BBC Philharmonic - Tapas and Some French Bon Bons

Juanjo Mena conductor
James Ehnes violin

Berlioz Overture ‘Roman Carnival’
Saint-Saëns Violin Concerto No. 3 in B minor
Ravel Alborada del gracioso
Sarasate Carmen Fantasy
Falla The Three-Cornered Hat – Suite No. 1
Falla The Three-Cornered Hat – Suite No. 2

Fiesta season comes early with the welcome return of James Ehnes, one of the world’s finest violinists. At the heart of this programme is Saint-Saëns’ impassioned Third Violin Concerto. It’s a classic, written for the virtuoso Pablo de Sarasate, who wasn’t averse to writing the odd tune for his own instrument either. In Sarasate’s hands, the violin becomes Carmen, the exotic figure who beguiled toreadors and composers alike. Manuel de Falla keeps things smouldering with The Three-Cornered Hat. It’s a tale worthy of El Dorado (the lost golden city and the BBC soap), infused with Andalusian folk music and the dance rhythms of flamenco and the fandango. On the podium, Juanjo Mena returns to keep things in order in a programme with sun-kissed music by Ravel and Berlioz.