Synopsis
The National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain makes its annual visit to the Proms with a fiery and virtuosic programme of 20th-century orchestral showpieces, conducted by Proms regular Edward Gardner. A Russian first half sees BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist Louis Schwizgebel take the lead in Prokofiev’s youthful First Piano Concerto. Written while the composer was still a student, it brims with the same audacious energy that pulses through Stravinsky’s great ballet Petrushka. Lutosławski’s vivacious Concerto for Orchestra closes the evening with still more primary-coloured, folkloric brilliance and drama.