BBC Proms
Explore the breadth of music celebrated at the Proms via this weekly curated television show. The BBC Proms, or The Henry Wood Promenade Concerts presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hall in London.
Conductor Dalia Stasevska and the BBC Symphony Orchestra kick off a six-week season with Vaughan Williams’s ravishing Serenade to Music and Poulenc’s dazzling Organ Concerto. They’re joined by the BBC Singers and a cast of soloists, including soprano Elizabeth Llewellyn, tenor Allan Clayton and organist Daniel Hyde, for a celebration of the power of music to comfort and lift your spirits. Katie Derham presents from the Royal Albert Hall in London.
Katie Derham presents from the Royal Albert Hall, as the opening concert of the 2021 Proms season continues in front of a live audience. Conductor Dalia Stasevska and the BBC Symphony Orchestra perform Sibelius’s thrilling Second Symphony. They are joined by soloists including soprano Elizabeth Llewellyn and tenor Allan Clayton for the world premiere of When Soft Voices Die, a poignant piece for our times by Scottish composer Sir James MacMillan.
The Scottish Chamber Orchestra and their young Principal Conductor Maxim Emelyanychev showcase Mozart’s final three symphonies – composed over a period of just two months in the summer of 1788.
The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and Music Director Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla champion the music of a too-long neglected composer. A pupil of Vaughan Williams, Ruth Gipps started her career as an oboist with what was then the City of Birmingham Orchestra in 1944, before becoming established as a composer. Her Symphony No. 2 takes a wide-screen, cinematic view of the Second World War, embracing exhilaration, anxiety and, finally, ecstatic rejoicing. Conflict of a very different kind runs through The Exterminating Angel Symphony by Thomas Adès (50 this year), inspired by Louis Buñuel’s Surrealist film. Brahms’s Third Symphony strikes a more autumnal tone, inspired by a visit to the River Rhine in 1883. The critic Eduard Hanslick pronounced it ‘artistically the most nearly perfect’ of the composer’s symphonies to date.
Musical borrowings, reworkings and reinventions run through this season’s Proms. The invisible thread linking tonight’s concert really begins with Bach. A lilting chaconne from his Cantata No. 150 underpins the finale of Brahms’s Symphony No. 4, and the latter’s elegant synthesis of heart and head is itself the inspiration for American composer Elizabeth Ogonek’s Cloudline, a lyrical homage to ancient musical forms and techniques. The chaconne’s repeating patterns are echoed elsewhere in the circling bass line of Purcell’s powerful Lament from Dido and Aeneas. Cellist Guy Johnston is the soloist in anniversary-composer Saint-Saëns’s Cello Concerto No .1.
Smell the greasepaint and feel the blaze of those Broadway lights, as the BBC Concert Orchestra whisks you away for a night at the musicals. The toe-tapping favourites include songs from musicals including South Pacific, My Fair Lady, Anything Goes, Annie Get Your Gun and High Society, all performed by the ever-versatile BBC Concert Orchestra – and some special guest soloists.
Rising star Jonathon Heyward conducts the talented teenagers of the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain in one of the all-time symphonic greats. Propelling the symphony into the Romantic age, Beethoven’s ‘Eroica’ is a celebration of scope and drama, a musical depiction of heroism that surges with pioneering spirit. Nicola Benedetti is the soloist in Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 2 with its song-like slow movement – a work whose sardonic wit is balanced by a new lyricism that would come to dominate the composer’s later works. The Prom also includes a new NYOGB commission by British composer, jazz trumpeter and former BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist, Laura Jurd.
Nicholas Collon and the Aurora Orchestra’s from-memory performances have become a thrilling recent fixture of the Proms. Now, following symphonies by Beethoven, Brahms, Shostakovich and Berlioz, they tackle their most audacious challenge yet: a complete performance of the colourful 1945 suite from Stravinsky’s ballet The Firebird. Russian fairy tales and folk melodies collide with Stravinsky’s bold musical modernism to create a memorable score. Radio 3 presenter Tom Service introduces the work from the stage, exploring its textures and themes and dismantling its intricate musical narrative with the help of Collon and his musicians. The concert opens with another Russian classic: Rachmaninov’s virtuosic Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, with former BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist Pavel Kolesnikov as soloist.
Award-winning Icelandic pianist Víkingur Ólafsson makes his much-anticipated Proms debut, as soloist in both Bach’s Keyboard Concerto in F minor, whose energised outer movements frame a ravishing central Adagio, and Mozart’s pioneering Piano Concerto K491, a rare minor-key work whose stormy, richly orchestrated music climaxes in a relentless dance. The Philharmonia Orchestra and its dynamic Finnish Principal Conductor Designate Santtu-Matias Rouvali frame the concert with two symphonies: Prokofiev’s playful ‘Classical’ Symphony, with its clever juxtaposition of traditional forms and contemporary colours, and the more loaded irony of Shostakovich’s compact Symphony No. 9.
A host of British opera stars join Ben Glassberg and the BBC Philharmonic for a night rich in emotion and drama. After a year of lockdowns and social distancing, the themes of isolation and loneliness as well as the joy of reunion have particular poignancy in excerpts from much-loved operas including Handel’s Rodelinda, Beethoven’s Fidelio, Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel and Puccini’s La bohème.
British saxophonist, composer, DJ and bandleader Nubya Garcia is one of the brightest of a new generation of jazz talent, drawing comparison with greats such as Sonny Rollins and Dexter Gordon. Named a ‘major voice’ by The New York Times, she has devised a brand of ‘eclectic, danceable, political jazz’ that draws on influences from Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. Tonight marks her Proms debut.
The London Symphony Orchestra and Sir Simon Rattle mark 2021’s Stravinsky anniversary with a series of symphonic snapshots. We follow Stravinsky’s view of the symphony from the experimental, colour-blocked ‘ritual’ of the Symphonies of Wind Instruments, through the transitional Symphony in C – reflecting both the composer’s European past and his American future – to arrive at the bold Symphony in Three Movements.
The Chineke! Orchestra returns for its fourth visit to the Proms, celebrating diversity in composers as well as performers. Black British composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s overture to his popular cantata based on the tale of a Native American leader quotes the spiritual ‘Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen’. There are further meetings of African and European musical styles in Nigerian composer Fela Sowande’s African Suite and the piano concerto by Florence Price, the first female African-American composer to win renown in America. By contrast, Coleridge-Taylor’s Symphony, written as a 20-year old student of Stanford at London’s Royal College of Music, reveals the influence of his hero, Dvořák.
From an icy Italian winter to the heady, sensual warmth of a South American summer: violinist Joshua Bell leads the Academy of St Martin in the Fields on a musical journey through the sights and sounds of two continents and four very different seasons. Inspired by Vivaldi’s best-known work, Piazzolla – Argentina’s 20th-century tango king, whose 100th anniversary we celebrate this year – created his own response, complete with musical quotations. While Vivaldi’s virtuosic concertos celebrate contrast – the freshness of spring, with its sudden thunderstorms, versus the languid heat of summer – Piazzolla’s musical landscape remains more constant, always swaying to the pervasive rhythm of the tango.
Author Michael Morpurgo joins the seven talented Kanneh-Mason siblings and starry musical friends for this special Family Prom. Saint-Saëns’s much-loved suite The Carnival of the Animals – a musical menagerie packed with braying donkeys, energetic kangaroos, a serene swan and an aquarium of glinting fish – gets a fresh update in witty new poems by Morpurgo.
The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and Principal Guest Conductor Ilan Volkov pair Beethoven’s dramatic concert aria ‘Ah! perfido’ with the Second Symphony – a work whose vitality and ‘smiling’ mood belie the private struggles and despair of a composer wrestling with hearing loss – with a new commission from celebrated American composer George Lewis. This world premiere blends a conventional orchestra with spatialised electronics, exploiting the unique space of the Royal Albert Hall to create, in Lewis’s words, ‘a medium for meditation on what processes of decolonisation might sound like’.
