Episode 2

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:00:00. > :00:00.Tonight on Proms Extra, we unveil a different side to Bach,

:00:00. > :00:00.Mozart gets dissected in more ways than one, and the

:00:07. > :00:39.Hello and welcome to Proms Extra, the show that looks over all things

:00:40. > :00:43.This week, besides discussing Mozart,

:00:44. > :00:47.Bach and Liszt, we unplug the sound secrets of Radio 3, and David Owen

:00:48. > :00:51.Norris shows off with grace and vigour in Chord of the Week.

:00:52. > :00:55.It's been a busy second week for the Proms, and we're not playing

:00:56. > :02:14.Just some of the highlights from this week in the Royal Albert Hall.

:02:15. > :02:18.So, who's in our studio in the Royal College of Music tonight?

:02:19. > :02:20.First up, we have a celebrated soprano,

:02:21. > :02:23.with not one but two performances to come in this Proms season, one

:02:24. > :02:37.Next is a renowned pianist who has played the Proms more times than he

:02:38. > :02:40.cares to remember, and he's one of two members

:02:41. > :02:54.It's a welcome return to Stephen Hough.

:02:55. > :02:57.Fresh from his performance a few days ago at the Proms is

:02:58. > :03:10.a brilliant violinist and another Proms Extra family member.

:03:11. > :03:13.And closing the show will be a performance

:03:14. > :03:16.by a group heralded as one of the most exciting on the chamber-music

:03:17. > :03:33.Daniel, have you recovered from Tuesday's Prom with the Borusan

:03:34. > :03:46.I still in recovery! It was a huge thrill, and to have the to launch a

:03:47. > :03:54.new child unto the world is very exciting. We are still riding on the

:03:55. > :04:01.high. Fantastic, a tremendous orchestra. The conductor was so full

:04:02. > :04:05.of energy. The orchestra was so honoured and thrilled to be here. We

:04:06. > :04:08.had been building up to it for a long time. One had the feeling that

:04:09. > :04:13.the energy was limitless. Now,

:04:14. > :04:15.in the beginning there was Bach, This year, for the first time,

:04:16. > :04:19.we have both of his epic, dramatic, choral passions in the same Proms

:04:20. > :04:20.season. We've got the St Matthew Passion

:04:21. > :04:23.in September, which will be conducted by Sir Simon Rattle, and

:04:24. > :04:26.last weekend we had an acclaimed Carolyn, Bach is a staple

:04:27. > :04:33.of your repertoire. For those unfamiliar with the St

:04:34. > :04:46.John Passion, can you describe it? It tells the story of the events

:04:47. > :04:52.leading up to and the crucifixion of Christ. It is in contrast to the

:04:53. > :04:59.Saint Matthew Passion, it is much more compact, and the chorus has a

:05:00. > :05:03.big role to play. They are involved in the drama of the peace. That was

:05:04. > :05:09.reflected in this year's prom. Conducted by Sir Roger Norrington,

:05:10. > :05:10.here is the Zurich Chamber Orchestra/Zurcher

:05:11. > :05:12.Sing-Akademie, and an extract That was the

:05:13. > :05:49.Zurich Chamber Orchestra performing Stephen, this is gutsy, bold,

:05:50. > :06:07.it's spiritual, but not pious? It is astonishing. It is so

:06:08. > :06:14.extraordinary to hear, even at this time. It is not like an opera where

:06:15. > :06:19.you have a steady progression, even though the story is steady, you have

:06:20. > :06:23.the Courant is, the arias, and they are different in style, and

:06:24. > :06:24.altogether you get this mosaic that adds to the bigger picture of the

:06:25. > :06:37.story. He was doing some extraordinary

:06:38. > :06:44.things with his voice. Tell us about the challenges. The Evangelist is

:06:45. > :06:48.the storyteller, the narrator, and that clip, with the scourging, and

:06:49. > :06:55.the word painting, it is extraordinary. James is a consummate

:06:56. > :07:00.Evangelist, he gets into the drama of the piste, and that is what you

:07:01. > :07:04.want. The arias are a different challenge, because you are not

:07:05. > :07:13.telling the story in that direct way. Do you love singing it? Yes.

