Prom 43: Copland / Bax / Barber / Bartók / Prokofiev

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Royal Albert HallKensington Gore, London, Greater London, SW7 2AP, United Kingdom

Dates/times in London time zone

Programme

Copland, Aaron (1900-1990)	Fanfare for the Common Man
Bax, Arnold (1883-1953)	Symphony no. 2 in E minor and C major
Barber, Samuel (1910-1981)	Adagio for Strings, Op.11
Bartók, Béla (1881-1945)	Piano Concerto no. 2 in G major, Sz 95
Prokofiev, Sergei (1891-1953)	Symphony no. 4 in C major (rev 1947), Op.112

Performers

Yuja Wang	Piano
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Andrew Litton	Conductor

Tonight’s composers have something, or someone, in common: Boston Symphony Orchestra conductor Serge Koussevitzky. Copland’s Fanfare was later incorporated into his Third Symphony, written for the Koussevitzky Music Foundation, which also commissioned Bartok’s Concerto for Orchestra. Bax’s Second Symphony was dedicated to the conductor, who also championed Barber’s music in the 1940s.

The original version of Prokofiev’s Fourth Symphony was commissioned for the BSO’s 50th anniversary and premiered under Koussevitzky.

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Prom 43: Two wrongs don't make a right

Tom Hancox, 18th August

The programme read a little like a musical version of Kim's Game: not one but two full-scale symphonies, the same number of prefatory pieces, and then a piano concerto to boot: a test for the audience as well as the orchestra. The principal connexion between the works – apart from their contemporaneity – was the celebrated conductor, Serge Koussevitsky.

***11

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