawrence Foster conducts the Orchestra of the Lyon Opera Orchestra

Chants du Rhin Piano: Jean-Marc Luisada

Symphony in C major Paavo Järvi conducts the Orchestra de Paris

8 FRIDAY 15TH JANUARY

8pm to 10pm: THE CLASSIC FM CONCERT with JOHN SUCHET: GREAT COMPOSERS MONTH – FELIX MENDELSSOHN

Great Composers Month continues with an evening dedicated to Felix Mendelssohn.

John explains how Mendelssohn drew influence from his travels, beginning with ‘Fingal’s Cave’, inspired by the composer’s trip around the Scottish Isles, before the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra play his ‘Italian’ symphony.

Elsewhere, we hear the full range of Mendelssohn’s musical talent, as Concerto Cologne perform his String Symphony No.1, written when the composer was only 12 years old, and Kathryn Stott and Yo-Yo Ma play Mendelssohn’s Song Without Words in D major, taken from their brand-new album, Songs of Comfort and Hope.

Hebrides Overture Opus 26 (Fingal’s Cave) John Eliot Gardiner conducts the London Symphony Orchestra

Violin Concerto in E minor Opus 64 Violin: Maxim Vengerov Kurt Masur conducts the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra

Hear My Prayer Opus 39 No.1 Treble: Thomas Herford Edward Higginbottom directs the Choir of New College, Oxford from the organ

Symphony No.4 in A major Opus 90 (‘Italian’) Edward Gardner conducts the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra

Song Without Words in D major Opus 109 Cello: Yo-Yo Ma Piano: Kathryn Stott

String Symphony No.1 in C major Concerto Cologne

Capriccio Brillant in C minor Opus 22 Howard Shelley directs the London Mozart Players from the piano

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