Prom 4: Valery Gergiev, World Orchestra for Peace

Valery Gergiev’s inspired leadership, play two of the grandest and most ambitious pieces of brooding late Romanticism, in an evening of music that looks set to impress. Strauss’ opera Die Frau Ohne Schatten (“the woman without a shadow”), is a semi-fairy tale, featuring both realistic and other-worldly characters, based on the idea of love blessed through the birth of children, somewhat like Mozart’s Magic Flute . Though the piece Gergiev is playing here is the fantasia, a shorter compilation of highlights, the opera’s dreamy, romantic, mesmerising character is conveyed well in the shorter work.

Mahler's sixth symphony, often called “ The Tragic ”, is also notoriously difficult to perform well, requiring, like the Strauss, a very large and highly-skilled orchestra. Its name derives from the sudden, tragic ending, which obliterates the sense of hope which has been building up. It’s a masterpiece in tense orchestral writing. The evening is completed by the European premiere of Roxanna Panufnik’s intriguing re-telling of the Abraham and Isaac story, commissioned by the World Peace Orchestra, which blends Christian, Jewish and Islamic traditions in a beguiling and compelling new account of this distressing tale.

Gergiev has become controversial for his closeness to Vladimir Putin, attracting gay rights protesters to some of his concerts last year. However, no one doubts his ability to guide these players to a sumptuous and exhilarating musical climax. In a (smaller) concert hall, this programme, with these performers, would sell out months ahead. Don't miss out.