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Soundtrack your evening with enchanting music

Niall Breslin brings you calming classical music to help you release the stresses of the day, recharge and prepare to rest.

Three hours of calming classical music to help you release the stresses of the day, recharge and prepare to rest - presented by Irish musician and mindfulness expert Niall Breslin.

This episode features a rich blend of music from the likes of Nils Frahm, Olivia Belli and Ralph Vaughan Williams. Plus, a chance to Press Pause with meditation teacher Maude Hirst.

To listen on most smart speakers just ask BBC Sounds to play Classical Wind Down.

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3 hours

Last on

Tuesday 18:00
BBC Radio 3 Unwind

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Music Played

  • Johannes Brahms

    Contemplation (Wie Melodien zieht es mir, Op 105 No 1)

    Performer: Nicola Benedetti. Music Arranger: Jascha Heifetz. Orchestra: London Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Daniel Harding.
    • Deustche Grammophon.

  • Johann Sebastian Bach

    Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring

    Performer: Martin James Bartlett. Music Arranger: Myra Hess.
    • Love and Death.
    • Warner Classics.
    • 2.

  • Joel Christian Goffin

    Waterfelt

    Performer: Joel Christian Goffin.
    • single.
    • Joel Christian Goffin.
    • 1.

  • Tsuneo Imahori

    Stars of Sand (Trigun)

    Performer: Alexandra Whittingham.
    • Chopin: 24 Preludes, Op. 28: No. 4 in E Minor. Largo (Arr. Harb for Guitar).
    • Decca Music Group Ltd..
    • 2.

  • Francis Poulenc

    Sinfonietta (3rd mvt)

    Orchestra: Orchestre national de Lille. Conductor: Alexandre Bloch.
    • Poulenc: La voix humaine.
    • Alpha Classics.
    • 24.

  • Krzysztof Penderecki

    3 Pieces in Baroque Style: No 1, Aria

    Orchestra: Sinfonia Varsovia. Conductor: Krzysztof Penderecki.
    • DUX.

  • Ola Gjeilo

    Still

    Music Arranger: Geoff Lawson. Choir: VOCES8. Performer: Eleanor Turner.
    • Infinity.
    • Decca Music Group Ltd..
    • 10.

  • Domenico Scarlatti

    Sonata No. 1 In D Minor k.213

    Performer: Alim Beisembayev.

  • Erland Cooper

    Movement 5 - part 2 (instrumental)

    Ensemble: Scottish Ensemble.
    • Movement 5 - Pt. 2 - Instrumental.
    • Mercury Classics.
    • 1.

  • Taylor Scott Davis

    Stardust

    Choir: VOCES8.
    • Nightfall.
    • Decca Music Group Ltd..
    • 4.

  • Ralph Vaughan Williams

    Suite for Viola & Small Orchestra (2nd mvt, Carol)

    Performer: Helen Callus. Orchestra: New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Marc Taddei.
    • British Music for Viola Concertos.
    • Naxos.
    • 2.

  • Dorothy Howell

    2 Pieces for muted strings - No 1

    Orchestra: BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Teresa Riveiro Böhm.

  • Olivia Belli

    Island II

    • Sol Novo.
    • XXIM Records.
    • 9.

  • Trad.

    Scarborough Fair

    Music Arranger: Simon Parkin. Performer: Sheku Kanneh‐Mason. Performer: Plínio Fernandes.
    • DECCA.

  • Nabil Benabdeljalil

    Nocturne No. 4

    Performer: Rebeca Omordia.
    • SOMM.

  • Urmas Sisask

    Pleiades: II. Maja (Starry Sky Cycle)

    Performer: Yuko Yoshioka.
    • Yuko Yoshioka.

  • Tomaso Giovanni Albinoni

    Concerto in D minor, Op 9 No 2 (2nd mvt)

    Performer: Alison Balsom. Orchestra: Pinnock's Players. Conductor: Trevor Pinnock.
    • Baroque Concertos.
    • Warner Classics.
    • 5.

