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Luminous piano works to still your mind

From Mel Bonis’s late-Romantic lyricism to Kara-Lis Coverdale’s contemporary restraint, immerse yourself in a carefully curated mix of melodies designed for focus and reflection.

Spanning more than twelve decades, this mix glides from the gentle reverberations of British contemporary Erland Cooper and avant-garde innovator Felicia Atkinson to timeless voices like Harold Budd and Jean Sibelius. Seamlessly weaving reflective melodies that have brightened quiet moments across the ages, this collection celebrates the piano’s enduring power to console, uplift, and transcend.

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

Music Played

  • Mel Bonis

    Les Femmes De Légende: No. 3, Ophélie, Op. 165 No. 1

    Performer: Mengyiyi Chen.
    • Bonis: Complete Music for Solo Piano, Vol. 1.
    • Toccata Classics.
  • Johannes Brahms

    Intermezzo in E Major, Op. 116, No. 4 (Upright Piano)

    Performer: Víkingur Ólafsson.
    • Deutsche Grammophon (DG).
  • Edwin York Bowen & Raphaël Epstein

    Berceuse in D Major, Op. 83

    • Berceuses au piano.
    • Continuo Classics.
  • Llywelyn ap Myrddin & Aisa Ijiri

    Sakura - Original Mix

    • Sakura.
  • Arthur Rubinstein

    La Plus Que

    • Classical SoundScapes For Film, Vol. 2.
    • Blue Pie Records.
  • Elijah Fox

    Lari

    • Lari.
    • PLYGRND.
  • Ryuichi Sakamoto

    Before Long

    • Playing the Piano 12122020.
    • Commons.
  • Nikolai Girshevich Kapustin & David Brain

    Sonata for Piano No. 1 (Sonata-Fantasia), Op. 39 II: Largo

    • Kapustin Twenty-Four Preludes, Op. 53 and Sonata No.1, Op.39.
    • Ringwood.
  • Kara‐Lis Coverdale

    Suspension of Swallowed Earth

    • A Series of Actions in a Sphere of Forever.
  • Félicia Atkinson

    Mauve

    • Promenades.
    • Shelter Press.
  • Erland Cooper & Simeon Walker

    Kittick - Simeon Walker Rework

    • Holm (Variations & B-sides).
    • Phases.
  • Joaquín Turina & Jordi Masó

    Poema fantastico, Op. 98: I. En el hall del hotel

    • Turina: Piano Music, Vol. 6.
    • Naxos.
  • John Lunn & Alessandro Simonetto

    Downton Abbey Suite (Version for Piano): VII. Taking Leave

    • John Lunn: Downton Abbey Suite (Version for Piano).
    • OnClassical.
  • Alex Kozobolis

    Red Threads Over Grey

    • Moonlight.
  • Sova

    In Our Softening

    • In Our Softening.
  • Lili Boulanger

    Prélude en Ré b/Des

    • Lili Boulanger: Hymne au Soleil. Chorwerke.
    • Carus-Verlag.
  • Philip Glass & Vanessa Wagner

    Etude No. 2

    • Etude No. 1 → No. 8.
    • Infine Music.
  • Sarah Neutkens & Alma Quartet

    Hexagon

    • What Is Sarah Neutkens Thinking?.
    • Decca.
  • Federico Mompou & Jordi Masó

    Ballet: V. Temps de Blues

    • Mompou: Piano Music, Vol..
    • Naxos.
  • Jean Sibelius & Håvard Gimse

    5 Pieces, Op. 75, "The Trees": No. 5 Granen (The Spruce)

    • Sibelius: Piano Music, Vol. 4.
    • Naxos.
  • Harold Budd

    How Vacantly You Stare at Me - 2013 Remaster

    • Avalon Sutra (2013 Remaster).
    • Darla Records.
  • Willem Nyland

    337.B2

    Performer: Willem Nyland.
    • Piano Studies 337.
    • Mississippi Records.
  • Frank Bridge & Ashley Wass

    Miniature Pastorals, Set 1: II. Tempo di valse

    • Bridge: Piano Music, Vol. 1.
    • Naxos.
  • Yumiko Morioka

    Komorebi

    • Resonance.
    • Green & Water.
  • Rachel’s

    Egon & Wally Embrace and Say Farewell

    • Music for Egon Schiele.
    • Quarterstick Records.
  • Ironomi

    葉衣

    • 琹の葉.
    • Kitchen. Label.
  • Johann Sebastian Bach & Alim Beisembayev

    Prelude from Prelude & Fugue in E-flat minor, BWV 853 (Das Wohltemperierte Klavi

    • Prelude from Prelude & Fugue in E-flat minor, BWV 853 (Das Wohltemperierte Klavi.
  • Dylan John Sparkes

    Wholeness

    • Wholeness.
  • Sam Watts

    Mirror

    • Mirror.

Broadcasts

  • Thu 9 Oct 202512:00
  • Sat 8 Nov 202512:00
  • Fri 30 Jan 202612:00