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Calming piano sounds to bring focus and clarity

From Claude Debussy’s shimmering melodies to the still, expansive atmospheres of Abul Mogard and Poppy Ackroyd, this set flows through eras and textures.

Let yourself drift through a piano-led soundscape where stillness and resonance intertwine. This show weaves together 20th-century impressionism, romantic nocturnes, and contemporary minimalism, linking Marie Jaëll’s rarely heard concerto to Abdullah Ibrahim’s meditative solo piece The Wedding, and Fiona Brice’s intimate Prelude 3 to Lili Boulanger’s poignant harmonic colour. British experimental artist Leyland Kirby closes the set with his gently melancholic Thirty-Four, leaving a hush that lingers. Spanning more than a century, each piece invites soft reflection and focus.

To listen on most smart speakers, just say: “Ask BBC Sounds to play Piano Focus”.

Produced by Áine Devaney.
A Reduced Listening production for BBC Sounds MM.

2 hours

On radio

Sun 25 Jan 202612:00
BBC Radio 3 Unwind

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Music Played

  • Claude Debussy

    Estampes, L.100: I. Pagodes

    Performer: Llŷr Williams.
    • Estampes, L.100: I. Pagodes.
    • Signum.

  • Francis Choinière

    Coup de foudre

    Performer: Francis Choinière.
    • Coup de foudre.
    • GFN Classics.

  • Thibault Ravina

    Horizon

    Performer: Thibault Ravina.
    • Songes.

  • Lili Boulanger

    Prélude en Ré b/Des

    Performer: Antonii Baryshevskyi.
    • Prélude en Ré b/Des.
    • Carus.

  • Gabriel Dupont

    Les heures dolentes: No. 2, Le soir tombe dans la chambre

    Performer: Daniel Blumenthal.
    • Les heures dolentes: No. 2, Le soir tombe dans la chambre.
    • Cybelia.

  • Irena and Vojtěch Havlovi

    Piano & Violoncello 3

    Performer: Irena and Vojtěch Havlovi.
    • Piano & Violoncello 3.

  • Shida Shahabi

    Abisme

    Performer: Shida Shahabi.
    • Homes.

  • Edvard Grieg

    Grieg: Nocturne, Op. 54 No. 4, from Lyric Pieces

    Performer: Steven Spooner.
    • Emil Gilels.

  • Frank Bridge

    Miniatures: II. Tempo di valse

    Performer: Ashley Wass.
    • Bridge: Piano Music, Vol. 1.

  • Fiona Brice

    Prelude 3

    Performer: Fiona Brice.
    • Piano Preludes.

  • An Gwang Hyeon

    Glass

    Performer: An Gwang Hyeon.
    • Selected Works (2022-2025).

  • Robert Thies

    Waves of Color - Blue Landscapes

    Composer: Damjan Krajacic. Performer: Robert Thies. Performer: Damjan Krajacic.
    • Blue Landscapes.

  • Miloslav Kabeláč

    Eight Preludes for Piano, Op. 30: No. 5, Preludio notturno - Adagio

    Performer: Daniel Wiesner.
    • Kabeláč: Piano Works.

  • Marie Jaëll

    Klavierkonzert No. 2 in C Minor: II. Andante

    Performer: WDR Funkhausorchester. Performer: Arjan Tien. Performer: Cora Irsen.
    • Marie Jaëll: Complete Works for Piano, Vol. 4.

  • Germaine Tailleferre

    Le petit livre de harpe de Madame Tardieu (No 18, 'Pas trop vite')

    Performer: Alessandra Ziveri.
    • DA VINCI CLASSICS.

  • Howard Skempton

    3 Nocturnes: No. 1

    Performer: William Howard.
    • Howard Skempton: Piano Works.

  • Elijah Fox

    L'Autre Cote

    Performer: Elijah Fox.
    • Wyoming (Piano Works).

  • 金子巧

    Love Lost

    Performer: 金子巧.
    • Unwind.

  • Abdullah Ibrahim

    The Wedding

    Performer: Abdullah Ibrahim.
    • Solotude.

  • John Field

    Piano Concerto No. 6 in C Major, H. 49: II. Larghetto

    Performer: Míċeál O'Rourke. Performer: Matthias Bamert. Performer: London Mozart Players.
    • Field: The Piano Concertos.

  • Anthony Joseph Lanman

    Hommage A Jackson Pollock

    Performer: Holly Roadfeldt.
    • Hommages.

  • Marie Krüttli

    L'étendue

    Performer: Marie Krüttli.
    • Transparence.

  • Abul Mogard

    Sand

    Performer: Abul Mogard.
    • In Immobile Air.

  • Floris Boere

    Take Me Away, Blue Jay

    Performer: Floris Boere.
    • Take Me Away, Blue Jay.

  • Joe Collier

    Reverie Breath You Take

    Performer: Joe Collier.
    • Reverie Breath You Take.

  • Poppy Ackroyd

    Seedling

    Performer: Poppy Ackroyd.
    • Pause.

  • Leyland Kirby

    Thirty-Four

    Performer: Leyland Kirby.
    • We drink to forget the coming storm.

Broadcasts

  • Thu 11 Sep 202512:00
    BBC Radio 3 Unwind
  • Sat 11 Oct 202512:00
    BBC Radio 3 Unwind
  • Sun 25 Jan 202612:00
    BBC Radio 3 Unwind