  • Peter Gregson

    Somnia

    Performer: Peter Gregson.
    • Somnia.
    • Deutsche Grammophon.
    • 1.

  • Felix Mendelssohn

    Symphony No 4 in A major, Op 90 - Italian (2nd mvt)

    Orchestra: Philharmonie der Nationen. Conductor: Justus Frantz.

  • Sir James MacMillan

    The Gallant Weaver

    Choir: The Sixteen. Conductor: Harry Christophers.
    • CORO.

  • Edward Elgar

    Cello Concerto in E minor Op 85 (3rd mvt)

    Performer: Narek Hakhnazaryan. Orchestra: BBC Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor: John Storgårds.

  • Rita Strohl

    Trio in G minor (2nd mvt: Prayer)

    Performer: Raphaëlle Moreau. Performer: Edgar Moreau. Performer: Tanguy de Williencourt.
    • Rita Strohl: Volume 2, Musique de chambre.
    • La Boîte à Pépites.
    • 2.

  • Tony Ann

    HOPE

    Performer: Tony Ann.
    • EMOTIONS (Deluxe).
    • Universal Music Division Decca Records .
    • 5.

  • Echo Collective

    The See Within

    • The See Within.
    • 7K!.
    • 2.

  • Adolphus Hailstork

    Kum ba yah (3 Spirituals)

    Orchestra: Virginia Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: JoAnn Falletta.
    • Adolphus Hailstork: An American Port of Call.
    • Naxos.
    • 6.

  • Louis Spohr

    Symphonie concertante for violin, harp and orchestra in G major (2nd mvt)

    Performer: María Dueñas. Performer: Volker Kempf. Orchestra: Wiener Symphoniker. Conductor: Manfred Honeck.
    • Beethoven and Beyond.
    • Deutsche Grammophon.
    • 4.

  • Franz Liszt

    Romance "O pourquoi donc" in E Minor, S169

    Performer: Lang Lang.
    • Liszt - My Piano Hero.
    • Sony Classical.
    • 1.

  • Gustav Holst

    Neptune (The Planets)

    Choir: BBC Symphony Chorus. Orchestra: BBC Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Leonard Slatkin.

  • Gabriel Fauré

    In Paradisum (Requiem in D minor, Op 48)

    Choir: Choir of King’s College, Cambridge. Orchestra: Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. Conductor: Stephen Cleobury.
    • Fauré: Requiem & Messe basse.
    • Kings College Cambridge.
    • 108.

  • Helen Jane Long

    Willow

    • BLE Records.

  • Nils Frahm

    Harm Hymn

    • All Melody.
    • Erased Tapes.
    • 12.

  • Alexandra Stréliski

    The Hills

    Performer: Alexandra Stréliski.
    • Néo-Romance (Extended Version).
    • XXIM Records.
    • 8.

  • Mel Bonis

    Scenes de la foret, Op. 123: No. 1, Nocturne

    Performer: Florian Wiek. Conductor: Tatjana Ruhland. Ensemble: Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra.
    • Bonis, M.: Suite En Trio / Scenes De La Foret / Suite Dans Le Style Ancien / Air.
    • SWR Classic.
    • 1.

  • Patrik Almkvisth

    The day she left

    Ensemble: LUCHS.
    • Immersive Live Sessions.
    • Nettwerk Music Group.
    • 1.

  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

    Sull'aria, after K492 (L'Art du chant appliqué au piano, Op. 70)

    Performer: Paul Wee. Music Arranger: Sigismond Thalberg.
    • BIS.

  • Victoria Yagling

    Aria (Suite for cello & string orchestra)

    Performer: Raphaela Gromes. Orchestra: Lucerne Festival Strings. Conductor: Daniel Dodds.
    • Femmes.
    • Sony.
    • 12.

  • Evelyn Glennie

    North Cascades

    • The Orchard Enterprises.

