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成人论坛 Radio 3 presents Baroque Spring, a month of music, drama and comedy dedicated to shedding new light on the Baroque era.

The season of programming on 成人论坛 Radio 3 sheds new light on one of the most significant historical periods, when the likes of Purcell, Handel, Vivaldi and Bach composed some of the best loved pieces of classical music. It includes six live concerts and a live drama from National Trust properties, each with their own stories linked to the period.

Season Highlights

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Back-to-back Bach听- broadcasts Bach鈥檚 48 Preludes and Fugues and Sir John Eliot Gardiner presents a听90-minute 成人论坛 Two documentary Genius of Bach.

Baroque Poetry - Actor Dominic West reads daily poems from the Baroque era on .

听- Lauren Laverne presents Baroque music remixed by Will Gregory from Goldfrapp and finalists of听the Baroque Remixed听talent search with the 成人论坛 Concert Orchestra, live from London's Roundhouse at 7.30pm on 11 March.

Baroque-around-the-clock听- Radio 3 presents a day of Baroque-themed comedy and music for Red Nose Day on 15 March.

Baroque Yourself听- Alison Balsom and Mahan Esfahani give masterclasses on how to play Baroque music on period instruments听on .

听- Katie Derham introduces听five Sunday afternoon concerts live from historic houses in partnership with the National Trust.

Full details of all Baroque Spring听programmes will be available, one week before broadcast, on the

National Trust Concerts

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The concerts听are presented by Radio 3鈥檚 Katie Derham, who听is joined by the Antique Roadshow鈥檚 Lars Tharp during the intervals to offer a fascinating insight into the baroque story of each house.

The 成人论坛 Singers / St James鈥檚 Baroque / David Hill

Carole Cerasi

Le Jardin Secret

The English Touring Theatre Company / Liverpool Everyman Playhouse: The Misanthrope

La Risonanza / Yetzabel Arias Fernandez / Fabio Bonizzoni

Magdalena Consort / Peter Harvey.

Brecon Baroque / Rachel Podger

The live events听are broadcast on and听are open to the public.

• Find more information about the concerts and venues on the

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Baroque Remixed

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Lauren Laverne presents , live听from the Roundhouse London on 11 March. This concert includes baroque music remixed by Will Gregory from Goldfrapp and also features , selected at the Baroque Remixed workshop on 12 January.

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Season Details

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The season launches on Sunday 3 March and includes contributions from leading musicians, ensembles and experts in the field of Baroque music, with a host of live discussion, masterclasses, performances and poetry put together to bring alive one of the most significant periods of musical development and discovery.

will present on 11 March, a concert featuring Baroque-influenced compositions by composers including Will Gregory from Goldfrapp and finalists from a talent search for young composers launched by the orchestra. The concert will be presented by Lauren Laverne and Andrew McGregor and broadcast live from the Roundhouse, London.

Radio 3 will Baroque-around-the-clock on Friday 15 March for Red Nose Day, while will enter into the spirit of Comic Relief with a week of Beastly Baroque sketches from Monday 11 March.

There will be a week of live broadcasts from St George鈥檚 Bristol from Monday 25 to Friday 29 March, as part of the hall鈥檚 inaugural Bristol Baroque Festival, in which leading artists such as the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, the Early Opera Company, Mahan Esfahani, The Harp Consort and the 成人论坛 Singers will feature in the main evening strand of , and five specially commissioned titled 鈥楢 Taste for Baroque鈥�, which will explore the manifold legacy of Baroque style.

will present a series of five Baroque masterclasses starting on 4 March, with artists including Alison Balsom and Daniel Hope, while actor Dominic West will read a daily poem from the Baroque era each day on the show (from Monday 18鈥揊riday 29 March).

Radio 3 has also entered in to its first partnership with the 听to present six live concerts and a live drama placing Baroque performance in its historical context. Audiences will be given the opportunity to experience the music of the 17th and 18th centuries in a new light through performances at National Trust properties, each with their own stories linked to the period from . The concerts will be presented by Radio 3鈥檚 Katie Derham, who will be joined by the Antique Roadshow鈥檚 Lars Tharp during intervals to offer a fascinating insight into the Baroque connections at each house.

The season launches on Sunday 3 March with a special edition of the , live from Media City, and featuring The English Concert directed by Laurence Cummings, performing Bach, Vivaldi, Handel and Purcell.

There will be more live music in throughout the season, including a concert of French sacred music performed in their own chapel by the Choir of New College, Oxford, a solo recital by harpsichordist Carole Cerasi, and Handel chamber music performed by members of the Academy of Ancient Music.

will celebrate the Baroque through interviews with guests who have a particular interest in the era, including Germaine Greer and Alain de Botton as well as exploring the recordings of leading artists including Nikolaus Harnoncourt and Christopher Hogwood.

In , composer Alexander Hawkins will explore the musical parallels between jazz and the Baroque through his Radio 3 commission and will travel to Bolivia and Paraguay for five specially commissioned editions of the programme focusing on South American Baroque.

As part of , running throughout 2013, the programme will be asking listeners to highlight Baroque connections to their area of the UK, as well as presenting the Breakfast Forty-Eight, a daily morning dose of the 48 Preludes and Fugues of J.S. Bach鈥檚 Well-Tempered Clavier.

will celebrate four key Baroque composers throughout the month: Handel, Vivaldi, Purcell and J.S. Bach. will be covering different aspects of Baroque music鈥檚 influence in modern day culture and brings together diverse musicians to explore Baroque music, including Edinburgh-based sound artist Martin Parker and young viol player Liam Byrne. In three special live broadcasts, Sara Mohr-Pietsch will ask listeners for their questions about the Baroque period for Baroque Busted (6, 11 and 26 March).

Baroque Spring draws to a close on Monday 1 April with live concerts and discussions led by Sir John Eliot Gardiner from the Royal Albert Hall, London, celebrating J.S. Bach.

In related programming on 成人论坛 Two, Sir John Eliot Gardiner will present The Genius Of Bach, a 90-minute music documentary revealing for the first time his life鈥檚 research into the great composer. The documentary will present a fresh perspective on J.S. Bach, delving into his life and music with the help of performances from the Monteverdi Choir and the English Baroque Soloists.

Roger Wright, Controller 成人论坛 Radio 3 and Director, 成人论坛 Proms, says: 鈥淏aroque Spring allows audiences the opportunity to immerse themselves in an era of immense musical creativity, through live performances, interviews and drama - all designed to shed light on the Baroque. The month-long season promises to give listeners in-depth context and analysis as well as many ways to get involved, be it tuning in to a live performance, attending a concert at a National Trust property, or joining in an on-air or on-line discussion.鈥