:00:00. > :00:08.In the shadow of the Royal Albert Hall, welcome back to Proms Extra.
:00:09. > :00:13.The I'm Katie Derham, I'm back with Proms Extra to cast a beady eye
:00:14. > :00:17.across everything in this year's BBC Proms 120th season. We might not
:00:18. > :00:21.have the Commonwealth Games inside our own Proms stadium, the Royal
:00:22. > :00:23.College of Music, for our first show we are going global. Let the
:00:24. > :00:54.classical games begin! Hello and welcome to Proms Extra. We
:00:55. > :00:58.are back for our second series. As usual, we will look over the
:00:59. > :01:02.highlights from the last seven days of the Proms. Chord of the Week make
:01:03. > :01:05.as comeback with our own MC, that is Master of Chords, David Owen Norris.
:01:06. > :01:09.We will preview the week ahead. We might drop in a few misscle
:01:10. > :01:13.surprises too. I couldn't do it without nigh studio guests. Before
:01:14. > :02:15.we meet them, let us look at week one of the Proms.
:02:16. > :02:21.APPLAUSE That was the first week. Who are our
:02:22. > :02:27.guests on Proms Extra tonight? Is first up we have world renowned
:02:28. > :02:31.pianist, celebrated for her interpretations of Schubert and
:02:32. > :02:41.Mozart who has performed on numerous occasions at the Proms. It's Imogen
:02:42. > :02:43.Cooper. Next on the sofa, we have Grammy-award-winning choral composer
:02:44. > :02:45.and conductor, fresh from taking part in the opening of the
:02:46. > :02:51.Commonwealth Games, it's Eric Whitacre. Our next sofa guest is a
:02:52. > :02:55.conductor in demand around the world, when he is not being the
:02:56. > :02:59.Musical Director of the Halle Orchestra in Manchester. He is the
:03:00. > :03:03.Elder statesman of the of Proms, Sir Mark Elder. To bring the show to a
:03:04. > :03:07.close, our final guest is a young man who made his Proms debut this
:03:08. > :03:12.week, with the China Philharmonic Orchestra. Prizing superstar,
:03:13. > :03:19.Haochen Zhang performs exclusively for us on Proms Extra this evening.
:03:20. > :03:23.Welcome to you all of you, Imogen, the Proms, it's the classical
:03:24. > :03:28.musical festival that keeps growing and growing? It's completely
:03:29. > :03:33.extraordinary. I don't know of any other festival like it in the world.
:03:34. > :03:38.For a performer to walk on to that huge stage to be joined
:03:39. > :03:42.audience who completely quiet and have an incredible concentration for
:03:43. > :03:45.listening. It brings a feeling of intimacy that you would never
:03:46. > :03:49.imagine that the hall, being that size, could bring. It's a very, very
:03:50. > :03:54.special feeling indeed. Eric, you have settled in the UK. You had your
:03:55. > :03:57.own Prom a couple of years ago. Are you a convert? Completely. I
:03:58. > :04:03.remember the night of my Prom concert. It was a Late Night Prom.
:04:04. > :04:08.Beginning at 10.00pm we came in the doors and thousands of attendees
:04:09. > :04:13.were coming out. It felt, there was this energy, in the space around the
:04:14. > :04:16.hall, it felt like we were in the centre of the universe of classical
:04:17. > :04:20.music. Pretty thrilling. The Proms began with a work that isn't heard
:04:21. > :04:24.very often. This year Elgar's The Kingdom had centre stage for the
:04:25. > :04:29.First Night of the Proms. Mark, you have won an award for your recording
:04:30. > :04:32.of The Kingdom with the Halle, is it the right work to kick off the
:04:33. > :04:37.season, in your opinion? Well, it's a great work. I think it's one of
:04:38. > :04:43.his greatest pieces. It's not as celebratory. It's not as full of
:04:44. > :04:50.fanfares and huge climaxes, as the First Night of the Proms is normally
:04:51. > :04:57.associated it. It 's a mediative work. It needs to be in touch with
:04:58. > :05:07.its spirtality. Let us see a clip of The Kingdom as con ducked by Sir
:05:08. > :06:21.Andrew Davis -- conducted by Sir Andrew Davis.
