Episode 5 BBC Proms

It's all about stage and screen tonight as we make

merry with Shakespeare, wax lyrical with Gershwin,

and find out how this viola had us in pieces.

It could only be the curtain raising Proms Extra.

If the Proms is the stirring string section,

And this week there's a lot to listen to.

# What's new # That's fine

# Nice weather we are having. # I have taken my umbrella so of

course it doesn't rain # How's the wife?

# Got to run Now Proms Extra loves

a guest or three joining us And our first guest

hasn't been that busy since his last appearance

on Proms Extra. All he's been doing

is writing a children's opera for the Royal Opera House

and working on a piece for Sir Simon That is nothing to be

excited about is it. Our next guest is busy directing

operas but perhaps she is better She has thrilled audiences

on stage and screen, due to her acclaimed work

with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre,

and appearing in films such as the Harry Potter blockbusters

and our personal favourite, Our final guest is the founder

and Principal Conductor of one of the most exciting and adventurous

orchestras to grace the Proms. I'm talking about the Aurora

Orchestra who have made a name for themselves more recently

for performing works by memory. We won't forget which ones they've

done, they were stunning. It's hello to conductor

Nicholas Collon. And performing at the end

of the show is the London Symphony Orchestra's principal

trombonist, Peter Moore. Welcome to all of you. How is that

Sir Simon Rattle piece going? It's done. Are you pleased with it? Think

so. We had a run through with the orchestra. I used to do with the

CBSO, it was like going back to old times. Sglt can you give us a clue?

It's in memory of a jazz guitarist whose son died. It's a memorial for

a friend. I have been doing a few memorials, as you get older, people

dying, but friends and so, it's quite a mournful piece in a way but

there are happy bits. A great pleasure to be working with your old

friend. Absolutely, it's fantastic. Fiona, you are doing another opera,

I understand, what is in store this time? Next year for the Wexford

Festival, I have always been a fan of the Wexford Festival and hardly

get to it. It will be nice to land there. Tremendous. Nick, you are

always busy. The Aurora Orchestra seem to be everywhere, highlights

you are looking forward to? You can't be at the Proms, we were here

last week at the Albert Hall which was thrilling for us. Doesn't get

better than playing in the Albert Hall in the Proms season. It looked

as if you were enjoying yourself. We had a good time. You always do. I am

looking forward to hearing your conversation. Do get stuck in. We

love that here. Let's start our musical journey

from where we left off last week, when Proms Extra got the opportunity

to be inside the Royal Albert Hall, to witness all of the preparation

that went into the Gershwin Gala Prom as performed by

John Wilson and his orchestra. As sure as night follows day,

it seems hard to imagine a BBC Proms season without a visit

by the John Wilson Orchestra, showing off what they do best -

nostalgia, opulence, melodies. And here's a reminder

of what the man himself had to say last week to Proms Extra

about the relationship We have been learning together for

20-odd years now. I learn from them. I try and guide them to the vision I

have of the music and it's very much a collaboration.

A blast of Gershwin from the John Wilson Orchestra which went out last

Saturday. What is it about Gershwin that makes everybody feel warm and

fuzzy and sway from side to side? I don't sway, well, I do sometimes, I

think it's to do with the incredible melodic invex. The tunes are so

great. This evening was full of every tune. Some lesser known tunes

there, but tunes... There was an interesting repertoire. Some things

I didn't know so well. Gershwin is a great composer, it's not just the

tunes, but the harmonies are wonderful. I love things like Borgie

and Bess. I grew up watching American in Paris, there is a

generosity of spirit. But MEP ran, the tunes stick with you -- but

memorable, as well. The tunes stick with you. He is a great composer,

not just a great popular composer, but there is all these great

composers, certainly great lyricists and composers, but for me Gershwin

transsends it. I just feel he is one of the great 20th century composers.