Blending soul, jazz, art-pop and spoken word, singer-songwriter Moses Sumney defies traditional categories. His ever-evolving voice has channelled political rage and emotional optimism into everything from sprawling orchestral tracks to electronica. Here he performs songs from his albums Aromanticism and græ in new orchestral arrangements, masterminded by Jules Buckley.
Sir John Eliot Gardiner makes his 60th Proms appearance directing his own Monteverdi Choir and English Baroque Soloists in Handel’s vividly theatrical Dixit Dominus – a concerto for choir that blazes with virtuosity and colour. It’s paired with Bach’s Easter cantata Christ lag in Todes Banden – a fiery, dramatic setting of Luther’s popular hymn. Mezzo-soprano Ann Hallenberg is the soloist in the young Handel’s cantata of praise to the Virgin Mary, Donna, che in ciel, containing music the composer later borrowed for his opera Agrippina.
The Sinfonia of London makes its much-anticipated official concert debut under John Wilson, who re-established the ensemble in 2018. Following on from their award-winning recording, this orchestral ‘army of generals’ brings with it Korngold’s stirring, filmic Symphony in F sharp. It’s part of a musical bird’s-eye view of 19th- and 20th-century Vienna that also includes the overture to Die Fledermaus and Ravel’s dizzying La valse.
Bach’s crowning masterpiece, the St Matthew Passion combines moments of extraordinary fragility and tenderness with raw choral power and explosive jubilation, bitter grief with passages of consolation. With double chorus and orchestra, its scope and ambition is vast – a piece made for the Royal Albert Hall. Following on from their gripping account of Handel’s Theodora in 2018, period-instrument ensemble Arcangelo and Director Jonathan Cohen return to the Proms, joined by a glittering line-up of soloists including Roderick Williams and rising star Stuart Jackson.
Bach’s crowning masterpiece, the St Matthew Passion combines moments of extraordinary fragility and tenderness with raw choral power and explosive jubilation, bitter grief with passages of consolation. With double chorus and orchestra, its scope and ambition is vast – a piece made for the Royal Albert Hall. Following on from their gripping account of Handel’s Theodora in 2018, period-instrument ensemble Arcangelo and Director Jonathan Cohen return to the Proms, joined by a glittering line-up of soloists including Roderick Williams and rising star Stuart Jackson.
With his ‘thrilling vocal heroics’ and ‘magnetic stage presence’, Stuart Skelton is one of the great tenors of his generation, a regular in all the major international opera houses. The Australian singer is joined by charismatic Latvian accordionist Ksenija Sidorova for the climax of the 2021 festival – a musical celebration like no other.
Katie Derham hosts continued live coverage from the Royal Albert Hall, at the climax of the world’s greatest classical music festival. Latvian accordionist Ksenija Sidorova and Australian tenor Stuart Skelton join Sakari Oramo and the BBC Symphony Orchestra and BBC Singers for a jubilant programme including music by Florence Price, Latin flavours from Piazzolla and Troilo, English folk courtesy of Percy Grainger and, of course, all the traditional favourites including Rule, Britannia, Land of Hope and Glory and Jerusalem. Katie is joined by special guests Gareth Malone and Maggie Aderin-Pocock.
Katie Derham presents the first night of the world’s greatest live classical music festival, with a feast of music including Beethoven’s Third Symphony, Aaron Copland’s Quiet City and a new work by young British composer Hannah Kendall, all brought to you by the BBC Symphony Orchestra and BBC Singers, with conductor Sakari Oramo. Join Katie and special guest Stephen Fry as they celebrate the return of live music to the Royal Albert Hall.
Organist Jonathan Scott performs his own virtuosic arrangements of works by Rossini, Mascagni, Dukas, plus a climactic Saint-Saëns's Symphony No. 3, on the world-famous Royal Albert Hall organ.
Sir Simon Rattle and the LSO with a programme of unmissable music featuring star pianist Mitsuko Uchida playing Beethoven, works by Elgar and Vaughan Williams, and a new composition by Thomas Adès.
In a Viennese spectacular, the BBC Concert Orchestra are joined by soloists Sophie Bevan and Robert Murray, performing works by Lehár and Johann Strauss II, conducted by Bramwell Tovey.
The London Sinfonietta perform cutting edge contemporary works by Philip Glass, Tansy Davies, Steve Reich and Anna Meredith.
In a change to the originally advertised programme, John Storgårds, the BBC Philharmonic's Chief Guest Conductor, joins the orchestra to conduct Haydn, Britten and Tchaikovsky.
Nicola Benedetti leads a high-energy evening of baroque music with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, led by Jonathan Cohen.
Sitar virtuoso Anoushka Shankar takes to the stage in an evening dedicated to her father and musical guru, Ravi, in what would have been his centenary year. Anoushka is joined in the first half by electronic music producer and performer Gold Panda for a new imagining of Ravi’s music. In the second half, Jules Buckley, the Britten Sinfonia and soloist Manu Delago accompany Anoushka in a selection of her music. Josie d’Arby presents this unique evening from the Royal Albert Hall.
Stephen Hough plays Beethoven in a concert featuring a World Premiere from Jay Capperauld.
Laura Marling teams up with the 12 Ensemble for a retrospective journey through her back catalogue, as well as showcasing tracks from her 2020 album, Song for Our Daughter.
London based eight-piece band KOKOROKO bring their ‘horn fuelled’ Afrobeat sound to the Proms, led by trumpeter Sheila Maurice-Grey.
To celebrate Beethoven’s 250th anniversary, Tom Service and the Aurora Orchestra present a unique evening in which conductor Nicholas Collon and the orchestra take apart Beethoven’s popular Seventh Symphony and show us the inner workings of the composer’s creative genius, followed by a performance of the work in the orchestra’s signature style - from memory! Also on the bill at the Royal Albert Hall is a new work by British composer Richard Ayres, whose piece is inspired by Beethoven’s struggle with his loss of hearing.
Superstar siblings Sheku and Isata Kanneh-Mason perform their first Prom together, an evening of chamber music for cello and piano.
Ryan Bancroft joins BBC NOW as principal conductor at BBC Hoddinott Hall in Cardiff Bay for his first official engagement, his Proms debut and the first Prom from Wales! Martinu’s quirky Jazz Suite complements John Adams’s Chamber Symphony, written in 1992. After the world premiere of a new BBC commission by British composer Gavin Higgins, there are two evocative American classics by Barber and Copland. Acclaimed soprano Natalya Romaniw from Swansea, who represented Wales in Cardiff Singer of the World, joins the orchestra for this unforgettable Prom.
Featuring South African soprano Golda Schultz with the BBC Symphony Orchestra under its principal guest conductor Dalia Stasevska. Presented by Katie Derham.
The BBC Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Karina Canellakis, perform Dvorak’s The Golden Spinning Wheel and a commission commemorating the 50th anniversary of the moon landings.
The BBC Symphony Orchestra and BBC Symphony Chorus, conducted by Karina Canellakis, perform Janácek’s Glagolitic Mass in the second half of First Night of the Proms 2019.
Join Katie Derham and Jess Gillam at the Royal Albert Hall for a Proms Bohemian rhapsody. The Bamberg Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Jakob Hrusa, perform Smetana’s legendary Ma Vlast and, with American superstar violinist Joshua Bell, Dvorak’s Violin Concerto.
Suzy Klein introduces the BBC Philharmonic and Omer Meir Wellber in a performance of works by Ben-Haim, Schumann, Schoenberg and, with Yeol Eum Son, Mozart's Piano Concerto No 15 in B flat, K450.
Cult band Public Service Broadcasting join the Multi-Story Orchestra and London Contemporary Voices to perform a specially commissioned new arrangement of their 2015 album The Race for Space.
