Prom 39: Strauss, Rameau, Mozart and Bernard Rands

Afternoon on 3 with Jonathan Swain

BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and Markus Stenz recorded earlier this month at the BBC Proms in an eclectic mix of music climaxing with Strauss's heroic tone poem Ein Heldenleben.

Presented by Tom Service at the Royal Albert Hall, London

Markus Stenz conducts the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra in an eclectic mix of music climaxing with Strauss's heroic tone poem Ein Heldenleben

Rameau: Les Indes galantes - suite
Bernard Rands: Concerto for Piano and Orchestra (UK premiere)

Mozart: Symphony No. 1 in E flat major, K16
Richard Strauss: Ein Heldenleben

Jonathan Biss (piano)
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Markus Stenz (conductor)

Markus Stenz is a conductor with a far-reaching and wide-ranging musical appetite, and this Prom embodies his searching musical personality as he conducts the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra in an eclectic mix of music ranging from the early 18th century to the present day.

The first half juxtaposes music from a master of the French baroque, Rameau's Les Indes galantes, with a colourful work by the Anglo-American composer Bernard Rands. His Piano Concerto is heard for the first time in the UK, played by former BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist Jonathan Biss.

The second half begins with the elegant classicism of Mozart's first numbered symphony. And - as the BBC Proms continues to mark the 150th anniversary of Richard Strauss's birth - reaches a suitably heroic climax, with that composer's vibrant tone poem Ein Heldenleben.

First broadcast 15th August 2014.