:07:14. > :07:19.Why? It is beautiful and there is so much variety, and although Bach is

:07:20. > :07:26.not an operatic composer, he is a dramatic composer still. Stephen, it

:07:27. > :07:32.is a spiritual work, but it is never pious. It is very earthy. Whether or

:07:33. > :07:36.not you believe in the story and whether it has a personal

:07:37. > :07:40.significance, it is an Everyman story of an innocent man going to

:07:41. > :07:45.his death, and somehow finding the capacity to forgive and even at that

:07:46. > :07:47.worst time, there is never a time in human history when that is not

:07:48. > :08:36.important. It is beautiful. This is not the

:08:37. > :08:41.homework Bach that I remember as an amateur pianist, this is drama and

:08:42. > :08:47.beauty and passion and gods. Yes, it is Bach the master. It is so

:08:48. > :08:55.compelling, the drama in his music. In the tiny -- piano and violin

:08:56. > :08:59.music, it is there, but it is different here. Certain directors

:09:00. > :09:05.have done semi-staged versions. The narrative has been taken further and

:09:06. > :09:07.other elements brought in. The music lent itself to that. Incredibly hard

:09:08. > :09:26.to sing, I imagine. There was an energy to it, for a guy

:09:27. > :09:31.in his 80th year, that was quite something. So Rod is unique. He has

:09:32. > :09:37.his opinions. It is fascinating to work with him. The first time we met

:09:38. > :09:43.was playing Mozart, he was dogmatic about how he wanted the sound to be.

:09:44. > :09:51.We went along with it, we got to the pores, and he said, is that OK? He

:09:52. > :09:54.said, if it is not, tell me to get lost! He throws himself into

:09:55. > :10:01.music-making, and we have had a wonderful time together, performing

:10:02. > :10:07.everything from Bach, you never quite know what to expect. He seems

:10:08. > :10:10.like a cornerstone of our classical culture, but there was a time when

:10:11. > :10:15.people thought he would never be fashionable. It was not until the

:10:16. > :10:22.20th century that he took a centre place in everyone's life. Performers

:10:23. > :10:28.did not play Bach, the idea of playing him in concert is not

:10:29. > :10:33.something that happened until the second half of the 20th century. Do

:10:34. > :10:39.you find that audiences respond well to Bach? Yes. I do not know if that

:10:40. > :10:45.is because the people that come to performances are expecting Bach,

:10:46. > :10:49.they are exciting, and yet they give you space for contemplation as well.

:10:50. > :10:56.There is something for everybody in that. It is wonderful, when they

:10:57. > :11:01.sent up the Voyager spacecraft, there was Bach in there, and the

:11:02. > :11:06.idea of an alien listening to it, it is something that goes on forever,

:11:07. > :11:10.his music, and perhaps it will. We were told when we were kids that if

:11:11. > :11:12.we practised our Bach, it would improve our maths. I was terrible at

:11:13. > :11:18.maths! Still to come on Proms Extra,

:11:19. > :11:21.a performance by the Heath Quartet, plus Chord of the Week,

:11:22. > :11:23.which focuses on Mozart. Now, as you must surely know by now,

:11:24. > :11:26.during the season, Radio 3 broadcasts every note live

:11:27. > :11:29.of every single Prom from the You'd be forgiven

:11:30. > :11:32.for thinking that sound is sound and what works for TV, or on a CD

:11:33. > :11:36.would work for radio, right? Radio 3 has its own particular

:11:37. > :11:39.requirements for broadcast, and Proms Extra went off with

:11:40. > :11:56.a mic to unplug Radio 3's secrets I am one of the people who presents

