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Soothing winter melodies to brighten your day

Gentle wintery classical music to inspire focus and lift your spirits. Presented by broadcaster, author and counselling psychologist Dr Sian Williams.

Calming wintry classical music to inspire focus and ease you gently into the day, with pieces shaped by snow, stillness and the quiet beauty of the colder months. Presented by broadcaster, author and counselling psychologist Dr Sian Williams.

Featuring atmospheric winter landscapes from Tchaikovsky, Schubert, Einaudi, Elgar, Mahler, Grieg and more, this three-hour special explores the clarity and calm we can find in colder days. Plus, Professor Catherine Loveday reveals how our musical choices change with the seasons, and why the playlists we turn to in winter carry their own distinct emotional tone.

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3 hours

Last on

Tue 23 Dec 202509:00
BBC Radio 3 Unwind

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Music Played

  • Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

    The Seasons, Op 37B (1st mvt, 'January. By the fireplace')

    Conductor: Neeme Järvi. Orchestra: Detroit Symphony Orchestra.
    • Chandos.

  • R. Nathaniel Dett

    Tropic Winter (4th mvt, 'Legend of the Atoll')

    Performer: Clipper Erickson.
    • Navona.

  • Lars‐Erik Larsson

    En vintersaga, Op 18 (3rd mvt, 'Pastoral')

    Conductor: Andrew Manze. Orchestra: Helsingborgs Symfoniorkester.
    • CPO.

  • Franz Schubert

    Winterreise, Op 89, arr for cello, horn, and piano (No 21, 'Das Wirtshaus')

    Performer: Josephine Knight. Performer: Timothy Jones. Performer: Simon Crawford‐Phillips. Music Arranger: Timothy Jones.
    • Orchid.

  • Michael Torke

    Winter's Tale (2nd mvt, 'Perdita's Flowers I')

    Performer: Julie Albers. Conductor: David Alan Miller. Orchestra: Albany Symphony Orchestra.
    • Albany.

  • Ludovico Einaudi

    The Snow Prelude No 2

    Performer: Ludovico Einaudi.
    • Decca.

  • Sally Beamish

    In the Stillness

    Choir: Pembroke College Chapel Choir. Conductor: Anna Lapwood.
    • Signum.

  • Nigel Hess

    Shakespeare Pictures (2nd mvt, 'The Winter's Tale. The Statue')

    Ensemble: Central Band of the Royal Air Force.
    • Chandos.

  • Edward Elgar

    2 Partsongs, Op 26 (No 1, 'The Snow')

    Performer: Radoslaw Szulc. Performer: Julita Smoleń. Performer: Max Hanft. Choir: Bavarian Radio Symphony Choir. Conductor: Howard Arman.
    • BR-Klassik.

  • Gustav Mahler

    Symphony No 5 in C sharp minor (4th mvt)

    Conductor: Ryan Wigglesworth. Orchestra: BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra.

  • Edvard Grieg

    Symphony in C minor, EG 119 (2nd mvt)

    Conductor: Bjarte Engeset. Orchestra: Malmö SymfoniOrkester.
    • Naxos.

  • Graciane Finzi

    Une Petite Suite (3rd mvt, 'Hiver')

    Ensemble: Quatuor Zahir.
    • Aparté.

  • Erik Satie

    Pieces froides [Cold Pieces] (2nd mvt, 'Danses de travers')

    Performer: Hélène Grimaud.
    • DG.

  • Ludwig van Beethoven

    Sonata in C sharp minor, Op 27 No 2, 'Moonlight', arr for orchestra (1st mvt)

    Conductor: Michaela Rózsa Růžičková. Orchestra: Czech National Symphony Orchestra.
    • Etymology.

  • James Oswald

    Airs for the Seasons: Winter (11 mvt, 'Snow Drop')

    Ensemble: Rezonance Baroque Ensemble.
    • Leaf.

  • Rachel Portman

    Frozen Lake (The Human Stain)

    Performer: Raphaela Gromes. Performer: Rachel Portman.
    • Sony.

  • Alexander Litvinovsky

    Pinocchio (XI, 'La Fata dai Capelli Turchini')

    Conductor: Pavel Lyubomudrov. Orchestra: Metamorphose String Orchestra.
    • Halidon.

