Ades Conducts Stravinsky BBC Proms

164 four young players from right across the country are here

Prepare to be wowed by some of the most talented

teenagers in the nation, as the National Youth Orchestra

Hello, and a very warm welcome to a very special evening here

at the Royal Albert Hall, as the National Youth Orchestra

I'm Suzy Klein, and tonight we'll be hearing music

conducted by Thomas Ades, with music by himself,

by his protege, Francisco Coll, and his hero, Stravinsky.

Many of the UK's leading musicians are NYO alumni:

Sir Simon Rattle, Sir Mark Elder, Judith Weir, Alison Balsam

He's also one of the most celebrated composers

of his generation, and we will be hearing one of his

First, though, a piece by a composer who is something of a star

Francisco Coll, who moved specially from Spain to London

Tonight, we're going to hear the London premiere of Mural,

a large-scale orchestral work in five movements,

lasting around 24 minutes which was co-commissioned

by the NYO, and two years in the making.

Coll writes music about the modern world.

He describes Mural as a "Grotesque Symphony."

"Alternating between festive dances and dreamlike harmonies,

at times you can hear the hustle and bustle of the city

and at others the calm stillness of a mountain range."

And here comes the leader of the national youth Orchestra.

Leora Cohen, a very big moment for her!

I have heard her a few times before, a brilliant player with a bright

future ahead of her. And here's Thomas Ades

to conduct Mural by his APPLAUSE the London premier of Mural

by the Spanish composer Francisco Coll. The national youth orchestra

of Great Britain conducted by Thomas Ades.

A huge piece as you can see used every part of the orchestra to the

max. It says a lot for the talents of the

composer Francisco Coll he impressed Thomas Ades enough, nine years ago,

when he arrived in London and became Thomas Ades 's only pupil. Here she,

joining Thomas Ades on stage. And shaking the leader by the hand.

Not the first time that Thomas Ades has brought Francisco Coll 's work

to the Proms. He conducted last year for Francisco Coll 's debut.

Next tonight we're going to hear Thomas Ades conduct the NYO

The piece in question is "Polaris: A Voyage for Orchestra",

It's in one continuous movement, lasting about 15 minutes.

Inspired by the heavens, the music conjures up a vast

interstellar landscape that unfolds from a simple, very beautiful piano

The melody is taken up by different sections of the orchestra ? each

of them playing at different speeds and almost playing the same

Can you tell us about the piece. The brass uninstruments in the orchestra

are removed from the stage, because it was come posed for a whole

designed by Frank Gearey. This inspired me to make a journey, where

each group of the brass instruments plays part of a canon, you hear the

trumpets will play the tune first, then joined by the high horn, then

the trombones and then the tubas as a full stop. At the end of the first

section, the 12th note in my magnet tick series, introduces a new note.

When you get to the 12th the whole pole flips, reverses. It's a huge

entry of the timpani. It goes manic. Then the whole canon is repeated,

but upside down. Because of the nature of it, this sounds more

remote and I suppose, it is in the minor mode and has a different feel,

more stormy feel. And the third time through, it is the same process but

with a new key centre you feel like you are reaching a harbour. Couldn't

work out how to end it until I went to Grand Canyon for the first time

and I saw this enormous view, ten miles in one moment and that gave me

the idea of thousand end this piece. It sounds like a rocket taking off.

And here he comes to conduct his own work,

APPLAUSE APPLAUSE

A magical mystery tour, through space, courtesy of Thomas adders,

conducting his own work, Polaris. Formed by the national youth

Orchestra of Great Britain. -- Thomas Ades. Written by Ades in 2010

but that was its first performance here at the Proms, that was the

perfect place for it, such a great space for a piece which takes us on

a tour, inspired by the stars, and the polar Star. He's just one of the

most vivid and authentic and adventurous forces in new music,

Ades, every PC bushes and self into new territory. I was talking to the

players from this Orchestra, about what it is like to work with Thomas

Ades and they say that they love every moment of it, gives them the

best notes, he is so visual, and he totally understands what it is like

to be a player in this Orchestra, the way that he communicates with

these young players has been such a pleasure for them.