:11:57. > :12:01.the Proms on Radio 3. We broadcast every concert live over the summer,

:12:02. > :12:10.and there is an amazing team of people who are responsible for

:12:11. > :12:14.translating the sound to your radio. What we are trying to achieve is for

:12:15. > :12:18.our listeners at home to be sitting in the best seat in the hall, so you

:12:19. > :12:21.have the sense of the acoustic, but do have the detail to hear the lines

:12:22. > :12:44.that the orchestra are playing. I am going to hit a piano Mike. Can

:12:45. > :12:49.you tell B which one? Every venue has its own challenges. In the well

:12:50. > :12:55.Albert Hall, you get a slap back down from the dome. You will hear

:12:56. > :12:58.the sound that goes up and reflects off the roof and comes down, so you

:12:59. > :13:08.almost hear things twice. With microphones, we can overcome that,

:13:09. > :13:12.by maybe going in a bit closer. This is instructions for what we are

:13:13. > :13:16.doing at the moment, it is a bit of light plumbing, we pluck the right

:13:17. > :13:20.thing into the Whitehall. Making sure the right microphone is in

:13:21. > :13:21.front of the right instrument. Chris is getting the right sounds at the

:13:22. > :13:43.right time. The choir is tracking, that is good.

:13:44. > :13:49.That is good. That is fine, that was six, and we have got more in hand.

:13:50. > :13:53.We are making the quiet bits louder, and the loud bit quieter, but we are

:13:54. > :13:58.keeping it proportional. While the music is being balanced, the

:13:59. > :14:03.presentation has to come directly from the venue itself, so here we

:14:04. > :14:07.are in the present's box, I sit here, the producer can speak to me,

:14:08. > :14:12.I speak into this microphone, and what you hear is a mix of me and the

:14:13. > :14:17.music. The best thing about this, I have a good view onto the stage, so

:14:18. > :14:23.whatever happens, I can respond to it immediately and bring the concert

:14:24. > :14:28.live for you on the radio. The Albert Hall makes this available to

:14:29. > :14:33.us each year. It is a bit cramped and hot, but otherwise, it is

:14:34. > :14:36.lovely. This is the focal point of our operation, because the music mix

:14:37. > :14:45.comes through here, and I can bring Sara in. She is doing her

:14:46. > :14:49.commentary. Occasionally, the announcer will hold up a piece of

:14:50. > :14:59.paper, what is going on? Who am I handing back to?

:15:00. > :15:08.That was my queue, I am going back on air in a moment. I do this and

:15:09. > :15:12.awful lot, and I have been presenting from here for eight or

:15:13. > :15:16.nine years, and you can get blas? about it, sitting here, with this

:15:17. > :15:18.amazing music and at the sphere, and every time the red light goes on,

:15:19. > :15:22.amazing music and at the sphere, and every time the I get a bit of a

:15:23. > :15:25.flutter of excitement. When I have finished presenting, I can sit back

:15:26. > :15:30.and listen to the music, which is not a bad job. Welcome back for the

:15:31. > :15:38.second half of the concert to night. Bringing the BBC Symphony

:15:39. > :16:03.Orchestra to their feet. It is one of the nicest seat in the

:16:04. > :16:05.hall, a really privileged position, to see the conductor and the

:16:06. > :16:08.performers from the side of the stage. Although I have more sweet

:16:09. > :16:12.than she does! Just some

:16:13. > :16:14.of the unsung Radio 3 heroes of the Proms, who build the incredible

:16:15. > :16:27.wall of sound that is experienced What do you expect of the sound

:16:28. > :16:33.technicians? You have a huge respect for what they are doing. They make

:16:34. > :16:37.you sound better. You are in their hands, and dependent on them. It is

:16:38. > :16:43.in the rehearsals, they check, are you OK? You do not want to hit the

:16:44. > :16:49.microphone. There are all sorts of considerations. You know, it is the

:16:50. > :16:54.BBC, they have been doing this for so long, you let go, but it is

:16:55. > :16:59.always there, you are conscious of it, it is a fascinating moment.

