On Sunday 7 September our Music Director, Vasily Petrenko, took to the stage at the BBC Proms, conducting Ottorino Respighi’s Pines of Rome, Darius Milhaud's La beouf sur le toit with violinist Arabella Steinbacher, and Ralph Vaughan Williams’ evocative cityscape, his Symphony No.2 (A London Symphony).
See more photos, reviews and the audience's reaction from the night below, and you can also listen back to the concert on BBC Sounds.
All photos © Chris Christodoulou
Over the course of concert, Vasily Petrenko took the Orchestra on a whirlwind tour of three great cities: the sweeping ancient avenues of Rome, the bustling boulevards of 1920s Paris, and finally, to the iconic skyline of London.
“…beautifully done, with the atmosphere of Bloomsbury Square in foggy November evoked…” ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Bachtrack
The concert opened with Ottorino Respighi’s Pines of Rome. Composed in 1924, The Pines of Rome is the central work in Respighi’s popular Roman trilogy, the others being The Fountains of Rome (1914-16) and Roman Festivals (1928). From the playful echoes of children at the Villa Borghese to the subterranean stillness of the catacombs, through to the nightingale’s recorded call under a Roman moon, Respighi’s symphonic poem culminates in a blaze of brass and percussion as ghostly legions march up the Appian Way at dawn. Despite its premiere eliciting boos and hisses from the audience, it has since firmly established itself as a popular modern classic.
Darius Milhaud’s Le boeuf sur le toit, in its rarely heard version for violin and orchestra, was the next stop in the programme. Originally conceived as a surrealist ballet, the work channels the energy of Brazilian street music through a Parisian lens. Violinist Arabella Steinbacher brought flair and finesse to Milhaud’s dizzying twists, in a performance that celebrated the eccentricities of a world between wars and music unconstrained by borders. Steinbacher continued to dazzle the audience with her encore, the opening movement from Eugène Ysaÿe Violin Sonata No.2.
“…a highlight of my Proms season, the essence of Vaughan Williams…” The Arts Desk
And finally, the concert closed with Ralph Vaughan Williams’ 'London' Symphony. Fragments of street songs, the chime of Big Ben, and the murmur of the Thames run through the symphony’s four movements, evoking a city both eternal and ever-changing. Written before the Great War and revised in its wake, the work captures the soul of London as it stood on the threshold of modernity.
Audience reactions on Instagram and Facebook
“It was fabulous to be in the audience for this 👏👏👏”
“👏 I had not expected to be moved to tears by the Pines of Rome – incredible!”
“It was terrific, folks. Welcome home RPO. Can’t wait for Cadogan Hall concerts to start.”
“Outstanding playing, amazing concert 🎶”
Thank you to everyone who came to see us!
We'll be back at the Royal Albert Hall for the opening of our 2025–26 series with Vasily Petrenko on Tuesday 21 October, performing Puccini’s Preludio sinfonico, Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms, and Mahler’s majestic Symphony No.1, ‘Titan’.