Rachmaninov, Bartók and Varèse

Live at the BBC Proms: the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra are joined by chief conductor Ryan Wigglesworth and principal flute Matthew Higham to perform Rachmaninov's Third Symphony, plus music by Bartók and Varèse.

Presented by Andrew McGregor, live from the Royal Albert Hall, London.

Varèse: Density 21.5
Bartók: Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta

c.8.10pm
Interval: Gillian Moore joins Andrew McGregor live at the Royal Albert Hall to look back to the year 1936, focusing on significant historical as well as musical events.

c.8.20pm
Rachmaninov: Symphony No. 3 in A minor

Matthew Higham, flute
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Ryan Wigglesworth, conductor

The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and Ryan Wigglesworth celebrate the orchestra’s 90th anniversary with a snapshot of a golden year in musical history: 1936 was a turning point, producing not only Rachmaninov’s final symphony – the Romantic, death-haunted No. 3 – but also Bartók’s electrifying fusion of folk and modernity, his Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta, with its two duelling string orchestras and barrage of percussion forces. Varèse tests the limits of sound and space in Density 21.5 – named for the density of platinum – for solo flute, performed by the orchestra’s Principal Flute, Matthew Higham.