Vaughan Williams's The Lark Ascending in Building a Library with Kate Kennedy and Tom Service
Mark Seow rounds up some new releases that have taken his fancy, and in Building a Library, Kate Kennedy chooses her favourite recording of Vaughan Williams's The Lark Ascending.
Tom Service with the best new recordings of classical music
9.30 am
Violinist, musicologist, and writer Mark Seow brings a selection of new releases to the studio including the latest from pianist Víkingur Ólafsson and violinist Vilde Frang, and in On Repeat he shares a track with Tom and explains his current preoccupation with it.
10.30 am
Building a Library
Continuing Radio 3's Vaughan Williams Today season, marking the 150th anniversary of the composer’s birth, Kate Kennedy chooses her favourite recording of Ralph Vaughan Williams' The Lark Ascending.
In Vaughan Williams' modal and folk music-inflected The Lark Ascending a solo violin takes flight above the orchestra evoking for many the very essence of an idealised English countryside. But this popular work, written on the eve of the First World War, has perhaps inevitably become freighted with nostalgia for both a lost generation and a rural way of life which was soon to vanish forever.
11.20 am
Record of the Week
An exceptional new release.
Last on
Music Played
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Ludwig van Beethoven
String Quartet No 13 in B-Flat Major, Op 130: IV. Alla danza tedesca. Allegro
Ensemble: Dover Quartet.- Beethoven: Complete String Quartets, Vol. 3.
- Cedille.
- 308.
-
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Thomas Adès
Marchentanz (nos 3 & 4)
Performer: Pekka Kuusisto. Orchestra: Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Nicholas Collon.- ONDINE.
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Adam Michna
Stála Matka Litující [The Sorrowful Mother]
Singer: Hana Blažíková. Ensemble: Collegium Marianum.- A Lily Among Thorns.
- SUPRAPHON.
- 13.
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Frédéric Chopin
4 Mazurkas, Op. 24, B. 89: No. 15 in C Major
Performer: Peter Jablonski.- Chopin: Complete Mazurkas, Vol. 1.
- Ondine.
- 115.
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Ruth Gipps
Chanticleer - overture Op.28
Orchestra: BBC Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor: Rumon Gamba.- Ruth Gipps Orchestral Works, Volume 2.
- CHANDOS.
- 1.
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Igor Stravinsky
Violin Concerto in D major Op.8 (4th mvt)
Performer: Vilde Frang. Orchestra: The Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen. Conductor: Pekka Kuusisto.- Beethoven & Stravinsky: Violin Concertos.
- Warner Classics.
- 7.
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Johann Jakob Kress
Violin Concerto no.3 in F major (1st mvt)
Performer: Johannes Pramsohler. Ensemble: Ensemble Diderot.- Travel Concertos.
- AUDAX RECORDS.
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Johann Sebastian Bach
Trio Sonata no.1 BWV.525 (Allegro moderato)
Performer: Víkingur Ólafsson. Performer: Halla Oddný Magnúsdóttir. Music Arranger: György Kurtág.- From Afar.
- DG.
- 11.
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Sigvaldi Kaldalóns
Ave Maria
Performer: Víkingur Ólafsson. Music Arranger: Víkingur Ólafsson.- From Afar.
- DG.
- 12.
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François Francœur
Le Trophée (2eme Air)
Composer: François Rebel. Performer: Théotime Langlois de Swarte. Performer: Justin Taylor.- Les Frères Francœur.
- ALPHA CLASSICS.
- 2.
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François Francœur
Le théâtre s'éclaire (Les Augustales)
Composer: François Rebel. Performer: Théotime Langlois de Swarte. Performer: Justin Taylor.- Les Frères Francœur.
- ALPHA CLASSICS.
- 16.
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Andrea Falconieri
O vezzosetta (Aria sopra la Ciaccona) - L'Eroica
Performer: L’Arpeggiata. Performer: Christina Pluhar. Singer: Zachary Wilder. Singer: João Fernandes.- Alla Napoletana.
- Erato.
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Edward Elgar
Angel's farewell (The Dream of Gerontius)
Singer: Alice Coote. Director: Mark Elder. Orchestra: Hallé. -
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Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Symphony No 5 in E minor, Op 64, III. Valse. Allegro moderato
Orchestra: London Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Gianandrea Noseda.- Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5 - Rimsky-Korsakov: Kitezh Suite.
- LSO Live.
- 3.
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Steve Reich
Music for Ensemble and Orchestra: I. Sixteenths
Orchestra: Los Angeles Philharmonic. Conductor: Susanna Mälkki.- Steve Reich: Runner & Music for Ensemble and Orchestra.
- Nonesuch.
- 6.