:06:22. > :06:32.The BBC Symphony Orchestra and Corus and the BBC BBC National Chorus of
:06:33. > :06:35.Wales. Eric, it's an epic work, 400 performers were on the stage at
:06:36. > :06:39.Royal Albert Hall, does it fill the hall for you? We talked about it
:06:40. > :06:45.being the perfect piece for the Royal Albert Hall. The if I may say,
:06:46. > :06:48.as an American it seems quintessentially British. The size
:06:49. > :06:55.and scope of it seems to fit the hall perfectly. Also, there is a
:06:56. > :07:01.tenderness and intimacy to it that, for forces that size is unusual, and
:07:02. > :07:09.compelling, see ductive. The Kingdom is part of a planned trilogy which
:07:10. > :07:17.including the apostles. Would it be wrong to call this Elgar's Ring
:07:18. > :07:22.Cycle? Yes, it would. I won't then? The Ring is a heroic story over so
:07:23. > :07:31.many different layers of the earth and the heavens and underneath the
:07:32. > :07:36.earth. The whole conception of the apoll else -- apostles. It was
:07:37. > :07:42.deeply personnel. It involves him in questioning his faith as well. And
:07:43. > :07:46.all that one finds in his music, all the insecurity, as well as the great
:07:47. > :07:56.broad sweeping melodies, of which there are many in The Kingdom. By
:07:57. > :08:02.the time he got To The K Kingdom he was struggling with his own a
:08:03. > :08:06.soldism. To give birth to this work must have been difficult. Very hard
:08:07. > :08:10.indeed much he put off writing it as long as he Co my experience is, one
:08:11. > :08:15.should not think too much about what a composer went through to produce a
:08:16. > :08:19.work. Not worry, as you turn to the work, knowing about the pain that it
:08:20. > :08:30.needed to bring it to life. Just to read the score and to enjoy the
:08:31. > :08:35.music. And, to try and syc yourself into the spiritualality, it's deeply
:08:36. > :08:40.spiritual. Imogen, is it your cup of tea? The Ied yum is difficult for
:08:41. > :08:46.me. My formative musical years were outside this country. So really a
:08:47. > :08:51.lot of Elgar's musical language is not a particularly natural one for
:08:52. > :08:53.me. The are amongic world, the orchestration, it's very
:08:54. > :08:59.distinctive. If you turn on the radio and there's a piece of music
:09:00. > :09:04.you know instantly if it's Elgar. I also was brought up as a Catholic.
:09:05. > :09:10.It was extremely important to me. That was quite a few years ago. The
:09:11. > :09:14.whole language to me now is a little bit difficult to understand. A
:09:15. > :09:20.little bit... It's probably my failing. It's a little bit alien. As
:09:21. > :09:24.Mark Wrightly says, one shouldn't look at the institutionalised side
:09:25. > :09:33.but see more the spirtality behind it. That is no doubt the pull for
:09:34. > :09:36.many people of of this work. Is those who watched that piece of
:09:37. > :09:41.music going out there was a great response. Lots of tweets, which were
:09:42. > :09:45.positive. One which I think you might agree with a little, Imogen.
:09:46. > :09:50.One said, "I don't get the BBC Proms, the songs have no rhythming
:09:51. > :09:55.in them. The bloke is basically singing the Bible." Make of that
:09:56. > :10:00.what you will? Is that terribly disrespectful? Well, there's more
:10:01. > :10:05.than that in the experience, if you dig a little deeper. I think it's
:10:06. > :10:17.moving music. I think it's thrilling. It's influenced by
:10:18. > :10:27.Wagner. You could say, it's English Wagner, music after The Ring was
:10:28. > :10:33.contigencied by having that are -- tinged by Wagner. The full
:10:34. > :10:37.performance of Elgar's The Kingdom along with other pieces being
:10:38. > :10:44.reviewed tonight can be found in the Proms Extra Collection on the BBC
:10:45. > :10:48.iPlayer. Now it's time for David Owen Norris and his Chord of the
:10:49. > :11:14.Week. His chord this week is from The Kingdom.
