0:00:27 > 0:00:29Hello and a warm welcome to the Proms
0:00:29 > 0:00:33where as ever we are offering you the very best seat in the house.
0:00:33 > 0:00:34It is wonderful to be back.
0:00:34 > 0:00:37Last week I was lucky enough to be here for an evening
0:00:37 > 0:00:38of Mozart and Ravel, and tonight
0:00:38 > 0:00:41there is another top drawer programme in store.
0:00:41 > 0:00:44We have two 20th-century classics for you this evening.
0:00:44 > 0:00:48The BBC Philharmonic in very fine fettle during rehearsals earlier.
0:00:48 > 0:00:52Later this evening, they bring us a magnum opus by Mahler,
0:00:52 > 0:00:54his Symphony No. 5, with that famous Adagietto
0:00:54 > 0:00:59which featured in Visconti's iconic film, Death In Venice.
0:00:59 > 0:01:02I'm coming over very Dirk Bogarde in my white suit at the moment.
0:01:02 > 0:01:05But first, a piece that is very dear to my heart.
0:01:05 > 0:01:07As a pianist born with only one hand,
0:01:07 > 0:01:10I feel fortunate that it was my left hand, as I was to discover
0:01:10 > 0:01:13a whole load of pieces that were composed for the left hand alone,
0:01:13 > 0:01:16and this is one of the greatest works in the repertoire.
0:01:16 > 0:01:19Tonight, we will be hearing French pianist Alexandre Tharaud
0:01:19 > 0:01:23performing with the BBC Philharmonic in Ravel's Piano Concerto for the Left Hand.
0:01:23 > 0:01:26The story of how this piece came about is fascinating.
0:01:26 > 0:01:30It's down to one man, a pianist called Paul Wittgenstein,
0:01:30 > 0:01:33who we'll be hearing more about later on.
0:01:33 > 0:01:36But first, I'd like to focus on Ravel, on the music.
0:01:36 > 0:01:39It's one of the last great pieces he ever wrote.
0:01:39 > 0:01:421929, 1930, so towards the end of his life.
0:01:42 > 0:01:45That's right, he actually wrote this left-hand piano concerto
0:01:45 > 0:01:49alongside his famous G Major two-handed piano concerto.
0:01:49 > 0:01:52I think it's quite interesting to see the difference between the two of them.
0:01:52 > 0:01:54They're vastly different pieces.
0:01:54 > 0:01:59And the usual habitual cry there of the Prommers of "Heave ho," which you get with any piano concerto,
0:01:59 > 0:02:00this one is a real favourite.
0:02:00 > 0:02:02Ravel was not necessarily a mainstream composer
0:02:02 > 0:02:06until he wrote the big hit, Bolero, and once he discovered that,
0:02:06 > 0:02:09he kind of tapped into a mainstream vibe, certainly with this piece?
0:02:09 > 0:02:12I think he really wanted to tap into that mainstream and I think
0:02:12 > 0:02:14he did that by the use of jazz,
0:02:14 > 0:02:17and you will hear in tonight's concerto, there's a lot
0:02:17 > 0:02:20of jazz references in the chords he uses, and I think he really drew
0:02:20 > 0:02:23on that from Gershwin, because he had just met Gershwin quite recently.
0:02:23 > 0:02:26This is the man who met Gershwin and very famously they had
0:02:26 > 0:02:28this conversation where Gershwin said to Ravel, the great master,
0:02:28 > 0:02:30"Can I learn anything from you, Great Master?"
0:02:30 > 0:02:33Ravel found out how much Gershwin earned and was like,
0:02:33 > 0:02:36"I don't think so. I think I should be taking lessons from you!"
0:02:36 > 0:02:39He did realise that not only was it about public acclaim and approval,
0:02:39 > 0:02:42but it was acceptable somehow to enjoy yourself,
0:02:42 > 0:02:44to write music that allowed the audience to have a great time,
0:02:44 > 0:02:47and where you could be a financial and critical success.
