91Èȱ¬

9²¹³¾â€¯
Rob sets the tone and mood of the day's programme with a range of music to intrigue, surprise and entertain. 

9.30 
Take part in today's musical challenge: identify a piece of music played in reverse. 

10am
Rob's guest this week is the highly acclaimed theatre, opera and film director Nicholas Hytner. Until recently Nicholas was Director of the National Theatre, a role he held for nearly 12 years. He began his directing career in the opera house as an assistant at English National Opera, where he went on to lead productions of Wagner, Handel and Mozart. In 1989 he directed the first production of Miss Saigon in the West End and soon afterwards began his long association with the National Theatre. At the National, Nicholas directed the original theatre production of Alan Bennett's The History Boys before directing the much-loved film adaptation. This was by no means his first or last collaboration with Bennett; he directed both the stage and film productions of Bennett's The Madness of George III and The Lady in the Van. As well as discussing his work as a director, Nicholas shares his passion for classical music, choosing a selection of his favourite works by composers including Monteverdi, Sibelius and Britten.

10.30
Music on Location: Rome
Rob spends the week exploring the classical music connections found in the city of Rome, beginning with Respighi's symphonic poem Fountains of Rome; the piece depicts four of the city's fountains, each at a different time of day.

11am
Rob's Proms Artist of the Week is the Scottish pianist Steven Osborne. Osborne is publicly acknowledged as one of the great pianists of his generation; in 2013 he was named Instrumentalist of the Year by The Royal Philharmonic Society and he is the recipient of two Gramophone awards. Osborne has given concerto performances and recitals around the world and is a regular at the 91Èȱ¬ Proms; this year he is giving the premiere of a new piano concerto by Julian Anderson with the 91Èȱ¬ Scottish Symphony Orchestra (91Èȱ¬SSO). Osborne has a long-term relationship with the 91Èȱ¬SSO and this week Rob has chosen their recordings of Ravel's Piano Concerto in G major, Britten's Piano Concerto in D major, Stravinsky's Concerto for piano and wind instruments, and Manuel de Falla's Nights in the Gardens of Spain. We'll also hear Osborne's award-winning recording of Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition.

Ravel
Piano Concerto in G major
Steven Osborne (piano)
91Èȱ¬ Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Ludovic Morlot (conductor)

Producer SUSAN KENYON.