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Soothing piano to settle the mind

A drift through late Romantic piano classics and quintessential contemporary works, this carefully curated mix blends styles and eras to showcase the best of the piano.

Late Romantic piano classics give way to 20th-century minimalism and reverb-drenched contemporary vignettes. Drifting across eras and decades, this mix is designed to guide focus and relaxation. Vanessa Wagner’s interpretation of Suzanne Ciani’s Inverness paints a frosty landscape glimpsed from a warm fire, while Chilly Gonzales’s Gentle Threat renews like a sun-touched morning.

To listen on most smart speakers, just say: “Ask BBC Sounds to play Piano Focus”.

Produced by Áine Devaney.

A Reduced Listening production for BBC Sounds MM.

24 days left to listen

2 hours

Last on

Thursday12:00
BBC Radio 3 Unwind

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Music Played

  • Cyril Scott

    Danse Negre, Op. 58/5: 5th (For One Piano)

    Performer: Leslie De’Ath. Performer: Anya Alexeyev.
    • Cyril Scott: Complete Piano Music, Vol. 5 (Lotus Land).
    • Dutton Epoch.

  • Percy Grainger

    Eastern Intermezzo (Version for Solo Piano)

    Performer: Simon Mulligan.
    • Grainger: Solo Piano Works, Vol. 2.
    • Steinway & Sons.

  • Ylva Skog

    5 Moon Pieces: No. 3, Moon Shadow

    Performer: Ann-Sofi Klingberg.
    • Skog & Tarrodi: Piano Pieces.
    • DB Productions.

  • John Cage

    Cage: All Sides of the Small Stone, for Erik Satie

    Performer: Bertrand Chamayou.
    • Letter(s) to Erik Satie.
    • Erato.

  • Liisa Pohjola

    6 Piano Pieces, Op. 20: 6. A Dream

    Performer: Aarre Merikanto.
    • Liisa Pohjola: Selected Recordings 1969-2004.
    • Alba Records.

  • Maurice Ravel

    Ravel: Jeux d'eau, M. 30

    Performer: Bertrand Chamayou.
    • Ravel: Complete Works for Solo Piano.
    • Erato.

  • Ryuichi Sakamoto

    For Jóhann

    Performer: Ryuichi Sakamoto.
    • Opus.
    • Commmons.

  • Suzanne Ciani

    Inverness

    Performer: Vanessa Wagner.
    • Inverness.
    • Infiné.

  • Dustin O’Halloran

    Opus 20

    Performer: Dustin O’Halloran.
    • Piano Solos, Vol. 2.
    • Bella Union.

  • Stephen Baysted

    Pagodesque no.2

    Performer: Stephen Baysted. Performer: Susan Legg.
    • The Impressionists: And the Man Who Made Them (Original Motion Picture Soundtrac.
    • Redrocca.

  • Olivier Messiaen

    Vingt regards sur l'enfant-Jésus: XIX. Je dors, mais mon coeur veille

    Performer: Ciro Longobardi.
    • Vingt Regards Sur L'Enfant-Jésus - Petites Esquisses D'Oiseaux.
    • Piano Classics.

  • Meredith Monk

    Gotham Lullaby (Transcribed for solo piano by Vanessa Wagner)

    Performer: Vanessa Wagner.
    • Les Heures Immobiles.
    • Infiné.

  • Gustav Mahler

    Symphony No. 5: IV. Adagietto. Sehr langsam (Arr. Hewitt)

    Performer: Angela Hewitt. Performer: Gustav Mahler. Music Arranger: Angela Hewitt.
    • Love Songs - Piano Transcriptions Without Words.
    • Hyperion.

  • Elisabeth Lutyens

    Barcarolle

    Performer: Martin Jones.
    • Elisabeth Lutyens: Piano Works, Volume 3.
    • Resonus.

  • Chilly Gonzales

    Gentle Threat

    Performer: Chilly Gonzales.
    • Solo Piano.
    • Universal Music Jazz France.

  • Dustin O’Halloran

    Our Lord Debussy

    Composer: Adam Wiltzie. Performer: A Winged Victory for the Sullen.
    • The Undivided Five.
    • Ninja Tune.

  • Shida Shahabi

    Vassen

    Performer: Shida Shahabi.
    • Homes.
    • 130701.

  • William Alwyn

    Contes Barbares (Homage to Paul Gauguin): No. 3, Manao Tupapau [She Dreams of Re

    Performer: Ashley Wass.
    • Alwyn, W.: Piano Music, Vol. 2 - 12 Preludes / Contes Barbares / Movements.
    • Naxos.

  • Cheryl Duvall

    Adagio

    Performer: Anna Höstman.
    • Harbour.
    • Redshift.

  • Frédéric Chopin

    24 Preludes, Op 28, No. 13

    Performer: Eric Lu.
    • The Chopin Competition Laureates.
    • Warner Classics.

  • Christian Bernard

    Black Lotus

    Performer: Christian Bernard.
    • Black Lotus.

  • Michael J Richards

    Emily's Journey

    Performer: Michael J Richards.
    • Emily's Journey.

Broadcast

  • Thursday12:00
    BBC Radio 3 Unwind