:11:15. > :11:20.Well there is our Chord of the Week. It's an unexpectedly jazzy one, for
:11:21. > :11:28.a sacred work. You would think it would be more at home, oh... But
:11:29. > :11:35.there it is. The how has Elgar come up with that chord? Back in Tudor
:11:36. > :11:40.times, they liked to follow this note that falls, with this note that
:11:41. > :11:49.rises. They sound a bit odd one after another. They call them "false
:11:50. > :11:53.relations." An ending that used those false relations, was so
:11:54. > :11:59.popular in England that it was called the "English cadence." It
:12:00. > :12:05.comes out of those old music scales that we call the "church modes."
:12:06. > :12:10.What Elgar has done, instead of putting his false relations politely
:12:11. > :12:16.in two is separate chords. He stuck them both at once in one and the
:12:17. > :12:21.same chord. So he's created a sort of moody blues chord that drags the
:12:22. > :12:25.English cadence kicking and screaming into the 20th Century.
:12:26. > :12:28.It's an extension of an ancient musical language everyone can
:12:29. > :12:33.understand. Elgar has choosen to do it at the very moment in his
:12:34. > :12:36.oratorio where the Holy Spirit has given the apollels a gift of
:12:37. > :12:40.tongues. An extension of human language that everyone can
:12:41. > :12:49.understand. You can imagine Elgar in a jazz club, cigar and a cocktail.
:12:50. > :12:56.Then our Chord of the Week would finish that off very nicely. Yeah!
:12:57. > :13:00.Absolutely brilliant. David Owen Norris is back next week with
:13:01. > :13:03.another chord. We have lots more still to come on Proms Extra
:13:04. > :13:07.including a performance by pianist, Haochen Zhang who played with the
:13:08. > :13:13.China Philharmonic Orchestra. We will have an interview with Jessye
:13:14. > :13:16.Norman too. The now to an orchestra and their departing principal
:13:17. > :13:22.conductor who bought the house down. After 19 years with the Tonhalle
:13:23. > :13:35.orchestra Zurich the American conductor, David Zinman, brought
:13:36. > :13:41.this very successful partnership to a rousing close last week at the
:13:42. > :13:48.Albert Hall. Beethoven and the country side, it doesn't get much
:13:49. > :13:53.better? It doesn't Better. It's premier was one of the most famous
:13:54. > :13:58.classical concerts in the history of classical music. Four hour long
:13:59. > :14:05.concert. Not only was the sixth premier done the fifth was premiered
:14:06. > :14:08.just following. The entire choral fantasy. The musicians were under
:14:09. > :14:12.rehearsed. The audience was freezing. Beethoven soldiered on.
:14:13. > :14:17.Which in my mind I will always think of Beethoven in that moment. Sort of
:14:18. > :14:22.- he has so much to say, isn't that concerned with whether or not
:14:23. > :14:26.everyone is comfortable hearing all of that. It takes you on a long walk
:14:27. > :14:31.with him. I feel, by the end, you feel like you have spent some time
:14:32. > :14:49.with the man himself. Let us hear just a bit of the pastoral symphony.
:14:50. > :15:44.Conducted by David Zinman and the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich.
:15:45. > :15:47.First performed in the Proms in 1895, that was Beethoven's Pastoral.
:15:48. > :15:52.The countryside never sounded so good.
