Susanna Mälkki returns to the Proms with two genre-defining 20th-century favourites. Revisiting the doomed love of Verona’s most romantic couple, Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet effectively revivified the evening-length ballet, just as Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra cemented the potential of an apparently contradictory title.
Between these classics, Lawrence Power s the Philharmonia Orchestra to tackle the fiendishly difficult solo part in Olga Neuwirth’s recent work for viola and orchestra, comprising five breathtaking, seething, allusion-rich movements.
Discover the Music a short audio guide published on the day about a key work in tonight’s Prom: Tom Service talks about Bartók's Concerto for Orchestra.