Main content

Ravel’s Piano Concerto at the BBC Proms

Elizabeth Alker celebrates summer music-making in the UK and beyond, including music from this year’s First Night of the Proms.

Elizabeth Alker celebrates summer music-making in the UK and beyond.

In the first of this year’s summer editions of Classical Live, we hear highlights from the First Night of the Proms, when pianist Yunchan Lim joined the BBC Symphony Orchestra and conductor Dalia Stesevska for Ravel’s G major Piano Concerto. The BBC Proms loom large in our listening across the season, but we’ll also be popping into other summer festivals across Europe; today we visit the Schubertiade Schwarzenberg in Austria and the opening concert of the Leipzig Bach Festival in Germany. Also, every day this week there's a Mozart String Quintet from the elegant rococo Leitheim Castle in Bavaria, with violist Violaine Despeyroux joining Quatuor Voce.

From the First Night of the Proms 2026:
Aaron Copland
Fanfare for the Common Man
BBC Symphony Orchestra
Dalia Stasevska (conductor)

George Gershwin
An American in Paris
BBC Symphony Orchestra
Dalia Stasevska (conductor)

From Leipzig Bach Festival 2026:
Claudio Monteverdi
Vespro della Beata Virgine (excerpt)
Marie Luise Werneburg (soprano)
Patricia Nolz (soprano)
Lucile Richardot (mezzo-soprano)
Nick Pritchard (tenor)
Robert Pohlers (tenor)
Volker Arndt (tenor)
Frederick Long (bass)
St Thomas' Choir, Leipzig
Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra
Andreas Reize (conductor)

From the First Night of the Proms 2026:
Maurice Ravel
Piano Concerto in G major
Yunchan Lim (piano)
BBC Symphony Orchestra
Dalia Stasevska (conductor)

From Leitheim Castle Concerts 2026:
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
String Quintet No. 6 in E flat major, K. 614
Quatuor Voce
Violaine Despeyroux (viola)

From the Schubertiade Schwarzenberg 2026:
Franz Schubert
Piano Sonata No. 18 in G major, D. 894
Francesco Piemontesi (piano)

To listen to this programme (using most smart speakers), just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Classical Live".

27 days left to listen

3 hours

Last on

Monday 13:00
BBC Radio 3

More episodes

Previous

Strauss's ‘An Alpine Symphony’ from the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

Next

De Falla's Three-Cornered Hat from the BBC Proms

See all episodes from Classical Live

Music Played

  • Aaron Copland

    Fanfare for the Common Man

    Orchestra: BBC Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Dalia Stasevska.
    • GBBBC.

  • George Gershwin

    An American in Paris

    Orchestra: BBC Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Dalia Stasevska.
    • GBBBC.

  • Claudio Monteverdi

    Vespro della Beata Vergine, SV 206 (excerpt)

    Performer: Johannes Lang. Singer: Nick Pritchard. Singer: Robert Pohlers. Singer: Volker Arndt. Singer: Frederic Earl ‘Shorty’ Long. Choir: St Thomas' Choir, Leipzig. Orchestra: Gewandhausorchester Leipzig. Conductor: Andreas Reize.

  • Maurice Ravel

    Piano Concerto in G major

    Performer: Yunchan Lim. Orchestra: BBC Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Dalia Stasevska.
    • GBBBC.

  • Joseph Kosma

    Autumn Leaves

    Performer: Yunchan Lim.
    • GBBBC.

  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

    String Quintet No. 6 in E flat major, K. 614

    Performer: Violaine Despeyroux. Ensemble: Quatuor Voce.

  • George Frideric Handel

    Concerto Grosso in A Major Op.6`11 (Allegro)

    Ensemble: Academy for Ancient Music Berlin. Director: Bernhard Forck.
    • Handel: 12 Concerti grossi, Op. 6 Nos. 7-12.
    • PENTATONE.
    • 505.

  • Franz Schubert

    Piano Sonata No. 18 in G major, D894

    Performer: Francesco Piemontesi.

  • Paul Hindemith

    Sonata for harp (1st mvt)

    Performer: Catrin Finch.

  • Avril Coleridge-Taylor

    Comet Prelude

    Performer: Samantha Ege. Orchestra: BBC Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor: John Andrews.
    • Avril Coleridge-Taylor: Piano Concerto & Orchestral Works.
    • Resonus Classics.
    • 4.

Broadcast

  • Monday 13:00
    BBC Radio 3