0:02:47 > 0:02:51Exactly, and I think another main point with the left-hand concerto especially
0:02:51 > 0:02:54is really in essence it's such a big statement.
0:02:54 > 0:02:57Melody and accompaniment with one hand, the left hand alone.
0:02:57 > 0:03:00That in itself I think is a huge selling point.
0:03:00 > 0:03:03And Ravel was very clear about the fact he wanted to make this piece
0:03:03 > 0:03:07sound not like it was for one hand but two hands, so there is
0:03:07 > 0:03:10this challenge of the left hand doing all the deep bass supporting
0:03:10 > 0:03:14and then it has to scoop right up to the top to do all the melodic stuff.
0:03:14 > 0:03:18It's a very, even the first minute of what the piano has to do.
0:03:18 > 0:03:21Just give us a flavour of what makes this piece so alluring
0:03:21 > 0:03:22because it is wild!
0:03:22 > 0:03:23It's hugely virtuosic
0:03:23 > 0:03:25and it's a piece I always get nervous about playing,
0:03:25 > 0:03:28especially for that long orchestral build-up,
0:03:28 > 0:03:32and then all of a sudden there's me, the pianist, or in this case Alexandre Tharaud,
0:03:32 > 0:03:36sat onstage and waiting to display big bravura fireworks at the piano.
0:03:36 > 0:03:40I mean, it's worth saying that if you've never actually seen this concerto performed,
0:03:40 > 0:03:43if you've only ever heard it, it is a real wonder to behold,
0:03:43 > 0:03:47because it's interesting, I wonder what your take is, that having
0:03:47 > 0:03:50watched a lot of two-handed pianists doing it, they go one of two ways.
0:03:50 > 0:03:53They either use the right hand very floridly to help the interpretation,
0:03:53 > 0:03:57or sit with it very still, as though they've almost switched off that bit of the body.
0:03:57 > 0:04:00And I wonder, for you, it's an entirely different physical experience?
0:04:00 > 0:04:03Of course, I don't have the choice to play with two hands
0:04:03 > 0:04:06but I think it must be incredibly difficult for a two-handed pianist
0:04:06 > 0:04:08to play and switch to left hand repertoire.
0:04:08 > 0:04:11What's the biggest challenge for the pianist?
0:04:11 > 0:04:13Is it to communicate the emotional intensity,
0:04:13 > 0:04:16is it to get all the virtuosity and physical stuff?
0:04:16 > 0:04:19Because this is Alexandre Tharaud's concerto debut, so it is a big deal.
0:04:19 > 0:04:21- What's going to be the biggest thing tonight?- It's a big deal.
0:04:21 > 0:04:24I think the cadenza in this concerto is a very big deal
0:04:24 > 0:04:28because it's a very long cadenza and it's a really difficult passage
0:04:28 > 0:04:32and I think it's always somewhere where he and myself will get quite nervous about.
0:04:32 > 0:04:34Certainly some solo moments
0:04:34 > 0:04:36of palpitation for him to worry about,
0:04:36 > 0:04:39but a lot of wonderful interplay with the orchestra as well.
0:04:39 > 0:04:41Absolutely, there's a lot of fun in this,
0:04:41 > 0:04:44especially in the middle section, and you might even hear
0:04:44 > 0:04:47a familiar section, Elephants On Parade, that was quoted in Fantasia as well.
0:04:47 > 0:04:50And why not, if you want to be mainstream, that's the way to do it.
0:04:50 > 0:04:54Anyway, applause now here at the Proms for the conductor who is
0:04:54 > 0:04:56leading everything tonight, Juanjo Mena,
0:04:56 > 0:04:58he'll be at the helm of the BBC Philharmonic,
0:04:58 > 0:05:02and our soloist now on stage, Alexandre Tharaud.
0:22:10 > 0:22:14APPLAUSE
0:22:22 > 0:22:24Maurice Ravel's Piano Concerto for the Left Hand
0:22:24 > 0:22:28performed by the soloist Alexandre Tharaud
0:22:28 > 0:22:31making his Proms concerto debut.