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Johann Sebastian Bach
Orchestral Suite no.3 in D major BWV.1068
Ensemble: Dunedin Consort. Conductor: John Butt.- Bach: Orchestral Suites BWV 1066-1069.
- Linn.
- 1-4.
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Gustav Mahler
Symphony No 5 in C sharp Minor: III. Scherzo. Kräftig, nicht zu schnell
Conductor: Semyon Bychkov. Orchestra: Czech Philharmonic.- Mahler: Symphony No. 5 in C-Sharp Minor.
- PENTATONE.
- 103.
Record Review
The link below each recording takes you directly to the label’s website. Please be aware that non-UK labels may be cheaper via a record store or an online retailer.
Beethoven: Complete String Quartets, Vol. 3Top of Form
Bottom of Form
Dover Quartet
Cedille CDR90000215 (3 CDs)
https://www.cedillerecords.org/albums/beethoven-complete-string-quartets-volume-3-the-late-quartets/
Thomas Adès: Märchentänze, Hotel Suite from Powder Her Face, Lieux retrouvé & Dawn
Pekka Kuusisto (violin)
Tomas Nuñez (cello)
Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra
Nicholas Collon
Ondine ODE 1411-2
https://www.ondine.net/?lid=en&cid=2.2&oid=6911
A Lily Among Thorns – music by Michna, Biber, Albrici, etc.
Hana Blažíková (soprano)
Collegium Marianum
Supraphon SU43172
https://www.supraphon.com/album/703092-michna-czech-marian-music-lilly-among-thorns
Chopin: Complete Mazurkas, Vol. 1
Peter Jablonski (piano)
Ondine ODE 1412-2
https://www.ondine.net/?lid=en&cid=2.2&oid=6904
Gipps: Orchestral Works, Vol. 2
Juliana Koch (oboe)
BBC Philharmonic
Rumon Gamba
Chandos CHAN20161
https://www.chandos.net/products/catalogue/CHAN%2020161
09.30am – Mark Seow: New Releases
Beethoven & Stravinsky: Violin Concertos
Vilde Frang (violin)
Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen
Pekka Kuusisto
Warner Classics 9029667740
https://www.warnerclassics.com/release/beethoven-stravinsky
Travel Concertos – Music by JS Bach, Kress, Durant, etc.
Ensemble Diderot
Johannes Pramsohler (violin)
Audax ADX11204D
https://www.audax-records.fr/adx11204
From Afar – music by Brahms, Kaldalóns, Schumann, etc.
Víkingur Ólafsson (piano)
DG 4861681 (2 CDs)
https://www.deutschegrammophon.com/en/catalogue/products/from-afar-vkingur-olafsson-12765
Les frères Francœur – music by Rebel, Francoeur, Anet, etc.
Justin Taylor (harpsichord)
Théotime Langlois de Swarte (violin)
Alpha ALPHA895
https://outhere-music.com/en/albums/les-freres-francoeur
Mark Seow: On Repeat
Alla Napoletana – music by Falconieri, Caresana, Giramo, etc.
L'Arpeggiata
Christina Pluhar
Erato 9029660361 (2 CDs)
https://www.warnerclassics.com/release/alla-napoletana
10:10 am
Listener On Repeat
Elgar: Violin Concerto – includes excerpts from The Dream Of Gerontius
Thomas Zehetmair (violin)
Alice Coote (mezzo-soprano)
Hallé Orchestra
Sir Mark Elder
Hallé CDHLL7521
https://the-halle.myshopify.com/products/elgar-violin-concerto
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5 - Rimsky-Korsakov: Kitezh Suite
London Symphony Orchestra
Gianandrea Noseda
LSO Live LSO0858 (Hybrid SACD)
Steve Reich: Runner & Music for Ensemble and Orchestra
Los Angeles Philharmonic
Susanna Mälkki
Nonesuch 7559791018
https://store.nonesuch.com/en/nonesuch/artists/steve-reich/
10.30am – Building a Library: Kate Kennedy on Vaughan Williams’s The Lark Ascending
Recommended recording:
Janine Jansen (violin)
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Barry Wordsworth
Decca 4750112
11:15 am
Bach: Orchestral Suites BWV 1066-1069
Dunedin Consort
John Butt
Linn CKD666 (2 CDs)
https://www.linnrecords.com/recording-bach-orchestral-suites-bwv-1066-1069
11.25am – Record of the Week
Mahler: Symphony No. 5
Czech Philharmonic Orchestra
Semyon Bychkov
Pentatone PTC5187021
https://www.pentatonemusic.com/product/mahler-symphony-no-5/
Broadcast
- Sat 15 Oct 2022 09:00BBC Radio 3
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