Afternoon on 3 - Summer Festivals 2010 - Episode 5

This week Afternoon on 3 celebrates the riches and diversity of 2010's musical summer, with performances from leading festivals in Europe and beyond, by some of the world's great singers, instrumentalists and ensembles. You can hear the best concerts from 25 festivals in fifteen countries - as far afield as Finland, Moldova and Canada. At the heart of the week will be concerts from top festivals in Austria and Switzerland, including the Martha Argerich Project in Lugano and Nikolaus Harnoncourt's Styriarte Festival in Graz. The Thursday Opera Matinee is Bellini's Norma, conducted by Fabio Biondi with his period-instrument ensemble Europa Galante at the Chopin and his Europe Festival in Warsaw. Large choral works will be a particular feature throughout the week - from Bach's B minor Mass through Haydn's Creation and Beethoven's Missa solemnis to Rachmaninov's Vespers and a celebration of Arvo Pärt's 75th birthday in his native Estonia. Presented by Jonathan Swain Joseph Haydn: Poco adagio from String Quartet in C, Op. 76/3 (Hob. III:77) Casals Quartet (Haydn Days Festival, Eisenstadt, Austria) Smetana: Tabor and Blanik from Ma Vlast Chamber Orchestra of Europe Nikolaus Harnoncourt, conductor (Styriarte Festival, Graz, Austria) Enescu: Concertstück Yuri Bashmet, viola Martha Argerich, piano (Martha Argerich Project, Lugano, Switzerland) Michael Haydn: Notturno in G major Budapest Strings (Haydn at Eszterháza Festival, Fertöd, Hungary) Joseph Haydn: Piano Trio in G, Hob. XV.25 ('Gipsy Rondo') Romanian Piano Trio (Enescu and the Music of the World Festival, Sinaia, Romania) Saint-Saens: Tarantella for Flute, Clarinet and Piano, Op. 6 The Berlin Philharmonic and West-Eastern Divan Orchestra Soloists: Gili Schwarzman, flute Shirley Brill, clarinet Jonathan Aner, piano (St Mark's Festival, Zagreb, Croatia) Stravinsky: Firebird Suite (1945) Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Amsterdam Mariss Jansons, conductor (Robeco Summer Series, Amsterdam, Netherlands) Bizet: Jeux d'enfants (excerpts) Jonathan Biss and Oliver Triendl, pianos (Delft Chamber Music Festival, Netherlands) Panufnik: Sinfonia elegiaca Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra Marek Mos, conductor (Musica Polonica Nova Polish Contemporary Music Festival, Wroclaw, Poland) Panufnik: Invocation for Peace Gaudium Chorus of the University of Wroclaw Cantilena Male Chamber Chorus Marek Mos, conductor (Musica Polonica Nova Polish Contemporary Music Festival, Wroclaw, Poland) John Adams: Relaxed Groove, from Road Movies (Queen Violin Festival, Chisinau, Moldova) Beethoven: Missa solemnis Simone Schneider, soprano Gerhild Romberger, contralto Emiliano Gonzalez Toro, tenor Reinhard Hagen, bass Collegium Vocale, Ghent Coro dell'Accademia Chigiana Orchestre des Champs-Elysées Conductor Philippe Herreweghe (Chopin and his Europe International Music Festival, Warsaw, Poland).