:17:00. > :17:05.There is such skill in crafting that sound world for different media.

:17:06. > :17:10.Totally, and they are working at the last minute a lot of the time, they

:17:11. > :17:14.have to be quick. The Albert Hall is vast, it is difficult to get the

:17:15. > :17:17.sound, especially of a big orchestra, things can bounce off the

:17:18. > :17:23.walls, they can be a lack of clarity, different balance issues.

:17:24. > :17:28.How do you find the acoustics? Sitting at the piano, you are in the

:17:29. > :17:33.worst seat to hear the instrument, because the wooden lid is projecting

:17:34. > :17:38.the sound, the microphones are over there. I am trusting myself. It is a

:17:39. > :17:43.similar thing when you are playing out doors, the sound is not just

:17:44. > :17:46.acoustic. In the whole, it is acoustic, the microphones are there

:17:47. > :17:53.for the people at home, but outdoors, you are trusting them for

:17:54. > :17:58.the sound on the lawn. When you are playing outdoors, there are a whole

:17:59. > :18:03.world of things that can go wrong, which we are more protected from in

:18:04. > :18:08.the hall. The weather, for example. A week ago, in Cleveland, we had an

:18:09. > :18:13.enormous thunder storm. The entire orchestra shrieked and job out of

:18:14. > :18:21.their seats. I went like this, I thought it was a bomb going off. I

:18:22. > :18:25.was at the point of atrial, and I went back to that, and then there

:18:26. > :18:30.was applause and laughter, and another thunderstorm, and I thought,

:18:31. > :18:35.I will keep this going! Then it calmed down, I carried on with it.

:18:36. > :18:40.It was shocking, but fun. I like those challenges, great voices from

:18:41. > :18:47.the streets, individual of an urban setting. I had frogs once, in a

:18:48. > :18:50.Beethoven concerto. It became so loud, you could not hear the music

:18:51. > :18:56.any more. The audience dissolves into laughter. You are trying to be

:18:57. > :19:02.as devoted as you can, it. Easy. As a singer, those challenges must be

:19:03. > :19:09.even more nerve wracking, because it is you? Yes. What I find is the

:19:10. > :19:18.biggest challenge with microphones in live performances, whether you

:19:19. > :19:22.sing to the hall, whether you are projecting into this big hall, or

:19:23. > :19:27.whether you are singing for the microphone, where you might want to

:19:28. > :19:33.keep a lid on it a bit, because you do not want to jot anything. Some

:19:34. > :19:38.people who have only experienced music in a pot or just setting, they

:19:39. > :19:42.surprise that classical music is acoustic, we produce a sound in its

:19:43. > :19:49.own space, with no help from electronics. With this, we are

:19:50. > :19:53.talking about broadcasting, but we are not talking about amplification.

:19:54. > :20:00.People have found that surprising, that this box is able to project,

:20:01. > :20:05.just by the way it is built, into a large space. A slightly older box in

:20:06. > :20:13.my case! Do you prefer being recorded live, or do you relish the

:20:14. > :20:18.precision of being in a studio? You are looking at each other in a

:20:19. > :20:22.conspiratorial way! It is always wonderful to have a record, for many

:20:23. > :20:28.reasons. For the concerto this week, was a world premiere. But it

:20:29. > :20:32.is also about doing a postmortem, listening to yourself, what it is

:20:33. > :20:38.bad or good as one thought? Learning from that. Sometimes, you have a

:20:39. > :20:43.performance and you think, I wish that had not been recorded! It is

:20:44. > :20:48.the rough with the smooth. You can not always tell. From the

:20:49. > :20:53.performance, we are the worst judges as to what was good or bad. In a

:20:54. > :21:00.live performance, the audience do not mind the odd slip. They quite

