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Symphony

Simon Russell Beale

Simon Broughton

Helen Mansfield

Sir Mark Elder

BBC Symphony Orchestra

Symphony: Episode 4: Revolution and Rebirth

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Music: Classical: Orchestral

Factual: Arts, Culture & the Media: Arts

Revolution and Rebirth

Episode 4

Episode 4: Revolution and Rebirth

BBC Four - Symphony, Revolution and Rebirth

Simon Russell Beale investigates the symphonic works of Shostakovich, Ives and Copland.

Simon Russell Beale investigates the symphonic world of the Soviet Union composer Shostakovich, and how Ives and Copland were creating a new American sound.

Simon Russell Beale's journey takes him into the 20th century, a time when the certainties of empire were falling away, war was looming and the world was changing faster than ever before.

Simon investigates the extraordinary symphonic world of Shostakovich, the star composer of the new Soviet Union, as well as the work of Ives and Copland who were both, in their different ways, creating a new American sound. He discovers how the development of the gramophone and broadcasting meant that more people could hear their music than ever before and how it became possible to immortalise the symphony in sound.

The symphonies are played by the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sir Mark Elder.

Knowledge, arts, music and culture from the UK and the world.

BBC Four reflects arts, music and culture with an ambitious range of intellectually and culturally enriching programmes, taking an expert and in-depth approach to its subjects.

A reappraisal of the symphony's place in the modern world and how it shaped our identity

Simon Russell Beale presents a radical reappraisal of the place of the symphony in the modern world and explores the surprising way in which it has shaped our history and identity

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Episode 4: Revolution and Rebirth

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