String Textures

This classical music album features a fresh and youthful interpretation of Robert Schumann’s underrated violin concerto, performed by violin soloist Laure Chan and the Sinfonia Perdita, conducted by Daniel Hogan. A significant yet often overlooked work in the classical violin repertoire, it was written during a tumultuous period in Schumann’s life. The concerto captures a spectrum of emotions, from despair and anxiety to hope and joy. Complementing this historical work is Laure's original composition, "Lost in Translation," a contemporary classical piece that uses multi-track violin recordings to convey a cinematic narrative expressing heartbreak. This album aims to illuminate the profound emotional depth of the human experience through the violin. Through both the historical context of Schumann’s violin concerto and the modern, expressive qualities of Lost in Translation, the recording embodies the timeless and evolving nature of classical music.

Lost in Translation

Parade of the Obscure

Parade of the Obscure (Ryan Teague Rework)

I've Been Here Before

I’ve Been Here Before

A Dawning

Borrowed Time (feat. Alexi Murdoch)

On an Evening, At the Lake

On an Evening, At the Lake (feat. mondëna quartet)

This week's show includes an Italian Baroque coffee break with three fine Italian composers

10 August 25

17 August 25

Missed our 100th show? From Mozart’s lively fifth Symphony to Satie’s mysterious Gnossienne, and Clara Schumann’s poignant piano trio. Find out which Mahler symphonic movement had 10 revisions

24 August 25

The latest Classics Count took us on a musical journey. From Schubert’s playful symphonic twists to Holst’s serene Venus, and Smetana’s flowing Ma Vlast Vltava. Plus Mascagni (pictured) and Mozart in the coffee break...

31 August 25

During the show's Italian tour...There was a stirring melody from Sibelius’ Karelia Suite, John Barry’s evocative Dances with Wolves film theme & soulful Massenet. Which one was used in a news programme?

07 Sept 25

Verdi (pictured): Prelude from La Traviata – an evocative and moving piece from this wonderful opera
Saint Saens: La Princesse Jaune Overture - a story of dreams from the Land of the Rising Sun
Debussy: Clair de Lune from the Bergamasque Suite - Debussy’s most popular piece from this Suite
Hamish MacCunn: The Land of the Mountain and the Flood Overture – an uplifting musical portrait by this Scottish composer 
Beethoven: Symphony No 3 Eroica 2nd movement Largo –capturing a funereal feel
Gluck : Dance of the Blessed Spirits - Orpheus’ sorrowful song
Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake Finale – an emotionally charged ending to this familiar ballet
Delibes: Coppelia Act 1 Valse – a light and airy waltz


COFFEE BREAK featuring 2 mesmerising compositions from the acclaimed contemporary British composer
John Barry: Give Me A Smile
John Barry: Beyondness of Things


Boyce: Symphony No 4 in F major Overture to the Shepherd’s Lottery 1st Allegro – from English Baroque composer’s pastoral work
Barbara Eifler CEO of Making Music interview - tune in to find out more about the organisation and how they help promote live music and support musicians
Bach: The Prelude and Fugue in C major, BWV 846, from Book I of The Well-Tempered Clavier – a rather stately piece
Mendelssohn: Midsummer Night’s Dream Scherzo – listen out for the dainty flute motifs
J Strauss II: Die Fledermaus The Bat Overture – a gloriously uplifting overture from the comic opera
Faure: Pavane – pure musical elegance
Grieg: Peer Gynt Suite No 1 Solveig’s Song – hear the melody Solveig sings as she sits abandoned at her spinning wheel
Grieg: Holberg Suite Praeludium - written in 1884 to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the birth of Ludvig Holberg-founder of Danish literature