:21:01. > :21:07.enjoy it. It is OK to be human. I hope so! We are not machines, it

:21:08. > :21:10.will never be perfect. If you are aiming at perfection, it restrains

:21:11. > :21:17.you, and you cannot express yourself. Working with students, to

:21:18. > :21:22.get them to forget about it, not to bother. You will make this takes,

:21:23. > :21:26.the greatest artists made lots of mistakes. Then, you will play more

:21:27. > :21:31.accurately, if you are not worried about being inaccurate. That is very

:21:32. > :21:42.good advice! In life as well as music! Let's turn to the turn of the

:21:43. > :21:45.China philharmonic. One of the standout performances was from

:21:46. > :23:04.Haocheng Zhaig. Let's see him in action.

:23:05. > :23:06.A star in the making on Proms Extra, Haocheng Zhang,

:23:07. > :23:09.performing there with the China Philharmonic Orchestra.

:23:10. > :23:20.Not only was he playing in which the piece that you trilled many minutes

:23:21. > :23:24.in the thunder, but that Liszt piano concerto was your Proms debut. Yes,

:23:25. > :23:28.about 30 years ago now. It's a cracker of a piece for a young

:23:29. > :23:33.artist especially. It's wonderful on many levels. It's very exciting

:23:34. > :23:40.physically, it's full of display. It's got an amazing soul. Liszt was

:23:41. > :23:45.a wonderful constructor. He uses the same themes and transforms them in

:23:46. > :23:50.much the same way that Wagner does in his op raz. It's beautifully

:23:51. > :23:53.constructed. There's a soul there. There's a feeling of the great

:23:54. > :23:57.personality of Liszt, someone who walked onto the stage and people

:23:58. > :24:02.were captivated by this incredible human Can you being. Remember your

:24:03. > :24:06.first Proms performance? I have to admit that I can't. I remember,

:24:07. > :24:12.though, very clearly my first Proms visit. And promming and the queueing

:24:13. > :24:19.and going to see a horn concerto. That whole atmosphere of being there

:24:20. > :24:24.in the arena, so close to the artists and I don't know about you,

:24:25. > :24:29.but I love being on stage and having that proximity to such enthusiastic

:24:30. > :24:33.people and the way that faces become familiar over the years. It's very

:24:34. > :24:36.much a regular loyal audience. That's very special about the

:24:37. > :24:41.festival. Every Proms artist, particularly after their first time,

:24:42. > :24:45.says this about the audience. I know that the China Phil and the

:24:46. > :24:52.musicians and had that sense of excitement. You were saying again

:24:53. > :24:59.another Proms debut orchestra, the Borusan Istanbul. They did, it's a

:25:00. > :25:02.moment of what's it going to be like when we get there. They practised

:25:03. > :25:07.tuning so that they felt that they would be behaving in the right way,

:25:08. > :25:11.as it were. They were just - it was wonderful to be part of that. Then

:25:12. > :25:17.the buzz back stage in the rehearsal going up to the concert, the volume

:25:18. > :25:22.was going up and up and up. They were dying to get out there. It was

:25:23. > :25:26.very, very special. We have a lot of really exciting new international

:25:27. > :25:29.orchestras playing this season. My impression is that it's just opening

:25:30. > :25:36.our eyes and ears to a whole new sound. It's fantastic. I'm sure that

:25:37. > :25:40.in the future the focus of our Western music will be in the East.

