Preview – BBC Proms 2026: Rachmaninov’s Second Symphony

Programme

Ravel, orch. Colin Matthews La vallée des cloches
N Boulanger Fantasy for piano and orchestra
Rachmaninov Symphony No. 2 in E minor

Alexandra Dariescu (piano)
Hallé
Conductor: Kahchun Wong

Wednesday 5 August 2026 · 6pm–c8.10pm
Royal Albert Hall

Listen on BBC Radio 3 / BBC Sounds

Preview

Biased view incoming. Rachmaninov’s Second Symphony is the finest of all symphonies — in its mastery of melody, its emotional immediacy, its expression, and ultimately both its likability and its enduring popularity. Listening to it is to appreciate the work of a craftsman: its cohesion both in large-scale structure and in melodic construction, as though you’ve taken delivery of a handmade piece of furniture and must delay moving it into position while you admire the joinery. Follow the emotional journey and there will come a point when the eyes start watering. Others may feel no choice but to blub uncontrollably in the corner.

A tempestuous first movement lays the ground for a fast-paced second. The third movement contains one of the greatest clarinet solos in the repertoire — bittersweet yearning taken to new heights. The concluding movement counters all of that heart-on-sleeve intensity with joyous celebration. Someone has been reunited with something they thought they’d lost, and we’re all quite relieved to hear it. For anyone who missed that, the return of the melody from the opening is there for no other reason than to underline the point.

Review

This review will be published following the concert.

Gallery

Photography will be added once available.