Mark Wigglesworth conducts the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain in Auerbach, Prokofiev and, with Nicola Benedetti, Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto.
Katie Derham introduces two pieces originally premiered by Proms founder Sir Henry Wood. Leif Ove Andsnes performs Britten’s Piano Concerto while Claudia Mahnke and Stuart Skelton sing Mahler’s poignant Das Lied von der Erde. Edward Gardner conducts the BBC Symphony Orchestra.
The BBC Philharmonic, conducted by John Storgårds, performs Rachmaninov's The Isle of the Dead, Shostakovich’s Symphony No 11 and the world premiere of Outi Tarkiainen’s Midnight Sun Variations.
Three-time Grammy Award-winner Angélique Kidjo makes her Proms debut together with her nine-piece band in a late-night tribute to salsa legend Celia Cruz.
John Wilson's virtuoso orchestra celebrates the music of one of the world's most famous film studios, Warner Brothers, including works by Max Steiner and Erich Korngold.
Cerys Matthews introduces the London Contemporary Orchestra in a late-night Prom featuring sci-fi film music including excerpts from Alien: Covenant, Interstellar, Under the Skin and Gravity.
The BBC National Orchestra and Chorus of Wales, conducted by Nathalie Stutzmann, with Fatma Said, Kathryn Rudge, Sunnyboy Dladla and David Shipley in Mozart's Requiem.
Sir Antonio Pappano conducts the National Youth Orchestra of the USA in Benjamin Beckman's Occidentalis, Strauss's Alpine Symphony and, with mezzo Joyce DiDonato, Berlioz's Les nuits d'été.
An evening of music to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Queen Victoria's birth including Mendelssohn's 'Scottish' Symphony and First Piano Concerto, performed by Stephen Hough on Victoria's piano.
The London Symphony Orchestra, LSO Chorus, Orfeó Català and the Orfeó Català Youth Choir, conducted by Sir Simon Rattle, perform works by Koechlin, Varèse and Walton's cantata, Belshazzar's Feast.
BBC 2016 Young Musician winner and superstar Sheku Kanneh-Mason performs Elgar's passionate Cello Concerto with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and their music director Mirga Gražinyte-Tyla. Introduced by Tom Service and Sheku's sister, pianist Isata Kanneh-Mason.
Katie Derham presents flavours of Finland, Russia and Germany from three 20th-century favourites, featuring Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra.
First transmitted in 2019. Clara Amfo introduces a celebration of jazz and blues legend Nina Simone with The Metropole Orkest led by Jules Buckley, Ledisi, Lisa Fisher and more.
A 150th anniversary tribute to Sir Henry Wood, founder-conductor of the Proms, featuring many of the works he both premiered and arranged across nearly 50 years of the festival.
The Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Long Yu, makes its Proms debut in a programme including works by Qigang Chen, Rachmaninov and, with Eric Lu, Mozart’s Piano Concerto No 23 in A major.
Cerys Matthews introduces an evening of jazz, gospel and Broadway-style music inspired by Duke Ellington's three sacred concerts. In a Proms premiere, Peter Edwards conducts the Nu Civilisation Orchestra in a new version of these landmark works, written originally between 1965 and 1973.
The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra performs music by Vaughan Williams, Brahms and a new work - a birthday tribute to conductor Martyn Brabbins - inspired by Elgar's 'Enigma' Variations.
Mathew Baynton, Nicholas Collon and the Aurora Orchestra present Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique from memory, in a specially devised production incorporating elements of theatre, spectacular lighting and choreography as well as Berlioz’s own words about his music.
Radiohead lead guitarist and award-winning film composer Jonny Greenwood curates a late-night Prom culminating in the world premiere of his work Horror vacui, written for solo violin and 68 strings.
Katie Derham hosts the climax of the world's greatest classical music festival live from London's Royal Albert Hall.
Katie Derham introduces live coverage from the Royal Albert Hall of the climax of the world’s greatest classical music festival, including the traditional Last Night classics.
The traditional Last Night Proms in the Park celebrations from around the UK. YolanDa Brown and Josie d’Arby present a thrilling mix of classical and contemporary performances.
An all-British concert launches the 2018 season. Vaughan Williams atmospheric Whitman settings and Holst’s ever-popular 1918 suite The Planets sit alongside a new collaboration by Anna Meredith and 59 Productions.
BBC Young Musician celebrates its 40th birthday with a concert featuring illustrious past winners and finalists, including Nicola Benedetti, Freddy Kempf and Sheku Kanneh-Mason, as well as this year’s winner. With music by Ravel and Saint-Saëns.
23-year-old vocalist, multi-instrumentalist and arranger Jacob Collier is already a multi-Grammy Award-winner. Here he teams up with Jules Buckley, the Metropole Orkest and special guests Sam Amidon and Take 6 for a special Proms performance.
Mendelssohn’s precocious First Piano Concerto joins Schumann’s forward-looking Fourth Symphony and music by Lili Boulanger and Morfydd Owen – both of whom died tragically young – in the BBC National Orchestra of Wales’s first Prom of the season.
Karina Canellakis directs the BBC Symphony Orchestra in two Russian classics: Rachmaninov’s exhilarating Symphonic Dances and Shostakovich’s First Cello Concerto, with Alisa Weilerstein as soloist. Beethoven’s spirited overture Coriolan opens the concert.
The London Contemporary Orchestra leads a late-night tribute to the legacy of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop – pioneers of experimental electronic music – which includes Daphne Oram’s groundbreaking Still Point and music by RW stalwart Delia Derbyshire.
A concert of darkness and light opens with the world premiere of Tansy Davies’s 9/11-inspired What Did We See? and closes with Brahms’s sunny Second Symphony. Paul Lewis joins Ben Gernon and the BBC Philharmonic for Beethoven’s 'Emperor' Concerto.
Vaughan Williams’s The Lark Ascending and Pastoral Symphony sit alongside music by Holst and Parry’s stirring Fifth Symphony in this centenary celebration of Hubert Parry – father of 20th-century English music. Martyn Brabbins conducts the BBC NOW.
Leading reggae and dancehall producer Mister Savona brings together some of Cuba and Jamaica’s most influential musicians for a concert combing the sounds of roots reggae, dub and dancehall with son, salsa and Afro-Cuban to create a new musical fusion.
The BBC Concert Orchestra collaborates with some of the folk world’s leading musicians, including Julie Fowlis, The Unthanks and Sam Lee, in a concert that celebrates traditional music while also looking to the future of this ever-evolving genre.
George Benjamin and the National Youth Orchestra in a concert of orchestral masterworks that includes Debussy’s La Mer and Ligeti’s mesmerising Lontano. Pianist Tamara Stefanovich is the soloist in Ravel’s Concerto for the Left Hand.
Richard Farnes conducts the BBC Symphony Orchestra and soloists Golda Schultz and Johan Reuter in Brahms’s much-loved Requiem. Marking Thea Musgrave’s 90th birthday, the performance opens with her dramatic Phoenix Rising.
Celebrating the music of a modern New York, the Heritage Orchestra and conductor Jules Buckley present the sound of NYC. With guest artists drawn from across the Big Apple, expect anything from pagan-gospel and disco-punk to feminist rap or DIY indie.
The conflict of war runs through this concert by Edward Gardner and the BBC Symphony Orchestra. Vaughan Williams’s beautiful cantata Dona nobis pacem and Lili Boulanger frame Elgar’s elegiac Cello Concerto.
Ravel’s magical opera The Child and the Spells follows his fairy-tale ballet Mother Goose and the oriental aura of Shéhérazade.
Recreating a Prom conducted by Leonard Bernstein in 1987, the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and Thomas Dausgaard pair two of the best-loved and most beautiful works in the repertoire: Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto and Mahler’s Fifth Symphony.
