On this week’s show listen out for:

 

A lively Provencal dance, the Farandole, from Bizet’s L’Arlesienne Suite (pictured George Bizet)

 

Debussy’s Arabesque No 1 conjuring up the atmosphere of Arabic architecture

 

Mozart’s sensitive andante from Sinfonia Concertante K364 thought to have been composed as a way of coping with the loss of his mother

 

Tchaikovsky’s Barcarolle, his offering for June from his commissioned work The Seasons

 

Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto which took 6 years to finish with a little help from a friend

 

A farewell waltz written by Chopin when in ill-health he ended his engagement to his betrothed

 

Rossini’s cheeky Thieving Magpie, who was the real culprit in the theft of the silver spoon

 

One of Dvorak’s Slavonic Dances which intensified interest in his work across Europe

 

The coffee break with two of Mozart’s 27 piano concertos

 

A flute concerto from German Baroque composer and multi-instrumentalist Telemann

 

Possibly Beethoven’s finest composition, Symphony No 9

 

Pachelbel’s Canon in D composed as a gift for JS Bach’s older brother’s wedding

 

The dreamy andante from Schubert’s Symphony No 2 composed when he was just 18 years old

 

Sibelius’ exhilarating march from the Karelia Suite

 

Marcello’s lively oboe concerto

classical music 01 June 25

This Sunday's Classics Count features a Baroque coffee break with George Telemann (pictured) and a sparkling Strauss waltz. Plus, 2 spotlight interviews with Herts Philharmonia’s conductor & soloist for their 14 June concert.

Classics Count Sunday 08 June 2025

The latest Classics Count musical journey? From Mussorgsky’s Fantasia favourite to Vivaldi’s sizzling Summer & a Godfather film theme from Mascagni. The show was full of stories. Plus a beautiful piece from Felix Mendelsshon (pictured) for the coffee break.

06 July 25

The latest Classics Count was a rich musical journey, from Mahler’s dramatic Symphony No. 5 to John Field’s piano concerto gem, and Camilleri’s captivating Clarinet Concertino.

20 July 25

Classics Count transports you from Handel’s regal Water Music to Offenbach’s swaying Barcarole. Find out how did Haydn’s Symphony 100 got its nickname. Your scintillating Sunday soundtrack also includes the whole of Schubert's third Symphony written in 1815 when Franz was just 18 years old

27 July 25

17 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

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

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

Elgar: Pomp and Circumstance March in G major No 4 – listen in to find out how Elgar’s Marches got their name
Hummel: Trumpet Concerto in E flat major 2nd movement Andante - composed for a Viennese trumpeter who developed a keyed trumpet
Chopin: Berceuse in D flat major – meaning lullaby and written in summer 1843 for Louisette but who was she?
Binge: Sailing By – played before the 00:45 shipping forecast every night on BBC Radio 4
Haydn: Symphony No 94 in G Surprise 2nd movement Andante and 3rd movement Menuetto – allegro molto  - beware there is a loud and sudden chord in the second movement! What was Haydn thinking? 
Mozart: Piano Concerto No 23 in A  K488 3rd movement Allegro assai – a beautifully seductive piece
Delius: On hearing the first cuckoo in Spring – a tone poem where the clarinet represents the cuckoo’s call 
Tchaikovsky: Marche Slave – composed for a benefit concert to raise funds for wounded soldiers
Ennio Morricone: Gabriel’s Oboe – from the 1986 movie The Mission


COFFEE BREAK Two beautiful pieces from the remarkable and determined 19th century French composer 
Louise Farrenc: Sextet in C minor Andante sostenuto 
Louise Farrenc: Symphony No 3 in G minor Adagio cantabile


Finzi: Forlana – one of the 5 Bagatelles which Finzi started composing in 1941 before he was drafted into the war

Interview with Rowena Cutting and Hannah Stephens from the Audentior Symphony Orchestra who will be telling us about their special Hallowe’en Concert on Saturday 25th October

Saint Saens: Danse Macabre – listen out for the xylophone denoting the rattling of the skeletons’ bones
Mussorgsky: Night on the Bare Mountain – written to depict the witches’ wild dancing party
Grieg: Peer Gynt Suite No 1 In the Hall of the Mountain King – hear how the music changes as Peer is chased by the Trolls
Prokofiev: Dance of the Knights – a fabulously dramatic and iconic piece for the Montagues and Capulets
Faure: Pelleas and Melisande Sicilienne – from an opera with the story of a love triangle


19 October 25

Martin Clarke is a Freelance Journalist & Presenter:
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