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 versatility and musical curiosity working with artists from conductors Claudio Abbado and Giuseppe Sinopoli to Elvis Costello, Brad Mehldau and Rufus Wainwright. Today though she's listening to other people's recordings, as she and Jess sat down together to listen to a Janacek...

Jess Gillam and violinist Charlotte Saluste-Bridoux share their favourite music with each other, including the sublime voices of Dhafer Youssef and the Bulgarian State Television Female Vocal Choir, an intimate transcription of Gluck, joy and happiness from Boccherini and the Maccabees plus the unmistakable vibrato of Sidney Bechet.

Jess Gillam is joined by the Finnish violinist, conductor, and composer Pekka Kuusisto. They share thoughts on some favourite music, from a jazz arrangement of a Monteverdi madrigal to piano music by Ligeti, and from Bernstein's Wonderful Town to the Swedish singer Katarina Barruk.

Jess Gillam and percussionist Sehyogue Aulakh share some of the music that they love, from Aretha Franklin to Dmitri Shostakovich, JS Bach and Seckou Keita. Sehyogue's Playlist: SHOSTAKOVICH – Symphony No. 5 in D Minor Op. 47: I. Moderato (Royal Concertegabouw Orchestra, Bernard Haiktink) MOBY – Porcelain COUPERIN arr. Ades – Les Baricades misterieuses (Aurora Orchestra, Nicholas Collon) ARETHA FRANKLN – (You make me feel like a) Natural Woman SECKOU KEITA - Sakiliba COLERIDGE-TAYLOR –...

Jess Gillam meets violinist Tessa Lark to swap some of their favourite music. Tessa is an in-demand classical concert violinist but growing up in Kentucky, she’s equally inspired by bluegrass music and American folk styles and so blends the two influences in a lot of her work. Traditional music features prominently in her music choices as the Martin Hayes Quartet and Swedish duo Vasen rub shoulders with a Beethoven Symphony. Meanwhile Jess brings along an orchestral tearjerker by Pietro...

Jess Gillam is joined by composer, pianist and technologist Zubin Kanga, with music from Gesualdo to Ravel via Laurie Spiegel and Jaco Pastorius.

Jess Gillam is joined by sitarist and composer Jasdeep Singh Degun to share and talk about the music that they both love, with tracks from Philip Glass, Monteverdi, Nishat Khan and Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings. Along the way they discover some of the links between western and Indian classical music, and find out more about Jasdeep's childhood in Leeds, and his experiences in the world of classical composition. Playlist: Rachmaninov: Elégie (Morceaux de Fantasie, Op 3 No 1) Nishat Khan:...

Jess Gillam's guest is pianist and composer Missy Mazzoli. They share some of the music that they love, including Ellen Reid, JS Bach, Julian Lage and Sudanese singer Aamina Camaari.

Jess's meets folk singer and multi-instrumentalist Hazel Askew to swap some of their favourite music. Hazel is a fixture in the UK folk music scene known for her bands Lady Maisery and the Askew Sisters, as well as numerous collaborative projects across different musical genres. Today they sit down to listen to a full-blooded folk waltz by Warsaw Village Band, a symphony with all the tunes by Dvorak, Stevie Wishart channelling Hildegard of Bingen and a surprisingly emotional David Bowie...

Jess Gillam's guest this week is conductor Gabriella Teychenné. Her musical life bounces between conducting brand new music, collaborating with symphony orchestras and she's the founder of Sinfonia Humanitas, a new ensemble whose concert programmes fuse early and contemporary music. Gabriella and Jess settle in for a listening party of the music they love, including a slice of Italian sunshine from Mendelssohn, a collaboration between folk artist Sam Lee and singer Elizabeth Fraser, a...

Jess Gillam is joined by a fellow saxophonist the Award-winning composer, poet, MC and producer Soweto Kinch to chat and share the music they love. Playlist: Debussy - Dances for Harp and Orchestra, L.103:2. Danse profane [Lavinia Meijer, Amsterdam Sinfonietta] Ben Webster - When I Fall in Love Steve Reich - Different Trains: America Before the War [Kronos Quartet] Amy Beach - 4 Sketches - Dreaming [Ambache Chamber Ensemble] Scott Joplin - Treemonisha: Act 3: A Real Slow Drag [Paragon...

Jess Gillam is joined by acclaimed Norwegian trumpeter Tine Thing Helseth to chat and share the music they love. Playlist: Stravinsky - Rite of Spring - XIV Pt2 le sacrifice: danse sacrale l’Elue [Philadelphia Orchestra, Riccardo Muti] Mozart – Die Zauberflote, K.620; Act 2, no.17; Ach, ich fuhl's, es ist verschwunden [Mari Eriksmoen, Stavanger Symphony Orchestra, Jan Willem de Vriend] Massive Attack – Teardrop Ibrahim Maalouf - Una Rosa Blanca Wilhelm Friedemann Bach– Duet for 2 Flutes in...

Jess Gillam chats to conductor Jack Bazalgette, co-founder of ‘through the noise’ which aims to innovate and revolutionise live classical music. Their musical journey takes them to Zimbabwe with the music of mbira player Chiwoniso, a forest in Sweden with the Danish String Quartet plus we have the sounds of Barbara Moore, Mahler and Floating Points & Pharoah Sanders. Playlist: Franz Ignaz Beck - Symphony in C major, Op. 1, No 6, I. Allegro [New Zealand Chamber Orchestra, Donald...

