Janáček, arr. F. Jílek
From the House of the Dead – overture 7'
Dvořák
Cello Concerto in B minor 39'
interval
Beethoven
Symphony No. 7 in A major 42'
Alisa Weilerstein cello
Czech Philharmonic Orchestra
Jiří Bĕlohlávek conductor
Recent recordings of the Elgar and Dvořák cello concertos have propelled young American cellist Alisa Weilerstein into a fully fledged musical star. She makes her second visit to the Proms with the Dvořák – one of the great Romantic concertos.
The composer sets his soloist against an unusually prominent orchestra, here the forces of the Czech Philharmonic, returning under Chief Conductor Jiří Bĕlohlávek.
After the interval Bĕlohlávek directs Beethoven's 'apotheosis of the dance' – Wagner's expression referring to the rhythmic verve of the Seventh Symphony.
The evening opens with the authentic Czech soundscape of Janáček, in the overture from his final opera From the House of the Dead.