Dance to the Gypsy rhythms of Hungarian folk music in works by Liszt and Sarasate, while Brahms’s dramatic First Symphony, with its transcendent finale, is at the heart of this second concert by Iván Fischer and the Budapest Festival Orchestra.
Launching a Bernstein bank-holiday weekend on what would have been the composer’s 100th birthday, John Wilson conducts Bernstein’s hit Broadway musical On The Town, which follows the adventures of three sailors on shore leave in 1944.
Bernstein-protégée Marin Alsop returns to the Proms with one of the great American symphony orchestras to perform a politically charged programme that includes Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony alongside Bernstein’s own Second Symphony.
Following his performance of Book 1 in 2017, distinguished pianist and Bach specialist Sir András Schiff returns to present the complete Book 2 of J. S. Bach’s The Well-Tempered Clavier.
Senegalese cultural icon Youssou Ndour makes his Proms debut in a special late-night appearance. He’s joined by his group Le Super Étoile de Dakar for a performance embracing his signature mix of Cuban rumba, hip hop, jazz and soul.
Explore the raw sensuality and charged rhythms of the tango in all its guises. The Britten Sinfonia join forces with a tango band to take the dance from its dusty beginning in the streets of Buenos Aires right up to the present day.
Baritone Gerald Finley and saxophonist Jess Gillam join Sir Andrew Davis and the BBC SO for the musical party that is the Last Night of the Proms. The programme includes music by Stanford, Parry and Elgar.
The 2017 BBC Proms opens with a dance and a shout. Celebrate John Adams’s 70th birthday with his masterpiece Harmonium. Award-winning pianist Igor Levit is the soloist in Beethoven’s ground-breaking Third Piano Concerto.
The Chamber Orchestra of Europe and Bernard Haitink are joined by soloist Isabelle Faust for Mozart’s graceful Violin Concerto No. 3. It is framed by two symphonies from Mozart and Schumann, which each represent a defiant, optimistic challenge.
Daniel Barenboim and the Staatskapelle Berlin perform Elgar’s Second Symphony – a ‘passionate pilgrimage of the soul’. Hear the UK premiere of Sir Harrison Birtwistle’s Deep Time – a work that swaps the tick-tock of the everyday for something more alien.
Celebrate the 85th birthday of one of the world’s favourite film composers in an evening of big emotions and even bigger melodies.
Sakari Oramo conducts this year’s opening concert, in a programme that includes Walton’s pithy choral masterpiece 'Belshazzar’s Feast' and Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 20 with soloist Lars Vogt.
Join CBBC presenters Barney Harwood and Dick and Dom for an introduction to some of the greatest pieces of classical music and a celebration of children’s creative responses to them.
Barney Harwood and Dick and Dom join the BBC National Orchestra of Wales to celebrate some of the best pieces to introduce children to classical music – and to inspire a life-long love of it.
Beethoven’s ‘Choral’ Symphony returns to the Proms in the hands of Andris Nelsons and the massed forces of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and the CBSO Chorus.
The BBC Philharmonic’s programme spans more than two centuries, opening with Haydn’s ‘La reine’ Symphony and closing with Stravinsky’s fairy-tale ballet 'Petrushka'.
Poulenc’s Organ Concerto raises the curtain on this BBC National Orchestra of Wales Prom which also includes Stravinsky’s 'Symphony of Psalms' and Mozart’s Symphony No. 41.
Mark Simpson performs the Clarinet Concerto by Carl Nielsen, whose 150th anniversary falls this year, in a programme which also includes an alluring suite from Ravel’s 'Daphnis and Chloe'.
Leif Ove Andsnes continues his survey of Beethoven’s works for piano and orchestra with the Piano Concerto No. 3 and the ‘Choral Fantasy’.
Susanna Mälkki conducts Holst’s masterpiece in a programme which also includes the UK premiere of a new violin concerto by Luca Francesconi, written for and performed by Leila Josefowicz.
Sir Mark Elder conducts the Hallé in music they have made their own – Vaughan Williams and Elgar. Opening the programme is Debussy’s luscious 'Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune'.
Virtuoso violinist Alina Ibragimova has the stage to herself for an evening of solo works by Bach.
Violinist Alina Ibragimova concludes her performance of Bach’s complete Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin in the second of her two Late Night Proms.
The ever innovative Aurora Orchestra returns to the Proms with two ‘Pastoral’ Symphonies – the first by Brett Dean, the second by Beethoven – and a world premiere by Anna Meredith.
The world premiere of James MacMillan’s Symphony No. 4 is paired with Mahler’s monumental Fifth Symphony. Renowned Mahlerian Donald Runnicles conducts the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra.
Seth MacFarlane and other guest vocalists join the John Wilson Orchestra to celebrate the centenary of Frank Sinatra in this Late Night Prom.
The National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain brings Mahler’s epic Ninth Symphony to the Proms, paired with a brand-new work by Tansy Davies. Sir Mark Elder conducts.
Eric Whitacre, one of the biggest names in choral music, conducts a programme including his own 'Cloudburst', as well as other American Gershwin’s 'Rhapsody in Blue'.
Nicola Benedetti is the soloist in Korngold’s Violin Concerto as part of a programme which also sees the Bournemouth SO perform Prokofiev’s Fifth Symphony and music from Britten’s 'Peter Grimes'.
Daniel Barenboim returns to the BBC Proms to perform Beethoven and Tchaikovsky with the West–Eastern Divan Orchestra, an ensemble featuring musicians from across the Middle East.
The Danish National Symphony Orchestra celebrates the 150th anniversary of Carl Nielsen, performing some of his best-loved orchestral works, alongside Brahms’s Violin Concerto.
Sir András Schiff brings Bach’s monumental work for solo keyboard to the Royal Albert Hall. Join the great pianist on a voyage through this masterpiece.
One of today’s greatest conductors brings Schubert's Ninth Symphony (the 'Great') to the Proms, along with Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 23, performed by the inimitable Maria João Pires.
Celebrate the music of Leonard Bernstein with John Wilson and his orchestra in this Prom which features highlights from 'Candide', 'Wonderful Town', 'Fancy Free', 'West Side Story' and 'Peter Pan'.
Cellist Yo-Yo Ma has the Royal Albert Hall stage to himself for this Late Night Prom as he takes on the challenge of J. S. Bach’s Six Cello Suites.
Pianist Benjamin Grosvenor, soprano Danielle de Niese and tenor Jonas Kaufmann are the stars at this year’s Last Night. The programme includes Richard Strauss, Shostakovich, Grieg and much more …
The 119th BBC Proms season gets underway as Katie Derham introduces music on a sea-inspired theme by Vaughan Williams and Britten and the premiere of Julian Anderson's Harmony.
Live from the Royal Albert Hall, London, the First Night of the Proms concludes with Vaughan Williams's A Sea Symphony. Sakari Oramo conducts the BBC Symphony Orchestra.
Live from the Royal Albert Hall, London, Louise Fryer presents the first part of a special Doctor Who Prom, marking the 50th anniversary of the popular BBC series.
Live from the Royal Albert Hall, London, Louise Fryer presents the conclusion of a Doctor Who Prom, marking the 50th anniversary of the popular BBC TV series.
Mark-Anthony Turnage - Canon Fever (3 mins) Elgar - Overture 'Cockaigne (In London Town)' (15 mins) Delius - Sea Drift (25 mins) Tippett - Suite for the Birthday of Prince Charles (16 mins) Elgar - Coronation Ode (33 mins)
Making his Proms debut as the BBC Philharmonic's Chief Conductor, Juanjo Mena explores Strauss the impatient visionary, whose Also sprach Zarathustra was famously used on the soundtrack of Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey. Strauss's Four Last Songs exude a sense of calm resignation suffused with autumn light. After the interval, a major UK premiere from Kaija Saariaho, whose own music is lit by atmosphere and mood. Inspired by the autobiography of Ingmar Bergman, the Swedish film director, Laterna magica includes sections in which players whisper extracts over an instrumental murmur. To conclude, the hard-won luminescence of Sibelius's (unintended) symphonic farewell.