:15:53. > :15:53.We'll talk more about David and the orchestra shortly,
:15:54. > :16:06.but first the music. The challenge is that everyone knows
:16:07. > :16:15.the Pastoral sympathy so well. How do you approach that? -- the
:16:16. > :16:19.Pastoral Symphony. You have to imagine how it sounded at its first
:16:20. > :16:25.performance. How extraordinary it would have seemed. The depiction of
:16:26. > :16:31.birds and all of that would have been a huge surprise. And there is
:16:32. > :16:37.such transparency of orchestration and such originality and tenderness
:16:38. > :16:43.and love about it. You just have a smile on your face all the time. You
:16:44. > :16:48.have to look again at the score and ask why he wrote this phrase rather
:16:49. > :16:54.than that phrase. And then untrammelled, you just have to push
:16:55. > :17:00.it out there from the depths of your heart. That is the only way. Trust
:17:01. > :17:06.your instinct and have faith in your own musical response. Do not for a
:17:07. > :17:11.moment think it has ever been heard before. I often say to my orchestra,
:17:12. > :17:16.played this is if you have never heard it before. It does make a
:17:17. > :17:20.difference if you can make everyone think afresh and have fresh energy
:17:21. > :17:28.and concentration. The instincts come through and this is a wonderful
:17:29. > :17:36.example. And you also approach it with a smile on your face? When it
:17:37. > :17:41.is good! But the decision is the sound that you want from the music.
:17:42. > :17:48.Every conductor has a different view. That is what has changed in
:17:49. > :17:54.the past 30 years. Because of the period instrument movement. And I
:17:55. > :18:02.have found that useful. To hear swifter strings, it all sounds more
:18:03. > :18:07.raw and more shocking. And even with a modern-day orchestra you can bring
:18:08. > :18:13.that in and ring your knowledge to bear. It is completely different to
:18:14. > :18:23.be more comfortable sounds we were brought up with. I think it leaps
:18:24. > :18:31.off the page, the later at night it is. Like at midnight. When I open a
:18:32. > :18:37.score of music especially as edgy as Beethoven is, as thrusting and
:18:38. > :18:43.aspirational. When it is quite outside and dark, it leaps off the
:18:44. > :18:46.page. There is something so greasy about it. And so contrary to the way
:18:47. > :18:54.I was brought up to hear the music. but first the music.
:18:55. > :18:56.From Beethoven to Dvorak ? the Violin Concerto in A minor,
:18:57. > :18:58.from the same Prom. Let's take a look at it
:18:59. > :19:47.as performed by Julia Fischer. Julia Fischer there. And she earned
:19:48. > :19:53.some great press reviews. We can talk about her performance, one of
:19:54. > :19:59.the many great sellers we are going to be discussing this season. What
:20:00. > :20:07.is it like to be a soloist at the Proms. It is wonderful. As a
:20:08. > :20:15.violinist you can look out at the audience. For me I look only at one
:20:16. > :20:22.corner of the hall! Julia is also an extraordinary pianist. I think that
:20:23. > :20:28.she has done concepts where she has played the violin concerto and then
:20:29. > :20:34.a piano Concerto in the second half. How many people can do that? I do
:20:35. > :20:41.not know. She is a phenomenal player. Very classical and cool. She
:20:42. > :20:47.is just completely on top of everything she does. And not thrown
:20:48. > :20:52.at all by the occasion. She is beautifully inspired by it. And
:20:53. > :20:58.working with this wonderful orchestra with David Zinman. I know
:20:59. > :21:06.you followed him with Rochester. A wonderful partnership. It has been
:21:07. > :21:10.so successful. And he has been one of the music directors who has
:21:11. > :21:14.stayed. That is a wonderful part of working with an orchestra,
:21:15. > :21:18.developing that relationship that goes on over a number of years. They
:21:19. > :21:25.are a marvellous performing orchestra. There is an energy. And
:21:26. > :21:31.it is related to that remarkable haul. It is not large but large
:21:32. > :21:36.enough for all the music they played fabulously well. And it has a
:21:37. > :21:43.marvellous atmosphere between the public and the players. I enjoyed my
:21:44. > :21:49.work with them enormously. Will it be a wrench for David? Is it hard to
:21:50. > :21:54.leave an orchestra behind? Incredibly hard. If you have had
:21:55. > :21:59.good music-making that rings with it a certain personal contact. There's
:22:00. > :22:04.so much more than just conducting concerts. It is thinking about the
:22:05. > :22:09.long view, about how an orchestra should develop. Thinking about the
:22:10. > :22:11.relationship with the public and being part of the community. David
:22:12. > :22:17.is brilliant at all that. If you go to the BBC iplayer you can
:22:18. > :22:19.find this concerto and Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony complete
:22:20. > :22:21.in the Proms Extra Collection. It's like your Christmas
:22:22. > :22:24.gifts have arrived early. Speaking of gifts,
:22:25. > :22:28.just a few days ago Proms Extra met an operatic singer who has sung
:22:29. > :22:31.for Royalty and for presidents. Her voice has been described
:22:32. > :22:38.as ?opulent' and ?rich'. But that doesn't do her justice.
