BBC National Orchestra of Wales
Rhapsody In Blue
- When
- 15–16 Apr
- Where
- Cardiff & Swansea

The programme
Gabriela Ortiz
TZAM
George Gershwin
Rhapsody in Blue (orch. Grofé)
Manuel de Falla
The Three-Cornered Hat
The evening
This vibrant programme brings together music of dialogue, city energy and sun‑drenched dance under the direction of Carlos Miguel Prieto. Gabriela Ortiz’s TZAM, meaning “dialogue” in the endangered Ayapaneco language, opens the evening with a powerful reflection on human connection, memory and shared space. Dedicated to the late composer Mario Lavista, the work invites listeners into an urgent and contemplative musical conversation.
Ethan Loch is soloist in Gershwin’s iconic Rhapsody in Blue, a work born from the rhythms of the American city and famously conceived on a train journey. Jazzy, virtuosic and unmistakably American, it remains a dazzling musical kaleidoscope.
After the interval, Manuel de Falla’s full ballet The Three‑Cornered Hat closes the concert in brilliant colour, blending Spanish folk rhythms with luminous orchestration in a theatrical score of irresistible vitality.
On stage
Carlos Miguel Prieto
Conductor
BBC National Orchestra of Wales
Ethan Loch
Piano
Angharad Lyddon
Mezzo-Soprano