Hervé Niquet and Le Concert Spirituel make their Proms debut in this free Late Night Prom, giving Handel's three Water Music suites and Fireworks Music the big-band, period-instrument treatment. Niquet directs an expanded group of up to 80 musicians to evoke resplendent royal occasions on the River Thames and in Green Park, offering a new slant on London's favourite part pieces.
Daniel Barenboim directs his first Beethoven symphony cycle in London – and becomes the first conductor since Henry Wood in 1942 to survey all nine symphonies in a single Proms season. His dynamic West–Eastern Divan Orchestra – famously bringing together Arab and Israeli players to form less 'an orchestra for peace' than 'an orchestra against ignorance' – goes far beyond the symbolic in its goal of building bridges through music. Expect further fireworks as Barenboim pairs Beethoven's revolutionary classics with music by one of today's senior musical figures, the ever-innovative composer-conductor Pierre Boulez, with whom Barenboim first collaborated in the mid-1960s
Daniel Barenboim and his youthful ensemble relish the energy of Beethoven's Fourth Symphony before tackling the 'Eroica', one of the irrefutable mould-breakers of classical music. Between these peaks, Boulez's Dialogue de l'ombre double introduces another kind of theatre, the clarinet's electronic double becoming more 'real' than the soloist physically present.
Daniel Barenboim's complete cycle of Beethoven symphonies reaches its mid-point, as he conducts his ensemble of young Arab and Israeli musicians, the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, in a programme that includes both the Pastoral Symphony and that most iconic of all orchestral masterpieces, Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. Alongside, Barenboim programmes two short works by Pierre Boulez - Memoriale for flute and ensemble, and Messagesquisse, which showcases the virtuosity of the orchestra's cello section
Beethoven Symphony No. 8 in F major (25 mins) Pierre Boulez Anthèmes 2 (25 mins) INTERVAL Beethoven Symphony No. 7 in A major (35 min) Michael Barenboim violin IRCAM live electronics West–Eastern Divan Orchestra Daniel Barenboim conductor Listen again BBC Proms: 2012 Season: Proms Plus: 24/07/2012Discover the music More from Radio 3 Beethoven's Symphony No. 7 Delve into Beethoven's paean to rhythm. . -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Beethoven Pierre Boulez Daniel Barenboim -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Beethoven - Symphony No 8 (Excerpt) BBC Proms 2012: Beethoven: Symphony No 7 in A major (Excerpt)Programme notes -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- About this event Daneil Barenboim continues his survey of Beethoven – whose music, he believes, 'speaks to all people'. Tonight, two Beethoven symphonies of dancing athleticism and universal appeal frame one of Pierre Boulez's mesmerising extensions of earlier works: Anthèmes 2 is scored for violin and live electronics and its serenely beautiful expressivity may come as a surprise. Beethoven's ebullient Seventh, famously dubbed 'the apotheosis of dance', was the last piece conducted by Proms founder-conductor Henry Wood.
Beethoven Symphony No. 9 in D minor, 'Choral' (77 mins) Anna Samuil soprano Waltraud Meier mezzo-soprano René Pape bass National Youth Choir of Great Britain West–Eastern Divan Orchestra Daniel Barenboim conductor About this event Daniel Barenboim’s Beethoven cycle reaches its climax with a youthful take on the traditional annual Proms performance of the Ninth, perhaps the richest, most provocative statement in Western art music. An impressive team of soloists joins the National Youth Choir of Great Britain and the West–Eastern Divan Orchestra to project the finale’s inclusive vision of hope, reconciliation and hard-won triumph. What better to mark today’s opening of the London 2012 Olympics than Beethoven’s ultimate hymn to universal brotherhood?
Wallace & Gromit appear in a new Proms adventure, before a screening of A Matter of Loaf and Death – plus classical favourites.
Vaughan Williams - Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis (16 mins) Ireland - These Things Shall Be (22 mins) Delius - The Walk to the Paradise Garden (10 mins) Walton - Belshazzar's Feast (36 mins) Jonathan Lemalu: bass-baritone London Brass BBC Symphony Chorus BBC National Chorus of Wales BBC National Orchestra of Wales Tadaaki Otaka, Conductor Tadaaki Otaka, a notable enthusiast of British music, opens with Vaughan Williams’s much loved classic before revisiting a BBC commission that has fallen into neglect in the half-century since its composer’s death: Ireland’s These Things Shall Be is a mini-oratorio with a utopian text. The massed choirs and the commanding bass baritone of former BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist Jonathan Lemalu return after the interval to animate Walton’s brazen Old Testament tale, but first we hear from another anniversary composer, here at his most poignant.
Wagner - Siegfried Idyll (18 mins) Interlude Bruckner - Symphony No. 8 in C minor (80 mins) (ed. Nowak, 1955) BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra Donald Runnicles, Conductor In their first appearance this season, Donald Runnicles and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra present two works by composers for whom he has a particular affinity. Wagner’s gift to his wife, Cosima, is presented in its pared down original orchestration, much as she would have heard it that Christmas morning in 1870. The Royal Albert Hall is an ideal venue for Bruckner’s symphonic revelations. The Eighth Symphony, arguably the greatest of them all, remains a huge and glorious challenge.
Varèse - Tuning Up (5 mins) Nico Muhly - Gait (20 mins), BBC Commission, London Premiere Interlude Messiaen - Turangalîla Symphony (77 mins) Anna Meredith - HandsFree (12 mins) Cynthia Millar - ondes martenot Joanna MacGregor - piano National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain Vasily Petrenko, Conductor Messiaen’s ecstatic, Eastern-influenced celebration of love is framed by a BBC commission from one of America’s rising talents and Anna Meredith’s acclaimed tour de force of clapping, stamping, singing and body percussion, first performed earlier this year by NYO members and commissioned for the PRS for Music Foundation's New Music 20x12 programme as part of the Cultural Olympiad. Varèse’s Tuni
Morten Frank Larsen, Bass-Baritone Julius Foo, Treble Ysgol Gynradd Gymraeg Pwll Coch, Caerdydd Ysgol Gynradd Gymunedol Gymraeg, Llantrisant Ysgol Gynradd Dolau, Llanharan Ysgol Gynradd Gymraeg, Rhydaman National Youth Choir of Wales Aelwyd y Waun Ddyfal Musicians from the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama BBC National Chorus of Wales BBC National Orchestra of Wales National Youth Orchestra of Wales Kristjan Järvi,Conductor Thomas Kiemle, Stage Director Less a religious work than a theatrical happening, Bernstein’s Mass receives its first complete Proms performance, conducted by one of its most ardent champions, and supported by a spectrum of talented Welsh children and adult musicians. Using a mix of highbrow and vernacular styles, Bernstein created a rich, quintessentially American score that has recently begun to emerge as a modern classic. Petroc Trelawney, Host In English and Latin
Wagner -Tristan and Isolde – Prelude (Act 1) (9 mins) James MacMillan - Credo (c25 mins), BBC co-commission, World Premiere INTERLUDE Bruckner - Symphony No. 6 in A major (55 mins) Manchester Chamber Choir (Proms debut) Northern Sinfonia Chorus (Proms debut) Rushley Singers (Proms debut) BBC Philharmonic Juanjo Mena, Conductor Juanjo Mena presents a major world premiere before offering his acclaimed reading of a sonorous yet dangerously eruptive Bruckner symphony. First though, there’s the emblematic love of Tristan and Isolde, expressed through music dark in sound and revolutionary in harmony. James MacMillan’s works have enjoyed regular success at the Proms since the first performance of The Confession of Isobel Gowdie was given here in 1990. As with Bruckner, MacMillan’s communicative power is often associated with expressions of faith, and the unveiling of Credo, has been keenly awaited.