:25:41. > :25:46.Those people are learning the instruments, learning the music,

:25:47. > :25:49.buying the CDs and loving the music and rediscovering it. So many people

:25:50. > :25:54.in the West are jaded about their own tradition. People are excited

:25:55. > :25:58.about it there. That's fantastic. Let me talk about the conductor a

:25:59. > :26:02.little bit, who you're working with at the prom. Rarely have we seen a

:26:03. > :26:06.more animated conductor on that podium and one of the critics wrote

:26:07. > :26:10.that he thought he would get the best dad dancing prize of any

:26:11. > :26:16.maestro this proms season. What an accolade. He's quite something. He's

:26:17. > :26:24.amazing. His enthusiasm His exuberance is infectious. He's done

:26:25. > :26:28.wonders with that orchestra. He's built them up. He takes an active

:26:29. > :26:32.role in how they play, who plays there. He was instrumental in

:26:33. > :26:37.getting them to the Proms. That was moment tore Muslim to get on the

:26:38. > :26:40.stage and -- for him to get on the stage and loving it. Let's lock at

:26:41. > :27:15.him in action now. -- look.

:27:16. > :27:22.He has got some moves. He really has. He conducts with his cuffs as

:27:23. > :27:25.well, which I love. That concert with Daniel and the Borusan Istanbul

:27:26. > :27:29.Phil will be on August 31. Don?t forget on Proms Extra that

:27:30. > :27:32.the Heath Quartet will be playing a piece by Sir Michael Tippett very

:27:33. > :27:35.shortly, but first let?s turn to the graceful tones of Mozart?s

:27:36. > :27:45.piano concerto in A major. You've played this concerto a couple

:27:46. > :27:51.of times here at the Proms. Yes, many times I'm sure. Tell us what

:27:52. > :27:56.you love about it. It's one of the most perfect of all the Mozart

:27:57. > :28:02.concertos. There's a perfection to this one, I think, that is very

:28:03. > :28:05.specially moving. And also a sunshine certainly to the first and

:28:06. > :28:09.third movements. It's one of the most cloudless in a sense, of all

:28:10. > :28:14.the Mozart concertos. Contrasted with the slow movement, one of the

:28:15. > :28:20.most intensely sorrowful and moving movements. There's just this

:28:21. > :28:24.wonderful grace, precision and yet, improvisation. You can see Mozart

:28:25. > :28:29.making it up as he went along, when he was creating it, but the

:28:30. > :28:35.proportions of it are so perfect and beautiful. It has amazing singing

:28:36. > :28:39.lines. It has the grace of dance figures to it. You just have a jewel

:28:40. > :28:41.of such perfection in your hands when you're playing this piece, that

:28:42. > :28:46.it's astonishing to do that. Let?s take a glimpse at

:28:47. > :28:48.Ingrid Fleeter on the piano, accompanied by the BBC Chorus

:28:49. > :28:51.and Symphony Orchestra, performing Mozart's Piano Concerto in A major

:28:52. > :30:21.as performed by the Argentinian You use the word "perfect" quite a

:30:22. > :30:24.lot when talking about that work, which must be a weight on your

:30:25. > :30:28.shoulders when performing it. You can't treat it like it's a porcelain

:30:29. > :30:33.figure that's going to break in your hands. Mozart is tough, great things

:30:34. > :30:37.that are meat in a perfect -- made in a perfect way are resilient. Have

:30:38. > :30:41.you to throw yourself into it, in one sense, it's just that you're

:30:42. > :30:46.aware all the time that underneath what you're doing there is a bigger

:30:47. > :30:50.picture prove portion of architecture that's so beautiful. I

:30:51. > :30:53.think the word "beauty" comes to mind so much when playing a work

:30:54. > :31:00.like that. Is that the way you approach Mozart as well? Absolutely.

:31:01. > :31:04.I always find the humour in Mozart is incredible. That's what makes him

:31:05. > :31:10.so difficult to crack. You have total perfection and yet, you have

:31:11. > :31:12.somebody who is so individual and so cheeky, at the same time. You get

:31:13. > :31:17.elements of this, this brilliance that comes out. Yet, again, there's

:31:18. > :31:23.distance there. So trying to penetrate that is something that I

:31:24. > :31:29.think we all work at. He's always on my dream dinner party guest list. I

:31:30. > :31:33.think he would be so interesting to meet. People refer to him as a

