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Sir Simon Rattle conducts Rachmaninov and Stravinsky

BBC Proms 2020

Sir Simon Rattle and the Berlin Philharmonic perform an all-Russian programme inspired by dance: Rachmaninov’s Symphonic Dances and Stravinsky’s magical The Firebird.

In 2020, BBC 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.

Georgia Mann presents this concert from 2014, Sir Simon Rattle and the Berlin Philharmonic perform an all-Russian programme inspired by dance. Opening the concert is Rachmaninov’s Symphonic Dances – the composer’s blazing ‘final spark’ and, for many, his finest orchestral work. Embracing jazz, plainchant and the waltz, it is a mercurial showcase of dramatic skill.

In the second half we enter the Russian fairy-tale world of Stravinsky’s The Firebird, the vivid, folk-infused ballet score for Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes that established the young composer as a rising star.

Rachmaninov: Symphonic Dances
Stravinsky: The Firebird

Berlin Philharmonic
Sir Simon Rattle
(From the BBC Proms, 5 September 2014)

2 hours, 28 minutes

Last on

Fri 7 Aug 2020 19:30
BBC Radio 3

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Music Played

  • Sergey Rachmaninov

    3 Symphonic dances Op 45

    Orchestra: Berliner Philharmoniker. Conductor: Sir Simon Rattle.

  • Igor Stravinsky

    The Firebird - complete ballet

    Orchestra: Berliner Philharmoniker. Conductor: Sir Simon Rattle.

  • Giacomo Puccini

    Manon Lescaut - Intermezzo

    Conductor: Sir Simon Rattle. Orchestra: Berliner Philharmoniker.

  • Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

    String Quartet No 1 in D major, Op 11

    Performer: Yuri Yurov. Performer: Mikhail Milman. Ensemble: Borodin Quartet.
    • Tchaikovsky: String Quartets Nos. 1-3, Souvenir De Florence.
    • Teldec.
    • 1.

  • Dmitry Shostakovich

    Moscow Cheryomushki Suite (Waltz)

    Orchestra: The Philadelphia Orchestra. Conductor: Riccardo Chailly.
    • Decca.

Broadcast

  • Fri 7 Aug 2020 19:30
    BBC Radio 3

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