0:22:33 > 0:22:36I think they rather liked it, don't you?
0:22:36 > 0:22:39He was performing here at the Royal Albert Hall tonight with
0:22:39 > 0:22:43the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Juanjo Mena.
0:22:47 > 0:22:50Wonderful performance there from Alexandre Tharaud
0:22:50 > 0:22:52and the audience absolutely loved what he was doing.
0:22:52 > 0:22:55I particularly loved the cadenza.
0:22:55 > 0:22:58I think he really got that water-like ripple effect down to a T.
0:22:58 > 0:22:59He was wonderful.
0:23:01 > 0:23:04To me, he's the essence of a really good Ravel pianist,
0:23:04 > 0:23:08which is that it isn't steeped in Romanticism.
0:23:08 > 0:23:10There's a crystalline beauty, a clarity
0:23:10 > 0:23:13and real elegance to his playing.
0:23:23 > 0:23:27Interesting, Nick, I think he comes from great French performing stock.
0:23:27 > 0:23:30His mum was a dance professor at the Opera in Paris,
0:23:30 > 0:23:33his dad was a singer and his grandfather a violinist,
0:23:33 > 0:23:36who worked in Paris at the time Ravel was working,
0:23:36 > 0:23:39so I think he's absolutely steeped in that whole tradition.
0:24:00 > 0:24:03There's stamping of feet, they want him back on stage.
0:24:05 > 0:24:08And here he is.
0:24:08 > 0:24:10He now returns for an encore.
0:24:13 > 0:24:15Just what the audience wanted.
0:24:24 > 0:24:28MUSIC: "Prelude for the Left Hand" by Aleksandr Scriabin
0:26:37 > 0:26:41APPLAUSE
0:26:44 > 0:26:49Alexandre Tharaud, performing I think a really beautiful encore.
0:26:49 > 0:26:53Scriabin's Prelude for the Left Hand.
0:26:53 > 0:26:56Nick, I've heard you play that piece certainly four, five times,
0:26:56 > 0:26:59but it's a most gorgeous piece, isn't it?
0:26:59 > 0:27:00It's really a stunning piece,
0:27:00 > 0:27:03and it really is a cornerstone of the repertoire,
0:27:03 > 0:27:05and as you can hear, the audience loved it.
0:27:05 > 0:27:09It's music that was written after Scriabin really damaged his right hand,
0:27:09 > 0:27:11during a very intense period of rehearsal.
0:27:11 > 0:27:15He was banned from playing with his right hand by his doctor.
0:27:15 > 0:27:19And that piece of glorious mystical romanticism was the result.
0:27:26 > 0:27:30Nick, we were talking earlier. We mentioned this interesting figure
0:27:30 > 0:27:34of Paul Wittgenstein, who has been crucial in the development
0:27:34 > 0:27:36of all the repertoire you were talking about before -
0:27:36 > 0:27:37this left-hand repertoire.
0:27:37 > 0:27:39Let's talk a bit about how the piece we just heard,
0:27:39 > 0:27:41Ravel's Left Hand Concerto,
0:27:41 > 0:27:44- came about because it's a fascinating story.- It really is.
0:27:44 > 0:27:47Paul Wittgenstein was a very wealthy man.
0:27:47 > 0:27:50He always wanted to be a concert pianist.
0:27:50 > 0:27:54It wasn't until his father died that he was able to pursue his dream.
0:27:54 > 0:27:57Six months later, he was called to battle and lost his right arm
0:27:57 > 0:27:58during battle.
0:27:58 > 0:28:01Paul Wittgenstein was so key
0:28:01 > 0:28:03on putting left-hand repertoire on the map.
0:28:03 > 0:28:06He commissioned other composers like Prokofiev, Richard Strauss
0:28:06 > 0:28:08and Benjamin Britten,
0:28:08 > 0:28:10as well as Ravel, to write concertos for him.
