The Surprise Symphony is the best known of the over 100 symphonies by Haydn. Its second movement is the most popular and gave the symphony its name: legend has it that the sudden beat of the timpani was meant to rouse members of the audience who had…

Widely accepted as a leading authority on Baroque music, Ton Koopman conducts J.S. Bach's Magnificat BWV 243. Performed by the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra and Choir joined by soloists Deborah Yorck (soprano), Bogna Bartosz (alto), Jörg Dürmüller…

In the eyes of his contemporaries, Johannes Brahms’s violin concerto was so different from everything that had come before that, after the premiere, a critic stated that it wasn’t a concerto, but a “symphony with violin obligato”. In an interview…

Franz Schubert's Symphony No. 8 in B minor, commonly known as the Unfinished, was started in 1822 but left with only two movements complete even though Schubert would live for another six years. Since Schubert's death at the age of 31, the Unfinished…

For this feature, "24 hours Bach" presents the best performers in their field, including John Eliot Gardiner, the Monteverdi Choir founded by him, the English Baroque Soloists, as well as other internationally-known vocal soloists.

The Latvian Radio Choir under Sigvards Klava performs Johann Sebastian Bach's Motet "Komm, Jesu, komm, mein Leib ist müde" in the beautiful atmosphere of the Riga Dome Cathedral.

Marcia Haydée's choreography "Sleeping Beauty" is the tragic conflict of Carabosse and the Lilac Fairy; of good and evil. This programme portrays a Ballet company at work on the choreography and includes clips from the finished production.

"Enas" - The Greek word for "being one" - is interpreted in this ballet, which represents Marcia Haydée's first free choreography. With the music of Vangelis Papathanassiou.