Prom 55Gershwin’s Piano Concerto

Part of the BBC Proms.Dance pulses through this second concert from Andris Nelsons and the Boston Symphony Orchestra (see Prom 52). Jean-Yves Thibaudet is the soloist in Gershwin’s Piano Concerto, with its bluesy slow movement and hot, frenzied finale. Ravel’s La valse dances to the edge of the abyss, while Stravinsky’s ballet Petrushka projects the earthy rhythms and bold colours of Russian folk music. The concert opens with the European premiere of US composer Carlos Simon’s Four Black American Dances, drawing on dances that chart the Black American experience from slavery through to today.