Today at the Proms - Proms 10 & 11

Continuing our daily coverage of what's on at The Proms 2018, Susan Omand has a quick look at the programme for Prom 10: Fauré, Franck & Widor’s Toccata and Prom 11: Mahler, Symphony of a Thousand ...



Reminder - Watch Prom 8: Youthful Beginnings on BBC Four tonight



Mahler can be very much an acquired taste, with so many people finding his work too dark and depressing, but the 8th Symphony, which premiered in 1910, bucks the trend a bit and looks for the positivity in the human spirit. It's known as the "Symphony of a Thousand" because the grand nature of its choral work demands so many voices and, tonight, no fewer than five full choirs will be taking part.



Earlier on in the day, Latvian organist Iveta Apkalna makes her Proms debut. I love a good organ (shut up, you) and classical organ music, especially within the echo of a concert hall will be inspiring. With a programme of French 19th- and 20th-century organ music, there's a wonderful selection as we get to hear a different arrangement of Faure's Pavane alongside some less well known pieces. Less well known, that is, until you get to Bach's superb Fantasia. But today's video is for the Variations on a Theme by Paganini (A Study for Pedals), here performed by Diane Bish, which should be amazing to hear performed live - it's such a pity this isn't going to be one of the televised proms so we could watch those feet fly!







Here's the full programme for today's Prom which you can listen to live on Radio 3 or on the iPlayer



Prom 10 - 11:00



Charles‐Marie Widor

Organ Symphony No 5 in F minor, Op 42(6 mins)



César Franck

Trois Pièces – Pièce héroïque(11 mins)



Gabriel Fauré

Pavane (arr. Apkalna)(8 mins)



Johann Sebastian Bach

Fantasia in G major, BWV 572(10 mins)



Sir George Thomas Thalben-Ball

Variations on a Theme by Paganini (A Study for the Pedals)(8 mins)



Thierry Escaich

Deux Évocations(13 mins)





Prom 11 - 19:00



Gustav Mahler
Symphony No 8 in E flat major, 'Symphony of a Thousand'





Image - Photo © Chris Christodoulou