Thursday 31 July 2025 at 6:30pm - 11pm

Rachmaninov & Copland

Royal Albert Hall

BBC Proms presents: Rachmaninov and Copland

The thrum of urban America – jazz clubs and bustling sidewalks, pulsing Latin rhythms and night-time lights – runs through this Prom given by Joshua Weilerstein and the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra. Rachmaninov’s enigmatic final masterpiece, the Symphonic Dances, blends Russian soul with bold colours from the composer’s adopted homeland.

Copland’s Clarinet Concerto draws on the virtuoso skills of jazz legend Benny Goodman, while bandleader Artie Shaw wrote his Clarinet Concerto for his own considerable skills as a player.

Elsa Barraine’s tautly lyrical Symphony No. 2 opens the programme.

Programme

Barraine Symphony No. 2 17’ 

Copland Clarinet Concerto 18’

A. Shaw Clarinet Concerto 8’

Interval

Rachmaninov Symphonic Dances 35’

Martin Fröst clarinet

BBC Philharmonic Orchestra 

Joshua Weilerstein conductor