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Music for Love and Kindness

As part of the BBC's Wellbeing Week, Radio 3 Unwind's Niall Breslin curates a mixtape on the theme of Love and Kindness.

As part of the BBC's Wellbeing Week, Radio 3 Unwind's Niall Breslin curates a mixtape on the theme of Love and Kindness.

From the delicate caress of Liszt's Liebestraume to the serene beauty of Debussy's Claire de Lune, this mixtape weaves a rich tapestry of romantic love. Today's mixtape also celebrates the enduring power of platonic love and friendship, beautifully embodied by Elgar's Theme and Variations, each of which is dedicated to a cherished friend. Takemistsu's tender guitar transcription of What a Friend adds a layer of warmth, reminding us of the bonds that shape our lives.

But perhaps the most heart-warming element to today's mixtape is its tribute to kindness itself, perfectly captured in the iconic theme from the Christmas classic, It's a Wonderful Life - a timeless reminder of the redemptive quality of kindness.

Producer: Zara Siddiqi

1 month left to listen

30 minutes

On radio

Next Sunday 17:30
BBC Radio 3 Unwind

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Music Played

  • Thomas Tallis

    If ye love me

    Ensemble: Tallis Scholars. Conductor: Peter Phillips.
    • GIMELL.

  • Dimitri Tiomkin

    It's a wonderful life (music from the film); main theme

    Orchestra: The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra.
    • The Alamo: The Essential Dimitri Tiomkin Collection.
    • Silva Screen Records.
    • 5.

  • Franz Liszt

    Liebesträume No.2

    Performer: Jorge Bolet.
    • Liszt: Piano Works, Vol.3.
    • Decca.
    • 006.

  • Samuel Coleridge-Taylor

    Petite Suite de Concert, Op.77 - III. Un sonnet d'amour

    Orchestra: Chineke! Orchestra. Conductor: Anthony Parnther.
    • Coleridge-Taylor.
    • Decca Music Group Ltd..
    • 17.

  • Edward Elgar

    Enigma Variations, Op 36 (Variation 6, 'Ysobel')

    Orchestra: London Symphony Orchestra. Orchestra: London Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: John Barbirolli. Conductor: John Barbirolli.
    • Sir John Barbirolli.
    • EMI Classics.
    • 8.

  • John Stainer

    God so loved the world (The Crucifixion)

    Choir: BBC Singers. Conductor: Brian Kay.
    • Stainer: The Crucifixion: BBC Singers/Brian Kay.
    • Chandos.
    • 9.

  • Claude Debussy

    Clair de lune (Suite bergamasque)

    Orchestrator: André Caplet. Orchestra: Orchestre national de Lyon. Conductor: Jun Märkl.
    • Naxos.

  • Clara Schumann

    3 Romances Op.22 (no.1)

    Performer: Alina Ibragimova. Performer: Cédric Tiberghien.
    • Hyperion.

Broadcasts

  • Thu 15 May 2025 19:00
    BBC Radio 3
  • Next Sunday 17:30
    BBC Radio 3 Unwind

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