Romeo and Juliet

Love and longing pervade music performed by the BBC Philharmonic under the baton of Ludovic Morlot in tonight's concert.

Music from one of the most ground-breaking operas opens the concert. "Lulu" is a controversial and uncompromising tale of female sexuality and bourgeois hypocrisy. Initially banned in the opera house, Berg tried to circumvent the authorities by creating a set of symphonic pieces from the drama, opening with this Rondo, full of lyrical and rich orchestral writing.

The BBC Philharmonic is joined by Lawrence Power for Cassandra Miller's Viola Concerto "I cannot love without trembling"; the fragility of existence and the nature of distance and separation are explored in her mesmerising work which shows the viola in its most expressive and personal guise. Lyricism and musical space combine in music that creates a unique and powerful atmosphere.

Conductor Ludovic Morlot's selection from Prokofiev's ballet 'Romeo and Juliet' takes us on the emotional journey of Shakespeare's "star-cross'd lovers", drawing on some of Prokofiev's best known and loved music, including that for the feuding houses of Montagues and Capulets.

Recorded at Manchester's Bridgewater Hall on 21 February and presented by Mark Forrest.

Alban Berg: Lulu - Rondo
Cassandra Miller: Viola Concerto "I cannot love without trembling"

Interval

Prokofiev: Romeo and Juliet - selection of music from the ballet

Lawrence Power (viola)
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
Ludovic Morlot