Prom 5: Rachmaninov and Shostakovich, Royal Albert Hall
One of the BBC’s top orchestras interprets classics of the 20th century
Thomas Søndergård conducting the National Orchestra of Wales. Photo: Guy Levy BBC
If you can listen to Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No 2 without thinking of the doomed
affair in Brief Encounter, then you are very young or very high-browed indeed. But for most
people, those surging melodies and passionate strings will always sum up the tussle
between love and duty.
Played in this concert by the terrific BBC National Orchestra of Wales under Thomas Søndergård, the soloist tonight is the dynamic 26-year-old Uzbek pianist Behzod Abduraimov, grand prize winner of the 2009 London International Piano Competition. Musical fireworks are guaranteed.
This bumper concert opens with the stirring Sibelius Symphony No 7, and in the second half comes the gigantic Shostakovich Symphony No 10, one of many landmark Russian works that mark the centenary of the Revolution in this Proms season.
Behzod Abduraimuv. Photo: Nissor Abdourazakov
Composed after the death of Stalin in 1953, it expresses the 'thaw' that followed the years of tyranny, and there are audible green shoots of a brighter, lighter future. Listen out for Dmitri Shostakovich’s musical signature – some letters of his name spelled out in the notes DSCH.
How does that work? In German notation an S is E flat, and an H is B natural. Try this out on any instrument or computer programme before the concert, or find a link to DSCH: start on D, go up to E flat, down to C and down again to B. Hum it on the Tube on the way to the Royal Albert Hall, and you will be right at the heart of the piece.
General booking opens Saturday 13 May, 9:00.
Played in this concert by the terrific BBC National Orchestra of Wales under Thomas Søndergård, the soloist tonight is the dynamic 26-year-old Uzbek pianist Behzod Abduraimov, grand prize winner of the 2009 London International Piano Competition. Musical fireworks are guaranteed.
This bumper concert opens with the stirring Sibelius Symphony No 7, and in the second half comes the gigantic Shostakovich Symphony No 10, one of many landmark Russian works that mark the centenary of the Revolution in this Proms season.
Behzod Abduraimuv. Photo: Nissor Abdourazakov
Composed after the death of Stalin in 1953, it expresses the 'thaw' that followed the years of tyranny, and there are audible green shoots of a brighter, lighter future. Listen out for Dmitri Shostakovich’s musical signature – some letters of his name spelled out in the notes DSCH.
How does that work? In German notation an S is E flat, and an H is B natural. Try this out on any instrument or computer programme before the concert, or find a link to DSCH: start on D, go up to E flat, down to C and down again to B. Hum it on the Tube on the way to the Royal Albert Hall, and you will be right at the heart of the piece.
General booking opens Saturday 13 May, 9:00.
TRY CULTURE WHISPER
Receive free tickets & insider tips to unlock the best of London — direct to your inbox
| What | Prom 5: Rachmaninov and Shostakovich, Royal Albert Hall |
| Where | Royal Albert Hall, Kensington Gore, London, SW7 2AP | MAP |
| Nearest tube | South Kensington (underground) |
| When |
On 17 Jul 17, 7:30 PM – 10:05 PM |
| Price | £6 - £40 |
| Website | Booking details |