0:28:10 > 0:28:14This was a man, I suppose, of incredible grit and determination.
0:28:14 > 0:28:17He'd already established himself as a concert pianist,
0:28:17 > 0:28:22goes off to war, has this life-shattering amputation
0:28:22 > 0:28:25and then decides he's going to completely refashion himself.
0:28:25 > 0:28:27Essentially, learn the piano all over again
0:28:27 > 0:28:28as a left-hand pianist.
0:28:28 > 0:28:31Exactly. He must have had steely determination.
0:28:31 > 0:28:33I think, also, he was very innovative.
0:28:33 > 0:28:37He was a wealthy man and he used that wealth for his advantage.
0:28:37 > 0:28:39Paying these big composers of the day,
0:28:39 > 0:28:40the famous composers,
0:28:40 > 0:28:44the most famous of that time, to write pieces for him,
0:28:44 > 0:28:45was a very clever move.
0:28:45 > 0:28:48A clever man, a very determined man.
0:28:48 > 0:28:51Not always the easiest man to get on with.
0:28:51 > 0:28:53No. Certainly not.
0:28:53 > 0:28:55Ravel and him also locked horns
0:28:55 > 0:28:57when the composition came about.
0:28:57 > 0:29:00There's a couple of quotes... Well, quite a few quotes, actually,
0:29:00 > 0:29:02to confirm this.
0:29:02 > 0:29:04They had a bad time together, these two!
0:29:04 > 0:29:07This is not what you do when a composer like Ravel
0:29:07 > 0:29:09writes a piece - this is what Wittgenstein did.
0:29:09 > 0:29:12"I think I'll just change a bit of the piano part
0:29:12 > 0:29:13"and also the orchestral part."
0:29:13 > 0:29:15You just don't do that to a composer like Ravel!
0:29:15 > 0:29:19Unsurprisingly, he was appalled and shocked.
0:29:19 > 0:29:22Ravel even called it infringement of contract
0:29:22 > 0:29:24by Paul doing this.
0:29:24 > 0:29:27But interestingly, Wittgenstein had this contract.
0:29:27 > 0:29:29He had a six-year hold on the rights to this
0:29:29 > 0:29:32so he, essentially, could do with it what he wanted,
0:29:32 > 0:29:34which is a bizarre thing to think now.
0:29:34 > 0:29:36You would never hand over the total rights of a piece
0:29:36 > 0:29:38to the first person who happens to play it.
0:29:38 > 0:29:41It says a lot for his force of personality, for the money,
0:29:41 > 0:29:43as you say, the power of this family,
0:29:43 > 0:29:45that if you've got the Wittgenstein name somehow
0:29:45 > 0:29:47you can throw your weight around.
0:29:47 > 0:29:49He did this with a lot of composers, not just Ravel.
0:29:49 > 0:29:51He fell foul of several people.
0:29:51 > 0:29:55Exactly. I remember there's a quote where Paul said,
0:29:55 > 0:29:57"You don't build a house for another man to live in it."
0:29:57 > 0:30:00That was his motto to do with the pieces.
0:30:00 > 0:30:03He didn't want other pianists to play these pieces
0:30:03 > 0:30:05if he hadn't played them or liked them himself
0:30:05 > 0:30:07because he had paid a lot of money for them.
0:30:07 > 0:30:11An interesting clash because if you think of somebody like Ravel,
0:30:11 > 0:30:13who was a really good pianist in his own right,
0:30:13 > 0:30:16when Wittgenstein sat down for him,
0:30:16 > 0:30:18for Ravel to play through this concerto,
0:30:18 > 0:30:22Ravel could not play this with one hand. He had to use two.
0:30:22 > 0:30:26So they locked horns but very much were sparring partners.
0:30:26 > 0:30:29Who could pay more for the commission? Who had the rights?
0:30:29 > 0:30:31Who was able to play this? It was very much a blokey,
0:30:31 > 0:30:34macho confrontation!