:22:39. > :22:40.She is, simply put, a living legend. Jessye Norman has worked with all
:22:41. > :22:43.of the classical greats, including Sir Mark Elder and
:22:44. > :22:46.Imogen Cooper, and she was in London to promote her autobiography.
:22:47. > :22:50.She dropped by the Royal Albert Hall to talk to us about her love
:22:51. > :22:53.of the Proms and to explain what it really means to be a Diva.
:22:54. > :23:02.In America we have roller skaters who are called diva. It is anyone
:23:03. > :23:04.who excels at something and is a bit difficult in doing so. They are
:23:05. > :23:23.meant to be called a diva. Then if someone wants to say a
:23:24. > :23:29.person is a diva because they show up at rehearsals prepared or on
:23:30. > :23:32.time, or they are interested in the rehearsal rather than a run-through,
:23:33. > :23:53.that is meant to be the behaviour of a diva. Guilty!
:23:54. > :24:02.The first time I ever sang in London was at the Royal Albert Hall. And
:24:03. > :24:08.the last night of the Proms. I had no idea of course, I did not know it
:24:09. > :24:14.was so special. And very different from the way that concerts normally
:24:15. > :24:17.happen in London. I thought when I saw thousands of people standing and
:24:18. > :24:22.everyone seemed to be in such a good mood, I said they really understand
:24:23. > :24:40.how to do concerts in London! The rest of the world should take note!
:24:41. > :24:51.It is an amazing space. Some of them are really quite mad, they held up
:24:52. > :24:58.signs so that you can see. I am interested in many different
:24:59. > :25:11.things. And within classical, many different composers. I'm just as
:25:12. > :25:17.interested in Duke Ellington as Mozart. George Gershwin, I love his
:25:18. > :25:25.music. To me these are all wonderful composers. So I choose to sing them.
:25:26. > :25:31.I love to be able to see the audience and their reaction and the
:25:32. > :25:38.joy that they show in being there. I have very often the feeling within
:25:39. > :25:44.a performance that I would sometimes like to stop and say, do you realise
:25:45. > :26:01.how much fun I am having? There have been many occasions when I wanted to
:26:02. > :26:08.say, let us just do that again! What was she like to work with? She was
:26:09. > :26:15.lovely. She knew just what she wanted. We were performing some
:26:16. > :26:22.music by Strauss. I felt very privileged to be taking part. She
:26:23. > :26:28.was courteous and warm. She knew exactly what she wanted and I tried
:26:29. > :26:31.to comply as best I could. She can did not always keep to it exactly in
:26:32. > :26:37.the Consett but that is entirely her prerogative. I hit a chord before a
:26:38. > :26:44.high note and just wanted to sing into the ground, but afterwards she
:26:45. > :26:46.was so gracious. And she's just so charismatic, to be near this
:26:47. > :26:54.incredibly warm presence and this glorious voice. It is not something
:26:55. > :27:04.I shall forget. And Mark, what was your experience? Daunting! We did
:27:05. > :27:10.some things together at a memorial service. It is a pity that the word
:27:11. > :27:17.diva has become so pejorative that we use it in assuming it is someone
:27:18. > :27:23.who behaves badly. Because it does mean goddess. And in that sound, you
:27:24. > :27:28.get closer to a goddess than most people. There is something
:27:29. > :27:32.extraordinary and for her I imagine it must be difficult to always know
:27:33. > :27:38.the way that the phrase is going to come out. In performances I found I
:27:39. > :27:49.had to be ready for anything. Not that it was wilful in any way. With
:27:50. > :27:54.some diva said can be! -- it can be. But with her it was inspiration. She
:27:55. > :28:02.was the conduit through which this incredible sound was running out.
