Â鶹Éç

Live at Â鶹Éç Proms: the Â鶹Éç 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)
Â鶹Éç 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 Â鶹Éç 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.