BBCSO and Lisa Batiashvili at the BBC Proms

On the evening of Wednesday 21st August 2013 I attended Prom 52 of the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall in London which featured the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sakari Oramo and violinist Lisa Batiashvili. The BBC Symphony Orchestra were making their second appearance with its new Chief Conductor Sakari Oramo.

There was a geographically wide ranging programme consisting of Cave of Luminous Mind - Param Vir, Violin Concerto in D minor - Sibelius, Celtic Symphony - Bantock and Enigma Variations - Elgar.

This was the world premiere of the BBC commission Cave of Luminous Mind by Param Vir, who turned to Tibetan Buddhism for inspiration and specifically to the remarkable life of the 11th century sage Milarepa. This was the composer's musical response to Milarepa's meditational journey towards enlightenment. The piece was dedicated to the late Jonathan Harvey.

Sibelius composed his Violin Concerto in 1903 with a revised version being published in 1905. Sibelius began his musical career with high hopes of becoming a concert violinist. When destiny forged another path for him, then he expressed his relationship with his instrument through this, his only concerto, a work that combines intense virtuosity with profound depths of expression.

Bantock's Celtic Symphony is his homage to the Hebrides, an area he greatly loved. This piece was composed in 1940 for string orchestra and harps. The world of Celtic myth and legend was one of the several locales that appealed to Bantock for musical inspiration.

The first performance of Elgar's Enigma Variations took place in 1899. It was Elgar's most ambitious orchestra works to date and helped establish him as a composer of international importance. Elgar turned to his friends for inspiration for his Enigma Variations offering personal yet sharply etched characterisations in the work that made his name.

This was a fantastic evening at the Royal Albert Hall with the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sakari Oramo providing us with a wonderful and interesting programme of music. The Georgian violinist Lisa Batiashvili performed an outstanding Sibelius Violin Concerto which is a piece that she has made an acclaimed recording with Sakari Oramo. There was a brilliant atmosphere which made this a special night at the BBC Proms.

BBC National Orchestra of Wales at the BBC Proms

On the evening of Wednesday 24th July 2013 I attended Prom 16 of the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall in London. This performance from the BBC National Orchestra of Wales conducted by Jac van Steen with cellist Raphael Wallfisch was a programme of music from three British composers and the first in this season's Tchaikovsky symphony cycle.

The programme consisted of Falstaff - Elgar, Sapphic Poem - Bantock, Henry V - Touch her soft lips and part; Death of Falstaff - Walton and Symphony No. 4 in F minor - Tchaikovsky.

Elgar's Falstaff was premiered in 1913 which the composer called a symphonic study because it was a portrait not just of Falstaff, but of Shakespeare and all human life. Falstaff is a character from Henry IV Parts 1 and 2 who was a thoroughly bad, if sometimes lovable influence on the future Henry V, who disowns his ancient friend when he succeeds to the throne.

The Sapphic Poem was composed by Bantock in 1906. The version for cello and orchestra was published in 1909. It is closely associated with Bantock's Sappho, a vocal cycle setting fragments from the 7th century BC poetess of Lesbos, in translations by Bantock's wife Helena. This was the Proms premiere of the Sapphic Poem.

Touch her soft lips and part and The Death of Falstaff are from the 1944 film Henry V, for which William Walton composed the music in close collaboration with the film's director and star Laurence Olivier. Touch her soft lips and part is a romantic piece where Pistol bids farewell to his new wife before setting off for France. The Death of Falstaff is a series of variations founded on the Elizabethan drinking song Watkyn's Ale from the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book.

Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 4 was written between 1877 and 1878 and was considered by the composer as a reflection of his emotional strife. Tchaikovsky referred to the symphony's opening fanfare as fate, the force of destiny. During the composition of the Fourth Symphony Tchaikovsky started to benefit from the regular allowance sent to him by the wealthy, eccentric widow Nadezhda von Meck. The Fourth Symphony is dedicated to her.

The BBC National Orchestra of Wales conducted by Jac van Steen performed a wonderful programme of music with the highlight being Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 4.  Raphael Wallfisch who celebrates his 60th birthday this year gave an intimate performance of Bantock's Sapphic Poem. There was also an encore of Bantock's Hamabdil. This was a fantastic Prom at the Royal Albert Hall which I greatly enjoyed.