Preview – BBC Proms 2026: Boléro – Rhythms of Spain

Programme

Ravel Alborada del gracioso
Falla, orch. Francisco Coll Fantasia baetica
Rodrigo Concierto de Aranjuez
Falla The Three-Cornered Hat – Suites Nos. 1 & 2
Ravel Boléro

Rafael Aguirre (guitar)
Spanish National Orchestra
Conductor: David Afkha

Sunday 19 July 2026 · 7pm–c9.15pm
Royal Albert Hall

Listen on BBC Radio 3 / BBC Sounds · Watch on BBC iPlayer (recorded for broadcast)

Preview

There was a time when, during a previous Controller’s tenure at Radio 3, Spanish guitar music was by repute, not heard on the network. Similarly so at the Proms where Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez last appeared 21 years ago in the Last Night. The concerto is about as well known as The Lark Ascending or Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, occupying something close to wallpaper status through sheer over-exposure. The Classic FM Hall of Fame (the radio station Radio 3’s current Controller used to run) did much to popularise the work. No surprise it’s back – it’s a gateway work. A no-brainer for the visiting Spanish National Orchestra, who are making their Proms debut this year.

The two suites that make up Falla’s The Three-Cornered Hat are the more interesting proposition — originally ballet music commissioned by Diaghilev for the Ballets Russes, which gives it a theatrical variety and edge that the Rodrigo, for all its charm, can’t quite match.

Ravel was famously less keen on his Boléro than audiences were. The thirteen-minute showcase for orchestra was his money-spinner — a work audiences wanted to hear. Another crowd-pleaser in a programme of fairly predictable works, the kind you’ve surely got to think most players would roll their eyes at knowing they’re required to play on an international trip.

Review

This review will be published following the concert.

Gallery

Photography will be added once available.