Today at the Proms - Prom 42

Continuing our daily coverage of what's on at The Proms 2018, Susan Omand has a quick look at the programme for Prom 42: Grieg's Piano Concerto  ...



Glorious Grieg grabs the headlines of tonight's prom with his only completed piano concerto, an early piece of his which he tended to sideline in later life but which has become one of his most famous works and, indeed, one of the most popular of the Piano Concerti in recent years.



From Norway to Sweden and Sibelius is the composer of the post-interval Symphony and it's the one with the swans. Yes, really, Sibelius took the call of the Whooper Swan as one of his main themes throughout the work - listen to the slow melody of the horns here and you'll hear the honk of the swans.







But we start the evening with a symphony from Estonian composer Arvo Pärt and it's nice to see something other than his Spiegel im Spiegel so beloved of film-makers around the world (believe me you'd know it if you heard it.) This is a beautiful symphony that really showcases the influence that Gregorian Chant had on Pärt's music and even hints at his trademark tintinnabuli (little bells) to come.



To give you a taster of it, here's the first Pärt (sorry, had to) from a recording by the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra









Here's the full programme for this evening's Prom which you can listen to live on Radio 3 or on the iPlayer

Arvo Pärt
Symphony No 3(25 mins)

Edvard Grieg
Piano Concerto in A minor(29 mins)

INTERVAL

Jean Sibelius
Symphony No 5 in E flat major(32 mins)




Image - Photo © Chris Christodoulou