Classic FM presses calming piano piece When The Night Goes Quiet onto zoetrope vinyl for Pet Classics on Bonfire Night

Key Takeaways

• Classic FM has commissioned When The Night Goes Quiet, an original solo piano piece written and recorded by composer and Classic FM Calm Ambassador Noah Inada-Kim to help calm pets during fireworks.

• The track has been pressed onto a limited edition zoetrope vinyl with artwork by Izzie Arrowsmith, showing cats and dogs asleep while fireworks burst in the distance.

• The piece launches the ninth year of Pet Classics, which runs across three evenings for the first time with the RSPCA returning as partner.

• Dan Walker, Aled Jones and Dawn O'Porter host from 5pm to 10pm on 5, 6 and 7 November on Classic FM and Global Player.

Classic FM has marked the return of Pet Classics, its annual radio programme for anxious animals during fireworks season, by commissioning an original piece of music written specifically for pets and pressing it onto a limited edition zoetrope vinyl. The composition is called When The Night Goes Quiet, and it was written and recorded by the pianist and composer Noah Inada-Kim, who is one of the station's Calm Ambassadors and describes it as his first piece composed to soothe animals. On the record itself, the artwork shows cats and dogs fast asleep while fireworks explode somewhere far off in the background, which turns the whole purpose of the broadcast into an object that can be held, spun and photographed.

The record arrives as the programme grows to its largest scale yet, since Pet Classics is now in its ninth year and will run across three consecutive evenings for the first time. For households where Bonfire Night means a dog wedged behind the sofa or a cat refusing to emerge from under the bed, the station is offering fifteen hours of gentle classical music in total, and it has added a brand new piece that was designed around what animals seem to find calming instead of simply what humans find pleasant.

Classic FM commissions Noah Inada-Kim to write When The Night Goes Quiet for three nights of Pet Classics

When The Night Goes Quiet is a soft and flowing piano piece shaped by research from universities in Belfast and Glasgow, which suggests that animals respond best to slow tempos, low pitch and little or no percussion. Those principles explain why the track is written for solo piano, because a single instrument played gently in a low register avoids the sudden accents that a drum kit or a full orchestra might introduce at exactly the wrong moment. The zoetrope artwork was created by the artist Izzie Arrowsmith, who has previously made work for Universal, Sony, BMG and Domino Recordings, and as the disc turns the illustrated animals appear to sleep peacefully while the fireworks continue bursting around them.

Inada-Kim, whose title as Calm Ambassador makes him a natural choice for a commission of this kind, described the project with obvious enthusiasm, saying that "It's been truly magical working with Classic FM to write and record When The Night Goes Quiet, my first original piece composed to bring a sense of calm to pets across the country." Speaking about the reason the piece exists at all, he added that "Fireworks season can be incredibly loud and unpredictable, and I hope that my piece and all the wonderful music played across these three brilliant shows for Pet Classics helps to give anxious pets and owners some respite from the loud noise outside." His comments place the composition firmly as part of the wider broadcast, so the track is intended to sit alongside the evening playlists and not to replace them, which gives listeners a new piece to discover while the station carries on with the repertoire its audience already trusts.

The new composition sits within a much longer schedule, as the three Pet Classics programmes run from 5pm to 10pm on Classic FM and Global Player across the busiest stretch of the fireworks calendar. Dan Walker, who presents Classic FM Breakfast on weekdays, opens the series on Bonfire Night itself on Thursday 5 November, while mid morning host Aled Jones takes over on Friday 6 November and Dawn O'Porter presents the final evening on Saturday 7 November. The playlists lean into the animal theme with Saint-Saëns' The Swan from Carnival of the Animals and Elgar's Mina, which the composer named after his Cairn Terrier, so the dogs listening at home are at least in good company.

Joseph Zubier, Classic FM's Managing Editor, framed the programme as a public service as much as a piece of entertainment when he said that "We're so proud of Classic FM's Pet Classics. For many pets and their owners, the programme is an essential tool, offering a calming soundtrack and a relaxing sanctuary during the fireworks season." He continued that "It's wonderful to have worked with our Classic FM Calm Ambassador Noah to create a beautiful piece of original, pet-friendly music, as we celebrate our ninth year keeping the nation's animals relaxed." The RSPCA is once again partnering with the station and will share practical advice throughout the broadcasts on keeping animals safe and comfortable while the skies are at their noisiest.