Nick, you enjoyed this Prom, as well. You conducted Rhapsody in Blue

recently. I conduct a lot of Gershwin, it's thrilling to do. This

was an amazing Prom night and it always is and the orchestra is

phenomenal. It really is. The standard of the players is

extraordinary and what John does with them is also so beautifully

crafted, the whole programme and the way they play is authentic and

exuberant. How would you describe that Hollywood sound he gets out of

them, how does he achieve that? I think first it has to be said with

real good players you can't do it with anything else. Matt on the

drums, he is the best there is at that kind of music and Mike on the

trumpet, it's phenomenal playing and through the orchestra you find there

is such a strength and depth but also I am sure a lot comes from John

and his way of imparting a sense of the style and the sound and the

strings and the way you slide around and the woodwind. It's hard to do.

It's really hard. Physically it's difficult to jump around at the

music of Gershwin and make it tidy, as well. Fiona, when you hear

Gershwin does it make you think next time I will do a musical on

Broadway? He maps the optimism of America on to everything. It's very

- you hear it in London, it's sort of it's slightly like it's in

translation because we are not America so it's wonderful this John

Wilson Orchestra can bring us this - you can see New York in every sound.

Did it work for you? It does work. Sometimes I feel it's telling me

what to feel even though I am not feeling it, OK, I am feeling it! It

injects you with feeling. Is it the sort of music you would listen to at

home? Probably not, what it does it almost tells me too much. I think

leave some room for me! But it's just genius and I agree, I think

Borgie and Bess is one of the greatest pieces ever written. I

don't think we heard anything from that on the night. He is finding

things and I have known John for a long time and through my friend

Richard, that's how I met John, I have known him before he had this

career and the orchestra and so I know his passion for this music and

he just finds these long lost things and reconstructs them. You can't

imagine how hard it is to do, to have people rearranging but also -

finding music and being able to reconstruct it, that's the word I

was looking for. I have never seen a string orchestra looking so happy.

Seriously. I am not saying string orchestras are miserable, I will get

in trouble for that, they look like they're having a great time. I think

they're enjoying the sound from behind them, as well. They're all

smiling. Little clips of the front, behind the singers, reacting to the

music. You don't see that often. That's what John has got this

ability to - this passion he has across the orchestra and across to

the audience and that's rare. It's a lot of combination of things, of

some magic really. It's interesting. Real. And it's there. We shouldn't

forget brother Ira and his lyrics. The gift of rhyme and wit and you

feel a cocktail has to appear at every moment. It's the wit of gin

and vodka. It's genius. I notice at the end of the concert the other

night the joy with which they - they got applause, they were relieved, so

you feel it's hard to do. Who would the Gershwins of today be, are there

any? Xoezing wise? Well, I sit on the sofa with one. In terms of

finding... Sometimes it's followed on. Terms of the pop la sdiet gists

it's hard to know. It's such a different audience that we play to

and a different culture behind it. Beyonce is trying to be, the mad

lyrics, the conversation lyrics turned from obscenity to poetry.

Somebody who died recently, David Bowie. You can't underestimate what

the great tunes he wrote, they were very special. Do you think they'll

last? I think they will, absolutely, I do. I really do. Interesting.

Fascinating. Good to have you here. That's why we invite you

If you go on to the BBC iPlayer you can relive the magic

of the Gershwin Prom for another three weeks,

and take my, and Gershwinos, word for it, S'Wonderful.

From a little light music to a romantic concerto, aka

Rachmaninov's Third Piano Concerto aka Rach 3,

as performed here by Behzod Abduraimov, making his Proms

Rachmaninov's Third Concerto performed there

by Behzod Abduraimov, with the Munich Philharmonic

Orchestra conducted by Valery Gergiev.

