Review – BBC Proms 2026: American Classics

Programme

Joan Tower Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman
Bernstein Symphonic Dances from ‘West Side Story’
Gershwin, orch. Grofé Rhapsody in Blue
Moross The Big Country – prelude
Copland Appalachian Spring – suite
Still Three Visions – No. 2: Summerland
Bernstein On the Town – Three Dance Episodes

Marcus Roberts Trio
Philharmonia Orchestra
Conductor: Marin Alsop

Monday 24 August 2026 · 7pm–c9.30pm
Royal Albert Hall

Listen on BBC Radio 3 / BBC Sounds

Review

Copland’s score acts as a much-needed sigh and a stretch – a motherly reassuring stroke in this concert with Marin Alsop and the Philharmonia. There are some tender moments, though the ensemble falters in those moments when assertion is called for. There’s a disappointingly flat feel to Bernstein’s familiar Symphonic Dances from West Side Story – everything is adhered to but it feels effortful. Sedate, even. That said, top marks to the brass who don’t shy away from any invitation to let rip.

The high point in the programme is undoubtedly Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue which has added weight in Marcus Roberts’ sophisticated arrangement for jazz trio – a second outing for the trio who first appeared with this arrangement in 2007. This is where the heart, grit, and warmth is found in the entire evening. Ensemble leans laid-back throughout, not just between the otherwise taut trio and orchestra, but within the orchestra itself. Jerome Moross’s The Big Country Prelude feels like marketing imposing its audience-building strategy over the last vestiges of any artistic decision-making. William Grant Still’s Three Visions is a tender discovery. Things come together in Bernstein’s On The Town, arguably the best of the evening’s entertainment until that moment when things get a little wobbly. This will no doubt turn up in the end of season montage.