Review: BBC PROMS: RACHMANINOV’S SECOND PIANO CONCERTO; Royal Albert Hall

It was a night of concerti for this Prom, with Polish composers Grażyna Bacewicz and Witold Lutosławski on the programme alongside Sergei Rachmaninov; three 20th century classics to be performed, in the form of Concerto for String Orchestra, Concerto for Orchestra, and the already alluded to Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor. On this occasion, the BBC National Orchestra of Wales was led by Igor Yuzefovich, on loan from the BBC Symphony Orchestra.

Bacewicz, alongside her role as composer, was also a gifted violinist - and was even a pupil under the legendary Nadia Boulanger; the fact that she also taught musical figures such as Aaron Copland, Quincy Jones and Astor Piazzolla speaks to how highly sought-after Boulanger was as a teacher.

Concerto for String Orchestra is formed of three movements, and each almost seems to imply Bacewicz’s talent for the violin, as this instrument feels like the focal point of the string section in this piece. A range of playing styles is required, and was executed flawlessly by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales; the control over volume and power was also notable, each movement full of moments of light and shade. It was a truly stirring beginning to the concert - its first performance at the Proms, but unlikely to be the last.

Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor by Rachmaninov may not mean anything to you as a mere title alone, but if you consume any amount of TV or film (or even one particular pop song) then you’ll have almost certainly heard part of it before. Perhaps most famously used in David Lean’s Brief Encounter, the first movement has most recently been utilised in Inside No. 9’s “A Quiet Night In” episode - and films such as The Seven Year Itch have extracted themes from the concerto. During parts of the second movement I had to make sure I wasn’t imagining things as the melody of All By Myself rang out; had this not been credited to both Rachmaninov and Eric Carmen, I might have been tempted to file a plagiarism suit on the Russian composer’s behalf.

Soloist Vadym Kholodenko seemed to make light work of the intricate piece, his fingers at certain points becoming a blur across the keys - this concerto was his choice to perform, and you could see and hear why he made this selection. It was a truly mesmerising performance from start to finish, and we were even treated to more of the same with his encore piece: Rachmaninov’s Polka de W.R., an arrangement of Franz Behr's Lachtäubchen (Scherzpolka) in F major. This was also Kholodenko’s Proms debut, and judging by the enthusiastic response from the audience he would be very welcome to return in the years to come.

As with the Prom featuring Ravel’s Piano Concerto for the Left Hand, I again feel that the headline piece should have been given the headline slot, as it were. The recognisability of the piece, combined with Kholodenko’s virtuoso performance (encore included), would have been the perfect way to send the audience home - but instead, after the interval we were back for Lutosławski’s Concerto for Orchestra.

Modelled on Bartok’s own composition of the same name, the programme states that this was probably the most successful of all of Lutosławski’s pieces, as it’s supposedly played somewhere worldwide every other week. Another composition formed of three movements, it certainly lives up to its name and makes varied use of all sections of the orchestra at different moments. From the sudden crashes of cymbals, to the twinkling of harps and melodic use of the flute, it’s a composition that really does seem to have it all.

Tadaaki Otaka was, once again, a complete joy to watch on the podium. Dressed in a magnificent blue suit, his style is playful but full of intention - where some conductors can give the impression that they’re not always needed, Otaka always seems to be like a puppetmaster pulling the strings. I think it’s safe to say that he ended his tenure with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales on a high, giving one more memorable appearance of his own along with his players.

A fantastic Prom that celebrated three Eastern European greats, with wonderful performances all round.

The BBC Proms run at the Royal Albert Hall until 13 September