:00:08. > :00:10.Tonight, we enter the rich, romantic world of Rachmaninov
:00:11. > :00:13.with two of his most loved works, his hauntingly beautiful second
:00:14. > :00:23.symphony and his virtuosic third piano concerto,
:00:24. > :00:47.This evening, the Royal Albert Hall plays host to the BBC
:00:48. > :00:56.Scottish Symphony Orchestra who will perform two masterworks,
:00:57. > :00:58.both written by Rachmaninov in the first decade of the 20th
:00:59. > :01:01.century, two pieces that today must be among his most popular works.
:01:02. > :01:06.Later, the orchestra's chief conductor, Thomas Dausgaard,
:01:07. > :01:09.will lead a performance of the second symphony,
:01:10. > :01:12.the work that represented a return to health for a composer left broken
:01:13. > :01:16.and devastated by the failure of his first symphony.
:01:17. > :01:20.We start, though, with the piano concerto that Rachmaninov wrote
:01:21. > :01:23.to perform himself on a tour of the United States.
:01:24. > :01:26.He was famous for his big, broad hands and his limitless energy
:01:27. > :01:32.He found the challenges of his third concerto easy.
:01:33. > :01:35.Pianists who have tackled the work since describe it as one of the most
:01:36. > :01:37.technically daunting in the repertoire, a sort
:01:38. > :01:41.of musical Mount Everest that has to be conquered.
:01:42. > :01:42.Tonight, the brilliant young Ukranian-born pianist
:01:43. > :01:47.Alexander Gavrylyuk takes on the challenge.
:01:48. > :01:49.So two great, popular pieces on the programme,
:01:50. > :01:51.but we are going to go a stage further.
:01:52. > :01:55.As well as an orchestra who have come here from Glasgow,
:01:56. > :01:58.we welcome an ensemble of singers from Riga, the Latvian Radio Choir,
:01:59. > :02:00.who are going to sing Russian Orthodox chants,
:02:01. > :02:03.some of which, harmonised and re-imagined, seeped
:02:04. > :02:05.into these symphonic works, making the journey from
:02:06. > :02:13.I've been talking to conductor Thomas Dausgaard about what we learn
:02:14. > :02:14.by listening to the music Rachmanonov himself
:02:15. > :02:28.I'll was founded an inspiration to think what could have influenced the
:02:29. > :02:34.composer's imagination. In this concert with Rachmaninov's music,
:02:35. > :02:38.there are some important routes, like Russian Orthodox chanting in
:02:39. > :02:44.the church, and the way that has influenced his work on so many
:02:45. > :02:50.levels, it is important to share with the audience. We have a
:02:51. > :02:54.wonderful chorus joining us for tonight's performance. At the top of
:02:55. > :03:00.each piece, they will sing and Orthodox chant. The one song before
:03:01. > :03:06.the third piano Concerto is exciting and striking. When the third
:03:07. > :03:11.concerto premiered, Rachmaninov was asked whether it had any relation to
:03:12. > :03:15.his theme, and he said, no, I completely compose that myself, but
:03:16. > :03:21.my subconscious might have worked with me. That is super interesting.
:03:22. > :03:25.That is what works with is all all the time. For the second symphony,
:03:26. > :03:31.there is not such an obvious choice of chant, but there is still
:03:32. > :03:39.something moving in the opening melodic line of the symphony. So
:03:40. > :03:44.many references, also, to other kinds of church music, bell-ringing.
:03:45. > :03:49.It will put us in a good frame of mind for it.
:03:50. > :03:51.Well, in just a second, pianist Alexander Gavrylyuk
:03:52. > :03:54.is going to take his place at the piano, ready to play
:03:55. > :03:57.Thomas Dausgaard will conduct the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra.
:03:58. > :04:00.Before that the Latvian Radio Choir are going to sing Grob Tvoy, Spase,
:04:01. > :15:27.MUSIC: Piano Concerto No. 3 by Rachmaninov.
:15:28. > :30:34.MUSIC: Piano Concerto No 3 in D Minor by Rachmaninov.
:30:35. > :54:11.MUSIC: Piano Concerto No 3 in D Minor by Rachmaninov.
:54:12. > :54:41.Alexander Gavrylyuk playing Rachmaninov's Third Piano Concerto
:54:42. > :54:53.Thomas Dausgaard conducting the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra.