:31:34. > :31:41.genius. Is that too strong a word? No. He is absolutely a genius, in

:31:42. > :31:44.the same way as Bach and the consummate genius. I love the fact

:31:45. > :31:50.that he has so many human elements, so many flaws as well. Read the

:31:51. > :31:54.letters and you read the torment and again, the humour, the fun that he

:31:55. > :31:59.had. The ups and downs and so many of the letters are about money and

:32:00. > :32:05.about love and about - he was living life. His music is perfection, yet,

:32:06. > :32:09.it has this human element. That's what makes it He was special. A bit

:32:10. > :32:14.of a shambles. His personal life was crazy and chaotic. Totally. He was a

:32:15. > :32:18.billiard champion. He loved to drink. Often we have these visions,

:32:19. > :32:22.images of these composers and we know from their portraits and

:32:23. > :32:28.untouchable. That's just not the case. Such an extraordinary figure

:32:29. > :32:33.who spoke his mind and got into so much hot water with the authorities,

:32:34. > :32:38.with the Archbishop. He was, again, ahead of his time. And yet, this

:32:39. > :32:45.music that resonated out of him, which was just to die for. We now

:32:46. > :32:53.have this cannon of his work and when he was alive he was known as an

:32:54. > :32:56.improviser. Almost all composers were. They began their lives

:32:57. > :33:00.improvising in their moment of creation. Yes, I think it's very

:33:01. > :33:05.dangerous to have a sense of a cannon of the icon of these, the

:33:06. > :33:09.portrait, because we have the wrong kind of reverence. Of course we want

:33:10. > :33:14.to reverence Bach and Mozart. They are geniuses. They wouldn't like us

:33:15. > :33:18.to feel they were untouchable. Mozart would have invited us for a

:33:19. > :33:23.drink and I don't know what Bach would have done, involved us in a

:33:24. > :33:27.fight perhaps! That's right. It's a balance. We need to have the right

:33:28. > :33:32.kind of respect, but also, when we're playing a piece of music, for

:33:33. > :33:36.that moment, it's ours. The composers no longer - at least those

:33:37. > :33:39.two - are no longer with us. They're in our hands in a good and bad

:33:40. > :33:44.sense. We have to have the confidence to play this music and to

:33:45. > :33:49.believe in it and to, and not to handle it with kid gloves. You're

:33:50. > :33:53.singing in the Requiem tomorrow night. How do you feel when you're

:33:54. > :33:57.performing his work? Do you have a sense of reverence? Or do you feel

:33:58. > :34:02.you can own the work? Absolutely, I think respect for the work of art

:34:03. > :34:09.that you're performing is there, but I agree that the perfection should

:34:10. > :34:13.be rather freeing and it can take it. My little interpretation or

:34:14. > :34:21.something is not going to cause Mozart any trouble, I don't think.

:34:22. > :34:27.The requiem tomorrow, that's one thing because it's a sacred piece

:34:28. > :34:32.and we're working as a quartet of soloists, it's not my piece. It's

:34:33. > :34:38.not my show. Whereas singing like the concert arias, you're more free

:34:39. > :34:43.to do your own thing. It's more like a concerto and then you can be more

:34:44. > :34:49.free. The vocal challenges are different. There's ridiculous leaps

:34:50. > :34:54.from low to high and that's a whole different thing to singing the

:34:55. > :34:57.Requiem. I always get a special tingle with the Requiem knowing that

:34:58. > :35:01.it was the last piece of work he wrote and that he was almost writing

:35:02. > :35:10.his own requiem. Do you feel that? Yes, of course. On Monday we are

:35:11. > :35:15.doon the Taverner Requiem. There is something about this idea, this

:35:16. > :35:23.composition. We look forward to that.

:35:24. > :35:25.Now you've heard of Pick of the Week, Book of the Week,

:35:26. > :35:29.Well, Proms Extra has Chord of the Week.