A celebration of Ivor Novello Remember such time-honoured favourites as 'We'll gather lilacs'? Tonight we acknowledge that patriotic First World War plea to 'keep the home fires burning' in a tribute to a silent-movie actor, West End playwright, composer and star of a string of stage musicals hugely popular in their day. Ivor Novello, the most consistently successful composer of British musicals before the advent of Andrew Lloyd Webber, nowadays tends to be unjustly neglected. Sir Mark Elder is a committed advocate, as is tonight’s master of ceremonies, Simon Callow. Sophie Bevan, Soprano Toby Spence, Tenor Simon Callow, Narrator Hallé Orchestra Sir Mark Elder, Conductor
From the Royal Albert Hall, Mark Armstrong conducts the National Youth Jazz Orchestra, featuring Britain's best young jazz musicians in a wide-ranging set of jazz favourites. The programme includes Duke Ellington's The Queen's Suite to mark the Diamond Jubilee year and a new commission by saxophonist Tim Garland. Presented by Petroc Trelawny.
Dvorák - Symphony No. 9 in E minor, 'From the New World' (45 mins) Interlude Copland - Fanfare for the Common Man (4 mins) Joan Tower - Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman (3 mins) Villa-Lobos - Momoprécoce (28 mins) Ginastera - Estancia – suite (12 mins) Edu Lobo - Pé de Vento from Suíte Popular Brasileira, orch. Nelson Ayres (3 mins) - Encore Nelson Freire, Piano São Paulo Symphony Orchestra Marin Alsop, Conductor Music from both American hemispheres features tonight. First the masterpiece through which the Bohemian Dvorák, resident in New York, sought to establish an American musical identity, a symphony exuding nostalgia for his own native woods and fields. Later comes Copland’s iconic Fanfare and highlights from Ginastera’s best-known score. Joan Tower, whose childhood was spent partly in Bolivia, celebrates ‘women who take risks and are adventurous’, while distinguished Brazilian pianist Nelson Freire returns to the Proms to play one of Villa-Lobos’s most attractive compositions. Katie Derham, Hostess
Symphony No. 4 in F minor (30 mins) Symphony No. 5 in D major (39 mins) Interlude Symphony No. 6 in E minor (31 mins) BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra Andrew Manze: conductor Over the next few seasons Andrew Manze directs all nine Vaughan Williams symphonies with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, of which he is Associate Guest Conductor: "Vaughan Williams is one of those composers some people have fixed ideas about … I’m on a bit of a mission to rehabilitate him in people’s minds as an important figure in the musicmaking of this country." Tonight he tackles three differently powerful works of the 1930s and 1940s, which, whatever their own emotional back stories, may still be seen as chronicling our national life in troubled times.
Weber - Der Freischütz – Overture (10 mins) Mahler - Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen (17 mins) Interlude Tchaikovsky - Manfred (57 mins) Alice Coote - Mezzo-soprano London Philharmonic Orchestra Vladimir Jurowski, Conductor After the overture to the first important German Romantic opera, Weber’s take on the folk legend of a marksman’s contract with the devil, featured artist Alice Coote returns to tackle Mahler’s folk-influenced song-cycle, inspired by the conclusion of an unhappy love affair. Tchaikovsky’s Manfred, a full-length fusion of tone-poem and symphonic form, makes passionate use of Byron’s dramatic poem with supernatural elements which held so many 19th-century artists in thrall. This powerfully driven masterpiece is a favourite of tonight’s conductor. Charles Hazlewood, Host
Sir Arthur Sullivan The Yeomen of the Guard Leigh Melrose baritone (Lt Sir Richard Cholmondeley) Andrew Kennedy tenor (Colonel Fairfax) Lisa Milne soprano (Elsie Maynard) Victoria Simmonds mezzo-soprano (Phoebe Meryll) Felicity Palmer mezzo-soprano (Dame Carruthers) Mary Bevan soprano (Kate) Mark Richardson bass-baritone (Sergeant Meryll) Tom Randle tenor (Leonard Meryll) Mark Stone baritone (Jack Point) Toby Stafford-Allen baritone (Wilfred Shadbolt) BBC Singers BBC Concert Orchestra Jane Glover, Conductor Martin Duncan, Stage Director Recent Proms seasons have seen a liberal sprinkling of complete Gilbert and Sullivan operettas, under such distinguished conductors as Jane Glover and the late Charles Mackerras. With its historic London setting, the grandest, most emotionally engaging of the Savoy operas is a must for 2012.
Wagner - Parsifal – Prelude (Act 3) and Good Friday Music (20 mins) Berg - Violin Concerto (25 mins) Bach - Adagio from Violin Sonata in A minor Interlude R. Strauss - Der Rosenkavalier – suite (22 mins) Ravel - La valse (12 mins) Frank Peter Zimmermann, Violin Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester Daniele Gatti, Conductor (Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester (Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra) is a youth orchestra based in Vienna, Austria, founded in 1986 by conductor Claudio Abbado.) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustav_Mahler_Youth_Orchestra http://www.gmjo.at/Home/tabid/39/language/en-US/Default.aspx One of the great youth orchestras is back, and in distinguished company. Daniele Gatti begins with the weighty tread and unmatched radiance of music he has been exploring at Bayreuth. Frank Peter Zimmermann plays one of the 20th century’s most eloquent violin concertos. Strauss conjures up a bittersweet Vienna of young love, mid-life melancholy and abundant waltz tunes, while Ravel’s apotheosis of that dance form may or may not have been intended as a metaphor for the fate of European civilisation as its unstoppable whirling reaches critical mass.
John Wilson Orchestra Maida Vale Singers John Wilson: conductor After last year’s celebration of the Hollywood screen musical, John Wilson and his high-octane orchestra – whose technicoloured performances, according to one critic, offer ‘the auditory equivalent of a steam-clean’ – present a tribute to the composers and arrangers responsible for creating the Broadway Sound – among them such legendary tunesmiths as Jerome Kern, Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, Vincent Youmans, Richard Rodgers and Frank Loesser. With a cast of leading soloists, the concert includes excerpts from Show Boat, No, No, Nanette, On Your Toes, Kiss Me, Kate and Annie Get Your Gun.
Howells - Hymnus Paradisi (44 mins) Interlude Elgar - Symphony No. 1 in A flat major (53 mins) Miah Persson: soprano Andrew Kennedy: tenor BBC Symphony Chorus London Philharmonic Choir BBC Symphony Orchestra Martyn Brabbins, Conductor Following his triumphant conducting of Havergal Brian’s ‘The Gothic’ Symphony last year, Martyn Brabbins brings another British magnum opus to the Proms. Herbert Howells wrote Hymnus Paradisi ‘for the drawer’ in the wake of the tragically early death of his son. Only years later was he persuaded to release a finished score to the public. After this light-filled memorial from a composer closely identified with Gloucester Cathedral, we revisit the masterpiece that, in 1908 – the year of the first London Olympics – announced a Worcester man’s arrival as perhaps the greatest of British symphonists.
Haydn - Symphony No. 104 in D major, 'London' (30 mins) Interlude Richard Strauss - An Alpine Symphony (50 mins) Encore - Johann Strauss - Voices of Spring Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra Bernard Haitink, Conductor The doyen (edit: dean) of European conductors presents favourite repertoire with an ensemble closely associated with the history and traditions of orchestral music. The last of Haydn’s symphonies, written while he was living in London, proved an instant critical and commercial success. Not so the Strauss, part-elegy for Mahler, part-celebration of the composer himself. Mingling childhood memories of a schoolboy mountaineering expedition with a deeper vision of man’s place on earth, the work was received rather sniffily in Britain until dedicated interpreters such as Bernard Haitink arrived to change all that.
