London Symphony Orchestra/Michael Tilson Thomas

Ives From the Steeples and the Mountains
Ives The Unanswered Question
Prokofiev Piano Concerto No 3
Stravinsky The Firebird (suite, 1945)

Yuja Wang piano
Michael Tilson Thomas conductor
London Symphony Orchestra

The ‘unanswered question’ in Ives’ philosophical 1906 piece may be that of existence itself. Religious matters also inflect From the Steeples and Mountains (1901), with its bells that seem to toll from different church towers. The lyricism and spiky humour of Prokofiev’s concerto are a different matter; the composer himself played at the 1921 premiere in Chicago. After the 1910 premiere of his ballet The Firebird in Paris, Stravinsky became famous overnight, with audiences enraptured by his spectacular orchestrations.


Change of programme
Due to changes to the Orchestra’s and artists’ schedules the programme for this concert has now changed. The second half is as previously advertised but the two Ives works and the Prokofiev Piano Concerto replace the original first half (Stravinsky’s Quatre études and Capriccio). There is no change of soloists.


Promoted by London Symphony Orchestra