Review: BBC PROMS: PROM 70 – PROKOFIEV'S ROMEO AND JULIET, Royal Albert Hall

Another helping of Shakespeare, in this otherwise rather Eastern European-themed Prom. The BBC National Orchestra of Wales was guided through the evening’s events by Principal Guest Conductor Jaime Martín, who seemed to relish every moment of his appearance on the Royal Albert Hall stage, and brought the best out of the ensemble because of it. This lent a distinctly theatrical feel to the whole event, the first two pieces complementing Romeo and Juliet to great effect.

Though a prolific composer in her lifetime, Grażyna Bacewicz’s works have barely ever featured at the Proms - and it’s hard to understand why, after hearing her Overture. Written in the middle of the Second World War, it’s a bright and lively piece for the most part, its fieriness suggesting defiance towards the state of the world at that point in history. Coming in at only six minutes, it has incredible depth to it, and takes you on quite a journey in that short time.

Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto in D major is an enduring favourite with the Proms; inspired by playing through Édouard Lalo’s Symphonie espagnole with violinist Yosif Kotek, its three movements ebb and flow, punctuated by moments of sheer brilliance as the soloist is given their chance to shine.

Nemanja Radulović duly shone, performing with great flair and making it seem as if the intricate musicianship came naturally to him. It was also notable that he stood back and took the opportunity to admire his colleagues’ work in between his solo moments - he mentioned in the programme that this is one of his favourite pieces, and that absolutely came across. The audience’s appreciation was rapturous, and it was no surprise to see Radulović emerge for an encore; his arrangement of a Serbian round dance was the ideal coda to the concerto.

Nine excerpts of Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet followed the interval, after great anticipation. The work itself is less than a century old, but already feels timeless in its capturing of the famous Shakespeare play. It is a perfect marriage of story and musical style, with drama and emotion bursting through the bars; it was obviously conceived as a ballet, but the composition is so rich (and the plot so well known) that it’s easy to picture the scene that’s being played out by just hearing the music.

Many people will recognise the “Montagues and Capulets” movement as the theme from The Apprentice (I, bizarrely, remember first hearing it used as theme music for a TV adaptation of Homer’s Odyssey) and, regardless of where you know it from, it’s a true thrill to hear it performed live. Each excerpt played was superb, but this is a standout moment of the kind that makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end.

As this year’s Proms season speeds towards its conclusion, this venture eastwards (via Verona) was a great treat and a definite highlight of this year’s programme. A wonderful blend of well known and rarely played pieces, with passionate performances all round to keep the audience utterly transfixed.

The BBC Proms run at the Royal Albert Hall until 14 September

Photo credit: BBC/Chris Christodolou

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