:54:54. > :55:05.And this Sunday evening prom began with a traditional chant from the
:55:06. > :55:10.Russian Orthodox Church, sung by the Latvian Radio Choir, music that
:55:11. > :55:25.inspired Rachmaninov when he was writing this Piano Concerto. It it
:55:26. > :55:41.is a work that he wrote to play himself, and when he toured North
:55:42. > :55:49.America in 1909 it was well greeted. When he played it at Carnegie Hall,
:55:50. > :55:59.the conductor was Gustav Mahler. It was a moment that Rachmaninov
:56:00. > :56:04.treasured. Rachmaninov's music has always been important to Alexander
:56:05. > :56:09.Gavrylyuk. He moved to Australia at the age of 13 and said he found it
:56:10. > :56:14.to be a very different planets and missed his native Ukraine. He turned
:56:15. > :56:16.to music to find reflections of his feelings and he said Rachmaninov was
:56:17. > :56:48.always near and in his heart. The music reflects human emotional
:56:49. > :56:53.life, says Alexander Gavrylyuk, more than anything I know. This power can
:56:54. > :57:03.lead to special moments of revelation. We are going to have an
:57:04. > :01:38.That glorious moment of silent reflection after that encore from
:01:39. > :01:42.Alexander Gavrylyuk. Rachmaninov's Vocalise, originally a song for
:01:43. > :01:55.piano containing no words, but some using a single vowel of the singer's
:01:56. > :01:57.choosing. -- but sung using. Alexander Gavrylyuk, star of the BBC
:01:58. > :02:29.Proms this Sunday. You are watching BBC
:02:30. > :02:32.Four at the Proms. Coming up in a moment,
:02:33. > :02:35.Rachmaninov's second symphony, preceded by more
:02:36. > :02:37.of the Russian Orthodox Chant His grandmother was very religious
:02:38. > :02:49.and it was she who took the young Rachmaninov to the churches
:02:50. > :02:50.of St Petersburg. "Being only a youngster I took less
:02:51. > :02:53.interest in God and worship than in the singing,
:02:54. > :02:55.which was of unrivalled beauty", "I usually took pains to find a room
:02:56. > :02:59.underneath the gallery and never Thanks to my good memory, I also
:03:00. > :03:04.remembered most of what I heard. This I turned into capital,
:03:05. > :03:06.literally, by sitting down at the piano when I came home
:03:07. > :03:13.and playing it. For this performance my grandmother
:03:14. > :03:15.never failed to reward me with 25 kopeks, a large sum to an urchin
:03:16. > :03:19.of 10 or 11." It was music he was never to forget,
:03:20. > :03:23.music that seeped into many of his The Latvian Radio Choir
:03:24. > :03:27.performed downstairs Now they have come up
:03:28. > :03:35.here to the gallery, and before they sing,
:03:36. > :03:49.two members of the Karlis and Inga. Let me start with
:03:50. > :03:57.you, Inga. It is fascinating to hear how Thomas Dausgaard was inspired by
:03:58. > :04:03.the chanting. Yes, all of his music is full of Orthodox chants, and also
:04:04. > :04:10.Orthodox bells. We heard that in the piano concert, in the symphony, it
:04:11. > :04:18.is repeated. We memorise church music and the bells. Your country,
:04:19. > :04:23.Latvia, is a land of Song. So many great Latvian choral composers. How
:04:24. > :04:30.often do you sing this Russian material? We do it quite a lot.