That's not easy to play, is it? No, almost impossible, he is

extraordinary. He not only has the technical ability but he can do the

lyricism, as well. You know, I can just about play the opening, I think

at a push but after that it's extraordinary. Again it's like

Gershwin in a sense this music is so generous. There is a generosity and

melodic invention again. People don't like tunes like that any more,

and he really has this incredible passionate way. The pianist, I

didn't know anything about him, the first time I encountered him and he

is extraordinary. Won't be the last time I am sure. He is amazing. This

piece is known to be virtuoticically difficult to play. It was featured

in the movie Shine. Have you conducted this? Never done it. I

have done two of the other three. Yeah, a lot of pianists find it

almost beyond them. It's incredibly difficult but he gave them the most

astonishing performance actually. It felt completely - well, it was

flawless for a start. Technically flawless. But so much physical power

there, as well that came from his whole body. He played beautifully

with his body, so in control. Beautiful posture of his hands. And

exactly as Mark said there was poetry at the same time as all the

virtuosty. He was outstanding. He is not that old. He is 25, I think.

Something like that. He is not a kid but it does beg the question is

there an age at which you shouldn't be approaching a work like that, do

you think? He seems to understand there is a kind of nervous breakdown

in that music. A kind of imminence or hysteria that's being kept in

control with the speed and the control of it. Why a 25-year-old can

really tune into that is just phenomenal. He understands it

fundamentally. Is it your kind of music? So much. Everything we ever

drank beer to and went... But you can hear shades of that in this.

This seems almost a more advanced piece of works, we were talking

about the fact that Rachmaninov lived in America and had these

strange neighbours, maybe not necessarily friends with each other.

All they are living next to each other in Los Angeles and not

speaking. Yeah, very much my kind of music.

It's romanticism meets the 20th century. So it's perfect.

Let's just talk about the maestro. He has been a great presents. You

never quite know what you are going to see. There is a quality of

improvisation about the way he conducts, which is really

interesting. That can create some very unprecedented and exciting

performances. I have spoken to a lot of musicians about being conducted

by him and they do not know what is coming next. He conducts with a

toothpick, doesn't he? A very small bat on. I think he just wants real

control in his hands. Is it to make people look very closely at him?

With a conductor like that, he does not want such a large appendage. He

wants it to be tight and small. I can understand that. I met him in

New York. He came very late to rehearsal. He said, I will do

something. We have been here for weeks practising. We will see. How

did the cast respond to that? They knew him. A lot of them are Russians

and they all knew him. They came with him. He's sort of bread them.

He has sent them off into the world, where they have been ever since. He

is a giant among men. Fascinating. Staying with the piano,

and the same orchestra. It's time to cause some ripples,

courtesy of our keyboard cavalier David Owen Norris

and his Chord of the Week. The rose thereupon smacked cord from

Strauss's Opera, it is the shimmer of the Silver Rose. The young lad is

just a messenger to safely. It is not his Silver Rose but they fall in

love. Our cord of the week is like a pebble dropped into a pool to make

three shimmering ripples that make a chain of chords giving an impression

of giving love at first sight. The first is a major chord, the second,

a minor chord, and the third is major again. Major, minor and major

again. What is going on with those changing chords? I think it is the

eyes of the lovers. The eyes meet and drop. They look up again. Deep

into each other's eyes. And you can see and hear that

lovely piece straight I have to tell you there are just

two more weeks of David Fiona, I have got a question for

you. Do you play an instrument? I used to play the cello. I dare not

say that in this company. I used to though the cello and go to lessons.

Did you play in an orchestra? I did continue to learn through my school

days I've played with my family. My brother played with loot and the

other the violin. It was tortuous. -- the flute. My older brother is a

very good pianist. We will have to get you inspired again.

Here are some people who have taken our advice and had a go

MUSIC: Toreador from Carmen by Bizet.

If you want to be a part of the BBC Virtual Orchestra and be a part

of the BBC Last Night of the Proms celebrations then crack on.

You have until midnight next Saturday to get your uploads in.

Talking of playing, we have a performance still to come

by the London Symphony Orchestra's principal trombonist, Peter Moore.