  • Jean Sibelius

    Pelleas et Melisande (8th mvt, 'The Death of Melisande')

    Conductor: Leif Segerstam. Orchestra: Turku Philharmonic Orchestra.
    • Naxos.

  • Gabríel Ólafs

    Frost (Grand Piano)

    Performer: Gabríel Ólafs.
    • Decca.

  • Huang Tzu

    Plum Blossoms in the Snow

    Performer: Xuefei Yang.
    • Warner.

  • Reena Esmail

    A Winter Breviary (1st mvt, 'We Look for You')

    Choir: St Martin's Voices. Conductor: Andrew Earis.
    • Resonus.

  • Rebecca Dale

    Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

    Choir: Tenebrae. Conductor: Nigel Short.
    • Signum.

  • Frederick Delius

    North Country Sketches, RT VI/20 (2nd mvt, 'Winter Landscape')

    Conductor: Richard Hickox. Orchestra: Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra.
    • Chandos.

  • Max Richter

    Winter 2 (2022)

    Composer: Antonio Vivaldi. Performer: Elena Urioste. Orchestra: Chineke! Orchestra.
    • DG.

  • Alexis Ffrench

    Footprints in the Snow

    Performer: Alexis Ffrench.
    • Sony.

  • Ēriks Ešenvalds

    The Long Road

    Choir: VOCES8. Conductor: Barnaby Smith.
    • Voces8 Records.

  • Barnaby Taylor

    Tundra Swans (Wild China)

    Orchestra: BBC Concert Orchestra. Ensemble: UK Chinese Ensemble.
    • Parlophone.

  • Francis Poulenc

    Un soir de neige, FP126 (1st & 2nd mvts)

    Choir: The Sixteen. Conductor: Harry Christophers.
    • Erato.

  • Ola Gjeilo

    Winter

    Performer: Ola Gjeilo.
    • Decca.

  • Jonathan Dove

    Stargazer (6th mvt, 'The Milky Way')

    Performer: Peter Moore. Conductor: Timothy Redmond. Orchestra: BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra.
    • Orchid.

  • Mari Esabel Valverde

    Winter Ride

    Choir: SACRA/PROFANA. Conductor: Juan Carlos Acosta.
    • Sacra/Profana.

  • Florence Price

    Clouds

    Performer: Beatrice Nicholas.
    • AvidPlay.

  • Christopher Simpson

    The Four Seasons: Winter (1st mvt, 'Fan')

    Ensemble: Sirius VIOLS.
    • DHM.

  • Fazil Say

    Art of Piano, Op 66 (3rd mvt, 'Winter Morning in Istanbul')

    Performer: Fazil Say.
    • Warner.

  • Sergey Prokofiev

    Cinderella, Op 87 (Act 1: 'Winter Fairy')

    Conductor: André Previn. Orchestra: London Symphony Orchestra.
    • Warner.

  • Joanna Marsh

    In Winter's House

    Ensemble: The Lyons Mouth. Conductor: Robert Hollingworth.
    • Signum.

  • Selim Palmgren

    Morceaux, Op 57 (Snowflakes)

    Performer: Eldbjørg Hemsing. Orchestra: Arctic Philharmonic Orchestra.
    • Sony.

  • Roxanna Panufnik

    Four World Seasons (2nd mvt, 'Tibetan Winter')

    Performer: Tasmin Little. Conductor: Graham Bradshaw. Orchestra: BBC Symphony Orchestra.
    • Chandos.

  • Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov

    The Snow Maiden Suite (Prologue and Dance of the Birds)

    Conductor: Kees Bakels. Orchestra: Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra.
    • BIS.

  • Harrie Loontjens

    Op kawwe wintermorrege [On a cold winter morning]

    Conductor: André Rieu. Orchestra: Johann Strauss Orchestra.
    • Andre Rieu Productions BV.

Broadcasts

  • Sun 7 Dec 202509:00
    BBC Radio 3 Unwind
  • Fri 19 Dec 202509:00
    BBC Radio 3 Unwind
  • Tue 23 Dec 202509:00
    BBC Radio 3 Unwind