  • Johann Sebastian Bach

    Goldberg Variations, BWV 988 - Variation 7 (arr. Sitkovetsky for cello and violin)

    Music Arranger: Dmitry Sitkovetsky. Performer: Arlen Hlusko. Performer: Lun Li.
    • [in]verse.
    • Bright Shiny Things.
    • 25.

  • Henriëtte Bosmans

    Nuit Calme

    Performer: Geneviève Verhage. Performer: Helena Basilova.
    • BRON.
    • 7 Mountain Records.
    • 8.

  • Agustín Barrios Mangoré

    Una limosnita por el amor de Dios

    Performer: Thibaut Garcia.
    • El Bohemio.
    • Warner Music Group.
    • 5.

  • Jasdeep Singh Degun

    Veer

    • Anomaly.
    • Real World Records.
    • 2.

  • Luke Howard

    Bower

    • Bower.
    • Mercury Classics.
    • 1.

  • Margaret Bonds

    Montgomery Variations: VI. Lament

    Orchestra: Royal Scottish National Orchestra. Conductor: Kellen Gray.
    • African American Voices II.
    • Linn Records.
    • 06.

  • Goldmund

    Sometimes

    Ensemble: Goldmund.
    • Sometimes.
    • Western Vinyl.
    • 2.

  • George Frideric Handel

    Sonata in A major HWV 361 (1st mvt)

    Performer: Geneva Lewis. Performer: Sam Armstrong.

  • Harold Budd & Brian Eno

    Late October

    • The Pearl.
    • Virgin Catalogue.
    • 1.

  • Sam Rapley

    Ease

    Orchestra: BBC Concert Orchestra. Conductor: Ben Palmer.

  • Joseph Haydn

    Symphony No 43 in E flat major, 'Mercury' (2nd mvt)

    Orchestra: The Hanover Band. Conductor: Roy Goodman.
    • Hyperion.

  • Johannes Brahms

    Quartet No 1 in C minor, Op 51 (2nd mvt)

    Ensemble: Leonkoro Quartet.

  • Alex Patterson

    Meditation

    Choir: BBC Singers. Conductor: David Hill.

  • BPMoore & annasara

    A Lifetime Rolls By - annasara rework

    • Rhodium.

  • Adolphus Hailstork

    God be merciful

    Choir: BBC Singers. Conductor: Sofi Jeannin.

  • Piotr Wiese

    Changes

    Performer: Piotr Wiese.
    • Changes.
    • 1631 Recordings.
    • 2.

  • Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

    The Sleeping Beauty, Op 66: Pas de Six - Variation 1 - Candide

    Orchestra: Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

  • Thomas Tallis

    If ye love me

    Ensemble: The Gesualdo Six. Director: Owain Park.
    • English Motets.
    • Hyperion.
    • 5.

  • Franz Schubert

    Fantasy in C major, D 934 (1st mvt)

    Performer: Julia Fischer. Performer: Martin Helmchen.
    • Schubert Complete Works for Violin and Piano, Vol. 2.
    • PENTATONE.
    • 5.

  • Craig Armstrong

    Romeo and Juliet (Balcony Scene)

    Music Arranger: Paul Bateman. Orchestra: Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor: Paul Bateman.
    • Pure... Movies.
    • Sony Music Entertainment.
    • 16.

  • Isobel Waller-Bridge

    An Exercise In Restraint (Until You Go)

    Ensemble: 12 Ensemble.
    • VIII.
    • Mercury Classics.
    • 6.

  • Jim Perkins

    The North Wind - Daigo Hanada re-work

    Performer: Daigo Hanada. Music Arranger: Daigo Hanada.
    • Bigo and Twigetti.

  • 江文也

    Sonata festosa, Op 17 (2nd mvt)

    Performer: Manuela Wiesler. Performer: Noriko Ogawa.
    • Naxos Music UK Ltd.

