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Mandolinist Chris Thile talks bluegrass and Bach

Tom Service chats to mandolinist Chris Thile and composer Mark Anthony Turnage. Plus guests, stories and the perfect classical soundtrack for the weekend!

Tom Service with guests, stories and the perfect classical soundtrack for the weekend!

Mandolinist Chris Thile has been described by NPR as a ‘genre-defying musical genius’ - whether he's playing in folk and bluegrass bands The Punch Brothers or Nickel Creek, collaborating with Brad Mehldau or Yo-Yo Ma or performing solo music by JS Bach, his musical imagination always shines through. Chris talks to Tom about his new Bach album, upcoming gig at London Jazz Festival and living life as a musical chameleon.

Composer Mark-Anthony Turnage, better known for acclaimed explosive operas like Greek or Festen, is taking a trip into childhood nostalgia with his new opera based on the beloved children's classic The Railway Children. Mark talks to Tom about writing the score and his own childhood experiences in music.

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3 hours

Last on

Sat 8 Nov 202509:00
BBC Radio 3

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Music Played

  • Maurice Ravel

    Le tombeau de Couperin (Rigaudon)

    Performer: Seong‐Jin Cho.
    • Ravel: The Complete Solo Piano Works.
    • Deutsche Grammophon (DG).

  • Antonín Dvořák

    Slavonic dances - series 1 Op.46 (no.4 in F major)

    Orchestra: Czech Philharmonic. Conductor: Sir Simon Rattle.
    • Antonín Dvořák: Slavonic Dances.
    • PENTATONE.
    • 4.

  • Claude Debussy

    Passepied (Suite bergamasque)

    Music Arranger: Punch Brothers. Performer: Punch Brothers.
    • The Phosphorescent Blues.
    • Nonesuch.
    • 3.

  • George Frideric Handel

    Giulio Cesare in Egitto (Piangerò la sorte mia)

    Singer: Berit Norbakken Solset. Orchestra: Arctic Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor: Henning Kraggerud.
    • LAWO.

  • Johannes Brahms

    Intermezzo in E major (7 Fantasies Op.116)

    Performer: Víkingur Ólafsson.
    • From Afar.
    • DG.

  • Erich Wolfgang Korngold

    Violin concerto in D major Op.35 (1st mvt)

    Performer: James Ehnes. Orchestra: Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Bramwell Tovey.
    • Barber, Korngold, Walton: Violin Concertos.
    • ONYX.
    • 1.

  • Michael Daugherty

    Gee's Bend (Washboard)

    Performer: D. J. Sparr. Orchestra: Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor: Neal Gittleman.
    • Albany.

  • Ferdinand Ries

    Symphony no.8 in E flat major (3rd mvt)

    Orchestra: Tapiola Sinfonietta. Conductor: Janne Nisonen.
    • Ries: Symphony "No. 8" in E-Flat Major, WoO 30 & Symphony No. 3 in E-Flat Major,.
    • Ondine.
    • 103.

  • Giuseppe Fedeli Saggione

    Quand je veux boire avec ma maitresse

    Ensemble: Les Kapsber’girls.
    • Vous avez dit Brunettes?.
    • Alpha Classics.
    • 22.

  • George Gershwin

    Piano concerto in F major (2nd mvt)

    Performer: Kirill Gerstein. Orchestra: Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: David Robertson.
    • The Gershwin Moment (Live).
    • Myrios Classics.
    • 7.

  • Johann Sebastian Bach

    Partita no.3 in E major BWV.1006 (Prelude)

    Performer: Chris Thile.
    • Nonesuch.

  • Johann Sebastian Bach

    Sonata for solo violin no.3 in C major BWV.1005 (Fugue)

    Performer: Chris Thile.
    • Nonesuch.

  • Johann Sebastian Bach

    Partita no.3 in E major BWV.1006 (Menuet)

    Performer: Chris Thile.
    • Nonesuch.

  • Felix Mendelssohn

    Symphony no.5 in D major Op.107 'Reformation' (4th mvt)

    Orchestra: Scottish Chamber Orchestra. Conductor: Maxim Emelyanychev.
    • LINN.

  • Franz Schubert

    4 Impromptus D.899 (no.3 in G flat major)

    Performer: Maria João Pires.
    • Schubert: Impromptus: Maria Joao Pires.
    • Deutsche Grammophon.
    • 2.

  • Takashi Yoshimatsu

    Symphony no.4 Op.82 (4th mvt)

    Orchestra: BBC Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor: Sachio Fujioka.
    • Yoshimatsu: Symphony No. 4, Trombone Concerto & Atom Hearts Club Suite.
    • Chandos.
    • 104.

  • Caroline Shaw

    Ochre (Siderite)

    Choir: The Crossing. Conductor: Donald Nally.
    • Navona.

  • Nicola Matteis, Jr

    Suite in G major (Sarabande)

    Performer: Théotime Langlois de Swarte. Performer: Thomas Dunford.
    • The Mad Lover.
    • Harmonia Mundi.
    • 17.

  • William Walton

    Symphony no.1 in B flat minor (4th mvt)

    Orchestra: Sinfonia of London. Conductor: John Wilson.
    • Walton: Cello Concerto, Symphony No. 1 & Scapino.
    • Chandos.
    • 108.

  • Mark‐Anthony Turnage

    The Torn Fields (Interlude)

    Performer: Gerald Finley. Orchestra: London Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor: Marin Alsop.
    • Turnage: Songs.
    • London Philharmonic Orchestra.
    • 115.

  • Mark‐Anthony Turnage

    The Railway Children

    Performer: Glyndebourne Festival Opera.
    • Private recording.

  • Mark‐Anthony Turnage

    Momentum

    Orchestra: BBC Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Andrew Davis.
    • BBC recording.

  • Ludwig van Beethoven

    Symphony no.7 in A major Op.92 (4th mvt)

    Orchestra: Potsdam Chamber Academy. Conductor: Antonello Manacorda.
    • Beethoven: Symphony No. 8 in F Major, Op. 93.
    • Sony Classical.
    • 4.

  • John Jenkins

    Divisions on a Ground in C major

    Performer: Robert Smith. Performer: Paolo Pandolfo.
    • The Excellency of Hand: English Viola da Gamba Duos.
    • Resonus.
    • 6.

  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

    Ein Mädchen oder Weibchen (The Magic Flute)

    Singer: Huw Montague Rendall. Orchestra: Marie Jacquot. Conductor: Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.

  • Hannah Peel

    Pulsar

    Orchestra: BBC Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor: Gemma New.
    • BBC recording.

  • Hannah Peel

    Sunrise through the Dusty Nebula

    Ensemble: Tubular Brass. Conductor: Sandy Smith.
    • My Own Pleasure.

  • Gustav Holst

    Mars (The Planets Suite Op.32)

    Orchestra: London Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor: Vladimir Jurowski.
    • Holst: The Planets.
    • London Philharmonic Orchestra.
    • 101.

  • Margaret Hubicki

    Serenade (Goladon Suite)

    Performer: James Kirby. Performer: Frederick Stocken.
    • Chandos.

  • Arnold Bax

    4 Orchestral Sketches (Dance in the Sun)

    Orchestra: BBC Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor: Andrew Davis.
    • Bax: Orchestral Works.
    • Chandos.
    • 2.

Broadcast

  • Sat 8 Nov 202509:00
    BBC Radio 3