And Ades tonight made the decision to space five separate groups of

brass around the Royal Albert Hall, giving the fantastic sense of

traversing huge distances, he wanted the orchestra to feel like it was

taking off in a ship, towards the sound of trumpets, and at the end,

arriving at a huge destination. Since its foundation,

NYO has given over 550 concerts and supported some 5000 young

musicians, inspiring its members with a sense

of personal responsibility Well, since it was founded in 1948,

the National Youth Orchestra has nurtured some of the UK's brightest

and best orchestral players ? today it's extended that brief to also

work with aspiring young composers and reaching out to talented

musicians beyond the orchestra The Proms and the NYO have a long

history together, since their Proms debut back in 1955

under the baton of Sir Adrian Boult! Since then, they have performed

here with many of the world's greatest conductors,

so we thought it might be nice to take a little trip down memory

lane and see how some of the world's leading baton wavers have fared

in the hands of the NYO. I'm not sure if any of us conductors

will ever know what the limits of their capacity is.

I was at Orchestra, aged from 13 to 19 and as ever, they sound like one

of the great orchestras in the world. A live concert, when

conducting an orchestra deliver, the celebration felt in the hall, there

is no experience like it. I think young people must be exposed to

that. You can see the stars of the future

there. The marvellous thing with young

people is their devotion, there is not a single moment of inattention,

and when they perform, you see all these eyes on you. You feel much

more responsible. I worked with the National Youth

Orchestra just as I would rehearse any Orchestra, they do not like to

see a difference, they like to be treated the same. I think that when

you're working with any Orchestra, the interaction between the people

is crucial, within a youth Orchestra, it is even more

important, they have two really look each other in the eyes, and that is

difficult to do when you are young, I think. The important thing is to

challenge them, to stretch them, to get them to play in a way that adds

they have never been able to before. Try to open up to them what is in

the music. To dig down into their young selves and find feelings that

have never come to the surface before. And to drag them in,

emotionally. I cannot think of any better reason for having an

orchestra, than that. Some of the great and good. We will

end the programme with one of the most explosive pieces of music

created in the last 100 years. The work was so shocking

when it was first heard in 1913 that riots famously broke out

at the premiere in Paris. It was visceral, violent,

unapologetically strange and modern. Its impact is undeniable,

and the piece remains a powerful It was, quite simply,

a game changer. So what is it that is

so mind-blowing about It tells the story of an ancient

Russian tribe which makes a springtime sacrifice of a virgin

to the fertility gods. So a fairly shocking starting point!

The truly brilliant thing that In a revolutionary move,

he makes the beat more important than the melody.

There are tribal rhythms here - he changes the number of beats

in a bar in quick succession, he forces the orchestra to run

an obstacle course of changing It was conceived as two equal

and complementary parts, each lasting about 15 minutes -

The Adoration of the Earth, which takes place in daytime,

and The Sacrifice of the Chosen One, But it's not all frenzied

or aggressive ? in the introduction, which represents the reawakening

of Nature, you'll hear a sinuous, evocative bassoon solo based on one

a gorgeous Lithuanian folk tune. And here's Thomas Ades

to conduct the Rite of Spring. A fantastic formance of Stravinsky's

Rite of Spring giving here at the Proms by the players of the National

Youth Orchestra of Great Britain. Conducted by Thomas Ades.

I said earlier that Thomas Ades is a... He is a force for good in the

world of music, brilliantly talented, composer, conductor,

gifted pianist, and the way that he communicates with these young

players and gets that performance out of them, I think that they rang

every ounce of juice they could from that piece. It is only really when

you talk to these young players as I was doing today that you remember

they are teenagers, when they are giggling, talking about hairstyles

and Instagram, but when they are on that stage they play with incredible

skill, commitment, virtuosity. CHEERING

And, applause for Lucy, the bassoon player.

Pretty triumphant end to the NYO's summer tour, they are off next to

the south of France, they will perform and let their hair down

after a very busy few weeks, and that is it for this evening, but

make sure you tune in to BBC Four, 8pm, this coming Friday, for another

Prom which promises to be a cracker. John Wilson returns with his

incredible orchestra and an-all Rogers Hammerstein's

smash hit, Oklahoma! But from all of us here

at the Royal Albert Hall this