Programme information Saturday 10th October to Friday 16th October 2020 WEEK 42 COWAN’S CLASSICS WITH ROB COWAN Saturday 10th October, 7pm to 9pm Rob Cowan (above) celebrates Giuseppe Verdi’s birthday with one of the greatest voices of the last century, Carlo Bergonzi; together with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, he delivers a magnificent aria from La Forza del Destino. Rob pairs this with a recent release on Decca by the contemporary composer Max Richter, the single All Human Beings, from his latest album, Voices. Classic FM is available across the UK on 100-102 FM, DAB digital radio and TV, at ClassicFM.com, and on the Classic FM and Global Player apps. 1 WEEK 42 SATURDAY 10TH OCTOBER 3pm to 5pm: MOIRA STUART’S HALL OF FAME CONCERT Moira celebrates the birthday of Giuseppe Verdi, one of the greatest operatic composers, who was born on this day in 1813. We hear the stirring Grand March from Aida in a thrilling recording made by the much-missed Richard Hickox and the London Symphony Orchestra & Chorus. Elsewhere, there’s Beethoven’s mighty ‘Eroica’ symphony, played in full by the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, British favourites by Binge and Finzi, and Glazunov’s arrangement of Chopin’s piano works, for the ballet Les Sylphides. Giuseppe Verdi Grand March (From the opera Aida) Richard Hickox conducts the London Symphony Orchestra and Chorus Ronald Binge The Watermill Oboe: Ruth Scott Ronald Corp conducts the New London Orchestra Ludwig van Beethoven Symphony No.3 in E-flat major Opus 55 (‘Eroica’) Riccardo Chailly conducts the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra Gerald Finzi Eclogue Piano: Tom Poster Nicholas Collon conducts the Aurora Orchestra Frédéric Chopin Les Sylphides Richard Bonynge conducts the National Philharmonic Orchestra Arturo Marquez Danzon No.2 Gustavo Dudamel conducts the Simon Bolivar Orchestra of Venezuela 2 SATURDAY 10TH OCTOBER 5pm to 7pm: SATURDAY NIGHT AT THE MOVIES with ANDREW COLLINS Andrew highlights the scores that accompany the ‘not to be missed’ films being screened virtually as a part of the BFI London Film Festival. He also takes the opportunity to feature some hidden gems from the recent Classic FM Movie Music Hall of Fame, including John Barry’s Somewhere in Time, and John Williams’ score to Empire of the Sun. 7pm to 9pm: COWAN’S CLASSICS with ROB COWAN Rob celebrates Giuseppe Verdi’s birthday with one of the greatest voices of the last century, Carlo Bergonzi; together with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, he delivers a magnificent aria from La Forza del Destino. Rob pairs this with a recent release on Decca by the contemporary composer Max Richter, the single All Human Beings, from his latest album, Voices. 9pm to 10pm: BEETHOVEN: THE MAN REVEALED with JOHN SUCHET (40 / 52) John discovers a year of enormous musical variety in the life of Beethoven: 1814. He unveils music the great composer wrote to accompany an ode to Vienna – a piece John describes as “one of the most bizarre pieces of music he would ever compose”; and he tells the dramatic story of the huge fire suffered by a Russian Ambassador, whose name lives on in a set of String Quartets that Beethoven dedicated to him. There’s also a piece Beethoven wrote for the late wife of a patron – one of his least known works – along with a delightful piano sonata, and the first performance of Beethoven’s only opera in its final completed form: Fidelio. 3 SUNDAY 11TH OCTOBER 3pm to 5pm: JOHN HUMPHRYS John marks the anniversary of the coronation of King George II by picking out a recording of the piece that made its debut at that occasion, and has been performed at every British coronation ever since: Handel’s Zadok the Priest. He also features a new Mozart recording from the award-winning Latvian violinist Baiba Skride, who first picked up the violin at the tender age of 4. 5pm to 7pm: DAVID MELLOR It’s Live Music Month on Classic FM, so David presents an evening featuring his personal favourite recordings from the greatest orchestras and conductors of the world, captured live in concert. Highlights include a live recording of Herbert von Karajan directing the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra in Beethoven’s Symphony No.5, and a new recording of John Williams conducting his best known film scores live in concert with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. 7pm to 9pm: SMOOTH CLASSICS AT SEVEN with CHARLOTTE HAWKINS Charlotte presents a selection of laidback music, specially selected to provide a moment of calm and relaxation at the end of the weekend. Charlotte's Young Classical Star is the London-based musician Rosey Chan. Using her knowledge and passion for classical music, her performances combine a range of practices, from music and design to dance, fashion and cinematic visuals. Tonight, Charlotte picks Rosey’s recently-released single to demonstrate her emerging talents. 