91Èȱ¬

Live at 91Èȱ¬ Proms: the 91Èȱ¬ Symphony Orchestra conducted by Cristian Măcelaru. Rachmaninov's mighty Symphony No. 2 plus Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 2 with pianist Seong-Jin Cho.

Live from the Royal Albert Hall, London
Presented by Penny Gore

Constantin Silvestri: Three Pieces for strings
Sergei Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor

8.10pm
Interval: An exploration of the Russian symphonic tradition, with musicologist Geoffrey Norris and Russian culture expert Rosamund Bartlett, presented by Tom Service.

Sergey Rachmaninov: Symphony No. 2 in E minor

Seong-Jin Cho (piano)
91Èȱ¬ Symphony Orchestra
Cristian Măcelaru (conductor)

Tracing a thrilling journey from doubt to triumph, Rachmaninov’s Symphony No. 2 sits at the centre of this concert .From a brooding opening it moves through a lovely slow movement to an ecstatic close – one of the most exciting in the repertoire. Romanian conductor Cristian Măcelaru makes his Proms debut with the 91Èȱ¬ SO.

There’s more drama and still greater virtuosity in Prokofiev’s demanding Piano Concerto No. 2, performed here by 2015 Chopin International Piano Competition winner Seong-Jin Cho. The concert opens with the folk-inspired Three Pieces for strings by the Romanian composer-conductor Constantin Silvestri, who defected to the West in 1956 and died in London 50 years ago.