Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition from Finland

Mark Forrest showcases the best performances from the UK and beyond, including the City of Birmingham Symphony playing Saint-Saens and the Philharmonia Orchestra in Finland performing Mussorgsky's Pictures from an Exhibition.

We end our week featuring British orchestras on tour in Europe with music from a trio of concerts given by three of Britain’s finest orchestras. The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra is joined by cellist Kian Soltani for the first Cello Concerto by Camille Saint-Saëns, recorded earlier this year at the Saar International Music Festival in South West Germany. Ravel’s orchestration of Modest Mussorgsky’s mighty Pictures from an Exhibition was the centrepiece of the Philharmonia Orchestra’s recent concert at the Mikkeli Music Festival in Finland, and the BBC Symphony Orchestra perform Sibelius at the Warsaw Philharmonic Concert Hall in Poland.

We round up our showcase of piano transcriptions this week with more from Marc-André Hamelin’s concert of Liszt arrangements, including the famous Liebestod from Tristan and Isolde.

And for the final time this week we shine our Artist Spotlight on current Radio 3 New Generation Artists the Chaos String Quartet, who perform Haydn's String Quartet in F minor, the fifth of his Op. 20 set.

1pm
Camille Saint-Saens
Cello Concerto No. 1 in A minor
Kian Soltani (cello)
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
Kazuki Yamada (conductor)

Kian Soltani
Persian Fire Dance
Kian Soltani (cello)

Richard Wagner arr. Franz Liszt
Isoldes Liebestod, S. 447
Marc-André Hamelin (piano)

Joseph Haydn
String Quartet in F minor, Op. 20 No. 5
Chaos String Quartet

Modest Mussorgsky orch. Ravel
Pictures from an Exhibition
Philharmonia Orchestra
Santtu-Matias Rouvali (conductor)

Maurice Ravel
Miroirs
Alexandre Tharaud (piano)

Jean Sibelius
En Saga, Op. 9
BBC Symphony Orchestra
Olari Elts (conductor)

Norbert Glanzberg arr. Tharaud
Padam, Padam
Alexandre Tharaud (piano)