14 Sept 25

Purcell : Trumpet Tune and Air – a rousing tune from Baroque composer Henry Purcell
Albinoni: Oboe Concerto in D minor No 2 1st movement Allegro e non presto and 2nd movement Adagio – from one of Tomaso Albinoni’s 12 concerti for oboe
Mozart: Flute and harp concerto in C major andantino with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields conducted by Sir Neville Mariner and with soloists Sir James Galway and Marisa Robles – listen to the musical phrasing which Craig Armstrong took as inspirations for his Portuguese Love Theme in the film Love Actually
Schubert: Symphony No 2 in B flat major 2nd movement Andante - written in just 3 months when he was 18 years old
Dvorak: Serenade in E for Strings 1st movement Moderato and 2nd movement Tempo di valse – rejoice in this stunning compostion
Rossini: The Thieving Magpie: La Gazza Ladra Overture – from the story where an innocent girl is saved when a magpie is discovered as the culprit


COFFEE BREAK features three evocative scores taken from the world of film music;  
Mozart: Piano Concerto No 21 in C 2nd movement Andante from Master and Commander The Far Side of the World
John Williams: Schindler’s List
Mascagni: Cavelleria Rusticana Intermezzo from American Beauty 


Haydn: Symphony No 101 in D major The Clock 2nd movement andante – pick out the rhythmic pulse sounds of the bassoons and strings
Mahler: Symphony No 5 in C sharp minor 4th movement Adagietto -  bridging 19th century Romanticism with 20th century Modernism
John Field : Piano Concerto No 6 in C major 2nd movement Larghetto – from the much travelled Irish composer
Camilleri: Concertino No 1 for clarinet and strings 1st movement Allegro moderato, 2nd movement Andante molto and 3rd movement Allegro vivace – from the Maltese composer which we will play in its entirity
Delibes: Sylvia Pizzacati – a memorable piece to end our show


21 Sept 25

Handel: Arrival of the Queen of Sheba – get in the mood with the pomp of this majestic piece
Chris Hopkins, Artistic Director of the Amersham Festival of Music - interview
Delius: On hearing the first cuckoo in Spring – based on an old Norwegian folk song
Mozart: Piano Concerto No 23 in A K488 2nd movement Adagio – Mozart seduced the public back into loving his piano concerti with this tantalising piece
Rachmaninov: Second Suite for 2 pianos – written in Italy in 1901 after a 4 year period of self doubt
Grieg: Peer Gynt Suite No 1 Anitra’s Dance – a seductive and bewitching dance
Vivaldi: Concerto in F Autumn Allegro – the feel of the onset of Autumn captured in this piece
Hilary McCann, Publicity Officer of the Amersham Festival of Music - interview
Borodin: Polovtsian Dance – from the opera Prince Igor


COFFEE BREAK 2 moving pieces written 100 years apart
Mahler: Symphony No 5 in C sharp minor 4th movement Adagietto 
Pheloung: Lewis Main Theme 


Puccini : Che gelida manina from La Boheme – from the tragic love story of poet Rodolfo and seamstress Mimi
Boccherini : Cello Concerto No 9 in B flat 3rd movement rondo allegro – one of talented cellist Boccherini’s 12 concerti for his favoured instrument 
John Dunnett, conductor of Wycombe Sinfonia - interview 
Wagner: Prelude to Die Meistersingers Mastersingers of Nuremburg Overture – a powerful piece from a story of competitive singing
 Von Suppe: Light Cavalry Overture – a favourite piece for bands and orchestras from this Austrian composer
Dvorak: Symphony No 8 in G major 3rd movement allegretto grazioso – composed in 1889 following his election to the Bohemiam Academy, listen out for the trumpet finale
Marcello: Oboe Concerto in D minor 3rd movement Vivace – a chirpy pice from this Venetian composer
Stradella: Sinfonia a Tres in D major Part 1 – some stately Baroque to draw the show to a close


