BBC Proms - 2008 - Prom 49: National Youth Orchestra

The National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain conducted by Antonio Pappano play a trio of works from America: Edgard Varèse's monumental Amériques, inspired by the noises from the Manhattan streets and complete with wailing siren, is followed by Rachmaninov's Fourth Piano Concerto played by the fearlessly virtuosic Boris Berezovsky. The final work in the programme is Copland's great Third Symphony which portrays the wide, open spaces of North America, and includes a striking reprise of the classic Fanfare for the Common Man. Presenters Charles Hazlewood and Suzy Klein examine the various new music initiatives taking place in the UK, some inspired by the hugely successful Venezuelan project El Sistema. As well as contributions from conductor Antonio Pappano and members of the NYO, they are joined in the studio by Julian Lloyd-Webber, chair of the government's latest music education initiative In Harmony. Digital Satellite and Freeview viewers can press red for programme notes during the performance.