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Unlock your morning calm with soothing melodies

Calming classical music to inspire focus and set you up for the day ahead. Presented by broadcaster, author and counselling psychologist Dr Sian Williams.

Calming classical music to help you focus and set you up for the day ahead. Presented by broadcaster, author and counselling psychologist Dr Sian Williams.

Featuring tender, and yearning harmonies from composers including Brahms, Nadia Boulanger, and William Grant Still. There's a chance to Find Your Focus this morning with the music of Japanese composer Hikaru Shirosu, and you can Take a Breath outside with Sian as she ponders the nostalgia nature can prompt and her own memories of the joy of boredom. Also, Professor Catherine Loveday explores how music can enable us to exercise for longer.

23 days left to listen

3 hours

Last on

Last Wednesday09:00
BBC Radio 3 Unwind

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Music Played

  • Johannes Brahms

    Symphony No 2 in D major, Op 73 (2nd mvt)

    Conductor: Herbert Blomstedt. Orchestra: Gewandhausorchester Leipzig.
    • Pentatone.

  • Henriette Renié

    Feuillets d'album (Angelus)

    Performer: Willy Postma.
    • LAWO.

  • Joseph Haydn

    Concerto for 2 Horns in E flat major

    Performer: Kerry Turner. Performer: Kristina Mascher. Conductor: Dariusz Wisniewski. Orchestra: Sinfonietta Cracovia.
    • MSR Classics.

  • Josef Suk

    4 Pieces for Violin and Piano, Op 17 (No 3, Un poco triste)

    Performer: Tamsin Waley-Cohen. Performer: Huw Watkins.
    • Signum.

  • Hikaru Shirosu

    Prelude No 1, 'Blue Stone of Atlas'

    Performer: Hikaru Shirosu.
    • Shirosu Records.

  • Jean Sibelius

    Valse Triste

    Conductor: Santtu‐Matias Rouvali. Orchestra: Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra.
    • Alpha.

  • Nadia Boulanger

    La Mer

    Performer: Yo‐Yo Ma. Performer: Kathryn Stott.
    • Sony.

  • Howard Skempton

    Rise Up, My Love

    Choir: Choir of Jesus College, Cambridge. Conductor: Mark Williams.
    • Signum.

  • William Grant Still

    Africa (1st mvt, 'Land of Peace')

    Conductor: Leon Botstein. Orchestra: American Symphony Orchestra.
    • American Symphony Orchestra.

  • Johann Sebastian Bach

    French Suite No 3 in B minor, BWV 814 (3rd mvt, Sarabande)

    Performer: Angela Hewitt.
    • Hyperion.

  • Giuseppe Verdi

    La Traviata (Prelude to Act 1)

    Conductor: Daniel Oren. Orchestra: Dresdner Philharmonie.
    • Pentatone.

  • Rita Strohl

    Arlequin et Colombine (2nd mvt)

    Performer: Nicolas Baldeyrou. Performer: Aurélien Pascal. Performer: Tanguy de Williencourt.
    • La Boîte à Pépites.

  • Domenico Zipoli

    Elevazione

    Performer: Caroline Dale. Performer: John Anderson. Orchestra: London Metropolitan Orchestra.
    • Instant Karma Classics.

  • Charles Villiers Stanford

    Piano Concerto No 1 in G major, Op 59 (2nd mvt)

    Performer: Piers Lane. Conductor: Martyn Brabbins. Orchestra: BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra.
    • Hyperion.

  • Patrick Hawes

    Highgrove Suite (The Wildflower Meadow)

    Performer: Claire Jones. Conductor: Patrick Hawes. Orchestra: Philharmonia Orchestra.
    • Decca.

  • Anna Clyne

    Abstractions (3rd mvt, 'Seascape')

    Conductor: Marin Alsop. Orchestra: Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.
    • Naxos.

  • Undine Smith Moore

    Is There Anybody Here That Loves My Jesus

    Performer: Chloe Flower.
    • Popsical.

  • John Tavener

    The Lamb

    Choir: BBC Singers. Conductor: Simon Joly.
    • Signum-Cala.

  • Henriëtte Bosmans

    Second Concerto for Cello and Orchestra (1st mvt)

    Performer: Gemma Rosefield. Conductor: George Vass. Orchestra: BBC Philharmonic Orchestra.
    • Resonus.

  • Dmitry Shostakovich

    Piano Concerto No 2 in F major, Op 102 (2nd mvt)

    Performer: Yuja Wang. Conductor: Andris Nelsons. Orchestra: Boston Symphony Orchestra.
    • DG.

  • Laura Snowden

    Love, Eternal

    Performer: Laura Snowden. Performer: Joo Yeon Sir.

  • Carl Stamitz

    Clarinet Concerto No 10 in B flat major (2nd mvt)

    Performer: Karl Schlechta. Conductor: Jiri Malát. Orchestra: Kurpfälzisches Kammerorchester.
    • Arte Nova.

  • Benjamin Britten

    Simple Symphony, Op 4 (3rd mvt, 'Sentimental Sarabande')

    Performer: Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt. Orchestra: Metamorphosen Berlin.
    • Deutsche Harmonia Mundi.

  • Ēriks Ešenvalds

    The Earthly Rose

    Performer: Sally Pryce. Choir: The Choir Of Trinity College, Cambridge. Conductor: Stephen Layton.
    • Hyperion.

  • Gustav Holst

    Beni Mora, Op 29 No 1 (2nd mvt, 'Second Dance')

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

  • Okorie Johnson

    In Memoriam

    Performer: Okorie Johnson.
    • MWO Records.

  • Ola Gjeilo

    Across The Vast, Eternal Sky

    Choir: Choir of Royal Holloway. Ensemble: 12 Ensemble. Conductor: Ola Gjeilo.
    • Decca.

  • Frederick Delius

    American Rhapsody

    Conductor: David Lloyd‐Jones. Orchestra: Royal Scottish National Orchestra.
    • Naxos.

  • Abing

    Blossoms Under the Full Moon

    Performer: Takako Nishizaki. Conductor: Peter Breiner. Orchestra: Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra.
    • Marco Polo.

  • Josef Bayer

    Soone und Erde (The Fairy Doll)

    Conductor: Andrew Mogrelia. Orchestra: Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra.
    • Naxos.

Broadcast

  • Last Wednesday09:00
    BBC Radio 3 Unwind