Part 1: Mark Simpson: sparks (c2 mins), BBC Commission, World Premiere Suk: Towards a New Life (6 mins) Delius: Songs of Farewell (18 mins) Verdi: Un ballo in maschera – ‘Forse la soglia attinse … Ma se m’è forza perderti’ (5 mins) Massenet: Werther – ‘Pourquoi me réveiller?’ (3 mins) Bruch: Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor (25 mins) Puccini: Tosca – ‘E lucevan le stelle’ (3 mins) Puccini: Turandot – ‘Nessun dorma’ (3 mins) Intermission Part 2: John Williams: Olympic Fanfare and Theme (5 mins) Dvorák: Overture 'Carnival' (9 mins) Shostakovich: The Gadfly – Romance (6 mins) Leoncavallo: Mattinata (3 mins) Lara: Granada (3 mins) Rodgers: Carousel – ‘You’ll never walk alone’ (4 mins) Henry Wood: Fantasia on British Sea-Songs (20 mins) Elgar: Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1 in D major ('Land of Hope and Glory') (8 mins) Parry, orch. Elgar: Jerusalem (4 mins) Traditional: The National Anthem (2 mins) Nicola Benedetti: Violin Joseph Calleja: Tenor BBC Symphony Chorus BBC Symphony Orchestra Jirí Belohlávek, Conductor Join us for the year’s biggest musical party with two very special guests. Since taking the nation by storm as 2004’s BBC Young Musician of the Year, Scottishborn Nicola Benedetti has enhanced her reputation as one of Britain’s most innovative and creative young violinists. We also welcome Joseph Calleja, the Maltese tenor who sings with the grace and elegance of the voices of a bygone era. A brace of Czechs acknowledges the sterling work of the BBC SO’s outgoing chief, while contributions from 2012’s anniversary composers include Delius’s valedictory settings of Walt Whitman. More familiar home-grown music brings down the curtain in time-honoured fashion
New British music, Brahms, Liszt and a lavish choral work blaze a trail for some of 2011's Proms musical strands. Benjamin Grosvenor made his Proms debut, and there's Janáček's extraordinary celebration of Slavic culture, the Glagolitic Mass. Friday 15 July 7.30pm – c. 9.40pm Royal Albert Hall Choral music and singing events, Piano music Judith Weir Stars, Night, Music and Light (c4 mins) BBC Commission, World Premiere Brahms Academic Festival Overture (11 mins) Liszt Piano Concerto No. 2 in A major (20 mins) INTERVAL Janáček Glagolitic Mass (45 mins) Benjamin Grosvenor piano Hibla Gerzmava soprano Dagmar Pecková mezzo-soprano Stefan Vinke tenor Jan Martiník bass David Goode organ BBC Singers BBC Symphony Chorus BBC Symphony Orchestra Jiří Bělohlávek conductor
In the first half of his second Prom Myung-Whun Chung pairs works by German Romantics from opposite ends of the 19th century, including the meltingly beautiful Brahms Double Concerto with Renaud and Gautier Capuçon. After the interval comes a piece with French connections which swept away that old order. A sensational succès de scandale in 1913 for Diaghilev and his Ballets Russes, The Rite of Spring not only prompted the most famous riot in musical history but sounds sensational still, rediscovering rhythm as music's primal driving force. Tuesday 19 July 7.00pm – c. 9.00pm Royal Albert Hall Classical for starters Weber Oberon - overture (9 mins) Brahms Concerto in A minor for Violin and Cello (Double Concerto) (32 mins) INTERVAL Stravinsky The Rite of Spring (33 mins) Renaud Capuçon violin Gautier Capuçon cello Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France Myung-Whun Chung conductor
Thursday 21 July 7.30pm – c. 9.45pm Royal Albert Hall Piano music Sibelius Scènes historiques - Suite No. 2 (19 mins) Sibelius Symphony No. 7 in C major (23 mins) INTERVAL Bartók Piano Concerto No. 3 (24 mins) Janáček Sinfonietta (24 mins) András Schiff piano Hallé Sir Mark Elder conductor
Basque-born Juanjo Mena, recently named Chief Conductor of the BBC Philharmonic, makes his Proms debut with this dazzling Franco-Spanish evening. Debussy's three orchestral Images are interspersed with evocations of an idealised South filled with the rhythms of Gypsy dancing and the scent of jasmine. The brilliant showpieces of Ravel are complemented by Falla's Impressionistic Andalusian concerto, in which the orchestra is joined by pianist Steven Osborne. Friday 22 July 7.30pm – c. 9.50pm Royal Albert Hall Classical for starters, French music concerts and events, Piano music Debussy Images - Gigues (7 mins) Ravel Rapsodie espagnole (15 mins) Debussy Images - Rondes de printemps (9 mins) INTERVAL Ravel Alborado del gracioso (8 mins) Falla Nights in the Gardens of Spain (24 mins) Debussy Images - Ibéria (20 mins) Steven Osborne piano BBC Philharmonic Juanjo Mena conductor
Music composed by Nitin Sawhney for the Human Planet television series, and performances by artistst including Ayarkhaan (Sakha Republic), Bibilang Shark-Calling Group (Papua New Guinea), Khusugtun (Mongolia), Rasmus Lyberth (Greenland), and Enock Mbongwe (Zambia). BBC Concert Orchestra, Charles Hazlewood (conductor) and Paul Rose (presenter).. Big-screen video projections and excerpts from Nitin Sawhney's score for the acclaimed landmark BBC One series Human Planet, alongside artists heard in BBC Radio 3's accompanying Music Planet series. Saturday 23 July 7.30pm – c. 9.45pm Royal Albert Hall For families There will be one interval
The ultimate in dramatic intensity, this extraordinary work speaks of heaven and hell, fire and earth, darkness and light in music that is as much theatrical as devotional. The Requiem is always a special event - the more so when we have on the podium a Verdi specialist whose recent Cologne recording, which also featured Ferruccio Furlanetto, has been much acclaimed. Tonight's stellar line-up also includes Marina Poplavskaya and Joseph Calleja, who both sang alongside Furlanetto in last year's Simon Boccanegra. Sunday 24 July 7.00pm – c. 8.40pm Royal Albert Hall Choral music and singing events Verdi Requiem (86 mins) Marina Poplavskaya soprano Mariana Pentcheva mezzo-soprano Joseph Calleja tenor Ferruccio Furlanetto bass BBC Symphony Chorus BBC National Chorus of Wales London Philharmonic Choir BBC Symphony Orchestra Semyon Bychkov conductor
Sir Roger Norrington has chosen Mahler's last completed symphony for his final concerts as Principal Conductor of the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra, a post he has held since 1998. Written at a time of personal crisis, the Ninth begins with what some have heard as the irregular rhythm of Mahler's own failing heartbeat and it ends with a long fade to eternal nothingness. In between comes perhaps the greatest, certainly the most cathartic, of all late- Romantic symphonies. Sadly, the composer did not live to hear it. Tonight's performance promises to be both a moving occasion and a revealing one, taking up the faster pacing and purer orchestral sonorities of the composer's own time. Monday 25 July 7.30pm – c. 9.00pm Royal Albert Hall Mahler Symphony No. 9 (73 mins) Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra (SWR) Sir Roger Norrington conductor
Vladimir Jurowski's Hungarian Prom kicks off with Kodály's effervescent Dances of Galánta. Bartók's more acerbically ebullient First Piano Concerto will give pianist Jean-Efflam Bavouzet a chance to use both hands: his previous Proms appearances, in 2008 and 2010, both involved pieces conceived for the left hand alone! In tonight's second half, an influential masterwork from one of this year's featured composers, born 200 years ago. Liszt's A Faust Symphony 'in three character portraits, after Goethe' will be played in the version that concludes with a grandiose setting of the 'Chorus mysticus' unheard at the Proms since 1967. Tuesday 26 July 7.30pm – c. 9.55pm Royal Albert Hall Choral music and singing events, Piano music Kodály Dances of Galánta (16 mins) Bartók Piano Concerto No. 1 (24 mins) INTERVAL Liszt A Faust Symphony (62 mins) Jean-Efflam Bavouzet piano Marco Jentzsch tenor London Philharmonic Choir (men's voices) London Symphony Chorus (men's voices) London Philharmonic Orchestra Vladimir Jurowski conductor
Anyone who has split their sides laughing at CBBC's hit television series Horrible Histories now has the chance to see and hear the cast perform some of the most popular songs from the show, ranging from the Savage Stone Age and the Vicious Vikings to the Gorgeous Georgians and the Vile Victorians. Backed by children's choirs and the Aurora Orchestra, the songs will be interspersed with some great music by composers such as King Henry VIII, Lully, Mozart and the prolific 'Anon'. Horrible Histories, based on the best-selling books by Terry Deary with illustrations by Martin Brown, has proved a massive success. Children love the series, and the songs (music by Richie Webb) have proved among the most memorable elements of the show. Come to see the stars and sing along! Following the success of the first-ever signed Prom last year, Dr Paul Whittaker, Artistic Director of Music and the Deaf, returns to guide you through this free Prom. Saturday 30 July 11.00am – c. 1.00pm Royal Albert Hall Choral music and singing events, For families Louise Fryer (presenter), Horrible Histories cast, Choirs from The Music Centre, Kids Company Choir, Aurora Orchestra and Nicholas Collon (conductor). There will be one interval.
