'Desert Island Discs' 40 Classical Castaway Favourites Released February 25 2013

On 25 February 2013, Sony Music will release 'Desert Island Discs', a stunning three-disc collection of 40 classical favourites chosen by Castaways on BBC Radio 4's much-loved and critically acclaimed radio show 'Desert Island Discs'.

'Desert Island Discs' is a moving and uplifting compilation featuring 40 of the most popular classical works chosen time and time again by the many and varied Castaways, united by their classical musical choices.

Your desert island 3 disc experience begins with Eric Coates' By The Sleepy Lagoon, a piece that has become truly synonymous with this renowned andcritically acclaimed BBC Radio 4 strand.

An incredible insight into the lives and tastes of the honoured island residents, the album includes the most chosenclassical work from the past 70 years - Beethoven's Symphony No.9 Ode To Joy.  Another favourite is Elgar's Enigma Variations (Nimrod) a choice of Elton John who explained, "because of England and because it's just a most wonderful piece of music".

Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No.2, known to millions of moviegoers as the main music in Noël Coward's best-loved film Brief Encounter is also included. Coward enthused on the show: "I love it, and I know every note of it, and I very often play it". He also chose another of the stunning works included on this album, Verdi's Requiem Dies Irae: "so tremendously dramatic. and I think that when I was really falling to pieces at the end of my long and misspentlife on the island, this really would wake me up for a few extra moments ofpleasure."

The Castaways' classical favourites compilation features a selection of pieces by Mozart (Mozart being the mostpopular classical composer with the Castaways, the choice of no fewer than 792 guests), including operatic classic Cosi fan Tutte (chosen by Dame Judi Dench and Sir David Attenborough), and the beautifully orchestrated Piano Concerto No.21 (chosen by Oliver Reed and Vivienne Westwood).  This outstanding collection of classical greats also includes Debussy's Claire de Lune, essential listening for Terence Stamp and Shirley Bassey, Bizet's The Pearl Fishers Duet favoured by Eric Clapton and Anthony Hopkins, Brahm's Violin Concerto, the selection of Lauren Bacall and Stephen Hawking, Grieg's Piano Concerto, a must for Daphne Du Maurier and Patrick Moore, plus Handel, Bach, Mendelssohn, Tchaikovsky and many more.

DISC 1
1.     Eric Coates: By the Sleepy Lagoon (Desert Island Discs Theme)
2.     Strauss: The Blue Danube Waltz
3.     Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 2 (Adagio Sostenuto)
4.     Puccini: Madame Butterfly "Un bel di" (One Fine Day)
5.     Debussy: Clair de Lune
6.     Bach: Concerto for 2 Violins (Largo ma non tanto)
7.     Tchaikovsky: Romeo And Juliet Overture (Love Theme)
8.     Vaughan Williams: Fantasia on Greensleeves
9.     Elgar: Nimrod (Enigma Variations)
10.   Mozart:  Cosi Fan Tutte -  Trio "Soave il vento" 
11.   Mendelssohn:   Wedding March (A Midsummer Night's Dream) 
12.   Beethoven: Symphony No 9 "Choral"  ( Ode to Joy)
13.   Mozart: Clarinet Concerto (Adagio)
14.   Verdi: Nabucco: Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves "Va pensiero"
15.   Sibelius: Symphony No.2: Finale (Excerpt) 

DISC 2
1.     Elgar: Pomp and Circumstance  March No. 1
2.     Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue
3.     Puccini: Turandot "Nessun Dorma"
4.     Beethoven: Symphony  No. 6 "Pastoral" - Finale
5.     Rachmaninov: Paganini Rhapsody 18th Variation
6.     Brahms: Violin Concerto (Adagio) 
7.     Ravel: Pavane Pour Une Infante Défunte
8.     Dvorak: Symphony No. 9 New World Largo (excerpt)
9.     Bellini: Norma "Casta Diva"
10.   Bach: Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring
11.   Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 (Allegro)

DISC 3
1.     Beethoven: Symphony No. 5 (Allegro Con Brio)
2.     Wagner: The Ride of the Valkyries
3.     Schubert: Quintet in C Adagio (excerpt)
4.     Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 21 - Andante
5.     Bizet: The Pearl Fishers Duet "Au fond du temple saint"
6.     Elgar: Cello Concerto (Adagio)
7.     Vaughan Williams: The Lark Ascending
8.     Purcell: Dido & Aeneas "When I am laid in earth"
9.     Mozart: Don Giovanni Duet "La ci darem la mano"
10.   Mozart: Eine Kleine Nachtmusik (Allegro)
11.   Beethoven: Moonlight Sonata (Adagio Sostenuto)
12.   Grieg: Piano Concerto (Adagio)
13.   Verdi: Requiem - Dies Irae (excerpt)
14.   Handel: Messiah - Hallelujah Chorus