| Set List | 'Fantasy-Overture - Hamlet', Tchaikovsky,
'Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini', Rachmaninov (Stephen Hough)
ENCORE
'Moscow Nights', Solovyov-Sedoi, arr. S Hough (Stephen Hough)
INTERVAL
'Symphony No.3 in C Minor', Prokofiev |
| Performance Notes | In 1919 Prokofiev started work on his opera The Fiery Angel, a touching love story set against the backdrop of demonic possession. He recast much of the operas most impactful music into his Third Symphony. Alexander Vedernikov conducts it here after Stephen Hough plays Rachmaninovs devilish and ever-entertaining Paganini Variations, and the final instalment of fellow Russian Tchaikovskys three Shakepeare overtures.
"Hough played with a crisp, debonair touch and easy, silky phrasing. It's a witty work, compact and beautifully crafted, and its arbanity was brought to the fore by Hough and Vedernikov, who cued the little pops of colour from the strings with incouciance. The clarinets were styled as waltzing undertakers, the Dies Irae elegantly outrun. Framed by droll quotations from Rachmaninov's Second Piano Concerto, Hough's encore of Moscow Nights was as cool as the lobby of a five-star hotel. Cocktails at our seat would have been nice."
(The Times, 25 August 2016)
Full house. |
| Related Archival Material | Proms Guide (RAHE/1/2016/50),
Programme (RAHE/1/2016/99),
Mini-Guide (RAHE/6/2016/45) |