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Slow down with a calm classical soundtrack

Niall Breslin brings you calming classical music to help you release the stresses of the day, recharge and prepare to rest.

Three hours of calming classical music to help you release the stresses of the day, recharge and prepare to rest - presented by Irish musician and mindfulness expert Niall Breslin.

This episode features a rich blend of music from the likes of Ethel Smyth, Lara Somogyi and Edvard Grieg. Plus, a chance to Press Pause with meditation teacher Maude Hirst, and some essential Wind Down Wisdom from science podcaster Caroline Steel on how spending time with friends can help relieve the pressures of your day.

To listen on most smart speakers just ask BBC Sounds to play Classical Wind Down.

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3 hours

Last on

Last Monday17:00
BBC Radio 3 Unwind

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Embrace your evening with warming classical music

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Let go of the day with soothing music

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Music Played

  • Valentin Silvestrov

    Postludium No 3

    Performer: Matt Haimovitz. Performer: Nadia Shpachenko.
    • Pentatone.

  • Eric Whitacre

    The Seal Lullaby

    Performer: Lavinia Meijer. Choir: VOCES8.
    • Decca Music Group Ltd..

  • Erik Sigurd

    Rondeau

    • Leif Kaner-Lidstrom.

  • Hubert Parry

    Slow Minuet from Lady Radnor's Suite

    Orchestra: Philharmonia Orchestra. Conductor: Patrick Hawes.
    • Classic FM.

  • Chad Lawson

    This is what love is

    Performer: James Southall. Performer: Thomas Gould. Performer: David O'Leary. Performer: Rachel Roberts. Performer: Richard Harwood.
    • Chad Lawson Decca US.

  • Fiona Brice

    Ivy Falls

    Performer: Fiona Brice.
    • Bigo & Twigetti.

  • Granville Bantock

    Hamabdil

    Performer: Andrew Fuller. Performer: Lucy Wakeford.
    • Dutton Epoch.

  • Mattia Vlad Morleo

    Elusive Scent

    Performer: Mattia Vlad Morleo.
    • Mattia Vlad Morleo.

  • William Lawes

    Pavane from Royal Consort Suite No 10 in B flat major

    Performer: Elizabeth Kenny. Ensemble: Phantasm.
    • Linn Records.

  • Alexander Borodin

    Symphony No 2 in B minor (3rd mvt)

    Orchestra: BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Martyn Brabbins.

  • Julia Gjertsen

    Runddans

    Performer: Julia Gjertsen.
    • LEITER Verlag GmbH & Co. KG.

  • Ferdinand Thieriot

    Larghetto for viola and organ

    Performer: Julia Mensching. Performer: Alexander Burkle.
    • Toccata Classics.

  • Edvard Grieg

    Cradle Song (Lyric Pieces, Op 68 No 5)

  • Gabriel Fauré

    Berceuse (from Dolly, Op 56)

    Orchestra: RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Jean-Luc Tingaud.
    • Naxos.

  • Johann Sebastian Bach

    Wachet Auf, ruft uns die Stimme BWV.645

    Performer: Yo‐Yo Ma. Performer: Edgar Meyer. Performer: Chris Thile.
    • Nonesuch.

  • Eydís Evensen

    Wandering II

    Performer: Eydís Evensen.
    • XXIM Records.

  • Kerensa Briggs

    Media Vita

    Choir: Pembroke College Girls' Choir. Conductor: Anna Lapwood.
    • SIGNUM.

  • Edward MacDowell

    Piano concerto No 1 in A minor, Op 15 (2nd mvt)

    Performer: Xiayin Wang. Orchestra: BBC Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor: John Wilson.
    • Chandos.

  • Gabríel Ólafs

    The Drifter

    Performer: Gabríel Ólafs.
    • Decca Records US.

  • Rufus Wainwright

    Offertorium from Dream Requiem

    Performer: Marc Desmons. Orchestra: Orchestre philharmonique de Radio France. Conductor: Mikko Franck.
    • Warner Classics.

  • Marika Takeuchi

    Misty Night

    Performer: Marika Takeuchi.
    • MRG Recordings.

  • Johann Nepomuk Hummel

    Trio for 2 violas & cello in E flat major (2nd mvt)

    Performer: Timothy Ridout. Performer: Ting-Ru Lai. Performer: Tim Posner.

  • Ify Iwobi

    Waterfall

    Performer: Ify Iwobi.
    • Ify Iwobi Music.

  • Matilda Brown

    Moving Through Emotions

    Orchestra: BBC Concert Orchestra. Conductor: Gabriella Teychenné.

  • Max Bruch

    Kol nidrei

    Performer: Natalie Clein. Orchestra: BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Ilan Volkov.
    • Hyperion.

  • Lara Somogyi

    jol

    Performer: Lara Somogyi.
    • Mercury Classics.

  • Marie Awadis

    Etude No 5: Traces (orchestral version)

    Performer: Marie Awadis. Orchestra: Scoring Berlin.
    • Deutsche Grammophon.

  • Claude Debussy

    The Girl with the Flaxen Hair

    Orchestrator: Colin Matthews. Performer: Jonathan Morton. Ensemble: Scottish Ensemble.
    • Linn Records.

  • John Hayes & Maxy Dutcher

    Dream Walker - Daigo Hanada rework

    • Moderna Records.

  • Ravi Shankar

    Raga Piloo, Aochar (Introduction)

    Performer: Daniel Hope. Performer: Gaurav Mazumdar. Performer: Asok Chakraborty. Performer: Gilda Sebastian.
    • Warner Classics.

  • Phoria

    Fairytail

    • Akira Records.

  • Neil Cowley

    Tramlines

    Performer: Neil Cowley.
    • Mote.

  • Nitin Sawhney

    Picturebook

    Performer: Hélène Grimaud.
    • Deutsche Grammophon.

  • Felix Mendelssohn

    Sextet in D major, Op 110 (2nd mvt)

    Performer: Hiroaki Takenouchi. Ensemble: Sinfonia Cymru.
    • Artalinna.

  • Jelle Dittmar

    Down Memory Lane

    Performer: Jelle Dittmar.
    • Neogarde.

  • Lloyd Coleman

    Luminescence

    Orchestra: BBC Concert Orchestra. Conductor: Ben Palmer.

  • CEEYS

    Yes, Brick by Brick

    • Neue Meister.

  • Bing & Ruth

    TWTGA

    • RVNG Intl..

  • Will Everitt

    Be kind to yourself

    Orchestra: BBC Concert Orchestra. Conductor: Gabriella Teychenné.

  • Ethel Smyth

    Nocturne

    Performer: David Kadouch.
    • Mirare.

Broadcasts

  • Thu 16 Jan 202518:00
    BBC Radio 3 Unwind
  • Mon 3 Feb 202518:00
    BBC Radio 3 Unwind
  • Thu 10 Apr 202518:00
    BBC Radio 3 Unwind
  • Thu 3 Jul 202518:00
    BBC Radio 3 Unwind
  • Last Monday17:00
    BBC Radio 3 Unwind