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Find your morning calm with restorative classical music

Calming classical music to inspire focus and set you up for the day ahead. Presented by broadcaster, author and counselling psychologist Dr Sian Williams.

Calming classical music to help you focus and set you up for the day ahead. Presented by broadcaster, author and counselling psychologist Dr Sian Williams.

Featuring gentle and enriching melodies from composers like Tchaikovsky, Beach, and Dowland. This morning's chance to Find Your Focus is courtesy of the music of Max Richter. Sian finds an unexpected gift while out to Take a Breath, and Professor Catherine Loveday joins the show to explore how we recognise different musical genres, even at an early age.

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Saturday09:00
BBC Radio 3 Unwind

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Music Played

  • Constance Warren

    Heather Hill for string orchestra

    Orchestra: South-West German Chamber Orchestra Pforzheim. Conductor: Douglas Bostock.
    • CPO.

  • Cyrillus Kreek

    Bless the Lord, My Soul

    Choir: Vox Clamantis. Conductor: Jaan-Eik Tulve.
    • ECM.

  • William Walton

    Touch her soft lips and part (Henry V)

    Conductor: John Rutter. Orchestra: Aurora Orchestra.
    • Collegium.

  • Nininha Gregori

    Cenas Brasileiras (Historia do Nego Veio, Op 1)

    Performer: Luciana Soares.
    • Centaur.

  • Arnold Schoenberg

    Notturno for strings and harp

    Performer: Daniel Hope. Performer: Jane Berthe. Orchestra: Zürcher Kammerorchester.
    • DG.

  • Max Richter

    A Colour Field (Holocene)

    Performer: Max Richter.
    • Decca.

  • Frederick Delius

    2 Aquarelles (Gaily, but not quick)

    Conductor: David Lloyd‐Jones. Orchestra: Royal Northern Sinfonia.
    • Naxos.

  • Herbert Howells

    Elegy for solo viola, string quartet and string orchestra

    Performer: Mathis Rochat. Conductor: Howard Griffiths. Orchestra: BBC National Orchestra of Wales.
    • Evil Penguin.

  • Aram Khachaturian

    Spartacus (Adagio of Spartacus and Phyrgia)

    Conductor: Loris Tjeknavorian. Orchestra: London Symphony Orchestra.
    • RCA.

  • Edward Elgar

    Nimrod (Lux Aeterna)

    Choir: VOCES8.
    • Decca.

  • Luise Adolpha Le Beau

    Piano Quartet in F minor, Op 28 (2nd mvt)

    Ensemble: Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective.
    • Chandos.

  • Alexis Ffrench

    Bluebird

    Performer: Alexis Ffrench.
    • Sony.

  • Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

    Orchestral Suite No 2 in C major, Op 53 (1st mvt, 'Jeu de sons')

    Conductor: Alpesh Chauhan. Orchestra: BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra.
    • Chandos.

  • Alberto Nepomuceno

    Symphony in G minor, SN 6 11 (2nd mvt)

    Conductor: Fabio Mechetti. Orchestra: Minas Gerais Philharmonic Orchestra.
    • Naxos.

  • Florence Price

    Piano Sonata in E Minor (2nd mvt)

    Performer: Hiroko Ishimoto.
    • Grand Piano.

  • Joachim Nikolas Eggert

    Symphony No 2 in G minor (2nd mvt)

    Conductor: Gérard Korsten. Orchestra: Gävle symfoniorkester.
    • Naxos.

  • John Dowland

    The Frog Galliard

    Performer: Christoph Denoth.
    • Signum.

  • Frédéric Chopin

    Mazurka in A minor, Op 17 No 4

    Performer: Khatia Buniatishvili.
    • Sony.

  • Thomas Newman

    Reading Room (Road to Perdition)

    • Decca.

  • Nils Lindberg

    Shall I compare thee

    Choir: Swedish Chamber Choir. Conductor: Simon Phipps.
    • Musica Rediviva.

  • Gustav Holst

    The Vision of Dame Christian, H 101 (1st mvt, Prelude)

    Conductor: Leigh O'Hara. Orchestra: BBC Concert Orchestra.
    • EM Records.

  • Johann Sebastian Bach

    French Suite No 4, BWV 815 (1st mvt)

    Performer: David Fray.
    • Warner.

  • Germaine Tailleferre

    Petite Suite pour orchestre (2nd mvt, Sicilienne)

    Conductor: Sora Elisabeth Lee. Orchestra: Orchestre Pasdeloup.
    • Presence Compositrices.

  • Maurice Ravel

    A la maniere de Borodine, M 63

    Performer: Dimitris Soukaras.
    • Delphian.

  • William Dawson

    Folk Symphony (2nd mvt, 'Hope in the Night')

    Conductor: Yannick Nézet‐Séguin. Orchestra: Philadelphia Orchestra.
    • DG.

  • Gabriel Fauré

    Dolly Suite, Op 56 (5th mvt)

    Performer: Katia Labèque. Performer: Marielle Labèque.
    • Decca.

  • John Rutter

    Five Meditations for Orchestra (Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace)

    Conductor: Daniel Hyde. Orchestra: Britten Sinfonia.
    • King's College, Cambridge.

  • Charles Villiers Stanford

    Six Irish Folksongs, Op 78 (No 1, 'Oh! Breathe not his name')

    Choir: The Sixteen. Conductor: Harry Christophers.
    • CORO.

  • Amy Beach

    By the still waters, Op 114

    Performer: Isata Kanneh‐Mason.
    • Decca.

  • Jorge Aragón

    Cuban Dances for Solo Horn, Strings & Percussion (No 4, 'Un bolero para Sarah')

    Performer: Sarah Willis. Performer: Ernesto Oliva. Orchestra: Havana Lyceum Orchestra. Conductor: José Antonio Méndez Padrón.
    • Alpha.

  • H. Leslie Adams

    Etude No 7 in A major

    Performer: Thomas Otten.
    • Albany.

  • Franz Schmidt

    Notre Dame, Op 2 (Intermezzo)

    Conductor: Jonathan Berman. Orchestra: BBC National Orchestra of Wales.
    • Accentus.

  • Antonia Bembo

    L'Ercole Armante (Act 3: Entree)

    Conductor: Jörg Halubek. Orchestra: Il Gusto Barocco.
    • CPO.

  • Conradin Kreutzer

    Grand Septet in E flat major, Op 62 (2nd mvt)

    Performer: Sebastian Manz. Performer: Theo Plath. Performer: Felix Klieser. Performer: Franziska Hölscher. Performer: Haesue Lee. Performer: Andrei Ioniţă. Performer: Dominik Wagner.
    • Avi Music.

  • Johann Sebastian Bach

    Orchestral Suite No 1, BWV 1066 (Forlana)

    Orchestra: Oregon Bach Festival Chamber Orchestra. Conductor: Robert Haydon Clark. Conductor: Robert Haydon Clark.
    • 2014 Ameritz Music Ltd.

Broadcasts

  • Last Monday09:00
    BBC Radio 3 Unwind
  • Saturday09:00
    BBC Radio 3 Unwind