28 September 25

Brahms: Hungarian Dance No 5 in G minor Allegro – one of 21 dances composed after meeting famous gypsy violinist Eduard Remenyi
Vivaldi: Concerto in D major for Four Guitars 1st movement Allegro – originally composed for the lute
Schumann: Symphony No 4 in D minor 2nd movement Allegro – from the German Romantic composer who lived between 1810 and 1856
Shostakovich: Jazz Suite No 2 Waltz 2 – famously used in the 1999 Stanley Kubrick film Eyes Wide Shut; listen to the swaying saxophone at the start
Interview with Martin Smith, violinist and conductor for Hertfordshire Philharmonia
Elgar: Enigma Variations GRS – hear Martin tell the story of why Elgar wrote this variation
Elgar: Enigma Variations Nimrod – another of the 14 variations; this moving piece is the most popular
(Edward Elgar pictured)
Interview with Angela Crispe, clarinettist and solo saxophonist for Hertfordshire Philharmonia
Binge: Concerto for Alto Saxophone 2nd and 3rd movement – one of the few concerti composed for this instrument
Handel: Water Music Suite No 1 in F A tempo di minuetto – written for King George 1’s water party on the River Thames in July 1771



COFFEE BREAK Three pieces composed for this beautiful single reed instrument 
Weber: Clarinet Concerto No 2 2nd movement Romance andante
Crusell: Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra in F minor 2nd movement Andante pastorale
Mozart: Clarinet Quintet in A 2nd movement Larghetto

Mendelssohn: Symphony No 5 in D major Reformation 2nd movement Allegro vivace – written for a major religious event
Tchaikovsky : The Seasons October Autumn Song – listen to our customary seasonal offering accompanied by October’s piece from the book Everyday Nature
Rachmaninoff: Piano concerto No 2 1st movement sostentuto moderato – after the criticism of his first piano concerto, Rachmaninoff was unable to compose for 3 years and then … this masterpiece
Schubert: Symphony No 2 in B flat major 2nd movement Andante – featuring a theme and variations starting with the strings
Sibelius: Finlandia – a patriotic tone poem from 1899 which became a powerful symbol of Finnish identity


05 October 25

Charles Avison (pictured): Concerto Grosso No 5 in D minor Largo – a superb start from Newcastle born composer, conductor and organist considered to be the best English concerto composer of the 18th century

Beethoven: Symphony No 1 in C major 3rd movement Menuetto allegro molto e vivace – dedicated to a Dutch-born Austrian diplomat and patron

Shostakovitch: Piano Concerto No 2 in F major 2nd movement Andante – listen to the violins, violas and cellos starting the movement in a meditative mood

Brahms: Symphony No 4 in E minor 1st movement Allegro non troppo and 3rd movement Allegro giocoso poco meno presto – hear what Brahms said to his friends about this piece

Grieg: Peer Gynt Suite No 2 Arabian Dance – commissioned after meeting the playwright Henrik Ibsen; this is one of the 33 incidental pieces Grieg composed

Crusell: Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra in E flat 3rd movement Rondo allegretto – including some incredibly fast finger work

Binge: Elizabethan Serenade – from a contemporary Derby-born composed and used by the BBC in the 1950s for the popular series Music Tapestry

Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No 3 in G Allegro – find out how the 6 concertos got their name

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COFFEE BREAK Three Adagios composed for the cello in a Boccherini sandwich

Boccherini: Concerto in D for Cello and Strings

Elgar: Cello Concerto in E minor

Boccherini: Cello Concerto No 9 in B flat

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Delibes: Lakme Duo des fleurs- Flower duet – the story of the daughter of a Brahmin priest and her maid gathering flowers by the river

Mendelssohn: Symphony No 4 in A Italian 1st movement Allegro vivace and 3rd movement Con moto moderato – written following a 10 month tour of Italy

Mozart: Symphony No 40 in G minor K550 4th movement Finale allegro assai – first conducted by Antonio Salieri in 1791 and part of this month’s programme from the Amersham Festival of Music (hear Artistic Director Chris Hopkins speak via listen again in Classics Count from 28th September)

Dvorak: Symphony No 8 in G major 3rd movement allegretto grazioso – the ideas for this symphony came so fast to Dvorak in 1889 that he struggled to write them down

Debussy: Preludes Book 1 No 8 The Girl with Flaxen Hair – a short piece for solo piano from this French composer

12 October 25

Sleep

Non-eternal (Pt. 3)

British Franco-Chinese violinist and composer based in London. Host of radio show "Classical and Beyond".

Lost in Translation

Laure Chan

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