0:30:34 > 0:30:36Manly banter is the word for that, I think.
0:30:36 > 0:30:38Quite heated at some stages, I'm sure.
0:30:38 > 0:30:40We've heard a little about the man.
0:30:40 > 0:30:42Let's see some footage of him now.
0:30:42 > 0:30:43This is Paul Wittgenstein,
0:30:43 > 0:30:45performing the piece we've been talking about,
0:30:45 > 0:30:47Ravel's Left Hand Concerto.
0:30:47 > 0:30:50This is a recording made in Paris in January 1933. Take a look at this.
0:31:45 > 0:31:47The man himself, Paul Wittgenstein,
0:31:47 > 0:31:49in 1933.
0:31:49 > 0:31:52Not necessarily known as being the best pianist,
0:31:52 > 0:31:55even if he was a very forceful...personality,
0:31:55 > 0:31:56shall we say?!
0:31:56 > 0:31:59That's right. There's some very mixed reviews about his playing.
0:31:59 > 0:32:01I've even heard a couple of recordings,
0:32:01 > 0:32:05which music critics would walk out or not review if they were around today.
0:32:05 > 0:32:08He certainly wasn't the best pianist at certain times.
0:32:08 > 0:32:11Even his teacher called him the key-smasher,
0:32:11 > 0:32:12which is not exactly kind.
0:32:12 > 0:32:15Regardless of whether he was any good,
0:32:15 > 0:32:17the piece was a hit, always has been a hit,
0:32:17 > 0:32:18ever since it was first heard.
0:32:18 > 0:32:22All the way through to today and Alexandre Tharaud at the Proms,
0:32:22 > 0:32:23what was your take on his performance?
0:32:23 > 0:32:25I absolutely loved his performance.
0:32:25 > 0:32:28I thought his touch and tone, which is essential for Ravel, was key.
0:32:28 > 0:32:30I found it interesting that he used the score
0:32:30 > 0:32:33because that's quite unusual for a concerto soloist.
0:32:33 > 0:32:35I thought, though, he gave a brilliant performance.
0:32:35 > 0:32:37I loved the encore as well.
0:32:37 > 0:32:40- His interpretation of the Scriabin was beautiful.- Fantastic, I agree,
0:32:40 > 0:32:43We are going to leave Ravel because we must move on now
0:32:43 > 0:32:46to Gustav Mahler and his mighty Symphony No. 5.
0:32:46 > 0:32:49It's one of the greats of the early 20th century.
0:32:49 > 0:32:52A hugely popular piece and a real regular here at the Proms,
0:32:52 > 0:32:54it's one of Mahler's best-known symphonies,
0:32:54 > 0:32:57written between 1901 and 1902.
0:32:57 > 0:33:00That's right. I think with this piece what really strikes me
0:33:00 > 0:33:04is the Adagietto and that beautiful moment that we all know and love.
0:33:04 > 0:33:08The Adagietto, not necessarily written as tragic music
0:33:08 > 0:33:12but totally taken on that sense, particularly in America,
0:33:12 > 0:33:15really interestingly, where Bernstein kicked it off,
0:33:15 > 0:33:17a great champion of Mahler.
0:33:17 > 0:33:21When JFK is assassinated, Bernstein doesn't turn to Beethoven,
0:33:21 > 0:33:22he turns to Mahler.
0:33:22 > 0:33:25Then with Bobby Kennedy's assassination, you hear Mahler.
0:33:25 > 0:33:28When Eisenhower dies, you hear Mahler being performed.
0:33:28 > 0:33:31He becomes a byword for sorrow and mourning,
0:33:31 > 0:33:33I suppose in the light of Visconti's film, as we said,
0:33:33 > 0:33:37Death In Venice, which makes the Adagietto seem very tragic.
0:33:37 > 0:33:38Actually, it wasn't at all.
