BBC Proms 2017, Prom 1: First Night of the BBC Proms (320kbps .mp3)


John Adams's Harmonium is an intricate tapestry of sound, with bright vocal threads and driving brass and percussion rhythms. Marking the composer's 70th birthday this year, it features the BBC Proms Youth Choir alongside stalwarts of the First and Last Nights, the BBC Symphony Chorus.

Award-winning pianist Igor Levit is the soloist in Beethoven's groundbreaking Third Piano Concerto, and this year's First Night opens with the world premiere of St John's Dance by rising British composer, Tom Coult.

01. Tom Coult: St John's Dance (BBC commission: world premiere)
02. Beethoven: Piano Concerto No 3 in C minor
02i. Introduction to Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No 3 in C minor
03. Beethoven - Ode to Joy (arr. Liszt)
04. John Adams - Harmonium
05. Interval - proms preview
Clemency Burton-Hill and Petroc Trelawny look forward to two months of world-class music-making in the company of guests, and go backstage to chat to some of the performers in tonight's Prom.


Igor Levit, piano
BBC Proms Youth Choir
BBC Symphony Chorus
BBC Symphony Orchestra
Edward Gardner, conductor


Encoded as 320 kbps .mp3
Broadcast: 14 July 2017