In a concert marking 100 years of the BBC, conductor Semyon Bychkov and the BBC Symphony Orchestra look back to the year of the Corporation’s founding – and present a new piece by Bryce Dessner.

In 1922, the BBC made its first broadcast and as we celebrate a century of informing, educating and entertaining, we look back on what the world was listening to 100 years ago and also to the future as the BBC SO, founded in 1930, continues to shape the sounds of the present and the future. It was in 1922 that Maurice Ravel turned to Modest Mussorgsky’s monumental piano work Pictures at an Exhibition, reimagining the piece in orchestral clothing and bolstering its shattering climax in the process. Semyon Bychkov presides over this performance of the resulting masterpiece, after the UK premiere of a work by Bryce Dessner (who is also a member or rock band The National). In between comes the youthful and dynamic Burleske for piano and orchestra by Richard Strauss, a work of sparkling virtuosity in the manner of Chopin and Liszt.

Programme
Bryce Dessner – Mari (UK Premiere)
Richard Strauss – Burleske in D minor for Piano and Orchestra
Modest Mussorgsky – Pictures at an Exhibition (orch Maurice Ravel)

Performers
Semyon Bychkov – conductor
Kirill Gerstein – piano
BBC Symphony Orchestra