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Programme information

Saturday 7th December to Friday 13th December 2019

WEEK 50

THE FULL WORKS CONCERT: FESTIVE FAVOURITES

Monday 9th to Friday 13th December, 8pm to 10pm

As Christmas draws closer, Jane Jones presents the first Full Works Concert in a week-

long, festive musical celebration on Classic FM.

The evening begins with A Christmas Overture by Nigel Hess, before we hear Liszt’s Christmas Tree Suite, snowy music by Debussy, and excerpts from Handel’s Messiah

and Bach’s Christmas Oratorio.

Jane also celebrates violinist Joshua Bell’s birthday with his virtuosic performance of Schumann’s Violin Concerto, and Nigel Short conducts the choir he founded in 2001,

Tenebrae, in a sensitive performance of ‘Away in a Manger’. Classic FM is available across the UK on 100-102 FM, DAB digital radio and TV, at

ClassicFM.com, and on the Classic FM and Global Player apps.

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WEEK 50 SATURDAY 7TH DECEMBER 3pm to 5pm: MOIRA STUART’S HALL OF FAME CONCERT Moira celebrates one of the most iconic classical recordings of all time: Jacqueline du Pré’s famous interpretation of Elgar’s Cello Concerto, with Sir John Barbirolli and the London Symphony Orchestra. Prior to a complete performance of that mighty work, we’ll hear the overture to Mozart’s Don Giovanni, performed by an orchestra from the city where the work was premiered: Prague. We also take to the skies with a John Williams favourite, before festive fare for the first Saturday in December: a suite of melodies from The Nutcracker by Tchaikovsky. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Don Giovanni – Overture Christian Benda conducts the Prague Sinfonia Eric Whitacre The Seal Lullaby Harp: Lavinia Meijer Voces8

Edward Elgar Cello Concerto in E minor Opus 85 Cello: Jacqueline du Pré John Barbirolli conducts the London Symphony Orchestra Camille Saint-Saëns Piano Concerto No.2 in G minor Opus 22 Piano: Cecile Licad André Previn conducts the London Philharmonic Orchestra

John Williams Superman – Main Theme Gustavo Dudamel conducts Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra

Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky The Nutcracker – Suite Neville Marriner conducts the Academy of St Martin in the Fields

Frédéric Chopin Ballade No.1 in G minor Opus 23 Piano: Peter Donohoe

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SATURDAY 7TH DECEMBER 5pm to 7pm: SATURDAY NIGHT AT THE MOVIES with ANDREW COLLINS Andrew Collins celebrates the music from films that were huge box office successes.

The highest grossing film of all time, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, opens this evening’s programme, followed by a selection from Ludwig Goransson’s Academy Award-winning score to Black Panther. We’ll also hear from the late, great film composer James Horner, and his score for James Cameron’s blockbuster Avatar. 7pm to 9pm: COWAN’S CLASSICS with ROB COWAN Rob features a classic recording of Vaughan Williams’ Fantasia on Greensleeves with Leonard Bernstein at the helm of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. Rob also includes a performance from the charismatic French-Mexican tenor Rolando Villazón, who sings an aria from Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana, and a brilliant archive recording of Beethoven’s Symphony No.7 performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under Sir Thomas Beecham. 9pm to 10pm: HIGH SCORE with EÍMEAR NOONE (5 / 6) Eímear Noone presents an hour of nostalgic video game favourites on High Score, beginning with a selection of iconic themes from The Legend of Zelda – a score she’s personally conducted in concerts across the globe.

We’ll explore how these games carry vivid memories of the worlds they inhabit, with themes from Sega’s Shenmue as well as Nintendo favourites Pokémon, Super Mario and its flagship character, Donkey Kong.

There’s also music that accompanied the dare-devil archaeologist Lara Croft, better known as Tomb Raider; an excerpt from Kingdom Hearts that never fails to draw a nostalgic tear from the toughest of gamers; and the Classic FM Hall of Fame champion, Final Fantasy VII.