:28:03. > :28:07.And Eric, what is it that makes her stand out as a singer? To me that is
:28:08. > :28:15.the quintessential American boys, free, bold and confident and warm.
:28:16. > :28:24.-- voice. It is funny her being a diva, it is understandable
:28:25. > :28:29.absolutely. For singers they have an experience like no one else has to
:28:30. > :28:38.deal with. Their body is the instrument and they have to stand up
:28:39. > :28:41.with perhaps 70 people on stage they are competing with. You're
:28:42. > :28:47.surrounded by sycophants or horrendous critics. Maybe it is
:28:48. > :28:58.armour, but to make your way through the world with grace, you probably
:28:59. > :29:01.develop a tough shell. Return to the plethora of international orchestras
:29:02. > :29:06.performing at the Royal Albert Hall this season.
:29:07. > :29:09.Last week the China Philharmonic made its debut concert appearance,
:29:10. > :29:12.which featured two soloists: Haochen Zhang who'll be performing
:29:13. > :29:14.on Proms Extra later, and the British trumpeter Alison Balsom who
:29:15. > :29:17.performed a new concerto specially composed for Alison by Qigang Chen.
:29:18. > :29:20.Just before its world premiere in early July, Alison flew out to
:29:21. > :29:21.Beijing to face the creative challenge that lay before her, and
:29:22. > :29:39.Proms Extra gave Alison a camera. I felt a bit dizzy that time! I'm
:29:40. > :29:46.not sure that the last note has to be that long. Here I am at Heathrow
:29:47. > :29:50.about -- about to get on a plane to Beijing. I feel really up for it now
:29:51. > :30:03.because I packed with so much this morning. Here we are in Beijing. As
:30:04. > :30:14.everyone who gets off the play, -- the plane, I feel exhausted. The
:30:15. > :30:18.thing that scares me most about brand-new pieces is physically you
:30:19. > :30:24.do not know how demanding it is going to be until you're actually in
:30:25. > :30:29.the performance. It has taken me a few months to realise really what it
:30:30. > :30:35.is. It is not writing I had ever come across before for the trumpet.
:30:36. > :30:44.It is written more like a flute concerto. I think he has done
:30:45. > :30:54.something really stretching what we think about the trumpet, which is
:30:55. > :30:57.wonderful. Yeah, I know. And here and here. Everywhere. The whole
:30:58. > :31:08.piece! The thing that is most interesting
:31:09. > :31:12.to me, it's well-known Chinese melodies within this western
:31:13. > :31:21.concerto. It's a really wonderful meeting of West and East. There are
:31:22. > :31:25.a lot of very long, sustained notes which are killers. All instruments
:31:26. > :31:36.are difficult in their own way. The trumpet has to be the most
:31:37. > :31:39.physically painful. I feel, kind of, overwhelmed. My head is full of the
:31:40. > :31:45.things I have to go back to the hotel and practice. It feels so
:31:46. > :31:52.different with the orchestra. I hope that he's happy. This is his dream,
:31:53. > :31:58.to realise this piece. I've come back from dinner, the night before
:31:59. > :32:02.the concert here. And, Qigang Chen... Let us do that again. And
:32:03. > :32:09.Qigang Chen came to me with the score saying things he wanted to
:32:10. > :32:12.change and cut. So now, 12.30, just after midnight, I'm getting the
:32:13. > :32:19.trumpet out to practice the piece, just before the concert. I've just
:32:20. > :32:24.woken up. I've had a text message from the composer's publisher saying
:32:25. > :32:30.he has changed it again! It's fine for him to change it. Is
:32:31. > :32:44.undermining. I'm feeling nervous that he's not happy. It's a worry.
:32:45. > :32:50.It's about 10 minutes before I go on stage. I heard yesterday, through
:32:51. > :32:54.the translator, that the composer wants to reinvent the trumpet also.