9pm to 10pm: CHI-CHI’S CLASSICAL CHAMPIONS (2 / 6) Chi-chi Nwanoku OBE, the renowned double-bass player and founder of the Chineke! Foundation, continues her new series on Clasic FM. Chi-chi’s Classical Champions shines the spotlight on Black, Asian & ethnically diverse composers and performers – those who have enjoyed success, as well as those yet to receive recognition. Each week, Chi-chi champions brilliant music; tells the stories behind the works and performances, and plays a varied range of recordings – all personally chosen by her – by artists from diverse backgrounds from the 16th century up to the present day. The series is focused on classical compositions that haven’t always had a platform – with the central aim that music featured will be broadcast on other programmes across Classic FM’s schedule. The second programme opens with music by José Maurícío Nunes Garcia, a Brazilian priest and Master of the Royal Chapel. We hear his Requiem, which is said to be Black music history’s first choral masterpiece. There’s also a beautiful spiritual arranged for piano by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, and a vitusic violin concerto from Joseph Boulogne, otherwise known as Chevalier de Saint-Georges. 4 MONDAY 12TH OCTOBER 8pm to 10pm: THE CLASSIC FM CONCERT with JOHN SUCHET: LIVE IN NEW YORK It’s Classic FM’s Live Music Month on Classic FM, so John starts the week by taking us to New York for an evening of only the best performances, captured live in concert. Throughout the programme, on the evening of what would have been his 85th birthday, John celebrates the inimitable Luciano Pavarotti with highlights from one of his famous outdoor concerts. We’re transported to Central Park in June 1993, where Pavarotti performed for half a million fans for free. This was his second attempt at the event, having tried to give a park concert in June 1991, which was rained off after just a few arias! Elsewhere, two star violinists – Isaac Stern and Itzhak Perlman – join forces in Bach’s Concerto for 2 Violins, performed on the Lincoln Centre stage for Stern’s 60th birthday celebrations in 1981. We hear from one of the greatest pianists of the 20th century, as Vladimir Horowitz is the soloist in Rachmaninov’s formidable Piano Concerto No.3, also recorded live at the Lincoln Centre. And a recently released recording featutring Joshua Bell, made in the living room of his Manhattan apartment during lockdown, closes the programme. Giuseppe Verdi I Vespri Siciliani – Overture Leone Magiera conducts the New York Philharmonic Orchestra Ruggero Leoncavallo ‘Mattinata’ Tenor: Luciano Pavarotti Leone Magiera conducts the New York Philharmonic Orchestra Ernesto de Curtis ‘Non ti scordar di me’ Tenor: Luciano Pavarotti Leone Magiera conducts the New York Philharmonic Orchestra Johann Sebastian Bach Concerto for 2 Violins in D minor BWV.1043 Violins: Isaac Stern and Itzhak Perlman Zubin Mehta conducts the New York Philharmonic Orchestra Pietro Mascagni ‘Serenata’ Tenor: Luciano Pavarotti Leone Magiera conducts the New York Philharmonic Orchestra Francois Borne Fantasy on Themes from Carmen Flute: Andrea Griminelli Leone Magiera conducts the New York Philharmonic Orchestra Continued… 5 MONDAY 12TH OCTOBER 8pm to 10pm: THE CLASSIC FM CONCERT with JOHN SUCHET: LIVE IN NEW YORK Continued… Giacomo Puccini ‘Recondita armonia’ (From the opera Tosca) Tenor: Luciano Pavarotti Leone Magiera conducts the New York Philharmonic Orchestra Sergei Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No.3 in D minor Opus 30 Piano: Vladimir Horowitz Zubin Mehta conducts the New York Philharmonic Orchestra Eduardo di Capua ‘O sole mio’ Tenor: Luciano Pavarotti Leone Magiera conducts the New York Philharmonic Orchestra Giacomo Puccini ‘Nessun dorma’ (From the opera Turandot) Tenor: Luciano Pavarotti Leone Magiera conducts the New York Philharmonic Orchestra Frederic Chopin Nocturne in E-flat major Opus 9 No.2 Violin: Joshua Bell Piano: Peter Dugan 6 TUESDAY 13TH OCTOBER 8pm to 10pm: THE CLASSIC FM CONCERT with JOHN SUCHET: LSO LIVE John shines the spotlight on the London Symphony Orchestra, Classic FM’s Orchestra in the City of London, with a programme full of live recordings from the Barbican Hall. To begin, Debussy’s Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune with conductor François-Xavier Roth, from a concert in April 2019, before Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider takes to the stage for Mozart’s Violin Concerto No.3, written when the composer was still in his teens and played live in May 2017. The highlight of the evening is the orchestra’s first ever recording on their own record label, LSO Live: Dvořák’s Symphony No.9 (‘From the New World’), performed in September 1999 under Colin Davis. Claude Debussy Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune François-Xavier Roth conducts the London Symphony Orchestra Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Violin Concerto No.3 in G major K.216 Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider directs the London Symphony Orchestra from the violin Antonin Dvořák Symphony No.9 in E minor Opus 95 (‘From the New World’) Colin Davis conducts the London Symphony Orchestra Robert Schumann Overture, Scherzo and Finale Opus 52 John Eliot Gardiner conducts the London Symphony Orchestra 7 WEDNESDAY 14TH OCTOBER 8pm to 10pm: THE CLASSIC FM CONCERT with JOHN SUCHET: THE RSNO LIVE As part of Classic FM’s Live Music Month, John focuses on the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, which has been keeping the music playing during the Coronavirus crisis with its RSNO at Home series.