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SUNDAY 8TH DECEMBER 3pm to 5pm: CHARLOTTE HAWKINS Charlotte’s Young Classical Star is the 29-year-old American pianist, Claire Huangci.

Huangci started playing the piano at the age of six and, two years later, she won the Gold Medal at the World Piano Competition in Cincinnati – the youngest medallist in the pre-college division. Since then, she has been victorious at numerous competitions in America and Europe, and performed in iconic venues all over the world including New York’s Carnegie Hall.

Earlier this year, Huangci released her fifth album, featuring the first piano concertos of two young Polish composers: Chopin and Paderewski. At the time of its release, she said: “Both composers exude a true joie de vivre, a love of life, attributable to their youth. The concertos were clearly written by men who looked with hope to the future.” This afternoon, Charlotte plays Huangci’s recording of Paderewski’s Piano Concerto in A minor. 7pm to 9pm: DAVID MELLOR David dedicates tonight’s programme to the life and career of the Irish virtuoso flautist Sir James Galway, who celebrates his 80th birthday today. Galway was born to musical parents and started learning the flute at the age of nine. Two years later, he won the junior, senior, and open Belfast Flute Championships – all in a single day. After studying at some of the most prestigious music colleges in London and Paris, he auditioned for the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra under Herbert von Karajan and was principal flautist with the orchestra for six years. This evening, David plays some of his greatest recordings with the orchestra, as chosen by Sir James himself. To Karajan’s surprise and dismay, Galway decided to leave the orchestra to pursue a solo career, and soon after earned the nickname ‘The Man with the Golden Flute’. Tonight, David also features some of Sir James’s finest solo recordings, including Mozart’s Flute Concerto No.1, ‘Annie’s Song’ and fellow Irishman Phil Coulter’s Home Away from Home. 9pm to 10pm: EVERYTHING YOU EVER WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT CLASSICAL MUSIC with CATHERINE BOTT As we begin to treat ourselves to Christmas chocolates and mince pies, Catherine Bott presents an hour of music by a selection of over-indulgent composers. Handel, who was known to order enough dinner for three people, opens the programme with the Arrival of the Queen of Sheba. Rossini, on the other hand, had an appetite big enough to rival Handel’s and even has a dish named after him: the Tournedos Rossini. Tonight, we hear his overture to La Cenerentola. Beethoven’s music is often considered to be a vehicle for a self-indulgent display of his personal difficulties and mood swings, so Catherine also features one of the most extravagant pieces in the repertoire: his Piano Concerto No.5.

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MONDAY 9TH DECEMBER 8pm to 10pm: THE FULL WORKS CONCERT – FESTIVE FAVOURITES As Christmas draws closer, Jane Jones presents the first Full Works Concert in a week-long, festive musical celebration on Classic FM. The evening begins with A Christmas Overture by Nigel Hess, before we hear Liszt’s Christmas Tree Suite, snowy music by Debussy, and excerpts from Handel’s Messiah and Bach’s Christmas Oratorio. Jane also celebrates violinist Joshua Bell’s birthday with his virtuosic performance of Schumann’s Violin Concerto, and Nigel Short conducts the choir he founded in 2001, Tenebrae, in a sensitive performance of ‘Away in a Manger’. Nigel Hess A Christmas Overture John Rutter conducts the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Erich Korngold The Snowman – Prelude & Entr’acte Violin: Lajos Farkas Werner Andreas Albert conducts the North West German Philharmonic Orchestra Johann Sebastian Bach ‘Jauchzet, frohlocket’ (from the Christmas Oratorio BWV.248) Harry Christophers conducts The Sixteen and the Symphony of Harmony & Invention Robert Schumann Violin Concerto in D minor Opus Posth. Violin: Joshua Bell Christoph von Dohnányi conducts the Cleveland Orchestra Franz Liszt The Christmas Tree Suite Gavin Sutherland conducts the RTÉ Concert Orchestra George Frederic Handel ‘For unto us a child is born’ (from Messiah) Stephen Cleobury conducts the Brandenburg Consort and Choir of King’s College, Cambridge Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky The Snow Maiden Kristjan Järvi conducts the MDR Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra Continued…

