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John Toal brings you a vibrant mix of orchestral masterpieces, choral gems, and cinematic favorites.

John Toal brings you a vibrant mix of orchestral masterpieces, choral gems, and cinematic favorites. This week’s selection spans the globe, featuring Handel’s regal Water Music, Copland’s powerful Fanfare for the Common Man, and Grieg’s thrilling In the Hall of the Mountain King. Plus, we take a trip to the Antrim coast with Charles Villiers Stanford’s beautiful Cushendall, and cross the Atlantic with Meredith Monk’s moving Ellis Island.

John's Classical Connection this week is on Italy

23 days left to listen

1 hour, 57 minutes

Last on

Last Sunday19:03
BBC Radio Ulster & BBC Radio Foyle

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Music Played

  • George Frideric Handel

    Water Music Suite No. 2 in D Major, HWV 349: II. Alla Hornpipe

    Performer: German Symphony Orchestra Berlin. Performer: Lorin Maazel.

  • Ottorino Respighi

    Pini di Roma, P. 141: IV. I pini della Via Appia

    Performer: Leonard Bernstein. Performer: New York Philharmonic.

  • Frédéric Chopin

    Nocturnes, Op. 9: No. 2 in E-Flat Major. Andante

    Performer: Alice Sara Ott.

  • Sylvius Leopold Weiss

    Lute Sonata No. 36 in D Minor: IV. Sarabande

    Performer: Robert Barto.

  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

    Ave verum corpus, K. 618

    Performer: William Christie. Performer: Les Arts Florissants.

  • Thomas Tallis

    If Ye Love Me

    Performer: Choir of Clare College, Cambridge. Performer: Timothy Brown.

  • Niccolò Paganini

    Caprice in A minor, Op. 1, No. 24

    Performer: Mayuko Kamio.

  • John Adams

    Short Ride in a Fast Machine

    Performer: Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra.

  • Antonín Dvořák

    Slavonic Dance, Op. 46 Nr. 8

    Performer: Leonard Slatkin. Performer: Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra.

  • Johannes Brahms

    Hungarian Dance No. 5

    Performer: Nicola Benedetti. Performer: Tamás Andras. Featured Artist: Ksenija Sidorova. Featured Artist: Peter Limonov.

  • Gioachino Rossini

    L'italiana in Algeri: Sinfonia (Andante - Allegro)

    Performer: Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra. Performer: Gianluigi Gelmetti.

  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

    The Marriage of Figaro Overture

    Performer: London Philharmonic Orchestra. Performer: Alfred Scholz.

  • Claude Debussy

    Preludes, Book 1, L. 117: No. 8, La fille aux cheveux de lin

    Performer: Marita Viitasalo.

  • Isaac Albéniz

    Asturias

    Performer: Toni Cotolí.

  • George Frideric Handel

    Solomon, HWV 67: Sinfonia \Arrival of the Queen of Sheba\

    Performer: Raymond Leppard. Performer: English Chamber Orchestra.

  • Aaron Copland

    Fanfare For The Common Man

    Performer: Venezuelan Brass Ensemble. Performer: Thomas Clamor.

  • Edward Elgar

    Salut d'Amour, Op. 12

    Performer: Yo‐Yo Ma. Performer: Kathryn Stott.

  • Gabriel Fauré

    Sicilienne, Op. 78

    Performer: Cécile Licad. Performer: Alban Gerhardt.

  • Pyotr Tchaikovsky

    The Nutcracker, Op. 71, Act II: No. 14c, Pas de deux. Variation II Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy

    Performer: André Previn. Performer: London Symphony Orchestra. Featured Artist: Ambrosian Singers.

  • Edvard Grieg

    Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, Op. 46: IV. In the Hall of the Mountain King

    Performer: Leonard Bernstein. Performer: New York Philharmonic.

  • Michael Kamen

    Main Titles From "Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves"

    Performer: Cincinnati Pops Orchestra. Performer: Erich Kunzel.

  • Stanford

    Cushendall, Op. 118: No. 3, Cushendall

    Performer: Sharon Carty. Performer: Finghin Collins.

  • Meredith Monk

    Ellis Island

    Performer: Katia Labèque. Performer: Marielle Labèque. Featured Artist: Bryce Dessner. Featured Artist: David Chalmin.

Broadcast

  • Last Sunday19:03
    BBC Radio Ulster & BBC Radio Foyle