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BBC Radio 3 is a radio channel that started transmitting on the 30th September 1967. It replaced Third Programme.

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Essential Classics

Music: Classical

Refresh your morning with a great selection of classical music

Refresh your morning with a great selection of classical music, presented by Georgia Mann.

Essential Classics: Wednesday - Rob Cowan with James May

Monday - Rob Cowan with James May

31/12/2014

Wednesday - Rob Cowan with James May

BBC Radio 3 - Essential Classics, Wednesday - Rob Cowan with James Maysearch

With Rob Cowan. Including Rob's Essential Choice: String Quartet in C minor, Op 35.

With Rob Cowan. Including Five Reasons to Love Orchestral Lollipops; Musical Challenge: Mystery Composer; Riccardo Muti; Rob's Essential Choice: String Quartet in C minor, Op 35.

Discover definitive recordings of the greatest classical music with your trusted guide, Rob Cowan. His guest is journalist and presenter of BBC's Top Gear programme, James May.

9am
A selection of music including '5 Reasons to Love... orchestral lollipops'. Throughout the week Rob welcomes in the New Year with a selection of orchestral lollipops recalling the tradition of Thomas Beecham's orchestral bons-bons. The San Francisco Symphony conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas play familiar favourites include Rachmaninov's Vocalise, Delius's On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring, Schubert's Entracte No.3 from Rosamunde and Litolff's celebrated Scherzo.

9.30am
Musical challenge: Mystery Composer

10am 
Rob's guest this week, sharing his favourite classical music every day at 10am, is James May. Best known as co-presenter of the BBC's Top Gear programme, the Renaissance man of motoring takes off his driving gloves and returns to Essential Classics to dig deeper into another of his great passions. A former chorister and occasional flautist, May is a classical music enthusiast with a particular love of the keyboard. 

10.30am
This week Rob's featured artist is the eminent Italian conductor Riccardo Muti, whose performances combine probing intelligence and an intense conviction. Rob will feature benchmark recordings throughout the week from his prestigious career with orchestras such as the Berlin Philharmonic, the Chicago Symphony, the Vienna Philharmonic and from his tenure as music director at La Scala, Milan. Not forgetting his memorable New Year's Day Concert of 2000. 

11am
Essential Choice 

Chausson
String Quartet in C minor, op.35
Via Nova Quartet.

Live music and the arts: broadcasts more live music than any other radio network. Classical music is its core. Genres include world and new music, jazz, speech and drama.

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