:35:30. > :35:31.Today, David Owen Norris tinkles with the aforementioned

:35:32. > :35:47.You might have missed the chord of the week there. It's a wolf in

:35:48. > :36:02.sheep's clothing, this one. Not very Mozart with that grinding

:36:03. > :36:05.dischord in the middle of it. This balances two contrasting principles,

:36:06. > :36:11.grace and vigourment on the one hand, though it's a concerto in A

:36:12. > :36:17.major, we hear a lot of D major. What we call the subdominant, like a

:36:18. > :36:21.graceful bow. On the other hand, we've got the vigour of busy

:36:22. > :36:32.repeated notes, nearly every theme has them. Mozart announces both

:36:33. > :36:38.those principles of vigour and grace at the beginning. We have our

:36:39. > :36:43.repeated notes in the base. And the graceful D major chord here already.

:36:44. > :36:51.Now Mozart could have written this tune like this. Then there wouldn't

:36:52. > :36:55.have been a dischord with his graceful D in the base. Instead he

:36:56. > :37:03.chooses to repeat his melody note Ement -- E. But he wants to have his

:37:04. > :37:07.cake and eat it, so he puts his graceful D in the base as well. It's

:37:08. > :37:10.the collision of those two principles that produces this

:37:11. > :37:15.arresting dischord, the chord of the week. It's an aural red flag from

:37:16. > :37:17.Mozart to warn us that the next half hour is going to be a tug-of-war

:37:18. > :37:21.between grace and vigour. The ever cordial David Owen Norris

:37:22. > :37:24.will be back next week with We're almost at the end

:37:25. > :37:34.of this week's show. What are you looking forward to next

:37:35. > :37:42.week, after your own performances? Yes, well looking through the coming

:37:43. > :37:49.week, there are loads of things that sound wonderful. Chopin pinot

:37:50. > :37:55.concerto, I personally would love to -- piano concerto, I would love to

:37:56. > :38:02.see Oedipus Rex. Why not. Absolutely. Stephen, what about you?

:38:03. > :38:10.I'm going to Mark Wigglesworth. I think it was the first piano

:38:11. > :38:14.concerto that I was part of. He's doing Elgar first symphony. I think

:38:15. > :38:17.Elgar and the Albert Hall have a particular connection that is very

:38:18. > :38:28.resonant for me. So I'm looking forward to that. It's tough. Vaughan

:38:29. > :38:33.Williams, Talis Fantasia. I adore the Vaughan Williams. It's one of my

:38:34. > :38:35.favourite pieces. It will be a special concert. Some excellent

:38:36. > :38:38.advice. That's just some

:38:39. > :38:39.of the highlights that Tomorrow night on BBC Four, I'll be

:38:40. > :38:44.presenting a concert, one of many, that marks the 150th anniversary

:38:45. > :38:47.celebration of Richard Strauss. A preview

:38:48. > :39:49.of the Strauss concert which you can find on BBC Four tomorrow night

:39:50. > :39:53.at 7pm, and you can watch Proms Radio 3 broadcasts every Prom live

:39:54. > :40:00.and you can find this episode of Proms Extra

:40:01. > :40:03.and all the works we feature in this programme in the Proms Extra

:40:04. > :40:05.collection on the BBC iPlayer. And that's it for Proms Extra,

:40:06. > :40:08.l?ll back next week with violinist Jansen, conductor Sakari Oramo

:40:09. > :40:13.and the singer Sir Willard White. Plus all three guests will

:40:14. > :40:17.be performing, l?m not going Many thanks to my guests tonight,

:40:18. > :40:22.Carolyn Sampson, Playing the show out is

:40:23. > :40:27.a group who will be appearing at the Proms on Monday night

:40:28. > :40:37.in the world premiere of Tonight on Proms Extra they?re

:40:38. > :40:40.performing a piece by one of the giants of British music,

:40:41. > :40:44.a contemporary of Benjamin Britten,