  • Caroline Shaw

    The Mona Lisa

    Performer: John Patitucci. Performer: Sō Percussion. Choir: Roomful of Teeth. Ensemble: Attacca Quartet.
    • Leonardo da Vinci: A Film by Ken Burns, Sarah Burns, & David McMahon (Original S.
    • Nonesuch.
    • 28.

  • Max Richter

    The Poetry of Earth (Geophony) - edit

    • The Poetry of Earth (Geophony).
    • Decca (UMO) (Classics).
    • 1.

  • Don Macdonald

    When the Earth Stands Still

    Choir: Lyyra.
    • When the Earth Stands Still.
    • VOCES8 Records.
    • 1.

  • Trad.

    My Love Is Like A Red Red Rose

    Lyricist: Robert Burns. Music Arranger: Paul Campbell.
    • Homecoming - A Scottish Fantasy.
    • Decca Music Group Ltd..
    • 7.

  • Aphex Twin

    aisatsana [102]

    • Syro.
    • Warp Records.
    • 12.

  • Belle Chen

    Half A Moment

    • Ravel In The Forest.
    • Platoon.
    • 6.

  • Leokadiya Kashperova

    Piano Trio (2nd mvt)

    Ensemble: Gould Piano Trio.

  • Peter Gregson

    Quartets - Three: III. Sequence (Eight)

    Performer: Peter Gregson. Performer: Richard Harwood. Performer: Warren Zielinski. Performer: Ben Hancox. Performer: James Boyd.
    • Quartets Three & Four.
    • Deutsche Grammophon (DG).
    • 3.

  • Gregorio Allegri

    Miserere Mei, Deus

    Choir: Choir of St John’s College, Cambridge. Conductor: Andrew Nethsingha.
    • Ash Wednesday.
    • Signum Records.
    • 2.

  • Tamsin Elliott

    Nightsong

    Performer: Tamsin Elliott.
    • Music for Hospitals (volume i).

  • Jonas Gewald

    Ruh

    Performer: Jonas Gewald.
    • Ruh.
    • Deutsche Grammophon.
    • 1.

  • Oliver Vibrans

    Restless Muscle

    Orchestra: BBC Concert Orchestra. Conductor: Gabriella Teychenné.

  • Haydn Wood

    Piano Concerto in D minor (2nd mvt)

    Performer: Hamish Milne. Orchestra: BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Martyn Brabbins.
    • Holbrooke/Wood: The Romantic Piano Concerto, Vol. 23: Milne/BBC SSO/Brabbins.
    • Hyperion.
    • 24.

  • Rahul Suntah

    Lost

    • DGP Music.

  • Alex Komlew

    VANITAS

    Orchestra: Deutsches Filmorchester Babelsberg. Conductor: Alex Komlew.
    • Made of Music Records.

  • Helen Leach

    Diary of the Bee (2nd mvt, Thistle)

    Performer: John Bradbury. Ensemble: Victoria String Quartet.
    • Diary of the Bee: Chamber Works by Helen Leach.
    • Divine Art.
    • 502.

  • Stephan Moccio

    Le Jardin de Monsieur Monet

    Performer: Stephan Moccio.
    • Lionheart.
    • Decca (UMO) (Classics).
    • 8.

  • Anna Phoebe

    Sea Drift I

    • Sea Souls.
    • Eat The Peach.
    • 8.

  • Florence Price

    On A Quiet Lake

    Performer: Lara Downes.
    • Florence Price Piano Discoveries.
    • Flipside Music.
    • 7.

  • Florence Price

    Ethiopia's Shadow in America, Part 2: His resignation and faith

    Orchestra: Chineke! Orchestra. Conductor: Leslie Suganandarajah.
    • Florence Price: Piano Concerto in One Movement; Symphony No. 1 in E Minor.
    • Decca Music Group Ltd..
    • 8.

Broadcasts

  • Tue 19 Nov 2024 18:00
    BBC Radio 3 Unwind
  • Sat 22 Mar 2025 18:00
    BBC Radio 3 Unwind
  • Tuesday 18:00
    BBC Radio 3 Unwind