“Wee-Awk-Eee!” On the streets of 30s New York, that’s what the kids yelled when there was about to be some serious fun. And that’s how William Schuman opens his American Festival Overture: the first thing you’ll hear in a concert crammed with action.
US keyboard legend Garrick Ohlsson wrangles the raw energy of Barber’s Piano Concerto and Juanjo Mena and the ±«Óătv Phil wander the nocturnal streets of Aaron Copland’s urban jungle: music by composers whom Leonard Bernstein knew intimately.
And then, we leap the Atlantic to Imperial Russia and the evil gnomes, flying witches and dancing chickens of Mussorgsky’s fantastic musical picture gallery. Hearing is believing: Ravel’s hugely popular orchestral version simply lights up the sky.
Journey Through Music, 6.30pm: An introduction to tonight's concert especially for families. Further details can be found at bbc.co.uk/philharmonic.