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Conductor Sakari Oramo on music and making magic

Tom Service talks to Last Night of the Proms conductor Sakari Oramo about his musical journey, and composer Julian Nott talks about creating the iconic theme to Wallace & Gromit.

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

Tom's guest is Finnish conductor Sakari Oramo, chief conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra. Fresh from conducting this year's Last Night of the Proms, Sakari talks about his journey into conducting and why a conductor needs the awareness of a pilot, the sensitivity of a social worker and the heart of an artist.

Plus - want to be a conductor like Sakari? A new video game, 'Maestro', gives players the chance to conduct an orchestra from their sofa - giving players a chance to play levels from Berlioz and Verdi to John Williams and Vivaldi. Tom tries out his armchair conducting on the game and speaks to the team's in-house conductor Gena Liévano about how they made the musical gameplay experience as life-like as possible.

Also, this Autumn marks the 50th anniversary of the groundbreaking animation studio Aardman, who have created classics from Morph and Shaun the Sheep to the much-loved Wallace and Gromit. Composer Julian Nott talks about how he created the iconic theme and musical world of the Wallace and Gromit films.

26 days left to listen

3 hours

Last on

Saturday 09:00
BBC Radio 3

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Music Played

  • Thomas Adès

    Dante (Inferno: The Thieves)

    Orchestra: Los Angeles Philharmonic. Conductor: Gustavo Dudamel.
    • Nonesuch.
    • 1.

  • Ludwig van Beethoven

    Piano Concerto no.2 in B flat (3rd mvt)

    Performer: Kristian Bezuidenhout. Orchestra: Freiburg Baroque Orchestra. Conductor: Pablo Heras‐Casado.
    • Harmonia Mundi.

  • Trad.

    My Lagan Love

    Music Arranger: Joseph Havlat. Singer: Lotte Betts-Dean. Performer: Joseph Havlat.
    • KIN.
    • Delphian Records.
    • 28.

  • Claude Debussy

    Clair de lune (Suite bergamasque)

    Music Arranger: Thibault Bertin-Maghit. Ensemble: collectif9.
    • Vagues et ombres.
    • Alpha Classics.
    • 4.

  • Steve Reich

    Tehillim (Part 2)

    Choir: Synergy Vocals. Orchestra: Los Angeles Philharmonic. Conductor: Stefan Asbury.
    • Steve Reich.
    • DG.
    • 13.

  • Amy Beach

    Symphony in E minor 'Gaelic' (2nd mvt)

    Orchestra: Münchner Symphoniker. Conductor: Joseph Bastian.
    • Beach: Works.
    • Solo Musica.
    • 2.

  • Joseph Haydn

    Piano Sonata in A flat major H.16.46 'Divertimento' (3rd mvt)

    Performer: Emanuel Ax.
    • Sony Classical.

  • Samuel Barber

    Violin Concerto Op.14 (2nd mvt)

    Performer: Geneva Lewis. Orchestra: BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Gemma New.
    • Barber & Glass: Violin Concertos - Zorn: Partita For the Firebird.
    • Delos.
    • 2.

  • Gioachino Rossini

    La Danza (Les soirées musicales)

    Music Arranger: Matteo Carcassi. Singer: Giulia Semenzato. Performer: Jadran Duncumb.
    • Corde di Luna: Romantics songs and canzonette.
    • harmonia mundi.
    • 1.

  • Emanuele Barbella

    Mandolin Concerto in D major

    Performer: Avi Avital. Ensemble: Il Giardino Armonico. Conductor: Giovanni Antonini.
    • Concertos.
    • Deutsche Grammophon.
    • 7-9.

  • Dora Pejačević

    Symphony in F sharp minor Op.41 (3rd mvt)

    Orchestra: BBC Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Sakari Oramo.
    • Chandos.

  • Grażyna Bacewicz

    Sympony no.2 (4th mvt)

    Orchestra: BBC Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Sakari Oramo.
    • Bacewicz: Orchestral Works Vol. 2.
    • Chandos.
    • 4.

