Saariaho, Sibelius

Live from the Royal Albert Hall, London

Presented by Louise Fryer

Nietzsche once said that "life without music would be a mistake". There is no danger of that as the BBC Philharmonic and their Chief Conductor Juanjo Mena take to the stage at the Royal Albert Hall for the first of their four Proms this season. Music by Richard Strauss is the focus before the interval with his Nietzsche-inspired symphonic poem "Also sprach Zarathustra" and glorious "Four Last Songs" sung by Anne Schwanewilms. The literary influence continues with Kaija Saariaho's "Laterna magica" which alludes to film director Ingmar Bergman's autobiography. The programme ends with Sibelius's remarkable, single-movement final symphony.

Kaija Saariaho: Laterna magica (UK premiere)
Sibelius: Symphony no.7 in C major

Anne Schwanewilms (soprano)
BBC Philharmonic
Juanjo Mena (conductor)

This Prom will be repeated on Thursday 19 July at 2pm.