0:33:38 > 0:33:41That's right. He actually fell in love with his soon-to-be wife
0:33:41 > 0:33:43that's in it.
0:33:43 > 0:33:45It's almost like a musical love letter.
0:33:45 > 0:33:47I think it's a wonderful piece.
0:33:47 > 0:33:49- It's a wonderful moment...- I'd quite like that as a love letter.
0:33:49 > 0:33:52- It's not bad! - Beats a bunch of flowers, I think.
0:33:52 > 0:33:53Just a little bit.
0:33:53 > 0:33:55It's interesting that, that with Mahler,
0:33:55 > 0:33:59you always get, in a sense, on the edge of joy,
0:33:59 > 0:34:02and pain, of agony and ecstasy, of love and death.
0:34:02 > 0:34:04It's not surprising, in a way, that people think the Adagietto
0:34:04 > 0:34:07is tragic but it's love music because that's Mahler's life,
0:34:07 > 0:34:09in a way.
0:34:09 > 0:34:11He loses ten siblings.
0:34:11 > 0:34:13On stage, conducting The Magic Flute,
0:34:13 > 0:34:15has a major haemorrhage
0:34:15 > 0:34:18and loses a third of his blood.
0:34:18 > 0:34:21It's at that point that he writes the Fifth Symphony,
0:34:21 > 0:34:23which I think is interesting because suddenly,
0:34:23 > 0:34:24he has an awareness, not just of death
0:34:24 > 0:34:26but of his own mortality.
0:34:26 > 0:34:29I think that shadow really hangs over this piece.
0:34:29 > 0:34:31You can hear that clearly in the symphony.
0:34:31 > 0:34:34The first three movements, it mustn't have been that far
0:34:34 > 0:34:35away from his mind
0:34:35 > 0:34:37after this massive haemorrhage.
0:34:37 > 0:34:39But then the last two movements, he wrote
0:34:39 > 0:34:40at the happiest time of his life
0:34:40 > 0:34:44so it's a real emotional roller coaster, if you like, of a piece.
0:34:44 > 0:34:48Interesting that it falls into what Mahler said
0:34:48 > 0:34:49generally about the symphony.
0:34:49 > 0:34:51This is a man who never wrote an opera but wrote
0:34:51 > 0:34:53very operatic-style symphonies.
0:34:53 > 0:34:56He felt the symphony had to be like the whole world,
0:34:56 > 0:34:58that it should embrace everything,
0:34:58 > 0:35:01so cow bells in the countryside, Viennese waltzes,
0:35:01 > 0:35:04everything he heard and everything he witnessed and felt.
0:35:04 > 0:35:07This is a man who pours his biography into his music.
0:35:07 > 0:35:09Everything is in there.
0:35:09 > 0:35:12Absolutely. It's such a treat to hear all five movements this evening
0:35:12 > 0:35:15because more often than not, the Adagietto
0:35:15 > 0:35:17is taken out as a little jewel in the crown.
0:35:17 > 0:35:19But tonight we're seeing it fully set, if you like,
0:35:19 > 0:35:22so it's a lovely moment to see the full symphony.
0:35:22 > 0:35:25We were ear-wigging a bit on rehearsals earlier.
0:35:25 > 0:35:28Which were the moments that really grabbed you
0:35:28 > 0:35:31from what we're about to hear in this performance?
0:35:31 > 0:35:33I certainly wouldn't want to be principal trumpet!
0:35:33 > 0:35:35Principal trumpet opens the symphony
0:35:35 > 0:35:36and it's a very difficult solo.
0:35:36 > 0:35:39I can imagine he might get quite nervous.
0:35:39 > 0:35:41It's a scary wobble. You don't want your lip to go at that point.
0:35:41 > 0:35:43Or dry mouth!
0:35:43 > 0:35:48Yeah, fantastically exposed opening solo.
0:35:48 > 0:35:50I thought one of the interesting things was
0:35:50 > 0:35:52Juanjo Mena, tonight's conductor,
0:35:52 > 0:35:56who, during the Ravel, he really explores his Spanish side.