:32:55. > :33:03.I was unnerved by that. Now I have to put everything out of my mind and
:33:04. > :33:08.just play. So, wish me luck! APPLAUSE
:33:09. > :33:12.Talk about suffering for your art. Alison Balsom there in China. I
:33:13. > :33:18.mean, to all of you this question - was that an extreme example of
:33:19. > :33:24.working on a new piece? Imogen, you have worked on new commissions
:33:25. > :33:30.yourself? I have. My most unbelievable experience, I
:33:31. > :33:35.co-commissioned a piece from Thomas Addis when I got the the score I
:33:36. > :33:38.looked at it I thought, I'm done, I'm finished, done for. It was a 12
:33:39. > :33:45.minute piece. It took me one month to read through it. It was
:33:46. > :33:48.incredibly hard. I have a soloist, conductor and composer I don't want
:33:49. > :33:54.any fight. Who is the most responsible for the delivery of that
:33:55. > :33:59.work? The conductor. The soloist. The question is, who is responsible
:34:00. > :34:04.for delivery? Once the composer has finished the work, and hands it over
:34:05. > :34:10.to the recreators, as opposed to the creators. It's vital, I'm sure that
:34:11. > :34:13.Eric understands this, he hands over a certain responsibility and
:34:14. > :34:18.creativity in order that we may create it, recreate it for you. No
:34:19. > :34:24.question. Without the fantasy of the performers, the piece will stay on
:34:25. > :34:29.the page. Yes. To be allowed to run with the piece, and to (inaudible)
:34:30. > :34:31.the composer is one of the most thrilling things. What is not
:34:32. > :34:38.thrilling is to feel every time you do a phrase the composer is going
:34:39. > :34:44."oh" behind you. How do you handle it when they do? Is Tell them not to
:34:45. > :34:48.turn up. Do you? I say, let me do the first two or three rehearsals
:34:49. > :34:52.and explain what it is to the players. When something is going,
:34:53. > :34:57.please come and tell us how we are doing. We are all different. Some
:34:58. > :35:02.temper meant get twitchy. They get nervous. It's not right. Of course I
:35:03. > :35:06.know it's not right. It's the first rehearsal. I'm doing it slower. It's
:35:07. > :35:09.hard. Go away. Come back after lunch. . The from personal
:35:10. > :35:13.experience, as a composer, what it feels like is that you have written
:35:14. > :35:17.the most intimate secrets about yourself. Things you don't tell
:35:18. > :35:21.anybody. You are handing it to another person saying - please shout
:35:22. > :35:27.this as much as you can to everybody. They talk about intimate
:35:28. > :35:30.details much you go, that's nothing like... We are not the best judges
:35:31. > :35:36.ever how to build a piece of music. We want to micro-manage from the
:35:37. > :35:41.beginning. Tell me about it! Let us have a sneak preview of how Alison
:35:42. > :36:15.got on. She performed that piece here at the Prom.
:36:16. > :36:20.A tour deforce from Alison Balsom. Can you watch the whole concert
:36:21. > :36:27.tomorrow on BBC Four. I'm delighted to welcome another star soloist from
:36:28. > :36:33.that Prom, Haochen Zhang who with gave a monumental performance of
:36:34. > :36:39.Liszt's piano concerto. How was it in the hall for you I've never been
:36:40. > :36:45.to the Albert Hall before. It's like a legendary venue for all the
:36:46. > :36:52.musicians. Having watched what the hall looked like both inside and
:36:53. > :36:56.outside through media, DVD's, TV, YouTube I find it a really special
:36:57. > :37:00.experience. Everyone says the Proms audience are a particularly good
:37:01. > :37:03.audience. You have had experience of audiences all over the world. How do
:37:04. > :37:10.they compare to your audiences in China. I know you get treated like a
:37:11. > :37:16.rock star? The marketing in China has, for classical music, has been
:37:17. > :37:21.growing incredibly fast. You see all kinds of concert halls. All kinds of
:37:22. > :37:27.new fancy venues opening up. And, some of the actually the highest
:37:28. > :37:32.paid orchestras in China are now in the smaller cities. It's really an
