Bartók Roots

Live at the BBC Proms: the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Ilan Volkov, and Patricia Kopatchinskaja, perform Bartók alongside traditional Hungarian music from Folktone Band.

Live from the Royal Albert Hall, London
Presented by Kate Molleson

Bartok: Violin Concerto No. 2

c. 8.15pm
Live Interval: Simon Broughton, co-editor of the Rough Guide to World Music, shares his knowledge of Hungarian music traditions.

c. 8.40pm
Bartok: Suite No. 2

Patricia Kopatchinskaja, violin
Folktone Band
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Ilan Volkov, conductor

In a memorable Prom in 2019, violinist Pekka Kuusisto took Sibelius’s Violin Concerto back to its roots in Finnish folk music. Now the dazzling, fearless Patricia Kopatchinskaja takes up the challenge, tracing the same evolution from traditional Hungarian songs and dances to Bartók’s Violin Concerto No. 2. The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and conductor Ilan Volkov explore the rough-hewn rhythms and the lyrical melodies that unite Bartók’s Violin Concerto with the Magyar music that so fascinated the composer.