Proms 2026 Rachmaninov’s Third Piano Concerto

An afternoon spent listening to a military band in a Bohemian park inspired the arresting fanfares and jagged folk-rhythms of Janáček’s last and best-loved orchestral work, composed 100 years ago, the Sinfonietta: less a conventional symphony than a sequence of sonic frescoes. Jakub Hrůša and the BBC Symphony Orchestra are joined by ‘extraordinary’ Czech pianist Lukáš Vondráček for the Everest of Romantic piano concertos – Rachmaninov’s Third, for many years performed only by the composer himself. The concert opens with the haunting folk melodies and dancing rhythms of Kaprálová’s Suita rustica.

Lukás Vondráček © Tat Keng Tey