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Prom 56: Rattle conducts Mahler’s Ninth Symphony

Live at the 91Èȱ¬ Proms: Sir Simon Rattle’s final UK performance as music director of the London Symphony Orchestra: Mahler’s Ninth Symphony and Poulenc’s Figure humaine.

Live from the 91Èȱ¬ Proms: Sir Simon Rattle’s final UK performance as Music Director of the London Symphony Orchestra: Mahler’s Ninth Symphony and Poulenc’s Figure humaine.

Presented by Kate Molleson, live from the Royal Albert Hall, London.

Poulenc: Figure humaine

c.7.50pm: Interval
In conversation with Kate Molleson, William Mival explores the background and genesis of Mahler's Symphony No. 9.

Mahler: Symphony No. 9
91Èȱ¬ Singers
London Symphony Orchestra
Sir Simon Rattle, conductor

In Mahler’s Ninth Symphony, the composer – who would not live to hear its premiere – bid ‘farewell to all whom he loved’. The words ‘Leb’ wohl!’ (‘farewell’) are written onto the score itself, transformed into a theme that becomes the heartbeat of the whole work. It’s a poignant choice for Sir Simon Rattle’s final UK performance as music director of the London Symphony Orchestra. Death and life collide in a symphony haunted by loss but urgently clinging to dance and song. The finale, however, looks beyond, closing with a vision of distant hills where the sun is shining. Opening the Prom is Poulenc’s choral masterpiece Figure humaine, a hymn to freedom from occupied France, performed by the 91Èȱ¬ Singers.

03:06 Poulenc: Figure humaine
23:30 Interval: Kate Molleson and William Mival on Mahler 9
47:13 Mahler: Symphony No 9

2 hours, 29 minutes

Last on

Sun 27 Aug 2023 19:30

Music Played

  • Francis Poulenc

    Figure Humaine - Cantata

    Choir: 91Èȱ¬ Singers. Conductor: Sir Simon Rattle.
  • Gustav Mahler

    Symphony No. 9

    Orchestra: London Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Sir Simon Rattle.
  • Yann Tiersen

    On the Wire

    Performer: Yann Tiersen.
    • Amélie (Original Soundtrack).
    • Parlophone (France).
    • 17.
  • Yann Tiersen

    Banquet

    Performer: Yann Tiersen.
    • Amélie (Original Soundtrack).
    • Parlophone (France).
    • 18.
  • Yann Tiersen

    Comptine d'un autre été, l'après-midi

    • Le Fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain (Bande originale du film).
    • UGC Images/ADA France.
    • 3.
  • Yann Tiersen

    La valse des monstres (Amelie)

    Performer: Yann Tiersen.
    • VIRGIN.

Broadcast

  • Sun 27 Aug 2023 19:30

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