:04:31. > :04:40.Historically, we are tied to Russian culture. We understand the Russian
:04:41. > :04:44.language itself, which helps us as performers to perform Russian choral
:04:45. > :04:48.music, because it takes the stress away to understand what you're
:04:49. > :04:52.singing about and pronunciation. We do it quite a lot. This music was
:04:53. > :04:57.written to be sung in the great churches and cathedrals of St
:04:58. > :05:04.Petersburg and other Russian cities. What is it like doing it in this
:05:05. > :05:09.concert Hall? We can see what it was late in the evening, when the whole
:05:10. > :05:13.is Phil. In the daytime, with rehearsal, it was a good feeling. I
:05:14. > :05:17.guess it is the first time in Europe that we do it outside the church. We
:05:18. > :05:24.have done it in Japan in concert halls, but not in Europe. Thank you
:05:25. > :05:28.for joining us. We will send you over to the next balcony in the
:05:29. > :05:36.Royal Albert Hall, to join your colleagues in the Latvian Radio
:05:37. > :05:40.Choir in a few minutes time. The Latvian Radio Choir will be
:05:41. > :05:43.performing Rachmaninov's Vespers later on in a late-night Prom. That
:05:44. > :05:50.is on BBC Radio 3. To whet your appetite,
:05:51. > :05:53.here's a short clip of the USSR Ministry Of Culture Chamber Choir's
:05:54. > :07:15.performance of the Vespers The rich sound of the USSR
:07:16. > :07:18.Ministry Of Culture Chamber Choir, performing at the Proms
:07:19. > :07:21.back in 1991. Back to tonight's Prom now
:07:22. > :07:26.and Rachmaninov's second symphony, a work that was not arrived
:07:27. > :07:29.at in a hurry. The premiere of his first symphony
:07:30. > :07:31.became one of classical music's One critic, a fellow composer,
:07:32. > :07:36.described it as the "seven plagues of Egypt all rolled
:07:37. > :07:41.into a single piece". The performance was under-rehearsed,
:07:42. > :07:44.the conductor was probably drunk. Rachmaninov, embarrassed
:07:45. > :07:46.and humiliated, had a nervous It was only after treatment
:07:47. > :07:50.with hypnosis that he Nonetheless, it was nearly
:07:51. > :07:56.a decade before he felt able The second is a vast work,
:07:57. > :08:01.up to an hour long in performance, and containing the very
:08:02. > :08:03.best of Rachmaninov. It's filled with glorious melodies,
:08:04. > :08:06.painted out in rich, It opens with long,
:08:07. > :08:11.brooding slow introduction, reminiscent of that Russian Orthodox
:08:12. > :08:22.chant he so loved. And so, here comes Thomas Dausgaard
:08:23. > :08:26.to conduct the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra in Rachmaninov's
:08:27. > :08:28.second symphony, but first of all, from the gallery,
:08:29. > :08:31.the Latvian Radio Choir sing Svete MUSIC: Symphony No 2
:08:32. > :33:01.in E Minor by Rachmaninov. MUSIC: Symphony No 2
:33:02. > :09:58.in E Minor by Rachmaninov. APPLAUSE
:09:59. > :10:23.CHEERING Rachmaninov's Symphony No.
:10:24. > :10:28.2 in E Minor. The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra,
:10:29. > :10:38.conducted by Thomas Dausgaard. Before the symphony,
:10:39. > :10:40.we heard the Latvian Radio Choir singing Svete Tikhy,
:10:41. > :10:50.Serene Light. That was conducted by Sigvards
:10:51. > :11:05.Klava. The principal clarinettist of the
:11:06. > :11:13.BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra rises to a great cheer. Technically
:11:14. > :11:17.speaking, the second symphony is a 20th-century work, but it has all
:11:18. > :11:22.the intensity and emotion of 19th-century Romanticism. A word
:11:23. > :11:26.that he began the orchestration of in the summer of 1907, immediately
:11:27. > :11:40.after the birth of his second daughter.
:11:41. > :11:46.After the premiere, he conducted the Symphony once again in Moscow,
:11:47. > :11:53.several times in Europe and the USA, but after he left Russia in December
:11:54. > :11:54.1917, he never again performed it. Sadly, he left no recording of it
:11:55. > :12:05.either. Just about to start on Radio 3,
:12:06. > :12:23.the Latvian Radio Choir sing Rachmaninov's Vespers,
:12:24. > :12:25.and they will be back on Monday lunchtime
:12:26. > :12:31.when they perform Shostakovich. That's in our chamber Prom,
:12:32. > :12:37.live from Cadogan Hall, 1 o'clock on Monday lunchtime,
:12:38. > :12:40.on BBC Radio Three. BBC Four is back at the Proms next
:12:41. > :12:43.Friday with two programmes. The Aurora Orchestra's performance
:12:44. > :12:47.of Beethoven's Symphony No 3, Eroica, and from the late-night
:12:48. > :12:50.Prom, the first full live performance of Ravi Shankar
:12:51. > :12:53.and Philip Glass's album Passages. For now, from me, Petroc Trelawny,
:12:54. > :12:57.and all of us at the Royal