  • Jean Sibelius

    Symphony no.2 in D (1st mvt)

    Orchestra: City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Sakari Oramo.
    • Sibelius : Symphonies Nos 2 & 4.
    • Warner Classics International.
    • 1.

  • Antonín Dvořák

    Piano Trio no.4 in E minor 'Dumky' (3rd mvt)

    Performer: Christian Tetzlaff. Performer: Tanja Tetzlaff. Performer: Lars Vogt.
    • Dvořák: Piano Trios Nos. 3 & 4.
    • Ondine.
    • 7.

  • Tommaso Traetta

    Ifigenia in Tauride (Sinfonia)

    Orchestra: Les Talens Lyriques. Conductor: Christophe Rousset.
    • Traetta: Ifigenia in Tauride.
    • Aparté.
    • 1.

  • Valentin Silvestrov

    Alleluia (Liturgical chants)

    Singer: Ieva Ezeriete. Choir: Latvian Radio Choir. Conductor: Sigvards Kļava.
    • Silvestrov: To Thee We Sing.
    • Ondine.

  • Maurice Ravel

    Piano Concerto in G (2nd mvt)

    Performer: Yuja Wang. Orchestra: Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich. Conductor: Lionel Bringuier.
    • Ravel.
    • Deutsche Grammophon.

  • Arcangelo Corelli

    Sonata in F Op.5 no.4 (2nd mvt)

    Performer: Anna Besson. Performer: Myriam Rignol. Performer: Jean Rondeau.
    • Corelli & Quentin: Flute Sonatas.
    • Alpha Classics.
    • 2.

  • Franz Schubert

    Symphony no.4 in C minor 'Tragic' (4th mvt)

    Orchestra: The Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen. Conductor: Paavo Järvi.
    • Schubert: Symphonies Vol. 1: No. 7 & No. 4.
    • Sony.
    • 6.

  • Giuseppe Verdi

    Requiem (Dies Irae)

    Choir: Chicago Symphony Chorus. Orchestra: Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Daniel Barenboim.

  • Antonín Dvořák

    Symphony no.9 'From the New World' (4th mvt - extract)

    Orchestra: Vienna Philharmonic. Conductor: Herbert von Karajan.

  • Orazio Benevoli

    Regna terrae

    Choir: Le Concert Spirituel. Conductor: Hervé Niquet.
    • Alpha.

  • Rune Tonsgaard Sørensen

    Shine You No More

    Performer: Jess Gillam. Performer: Max Baillie. Performer: Ellie Consta. Performer: Alistair Vennart. Performer: Hadewych van Gent. Performer: Sam Becker. Performer: Leif Kaner‐Lidström. Performer: Sam Wilson.
    • Shine You No More (Arr. Parkin).
    • Decca Music Group Ltd..
    • 1.

  • Johannes Brahms

    Symphony no.1 in C minor (3rd mvt)

    Orchestra: Berlin Philharmonic. Conductor: Nikolaus Harnoncourt. Orchestra: Berlin Philharmonic. Conductor: Nikolaus Harnoncourt.
    • Brahms: Symphonies Nos 1 - 4.
    • Warner Classics International.
    • 13.

  • Jonathan Nott

    Music from Wallace and Gromit

    Orchestra: Various. Conductor: Various.
    • Varese Sarabande.

  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

    Clarinet Concerto in A K.622 (3rd mvt)

    Performer: Romain Guyot. Orchestra: Chamber Orchestra of Europe.
    • MIrare.

  • Frédéric Chopin

    Nocturne in E flat (2 Nocturnes Op.55)

    Performer: Benjamin Grosvenor.
    • Chopin: Piano Sonatas Nos. 2 & 3.
    • Decca Music Group Ltd..
    • 8.

  • Morton Gould

    Boogie Woogie Etude

    Performer: Benjamin Grosvenor.
    • DECCA.

  • Arnold Bax

    Dance of Wild Irravel (4 Orchestral Sketches)

    Orchestra: BBC Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor: Andrew Davis.
    • Chandos.

Broadcast

  • Saturday 09:00
    BBC Radio 3