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Beethoven, Barber and Copland from the 2007 91Èȱ¬ Proms

Marin Alsop leads the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra in a showcase of 20th-century American music, including Barber’s Violin Concerto with James Ehnes and Copland's Symphony No 3.

In 2020, 91Èȱ¬ Radio 3 is bringing together musical greats, from the past and the present, in one extraordinary Proms season. Radio 3 is broadcasting the best of four decades of unmissable Proms concerts and tonight Martin Handley introduces a concert from the 2007 season featuring the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra conducted by Marin Alsop in a programme including two American 20th-century classics.

Beethoven: Overture ‘Leonore’ No. 3
Barber: Violin Concerto
Copland: Symphony No. 3

James Ehnes (violin)
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
Marin Alsop (conductor)

(From the 91Èȱ¬ Proms 2007, 25 July)

New York-born Marin Alsop conducts a programme that reflects the substantial body of American works introduced to the 91Èȱ¬ Proms during the 1940s and 1950s. Barber’s lushly romantic Violin Concerto – which received its UK premiere at the 1943 Proms – is heard alongside Copland’s iconic folk-influenced symphony, a work which helped define the sound of American orchestral music.

Opening the concert is Beethoven’s third attempt at a curtain-raiser for his only opera, Leonore (later renamed Fidelio). Despite being rejected for a fourth and final iteration, this overture perfectly encapsulates the essence of Beethoven’s opera: a proud celebration of freedom and conjugal love.

Presented by Martin Handley.

2 hours, 28 minutes

Music Played

  • Ludwig van Beethoven

    Overture: Leonore no 3

    Orchestra: Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Marin Alsop.
  • Samuel Barber

    Violin Concerto

    Performer: James Ehnes. Orchestra: Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Marin Alsop.
  • Aaron Copland

    Symphony no 3

    Orchestra: Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Marin Alsop.
  • Igor Stravinsky

    Pulcinella - Ballet avec chante

    Conductor: Neville Marriner. Orchestra: Academy of St Martin in the Fields. Singer: Yvonne Kenny. Singer: Robert Tear. Singer: Robert Lloyd.
    • Stravinsky: Symphony in Three Movements; Violin Concerto; Symphonies of Wind Ins.
    • Warner Classics.
  • Tomaso Giovanni Albinoni

    Adagio in G minor

    Composer: Remo Giazotto. Orchestra: Academy of St Martin in the Fields. Conductor: Neville Marriner.
    • The Best Classical Album in the World... Ever!.
    • EMI.
    • 13.

Broadcast

  • Wed 5 Aug 2020 19:30

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