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MONDAY 9TH DECEMBER 8pm to 10pm: THE FULL WORKS CONCERT – FESTIVE FAVOURITES Continued… Claude Debussy Des pas sur la neige Piano: Daniel Barenboim Ralph Vaughan Williams Folk Songs of the Four Seasons: Suite Martin Yates conducts the Royal Scottish National Orchestra

William James Kirkpatrick ‘Away in a Manger’ Organ: James Sherlock Nigel Short conducts Tenebrae

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TUESDAY 10TH DECEMBER 8pm to 10pm: THE FULL WORKS CONCERT – FESTIVE FAVOURITES Jane Jones invites you to put your skates on and take to the ice as the Full Works Concert opens with Waldteufel’s light-hearted waltz Les Patineurs. The Royal Scottish National Orchestra performs the ‘Troika’ from Prokofiev’s Lieutenant Kijé, before we hear Chopin’s Winter Wind and a symphony of carols arranged by Victor Hely-Hutchinson. There’s also a selection of music from festive films The Polar Express, It’s A Wonderful Life and Frozen. The programme also marks another birthday: that of the violinist Sarah Chang. Tonight, we hear her recording of Paganini’s virtuosic Violin Concerto No.1. Émile Waldteufel Les Patineurs Opus 183 Ronald Corp conducts the New London Orchestra George Frederic Handel ‘Worthy is the Lamb’ (From Messiah) Andrew Davis conducts the Toronto Symphony Orchestra & Toronto Mendelssohn Choir Sergei Prokofiev Troika (from Lieutenant Kijé Opus 60) Neeme Järvi conducts the Royal Scottish National Orchestra

Alan Silvestri The Polar Express: Suite Alan Silvestri conducts a studio orchestra Frédéric Chopin Etude in A minor Opus 25 No.11 (‘Winter Wind’) Piano: Murray Perahia

Dmitri Tiomkin It’s a Wonderful Life – Finale Dmitri Tiomkin conducts a studio orchestra Victor Hely-Hutchinson Carol Symphony Gavin Sutherland conducts the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra Continued…

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TUESDAY 10TH DECEMBER 8pm to 10pm: THE FULL WORKS CONCERT – FESTIVE FAVOURITES Continued… Niccolò Paganini Violin Concerto No.1 in D major Opus 6 Violin: Sarah Chang Wolfgang Sawalisch conducts the Philadelphia Orchestra Danny Elfman Edward Scissorhands – Ice Dance Shirley Walker conducts a studio orchestra and chorus Paul Joyce The Snow Queen – Suite Ian Hughes conducts the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Christophe Beck Frozen – Epilogue Tim Davies conducts the Frozen Cast Pit Orchestra

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WEDNESDAY 11TH DECEMBER 8pm to 10pm: THE FULL WORKS CONCERT – FESTIVE FAVOURITES Tonight’s Full Works Concert continues our week-long celebration of seasonal music and begins with the Sleigh Ride by Delius, before a wistful and joyful arrangement for string quartet of the music from Howard Blake’s perennial hit The Snowman.

The centrepiece of the evening is Britten’s A Ceremony of Carols, performed by the Choir of King’s College, Cambridge. Gustav Holst is known at this time of year for his setting of ‘In the Bleak Midwinter’, but in the spirit of Christmas giving, tonight we hear a work he wrote as a gift for St. Paul’s Girls’ School. There’s also a musical depiction of a Roman carnival from Berlioz, who was born on this day in 1803, after we hear a suite of music from Rimsky-Korsakov’s rarely performed opera Christmas Eve. Frederick Delius Sleigh Ride John Rutter conducts the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Howard Blake The Snowman – Suite Paavo String Quartet Benjamin Britten A Ceremony of Carols Opus 28 Soloists: James Clark, Julian Godlee & Osian Ellis David Willcocks conducts the Choir of King’s College, Cambridge Josef Strauss Winterlust Polka Opus 121 Gustavo Dudamel conducts the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra Richard Storrs Willis ‘It came upon the midnight clear’ Joseph Jennings conducts Chanticleer Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov Christmas Eve Suite Neeme Järvi conducts the Scottish National Orchestra Ryuichi Sakamoto Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence Piano: Lang Lang Gustav Holst St. Paul’s Suite Opus 29 No.2 Richard Hickox conducts the City of London Sinfonia

