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Tenor Nicky Spence with music both structural and spiritual

Nicky Spence opens up a selection of music from a singer’s point of view - revealing familiar and unfamiliar works in a new light.

Scottish tenor Nicky Spence is a star of the opera stage, and while his choices today include dramatic productions by Benjamin Britten and Richard Wagner, there are many surprises in store too.

Nicky reveals his passion for dancing was inspired by Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story, explains why folk music grounds him emotionally and finds parallels between being a tenor and being an alphorn player.

Plus he shows his huge admiration for Beyoncé.

A series in which each week a musician explores a selection of music - from the inside.

A Tandem Production for BBC Radio 3

1 hour, 56 minutes

Last on

Sat 27 Aug 2022 13:00
BBC Radio 3

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Multi-genre musician Rhiannon Giddens explores the roots of classical and folk traditions

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Conductor Delyana Lazarova with a playlist of rhythm and grandeur

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Music Played

  • Trad.

    Puirt a beul

    Ensemble: Quadriga Consort.
    • DEUTSCHE HARMONIA MUNDI.

  • Leopold Mozart

    Symphony in G major for Alphorn, Eisen G3, 'Sinfonia pastorale' (III. Presto)

    Performer: Jozsef Molnar. Orchestra: Capella Istropolitana. Conductor: Urs Schneider.
    • MARCO POLO.

  • Franz Schubert

    Die schone Mullerin, D.795 (XVI. Die liebe Farbe)

    Performer: Gerald Moore. Singer: Dietrich Fischer‐Dieskau.
    • DG.

  • Leonard Bernstein

    West Side Story (Dance at the Gym)

    Orchestra: Studio Orchestra. Conductor: Leonard Bernstein.
    • DG.

  • Leos Janáček

    String Quartet No. 2, 'Intimate Letters' (IV. Allegro)

    Ensemble: Pavel Haas Quartet.
    • SUPRAPHON.

  • Richard Wagner

    Liebestod (Tristan & Isolde)

    Singer: Eileen Farrell. Orchestra: Boston Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Charles Munch.
    • SONY.

  • Eileen Farrell

    Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams

    • SONY.

  • Antonio Vivaldi

    Flute Concerto, Op. 10, No. 1, RV 433, 'La tempesta di mare'

    Performer: Patrick Gallois. Orchestra: Orpheus Chamber Orchestra.
    • DG.

  • Beyoncé

    Sandcastles

    • RCA.

  • Johann Sebastian Bach

    Violin Partita No. 2 in D minor (I. Allemande; II. Courante)

    Performer: Hilary Hahn.
    • SONY.

  • Benjamin Britten

    Go There (Act 2, Peter Grimes)

    Singer: Jon Vickers. Orchestra: Covent Garden Orchestra. Conductor: Colin Davis.
    • DECCA.

  • Stephen Sondheim

    Into the Woods

    Performer: Anthony de Mare. Music Arranger: Andy Akiho.
    • ECM.

  • Claudio Monteverdi

    Zefiro torna

    Singer: Anna Prohaska. Singer: Magdalena Kožená. Orchestra: La Cetra Barockorchester Basel. Conductor: Andrea Marcon.
    • DG.

  • Trad.

    Sekstur from Vendsyssel/The Peat Dance

    Ensemble: Danish String Quartet.
    • DA CAPO.

  • Felix Mendelssohn

    Symphony No. 5, 'Reformation' (I. Andante - Allegro con fuoco)

    Orchestra: Chamber Orchestra of Europe. Conductor: Yannick Nézet‐Séguin.
    • DG.

  • Mason Williams

    Classical Gas

    • RHINO RECORDS.

  • John Lennon

    Blackbird

    Composer: Paul McCartney. Singer: Allan Clayton. Orchestra: Aurora Orchestra. Conductor: Nicholas Collon.
    • WARNER CLASSICS.

Broadcasts

  • Sat 2 Oct 2021 13:00
    BBC Radio 3
  • Sat 27 Aug 2022 13:00
    BBC Radio 3

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