Prom 26: Sibelius’s First Symphony

Live at the BBC Proms: The BBC Philharmonic and their Chief Conductor John Storgårds in Sibelius's First Symphony. They are joined by James Ehnes for Walton's Violin Concerto.

Presented by Tom McKinney, live from the Royal Albert Hall, London

Gerald Barry: Kafka's Earplugs (world premiere)
Walton: Violin Concerto

c.8.15 Interval: New Generation Thinker Noreen Masud joins Tom McKinney to discuss literary examples of nonsense and absurdity. Gerald Barry's piece is inspired by Kafka and a future Proms concert features György Kurtág’s Endgame

c.8.35
Sibelius: Symphony No.1

James Ehnes (violin)
BBC Philharmonic
John Storgårds (conductor)

The BBC Philharmonic and Chief Conductor John Storgårds present Sibelius’s Symphony No. 1 – a thrilling glimpse of a composer emerging from the shadow of Tchaikovsky and his fellow Romantics. Canadian violinist James Ehnes is the soloist in Walton’s fiercely direct Violin Concerto – a work full of song, dance and drama. The concert opens with a world premiere from heartily irreverent Irish composer Gerald Barry, focusing on Franz Kafka’s obsession with wearing earplugs to silence the noise around him. ‘In the music,’ Barry says, ‘you are Kafka, hearing the world’s sounds as he heard them. You are inside his head.’