BBC Proms - 2009 - Prom 15: Smetana, Bartok, Martinu, Stravinsky - Part 1

From the Royal Albert Hall, London. Presented by Fiona Talkington. A performance of Smetana's rustic Bohemian comedy The Bartered Bride, which is set at a Slavic fair and known for its high-spirited overture, followed by Bartok's Dance Suite, which incorporates folk themes from Hungary, Romania and as far afield as Africa. There is also Martinu's Concerto for two pianos, composed just after his First Symphony in 1943, and which betrays some of the tensions of two years earlier when Martinu, like Bartok, was forced to flee to America. The piece ultimately finds release in an outpouring of the composer's characteristically effervescent vitality. Jaroslava Pechocova, Vaclav Macha (pianos) BBC Symphony Orchestra Jiri Belohlavek (conductor) Smetana: Overture (The Bartered Bride) Bartok: Dance Suite Martinu: Concerto for two pianos.