Performance on 3 - National Youth Orchestra - Prokofiev, Berg, Liszt, Janacek

Presented by Martin Handley. It has been called "the most uplifting orchestra in the world" and the 170 strong National Youth Orchestra, newly recruited from across the country in the Autumn, welcomes in the New Year under the baton of Kristjan Järvi with a thrilling programme of orchestral showpieces. Prokofiev's lavishly scored Scythian Suite shows off the size and range of the orchestra, while violinist and former Radio 3 New Generation Artist Tai Murray is the soloist in Berg's devastating Concerto dedicated to 'the memory of an angel.' By contrast, Liszt dedicates his evocative piano concerto to death itself with its variations on the Dies Irae, but the mood lifts for the finale as Janacek acclaims 'the contemporary free man, his spiritual beauty and joy, his strength, courage and determination to fight for victory.' Prokofiev: Scythian Suite Berg: Violin Concerto Liszt: Totentanz Janácek: Sinfonietta Tai Murray (violin) Stewart Goodyear (piano) National Youth Orchestra Kristjan Järvi (conductor) Followed by highlights from pianist Elizabeth Leonskaya's recent Wigmore Hall recital.