Classical music with fond memories: Moira Stuart, Margherita Taylor and Charlotte Hawkins on pieces they love
3 June 2021, 13:43 | Updated: 3 June 2021, 13:53
Speaking to woman&home magazine, Classic FM presenters have shared the classical music closest to their hearts – from Vaughan Williams to Erik Satie.
Classic FM presenters Moira Stuart, Margherita Taylor and Charlotte Hawkins have been sharing what classical music holds the fondest memories for them.
We’ve teamed up with woman&home, and for the magazine’s July issue the three presenters have shared their summer plans, highlights from their careers so far, and why certain pieces of music have a special place in their heart.
Charlotte loves Pachelbel’s Canon in D after it accompanied a very special day, whilst Margherita shares her love of music by American composer George Gershwin. For Moira, it’s Vaughan Williams and sublime Satie that she comes back to again and again.
Here are some of the presenters’ very favourite pieces of music, and why they mean so much. You can read the full interview with Moira, Margherita and Charlotte in the July 2021 issue of woman&home, out today (Thursday 3 June).
Charlotte Hawkins, Smooth Classics at Seven
1. Pachelbel: Canon in D
“[This] has a special place in my heart, because it’s the music I walked down the aisle to at my wedding, with my dad by my side.”
Canon in D (Pachelbel's Canon) - Cello & Piano [BEST WEDDING VERSION]
2. Delibes: The Flower Duet
“The music from the British Airways advert instantly takes me back to my childhood – and now my daughter and I hum it when we’re brushing our teeth!”
Delibes: Lakmé - Duo des fleurs (Flower Duet), Sabine Devieilhe & Marianne Crebassa
3. Alexis Ffrench: Bluebird
“Hearing ‘Bluebird’ by Alexis Ffrench inspired me to relearn the piano in 2019.”
Alexis Ffrench - Bluebird
Margherita Taylor, Smooth Classics
1. Samuel Barber: Adagio for Strings
“It’s beautiful, tender and full of intensity, power and emotion – just stunning. It always stops me in my tracks.”
BARBER Adagio for Strings
2. Handel: Zadok the Priest
“Alongside that first morning coffee, or on the way to a big presentation or meeting.”
Handel Coronation Anthems: Zadok the Priest HWV 258; NDR Chor & FestspielOrchester Göttingen
3. Gershwin: ‘Summertime’ from Porgy and Bess
“A summer favourite of mine.”
Porgy and Bess: “Summertime”
4. Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue
“Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue captures that feeling of a summer evening, but his focus is on summer city heat, rather than the countryside. It’s like a cool glass of something lovely on a too-hot-to-move day.”
Lang Lang: George Gershwin - Rhapsody in Blue
Moira Stuart, Moira Stuart’s Hall of Fame Concert
1. Vaughan Williams: The Lark Ascending
“This piece reminds me of being 10 or 11, laying the grass in Springfield Park and looking up at the sky. Back in the day, there were a lot of sparrows and to me, their birdsong was like an idealised summer in the countryside.”
Hilary Hahn - V. Williams "The Lark Ascending"
2. Jan Garbarek: Parce Mihi, Domine
“An extraordinary fusion of a 16th century chant with jazz saxophone.”
OFFICIUM DIVINUM. Parce mihi, Domine. Cantar Lontano, Gavino Murgia, Marco Mencoboni
3. Erik Satie: Trois Gymnopédies
“So gentle and mesmeric and – funnily enough – it’s based on naked men of Sparta, dancing!”
Satie - Gymnopédie No. 1
Our presenters were photographed separately and adhered to COVID guidelines throughout the shoot.
The July issue of woman&home magazine is out now.