0:35:56 > 0:35:58He's a man who I've seen flamenco before.
0:35:58 > 0:36:00He's a dancey kind of guy. In the Mahler,
0:36:00 > 0:36:03he is focused, concentrated.
0:36:03 > 0:36:06There is this sense of forward motion of architecture
0:36:06 > 0:36:08and just real seriousness of purpose.
0:36:08 > 0:36:11He expects a lot from his orchestra
0:36:11 > 0:36:12and he works them hard.
0:36:12 > 0:36:13That's right. He really does.
0:36:13 > 0:36:15Furthermore, I found it interesting
0:36:15 > 0:36:17that in the fourth movement, the Adagietto,
0:36:17 > 0:36:20he almost goes straight into the fifth movement,
0:36:20 > 0:36:22which is this joyous outburst, which is wonderful.
0:36:22 > 0:36:24I like the way he sculpted that beautifully.
0:36:24 > 0:36:26APPLAUSE
0:36:26 > 0:36:30Prepare yourself for over an hour of classical music
0:36:30 > 0:36:31stretched to its very limits.
0:36:31 > 0:36:36This is an emotional journey from tragedy to triumph and glory.
0:36:36 > 0:36:38It's Mahler's Fifth Symphony.
1:45:51 > 1:45:56APPLAUSE
1:46:21 > 1:46:23Gustav Mahler's Fifth Symphony,
1:46:23 > 1:46:28it's music of such breathtaking ambition and scope.
1:46:28 > 1:46:32We heard it performed here at the Proms by the BBC Philharmonic
1:46:32 > 1:46:34conducted by Juanjo Mena.
1:46:34 > 1:46:37Leading the orchestra tonight, Daniel Bell.
1:46:46 > 1:46:48A magnificent performance this evening,
1:46:48 > 1:46:51rousing cheers from the Royal Albert Hall.
1:46:55 > 1:46:58And bringing one of the many players in this orchestra to their feet,
1:46:58 > 1:47:03such committed playing, fantastic opening solo from the trumpeter.
1:47:13 > 1:47:16Must be physically exhausting, actually, for the orchestra.
1:47:16 > 1:47:18It's such a monumental piece.
1:47:18 > 1:47:24I know, 75 minutes of just searing, burning emotional intensity.
1:47:35 > 1:47:38It's kind of obvious in a sense, the Adagietto,
1:47:38 > 1:47:42it's the perfect soundtrack to a film, and when Visconti seized on it
1:47:42 > 1:47:47in 1971, it just made that film Death In Venice an instant classic.
1:47:50 > 1:47:52I heard this great story, actually.
1:47:52 > 1:47:56A Hollywood producer said on watching the film, "I love the score."
1:47:56 > 1:47:58"Who's this Mahler guy's agent?"
1:47:58 > 1:48:00Mahler had in fact been dead 60 years.
1:48:01 > 1:48:04"Get me Gustav on the phone, immediately!"
1:48:22 > 1:48:25Well, tonight, the orchestra also played music
1:48:25 > 1:48:28by Sir Harrison Birtwistle, a piece called Night's Black Bird,
1:48:28 > 1:48:31which you can watch here on BBC Four next month
1:48:31 > 1:48:34in a special programme celebrating the birthdays of Birtwistle
1:48:34 > 1:48:36and Sir Peter Maxwell Davies.
1:48:36 > 1:48:39Meanwhile, that is all for tonight.
1:48:39 > 1:48:41Don't forget you can watch Proms Extra.
1:48:41 > 1:48:43Catch it tomorrow over on BBC Two.
1:48:43 > 1:48:46It's been a pleasure to be with you here tonight, Suzy,
1:48:46 > 1:48:48and we hope you've enjoyed it at home.
1:48:48 > 1:48:51From all of us here at the Royal Albert Hall, for BBC Proms,
1:48:51 > 1:48:53- good night. - Good night.