This Classical Life

Jess Gillam is joined by Italian-American violinist Francesca Dego to swap some of their favourite music. Francesca has played everywhere from Wigmore Hall to Lincoln Centre New York, and her latest recording of Brahms...

Jess Gillam and tenor Alessandro Fisher share the music they love. Alessandro Fisher is a former member of the BBC New Generation Artist scheme, and a Kathleen Ferrier award winner: a versatile performer equally at home...

Jess Gillam swaps music with pianist James Baillieu, including works by Mozart, Bach, and Ella Fitzgerald. Pianist James Baillieu has worked with musicians including Lise Davidsen, Timothy Ridout and Pretty Yende, and...

Jess Gillam and soprano Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha share their favourite tracks. South African soprano Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha was the winner of the Song Prize at the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition...

Jess Gillam swaps favourite music with pianist Keelan Carew, and between them they put together a boundary-pushing playlist with songs by Kurt Weill and Nat King Cole - pianistic fireworks by Busoni and Chopin...

Jess Gillam meets violist Jordan Bak to share some of their favourite music. Jamaican-American violist Jordan Bak is a proud new music advocate – he’s performed world premieres of works by composers including Kaija...

Jess's guest this week is the composer Kate Whitley. Kate is an award-winning composer and pianist, who also runs the Multi-Story Orchestra. The orchestra was born in a multi-story car park in Peckham, and perform in...

Jess Gillam meets Swedish-Norwegian violinist Johan Dalene to swap some of their favourite music. At 23 years old, Swedish-Norwegian violinist Johan Dalene is already the winner of several awards, including the...

Jess Gillam and conductor Robert Ames share some of the tunes they love, with music by Philip Glass, Hildur Guðnadóttir, Makaya McCraven, Pauline Oliveros and J.S. Bach. Playlist: Philip Glass – Aguas da Amazonia...

Jess Gillam meets mezzo-soprano Fleur Barron to swap some of their favourite music. Singaporean-British mezzo-soprano Fleur Barron sings everything from opera to chamber music, from the baroque to the contemporary. She...

Jess Gillam shares music with composer Laura Cannell, including a sublime Biber Requiem, new music by Kenya Grace, traditional Norwegian fiddle music and a Memphis Soul Stew! Playlist: Tchaikovsky – Piano Concerto No...

Jess Gillam is joined by Norwegian soprano and Last Night of the Proms star Lise Davidsen for a very Christmassy edition of This Classical Life. They share their favourite Christmas music and chat about what gives them...

Jess Gillam and bassoonist Guylaine Eckersley share their favourite tracks, with music by Abel Selaocoe, Pergolesi, Vivaldi, Laura Misch and a guilty pleasure from Frozen 2. Playlist: Abel Selaocoe - Ka Bohaleng / On...

Jess Gillam and flautist Daniel Shao play each other their current favourite music. Daniel is a versatile musician, at home in the classical repertory with a number of leading orchestras, or performing contemporary...

Jess Gillam meets jazz singer Cécile McLorin Salvant to swap some of their favourite music. Cécile is a 3 time Grammy Award-winning jazz singer and her music shows off her passion for storytelling and finding the...

Jess Gillam and cellist Matthew Barley sit down to listen together to the music they love. Matthew's career as a cellist has seen him straddle any number of different genres and continents. He's just as at home in front...

Jess Gillam and mezzo-soprano Ema Nikolovska share the music they love, including a traditional Macedonian folk song, Janelle Monáe’s sci-fi concept album The Arch Android, a sublime Bach partita in the hands of...

Jess Gillam meets with the conductor Nicholas Collon to share some of the music they love. Today their musical journey takes in the harmonic genius of Jacob Collier, glorious choral music by Poulenc, a youthful Octet by...

Jess Gillam and violinist Sumina Studer swap some of their favourite music. As well as picking up prizes for her playing in the Berliner International Music Competition and the Verbier Festival amongst others, and...

Jess Gillam and trumpeter Lucy Humphris share their favourite music. Their musical adventure today includes scary Prokofiev, dreamy Debussy, wide open space from Edmund Finnis and Schoenberg, birdsong with Lady Maisery...

Jess Gillam and pianist Karim Kamar share some of their favourite music. Karim has an amazing musical story - after loving playing as a kid but never studying properly, at 25 he decided to quit his job and learn the...

Jess Gillam is joined by percussionist Delia Stevens to share the music they love and make some new discoveries, including tracks by Tessa Lark, Avner Dorman, Fabiano do Nascimento and Jack Hylton and His Orchestra...

Jess Gillam and violinist Braimah Kanneh-Mason swap some of their favourite tracks and chat about their lives in music. Braimah comes armed with a classic Beethoven recording by violinist Itzhak Perlman, a feel good...

Jess Gillam and baritone James Newby swap some of their favourite tracks and chat about their lives in music. James - who was one of Radio 3's New Generation Artists - is one of the country's most exciting young...

Jess Gillam swaps favourite music with the mezzo-soprano Anne Sofie von Otter Anne Sofie is one of classical music's most celebrated singers with a huge back catalogue of recordings, and she's also known for her huge...