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Episode details

Radio 3,30 Jun 2026,134 mins

Sally Beamish 70th Birthday Concert

Radio 3 in Concert

Available for 29 days

The Academy of St Martin in the Fields celebrates Sally Beamish’s 70th birthday with a programme centred on her music. A former violist with the orchestra and its first Composer in Residence, this concert reflects her long association with the ensemble. The programme begins with Bach, alongside Beamish’s reflective slow movement woven into the Brandenburg Concerto No. 3. The UK premiere of IZAKHI, a new basset clarinet concerto written for Michael Collins, forms the centrepiece, inspired by Beamish’s travels in South Africa and her reflections on the natural world. Chris Stout (fiddle) and Catriona McKay (harp) join the orchestra for Beamish’s Seavaigers, drawing on Celtic traditions and seascapes. Respighi’s colourful suite The Birds brings the programme to a vibrant close. Recorded last month at St Martin-in-the-Fields in London, and presented by Ian Skelly. J.S. Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 (with slow movement by Sally Beamish) Sally Beamish: IZAKHI (new commission) Sally Beamish: Seavaigers Ottorino Respighi: The Birds Michael Collins (basset clarinet) Chris Stout (fiddle) Catriona McKay (harp) Academy of St Martin in the Fields Benjamin Marquise Gilmore (director) To listen on most smart speakers just say “ask BBC Sounds to play Radio 3 In Concert”

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Tracklist

  1. Track
    Artist
  2. 1.
    3rd Brandenburg Concerto BWV 1048
    3rd Brandenburg Concerto BWV 1048
    Johann Sebastian Bach & Sally Beamish
  3. 2.
    House Of Wonder
    House Of Wonder
    Sally Beamish & Stephanie Irvine
  4. 3.
    Violin Sonata in D major, D 384, 'Sonatina'
    Violin Sonata in D major, D 384, 'Sonatina'
    Franz Schubert