Hector Berlioz Roman Carnival Overture Thomas Dausgaard conducts the Danish National Symphony Orchestra

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THURSDAY 12TH DECEMBER 8pm to 10pm: THE FULL WORKS CONCERT – FESTIVE FAVOURITES Catherine Bott opens this evening’s concert with a whirlwind tour of the snowy Finnish mountains. She then returns to Scandinavia later in the programme to play a complete recording of Grieg’s Holberg Suite, made in the mid-80s by the Academy of St Martin in the Fields under Sir Neville Marriner.

The centrepiece of tonight’s Full Works Concert is Joanna Lumley’s narration of The 12 Days of Christmas. Later in the programme, we’ll also enjoy John Williams’ score to the seasonal film favourite Home Alone and festive ballet music by Offenbach. Jean Sibelius Finlandia Opus 26 Vladimir Ashkenazy conducts the Boston Symphony Orchestra John Rutter Nativity Carol John Rutter conducts the City of London Sinfonia & Cambridge Singers Adam Saunders & John Julius Norwich The 12 Days of Christmas Narrator: Joanna Lumley Gavin Sutherland conducts the RTÉ Concert Orchestra John Fox Carol Fantasia Gavin Sutherland conducts the Royal Ballet Sinfonia Edvard Grieg Holberg Suite Opus 40 Neville Marriner conducts the Academy of St Martin in the Fields Jacques Offenbach Ballet of the Snowflakes Marc Minkowski conducts Les Musiciens du Louvre John Williams ‘Somewhere in my Memory’ (from the film Home Alone) Christopher Bell conducts the Royal Scottish National Orchestra Philip Lane Old Christmas Music Gavin Sutherland conducts the Royal Ballet Sinfonia

Sergei Prokofiev Winter Bonfire Opus 122 – Suite José Serebrier conducts the Scottish Chamber Orchestra & Paisley Abbey Boy Choristers

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FRIDAY 13TH DECEMBER 8pm to 10pm: THE FULL WORKS CONCERT – FESTIVE FAVOURITES Catherine Bott treats listeners to a firm festive favourite: Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker, performed by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under Georg Solti. Leroy Anderson’s A Christmas Festival opens our concert and we’ll also hear two popular carols: ‘O Holy Night’ and ‘See Amid the Winter’s Snow’. 13th December is National Violin Day, so Catherine seizes the moment and feature Beethoven’s one and only Violin Concerto performed by Janine Jansen. The programme is rounded off with more ballet music: A Winter Landscape from Glazunov’s The Seasons. Leroy Anderson A Christmas Festival Arthur Fiedler conducts the Boston Pops Orchestra Adolphe Adam ‘O Holy Night’ John Rutter conducts the Bath Choir and Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky The Nutcracker – Suite Georg Solti conducts the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Johann Sebastian Bach Christmas Oratorio BWV.248 – Sinfonia Nikolaus Harnoncourt conducts Concentus Musicus, Vienna Edward Elgar The Snow Opus 26 No.1 Richard Hickox conducts the London Symphony Chorus & Northern Sinfonia Orchestra Ludwig van Beethoven Violin Concerto in D major Opus 61 Violin: Janine Jansen Paavo Järvi conducts the German Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra of Bremen John Goss ‘See Amid the Winter’s Snow’ Organ: Huw Williams Malcolm Archer conducts the St Paul’s Cathedral Choir Alexander Glazunov The Seasons Opus 67 – A Winter Landscape Dmitri Kitajenko conducts the Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra