Tonight's Prom forms part of the European Arts Festival, marking the UK's Presidency of the European Community. Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, the Choral, with its concluding "Ode to Joy", adopted by the community as its anthem, is performed by the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Vladimir Ashkenazy. The Brighton Festival and London Symphony Choruses join soloists Margaret Price (soprano) from Wales, Martine Mahe (mezzo) from France, Jan Blinkhof (tenor) from the Netherlands, and Kurt Moll (bass) from Germany to complete a truly European line-up. The concert begins wth Elgar's epic symphonic study Falstaff Christopher Cook introduces the concert and, in the interval, looks at the ideas behind the European Arts Festival.
