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Meditative piano sounds to inspire concentration

Set adrift on a calming voyage scored by timeless classical and contemporary piano. Crafted to aid focus and welcome calm, while showcasing the best of piano across the decades.

A gently unfolding soundscape featuring contemporary and classical piano music from across the decades. This meditative set opens with Henrique Oswald’s delicate En nacelle and the twilight tones of Frank Bridge’s The Hour Glass: I. Dusk, before moving through the misty ambience of Ann Annie and Christina Vantzou. Alongside romantic-era gems by Florence Price and Cyril Scott sit quietly powerful works by Ryuichi Sakamoto, Aphex Twin, and Chilly Gonzales — each revealing the piano’s capacity to soothe, surprise, and stir emotion.

To listen on most smart speakers, just say “ask BBC Sounds to play Piano Focus”
Produced by Áine Devaney.
A Reduced Listening production for BBC Sounds MM.

25 days left to listen

2 hours

Last on

Thursday 12:00
BBC Radio 3 Unwind

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Music Played

  • Henrique Oswald

    En nacelle

    Performer: Sergio Monteiro.
    • Oswald: Works for Piano.

  • Frank Bridge

    The Hour Glass: I. Dusk

    Performer: Mark Bebbington.
    • Bridge: Piano Music, Vol. 1.

  • Mary Sutton

    A Good Rainy Day

    Performer: Saloli.
    • The Island: Music for Piano, Vol. 1.

  • Ann Annie

    Magnolias

    Performer: Ann Annie.
    • Piano Day Vol. 3.

  • William Alwyn

    Haze of Noon

    Performer: Ashley Wass.
    • Alwyn: Piano Music, Vol. 1.

  • Tiago Sousa

    waking morning

    Performer: Tiago Sousa.
    • Oh Sweet Solitude.

  • Ryuichi Sakamoto

    A Flower is not a Flower

    Performer: Ryuichi Sakamoto.
    • Playing The Piano.

  • David Shea

    Suite Pt.4

    Performer: David Shea.
    • Piano I.

  • Florence Price

    Clouds

    Performer: Lara Downes.
    • Florence Price Piano Discoveries.

  • François Rossignol

    Retour à la Source

    Performer: François Rossignol.
    • Une Nuit à Piopolis.

  • Christina Vantzou

    Open Delay

    Composer: Michael Harrison. Composer: John Also Bennett. Performer: Christina Vantzou. Performer: Michael Harrison. Performer: John Also Bennett.
    • Christina Vantzou, Michael Harrison and John Also Bennett.

  • Cyril Scott

    Danse Negre, Op. 58/5: 5th (For One Piano)

    Performer: Leslie De'Ath. Performer: Anya Alexeyev.
    • Cyril Scott: Complete Piano Music, Vol. 5 (Lotus Land).

  • Chilly Gonzales

    Gentle Threat

    Performer: Chilly Gonzales.
    • Solo Piano.

  • Marie Awadis

    Day VII

    Performer: Marie Awadis.
    • Una Corda Diaries.

  • Aphex Twin

    Nanou2

    Performer: Richard D. James.
    • Drukqs.

  • Dmitry Shostakovich

    Piano Concerto No. 2 in F Major, Op. 102: II. Andante

    Performer: Maxim Dmitrievich Shostakovich. Ensemble: I Musici de Montréal.
    • Shostakovich: Piano Concerto No. 2 / Symphony for Strings.

  • Nininha Velloso Guerra

    Com as Crianças: Boa Noite, Mamãe

    Performer: Cristian Budu.
    • Pianolatria.

  • A Winged Victory for the Sullen

    We Played Some Open Chords and Rejoiced, for the Earth Had Circled the Sun...

    Composer: Adam Wiltzie. Performer: Adam Wiltzie. Performer: Dustin O’Halloran.
    • A Winged Victory for the Sullen.

  • Edvard Grieg

    Lyric Pieces Book III, Op.43 - 5. Erotik

    Performer: Tom Borrow.
    • Lyric Pieces Book III, Op.43 - 5. Erotik.

  • Stephen Baysted

    Pagodesque no.4

    Performer: Stephen Baysted.
    • The Impressionists: And the Man Who Made Them (Original Motion Picture Soundtrac.

  • James Oldrini

    Solstice

    Performer: James Oldrini.
    • Solstice.

  • Alanna Crouch

    False Belief

    Performer: Alanna Crouch.
    • False Belief.

  • Lili Boulanger

    Trois morceaux pour piano: No. 2, D'un jardin claire

    Performer: Sheila Arnold.
    • Thème varié.

  • Volodja Brodsky

    Fogbound Streets of Maardu

    Performer: Volodja Brodsky.
    • Raindrops.

  • Iryna Gould

    Ukrainian Waltz

    Performer: Iryna Gould.
    • Ukrainian Waltz.

  • Hans Otte

    Das Buch der Klange: Part 7

    Performer: Hans Otte.
    • Otte: Das Buch Der Klänge.

  • Michael Price

    Welcome Home

    Performer: Michael Price.
    • Diary 2.

  • John Foxx

    Once I Had A Love

    Performer: John Foxx.
    • Wherever You Are.

Broadcast

  • Thursday 12:00
    BBC Radio 3 Unwind