Radio 3 in Concert

Original version

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

BBC Radio 3

Radio 3

Music: Classical

The best concerts from across the UK and Europe. Available to listen online for 30 days

Experience the best concerts from across the UK and Europe. Available to listen online for 30 days

Radio 3 in Concert: Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

BBC Radio 3 - Radio 3 in Concert, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

Simon Trpčeski joins Vasily Petrenko and the RPO to perform Greig's mighty Piano Concerto.

Simon Trpčeski joins Vasily Petrenko and the RPO to perform Greig's mighty Piano Concerto, plus Wagner's Faust Overture and Richard Strauss's Also sprach Zarathustra.

Wagner: Faust Overture
Grieg: Piano Concerto
Strauss: Also sprach Zarathustra

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Vasily Petrenko Conductor
Simon Trpčeski Piano

Recorded at the Royal Festival Hall in London.

Presented by Ian Skelly.


This programme starts and ends in utter darkness, casting the moments of light and revelation in sharp relief. In his Overture, Wagner underscores Faust’s pact with the devil with music of fear and trepidation. After its famous sunrise, Strauss’s tone poem Also sprach Zarathustra fades into a question mark at the stroke of midnight. 

Both give us heroes that are reaching desperately for enlightenment, either grappling with evil forces or declaring 'God is dead’. For Faust the struggle is between faith, intellect and passion. For Zarathustra the prophet, only humanity can solve its own riddles. 

This is German Romanticism at its headiest, with music that is both brooding and bold. Wagner’s 'unending melody' is the perfect match for Faust’s yearning and deep-held passions, while Strauss takes us in nine imaginative scenes from desolation to a mountain-top awakening and the dawn of a new understanding.

Mountains of a different kind define Grieg’s Piano Concerto, whose melodic richness echoes the beauty of the fjords. The finale is inspired by a folk fiddle dance that challenges how high the dancers can jump. This is a work that invites you to embrace the simpler pleasures in life.

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.

Accessibility links

Programme Index

Radio 3 in Concert

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

Genres

Brand

BBC Radio 3

About BBC Radio 3