:37:33. > :37:37.incredible pace for classical music in China. What do you think is going
:37:38. > :37:41.on in China with classical music? Why is it becoming such a fashion,
:37:42. > :37:49.if you like now, with the young people particularly? Well, I think
:37:50. > :37:54.the first thing is, it's a new thing still in China, not like in the West
:37:55. > :38:00.it's already a a tradition. In a way, it's, sort of, like a luxury
:38:01. > :38:06.trend, same thing for how they follow with all these luxury brands
:38:07. > :38:12.now in China. That's one thing. The second is the fact it's part of the
:38:13. > :38:16.Chinese culture. East Asian culture in general
:38:17. > :38:18.Chinese culture. East Asian culture knowledge. They really want to
:38:19. > :38:24.learn, especially for young people. Also, for the parents, they also
:38:25. > :38:33.wants their kids to get educated. They really value the future of
:38:34. > :38:38.their children. So what's phenomenonal is that in the West you
:38:39. > :38:44.see most people sitting in the audience or middle age or above, you
:38:45. > :38:49.see after CD signing shows, a lot of them are old people. In China, you
:38:50. > :38:54.see all these college students wearing glasses, waiting to sign and
:38:55. > :39:00.to get signed. It's really phenomenonal. Did you study just in
:39:01. > :39:04.China yourself? No, I was born and raised in Shanghai until 11. I went
:39:05. > :39:12.to another city, which is a big city, for about four years. I went
:39:13. > :39:16.to the States since I was 15 and stayed in Philadelphia until now. I
:39:17. > :39:20.have been going back regularly to Mark, you China. Work a lot in
:39:21. > :39:26.China. Is it an exciting place to perform? I do. I have been three
:39:27. > :39:32.times. Once to conduct the China Philharmonic. I met Long Yu. The the
:39:33. > :39:37.energy that man has to help classical music in China is
:39:38. > :39:40.extraordinary, isn't it? Yeah. He has this incredible charisma. He has
:39:41. > :39:47.done so much for music in your country, hasn't he? Yeah. He fights
:39:48. > :40:02.for it, doesn't he? He has two orchestras Three. The China fo fo --
:40:03. > :40:06.the China fo fo and two others. I enjoyed working with the players.
:40:07. > :40:10.Fascinating to see how the generations were building up an
:40:11. > :40:15.awareness in the qualities in the orchestra. Everyone was so It must
:40:16. > :40:19.smiley. Be nice when you are standing on the podium in front of a
:40:20. > :40:24.new band. It is, yeah. Thank you for talking to us before we hear you
:40:25. > :40:30.perform. You need to get ready to play the show out. Here is a sneak
:40:31. > :40:31.preview of the Liszt, which you will be able to see in tomorrow night's
:40:32. > :41:01.concert. Haochen Zhang performing with the
:41:02. > :41:07.China Philharmonic Orchestra, watch out for a couple of special encores
:41:08. > :41:10.in that programme. Before we go, there is no end of Proms action this
:41:11. > :41:14.week with something for everyone, including the teenies with the
:41:15. > :41:18.CBeebies prom. If you are wondering how to experience the Proms
:41:19. > :41:23.yourself, do remember that all the Proms are broadcast live on Radio 3.
:41:24. > :41:27.You can watch concerts on BBC Four on Thursday, Friday and Sunday
:41:28. > :41:31.evenings. You can find this episode and the featured works in the Proms
:41:32. > :41:36.Extra Collection on the BBC iPlayer. Of course, there is the BBC Proms
:41:37. > :41:40.website to satisfy all your classical needs that is
:41:41. > :41:46.bbc.co.uk/proms. That is it for this evening. I will be back next week
:41:47. > :41:51.with Proms Extra favourites Daniel Hope, Stephen Hough and a
:41:52. > :41:56.performance by the Heath Quartet. Many thanks to o my guests tonight,
:41:57. > :41:59.Imogen Cooper, Eric Whitacre, Sir Mark Elder and to the pianist
:42:00. > :42:03.Haochen Zhang who will now close the show with the music by the
:42:04. > :44:30.Argentinan composer, Ginastera. Goodbye.
:44:31. > :44:35.MUSIC: "Changing" by Sigma feat. Paloma Faith