Jess is joined by the cellist Laura van der Heijden to share some of their favourite musical discoveries, including JS Bach interpreted by the Lodestar Trio, music from Philip Glass’s Book of Longing, a track from the trumpeter Ibrahim Maalouf and Elena Urioste playing Samuel Coleridge-Taylor.

Cellist and composer Peter Gregson joins Jess from LA. They share some of their favourite tracks and new discoveries, including Steve Reich's Different Trains, a special recording of Schubert's String Quintet, Bach's Mass in B minor, and songs by Eva Cassidy and Bon Iver.

Jess Gillam and fellow saxophonist Laura Misch share the music they love, including tracks by Bjork, Hildegard von Bingen and Bob Marley. Playlist: Sibelius - Impromptu V (Leif Ove Andnes) Bendik Giske - Cruising Sarah Vaughan - Just One of Those Things Hildegard von Bingen - O vis eternitatis (Sequentia) Bob Marley & The Wailers - Three Little Birds Saint-Saens - Carnival of the Animals: The Swan (Sheku, Jeneba, and Isata Kanneh-Mason) Strozzi - Che si puo fare? (Simone Kermes, Enrico...

Jess Gillam is joined by the Mumbai-born pianist Shivank Menon to talk about the records that they love. Their playlist includes Rostropovich playing Bach, Sviatoslav Richter playing Chopin, songs by Ravel, Fanny Mendelssohn and Donny Hathaway, and a recording of Bill Evans duetting with himself. Playlist: MORELENBAUM2 & RYUICHI SAKAMOTO: Sabia J S BACH ARR. KODALY: Vater unser im Himmelrich, BWV 762 (Mstislav Rostropovich, cello; Herbert Tachezi, organ) CHOPIN: Polonaise No 7 in A...

Jess Gillam swaps favourite music with singer, rock sitarist and composer Bishi. Together they journey through evocations of space from Meredith Monk, Holst and Roger Webb back home to different shades of the human voice in music - from sacred vocal music from the 15th century, via a Ravi Shankar and Philip Glass collaboration, the unique voice of Beverly Glenn-Copeland and singer Cosmo Sheldrake's wake-up call from the cuckoo. Playlist: RAVI SHANKAR/PHILIP GLASS: Prashanti TOMAS LUIS de...

Jess is joined by violinist Ionel Manciu to chat about some of their favourite records and share their lives in music. Including a revelation of Ionel's past life as a Moldovan pop star, John Adams conjuring raindrops from the piano, a classic by Amy Winehouse and a piece by Arno Babadjanian that stopped Jess in her tracks. Playlist: GEORGY SVIRIDOV: The Bells of Dawn [Dmitri Hvorostovsky (baritone), The Grand Choir ‘Masters of Choral Singing’/Lev Kontorovich (cond)] AMY WINEHOUSE: Love is a...

Jess is joined this week by the Jordanian-Palestinian pianist Iyad Sughayer. They're in the studio to share some of their favourite tracks with each other, and some new musical discoveries - including a joyful piano concerto by Haydn, terrifying music by Bartok, a mesmerising song by Caroline Shaw and classic Bob Dylan. Playlist: Joseph Haydn - Piano Concerto in D major, Hob. XVIII:11 (Alexandre Tharaud, Violons du Roy) David Bowie & Gail Ann Dorsey - Under Pressure (from the album A...

Jess Gillam and Scottish composer C Duncan share the tracks they love, with music by Charles Ives, Broadcast, Lili Boulanger Messiaen and Mahler. Playlist: Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach - Symphony in E-flat Major Wq. 179 - 1. Prestissimo [Akademie für Alte Ausik Berlin] Broadcast - Colour Me In Lili Boulanger - D’Un Jardin Clair [Émile Naoumoff - piano] Charles Ives - 3 Places in New England - The Housatonic at Stockbridge [Aurora Orchestra, Nicholas Collon] Harry Nilsson - Everybody’s Talkin...

Jess Gillam is joined by violinist Ellie Consta to share some of the music they love the most. Ellie is the founder of Her Ensemble which champions the work of female composers and strives to present classical music in new diverse ways, and her music choices reflect that - from Florence Price's dreamy Clouds to Little Simz Mercury-winning homage to women everywhere, Woman. Jess brings along the majesty of Mozart's Requiem, some lunar insanity on the theremin and a cracker of a song by Bettye...

Jess brings out the fizz and party poppers for a New Year's Eve listening party with the organist and conductor Anna Lapwood, as they introduce each other to their favourite music for this time of year. Their choices take them through the night, from classic Ella Fitzgerald, to pumping base from Vivaldi and Bonobo, reflective choral music by Silvestrov, mysterious organ sounds for the early hours from Saint-Saens, and a New Year message from Otis Redding. Playlist: Ella Fitzgerald - What Are...

Jess meets up with Love Ssega to swap some of their favourite music. A founding songwriter and vocalist of Clean Bandit, Love Ssega is hugely in demand for his collaborative work across genres from pop to visual art. He is currently the Philharmonia's artist in residence. Ssega came with some truly epic Elgar played by Sheku Kanneh Mason, a serious ear worm of an opera chorus by Verdi, and introduced Jess to the incredible voice of Alice Smith (she's been listening to her on loop since)....

Jess Gillam dons her Christmas jumper to throw a This Classical Life Christmas Party. She's joined by The King's Singers, a fairy light bedecked studio, several packets of party rings and plenty of good tidings as they all share their favourite Christmas music and talk about their festive traditions. From Nick's love of the 'Daniel Craig of the choral classics' Bach's Christmas Oratorio, to Pat's championing of the backing group in an Ella Fitzgerald Christmas tune. Jess, of course, manages...