Plus we'll be delving into the Proms At concert,

which was at the Sam Wanamaker's Playhouse at Shakespeare's Globe.

But now as regular viewers know, Proms Extra likes to get under

the skin of the people involved with this classical music festival.

Here's the dramatic story of one orchestral player and her very

traumatic breakup with her first love.

I had had my violin since I was 16. I got my first job, through college,

through everything. It was about three years ago I had a bit of an

accident and I slipped with my Violette in its case. It was a

couple of minutes later I opened the case. I presumed it would be OK. I

did not think there would be a problem and that is when the horror

of what had happened set in. What to me looked like smashed rosin were

splinters of wood. It was beyond repair and a write-off. A real shock

will stop it was pretty awful. So, once the reality of what happened

had set in, I realised I don't have a viola, I can't earn a living

without my viola. So, I had to kind of get on with finding a replacement

pretty quickly. Every viola is a different size. Playing someone

else's the stops are different and the sounds are different and it is a

challenge within itself. A rosin is not standardised. Originally they

used to be to the size of the smaller altos more sweet and a

larger more basic. -- a viola. It takes quite a while for me to make

one get very involved in it. About three months is what you normally

look at it is nice to know the person who will be playing the

instrument when it is done. I must have tried 20, 30, 40 probably. I

was at a dealer's. A guy said, what about this? It is too big for you.

It was 17 inches, absolutely enormous. I convinced myself it

would be fine. I just loved the sound. For me, it was different to

anything else I tried. I took it to the Halle, to rehearsals, and I

could not play it. She liked the instrument and was very tempted to

go for the large size. To make it seem more sensible, she came down

just a touch. It would not really change the sound too much. Now she

has an instrument which bits her very well. That is because it's her.

-- an instrument which fits her very well. You are always trying to make

sure you are commissioning something which is among campaign. If the

player has a small and, I can make the neck slightly slimmer so it is

not bulky. I would say, if you're happy with the sound, leave it like

that. I really like that. That sounds

better. My fear all along would be, will I ever find anything to replace

my viola? It is amazing I found something I completely loved and it

was so clear cut that it was definitely the right viola. That was

a fantastic feeling actually. When I get to see an instrument

being played, six months, a year later, that is fantastic. That is

all right. If you are enthusiastic about it as well, that is even

better. Here is the original viola. At very

sorry sight. That must break your heart. My viola is safely locked

inside its case. I have broken the zip so it will be safe for a long

time. A tragic sight. Has anything like that ever happened to you? My

batons break frequently. If there are any good baton makers out there,

perhaps you can tell me. There is a joint between the Long white bit and

the bit you hold. Because there was a bit of pressure put on the baton

sometimes, I do a big gesture and half of it would fly up really quite

far, 40 metres up in the air and land somewhere in the audience.

Happens twice a year and I never know when it will happen. It is

quite a perilous activity. Do the eyes of the audience followed the

baton? I had it at the concert in Germany and the whole of the

audience followed it. I could not believe it. I would quite like to

deliver a leap break a flute that are used to play. Some people also

say, a lot of musicians are saying, it is only a viola. Starting on the

viola jokes. I love viola. Now, the Proms concerts

are synonymous with As a new departure, David Pickard,

the new Director of the Proms came up with the idea of Proms At?taking

specific pieces to four very special Last week it was Shakespeare

infused repertoire playing in the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse

at Shakespeare's Globe. An excerpt of the Proms At concert

from the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, Where you transported back to the

17th century? I was. I was in a Hogarth cartoon. They became

two-dimensional cutouts. You get a feeling for it. The blend of voices

that close, you can see the recorders. It was just enchanting.

Changing the recorders. You really are on top of them. You see the

conductor with such grace and intensity close up. They are all

enjoying themselves and we are part of it. It is really the most

extraordinary experience of architecture and music. It is a

jewel-like playhouse, isn't it? Atmospheric to the end. There was

something very modern about the concert. I felt I was at a jamming

session of the 17th century. Somehow this music had an immediacy and in a

place of that size. It would be terribly difficult to do that in the

Albert Hall. We were all listening to new music, it felt like, for the

first time. And music so integral to the works of Shakespeare. More of an

inspired by concert. Once the theatres did reopen, there was a

kind of cavalier attitude to Shakespeare. They were saying, let's

put these words in. Bits of it have been adapted. And on has taken a

lot. What is exciting is you see people experimenting. There are two

men singing, one to the other. One had red cheeks and red lips,

replying, he will not kiss the baritone. You feel, is this a man or

a woman or a man and a man? You think this music is very up to the

moment. The music seems very formal but it is exploring the an Arctic --

anarchic feeling. Is that something which you mind?

I am aware of the composers who have been influenced. I am intimidated by

it in a way. Because I think it's such incredible verse that the

richness is almost - it's hard to set. Britain set it beautifully. And

of course in Mid summer Night's Dream which is wonderful. He is able

to make the text into something. That takes skill. I have shied away

from it because technically it's hard to do. I wouldn't - I would

love to do, I have done little, if any, theatre music so I think that

would be a great challenge. That may and start to do music to a

Shakespeare play. I feel we are all here for you! Come on, Mark. How

about the idea of taking music such as you heard in the Playhouse into a

specific venue, did that work for you, did it add to the experience?

It's marvellous, it's wonderful to have music in surprising situations.

It just releases the music into our time. The more of that, the merrier.

I think it's a wonderful idea. The Sam Wanamaker Playhouse is suited to

that music but it could be somewhere that is a counterpoint, anywhere,

car parks, the more the better. Which we have coming up. Tell us

what you were doing with the Aurora recently, you staged a flash Prom.

It was the day before our Prom. It's an idea we have done of taking

it out to people that wouldn't normally perhaps go to a concert,

best place to do that is a shopping centre. As luck would have it we can

show you a little of that experience right now.

You must love seeing some of the reactions you got there. It's quite

odd, one of the players said to me afterwards it's hard to play when

you are constantly being reminded there is a 70% discount in one of

the shops. You have to get is there straight after! Are you a great

believer in breaking down boundaries and taking music out to odd places?

I do. Talking about venues, to go to galleries, I have seen a lot of

successful concerts in galleries which is not necessarily a normal

venue. You have to tailor the size of a piece. You need to do it in

these venues. Sometimes it can be off-putting but on the whole - I had

a piece played in Birmingham years ago in the Bullring. We did a tour

of shopping centres. It was a long time ago, we were quite pioneering.

It was the same thing where you see people's reactions. And they have no

choice. That's what is great about it. Poor things! But you are going

to hear it! I wonder did you see faces from the crowd? I recognised a

few. It works! That's very good. There was a Proms at earlier today

at the Roundhouse. And the final one that a lot

of people are getting excited about is the Bold Tendencies Multi

Story Car Park Prom in Peckham. Now next week the Proms returns

to BBC Four with a concert every On Thursday we have the Halle

conducted by Sir Mark Elder, or Smark as we call him

on Proms Extra. Let's see the elder statesman in

action. The Halle there under

the watchful eye of Smark, on your screens next Thursday

on BBC Four. And the following night you can see

on the same channel, the Aurora Orchestra,

conducted by Nick Collon, performing Mozart's Jupiter from memory,

which Proms Extra saw and loved. Proms Extra and I will be back next

week with more guests, a performance by members

of the Para Orchestra plus we'll be taking a look at Grieg,

a Brazilian Late Night Concert I'd like to thank my guests,

Mark-Anthony Turnage Fiona I'll leave you with a performance

by a young man who in 2008 was the youngest person at the age

of 12 to win BBC Young Musician. Since then he has become

the principal trombonist Accompanied by the pianist,

Richard Uttley, performing the classic jazz standard

written by Erroll Garner,