Strauss at his most passionate (and lascivious!) bookends a concert full of spectacle and panache. At its heart is the patriotic cantata Prokofiev drew from his music for Eisenstein's epic film about a medieval Russian hero's defeat of the Teutonic invader. That score had quite an impact on Walton's own wartime work for the cinema but it is the subtler brio of his Violin Concerto that is heard before the interval. Midori is one of relatively few international superstars to have taken up a piece whose formidable technical challenges were actively encouraged by Jascha Heifetz, its original soloist, but whose lyricism is all pervasive too. Saturday 30 July 7.30pm – c. 9.55pm Royal Albert Hall Choral music and singing events R. Strauss Don Juan (17 mins) Walton Violin Concerto (32 mins) INTERVAL Prokofiev Alexander Nevsky - cantata (40 mins) R. Strauss Salome - Dance of the Seven Veils (12 mins) Midori violin Nadezhda Serdiuk mezzo-soprano CBSO Chorus City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra Andris Nelsons conductor
Tasmin Little and Sir Andrew Davis tackle a favourite concerto which the violinist has only recently felt ready to commit to disc. It is preceded by one of Elgar's most radical part-songs, notated in two keys simultaneously in a manner which might be said to parallel the incorrigible experiments of Percy Grainger. To mark the 50th anniversary of that composer's death, his In a Nutshell suite receives a first outing at the Proms, reaching its popular march finale by way of some unpredictable and darkly complex invention. Once considered dangerously radical itself, Strauss's perky symphonic poem documents the adventures of a purely mythical rascal. Tuesday 2 August 7.00pm – c. 9.15pm Royal Albert Hall Choral music and singing events, Classical for starters Elgar There is sweet music (4 mins) Elgar Violin Concerto (50 mins) INTERVAL Grainger Irish Tune from County Derry (4 mins) Grainger Suite 'In a Nutshell' (20 mins) R. Strauss Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche (15 mins) Tasmin Little violin BBC Singers BBC Symphony Orchestra Sir Andrew Davis conductor
Grainger is celebrated in a special Late Night sequence as star Northumbrian smallpiper Kathryn Tickell and friends take a fresh look at the prodigious activities of this wild colonial boy. A pioneering collector of folk music from around the globe and arguably the world's first crossover artist, Grainger explored new worlds and invented new sounds, by turns touching, funny and provocative. Special guests, including the distinguished English folk singer June Tabor, place his achievement in its folk-music context. Tuesday 2 August 10.15pm – c. 11.30pm Royal Albert Hall Choral music and singing events Grainger Green Bushes (9 mins) Grainger Molly on the Shore (5 mins) Grainger Shepherd's Hey - medley (12 mins) Grainger Early One Morning (5 mins) Grainger Shallow Brown (8 mins) Grainger Scotch Strathspey and Reel (9 mins) Interspersed with traditional and contemporary folk music, including material which formed the basis for Grainger's arrangements June Tabor singer Wilson Family BBC Singers (men's voices) Kathryn Tickell Band Northern Sinfonia John Harle conductor
Returning to the Proms for the first time since 1988, cellist Lynn Harrell celebrates the 95th-birthday year of Henri Dutilleux with a performance of one of his best-loved works, nocturnal, mysterious and beautifully coloured. Debussy's languorous reverie fired up a stylistic revolution and gained notoriety when Nijinsky choreographed it for Diaghilev's Ballets Russes. The same company commissioned Ravel's sumptuous evocation of Ancient Greece, embracing the most atmospheric sunrise in all music, but before that there's room for his notionally Hispanic experiment in writing 'orchestral tissue without music' - the ever popular Boléro. Wednesday 3 August 7.30pm – c. 9.55pm Royal Albert Hall Choral music and singing events, French music concerts and events Debussy Prélude à L'après-midi d'un faune (8 mins) Henri Dutilleux 'Tout un monde lointain...' (27 mins) J. S. Bach Suite for Solo Cello No. 3 in C major, BWV 1009 - No. 5 Bourées 1 & 2 (3 mins) (encore) Ravel Boléro (15 mins) INTERVAL Ravel Daphnis and Chloë (50 mins) Lynn Harrell cello Edinburgh Festival Chorus BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra Donald Runnicles conductor
Now Music Director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Gustavo Dudamel - known by his own musicians as 'the Dude' - joins his old friends in the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra and some mightily distinguished guests to tackle a colossus of the standard repertoire. Writing for vast forces including offstage brass, two solo singers and a large choir, Mahler takes listeners on a spectacular journey through the entire gamut of emotions. Beginning at the graveside, he remembers happier, busier and (spiritually) emptier times on the way to an apocalyptic revelation of the Day of Judgement. The promise of eternal life is then renewed in some of music's most uplifting pages. Friday 5 August 7.30pm – c. 9.10pm Royal Albert Hall Choral music and singing events Mahler Symphony No. 2 in C minor 'Resurrection' (85 mins) Miah Persson soprano Anna Larsson mezzo-soprano National Youth Choir of Great Britain Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra Gustavo Dudamel conductor
The music of Sergey Prokofiev looms large in this fascinating collaboration between Vladimir Jurowski and the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain. First, an esoteric offering from the master's London-based grandson, a crossover artist in the best sense, determined to find new audiences and to reconfigure the classical tradition by way of Minimalist grooves, dancefloor beats, club nights and remixes. The influence of the senior Prokofiev is plain in the sizzling keyboard writing of Britten's early Piano Concerto, which gives BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist Benjamin Grosvenor another chance to shine, following his First Night Proms debut. In the second half, Prokofiev's ballet music recounts the doomed love of Verona's most romantic couple. Saturday 6 August 6.30pm – c. 9.05pm Royal Albert Hall Classical for starters, Piano music Gabriel Prokofiev Concerto for Turntables and Orchestra (21 mins) Britten Piano Concerto (35 mins) Gould Boogie Woogie Etude (2 mins) (encore) INTERVAL Prokofiev Romeo and Juliet - selection (50 mins) Benjamin Grosvenor piano, New Generation Artist DJ Switch dj (turntables) National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain Vladimir Jurowski conductor
When in 2008 Nigel Kennedy came back to the Proms after an absence of 21 years, his Late Night concert with his own quartet followed an early-evening performance of Elgar's Violin Concerto which he capped with a solo Bach encore. Tonight's special event confirms that JSB continues to mean a great deal to him. The man dubbed 'the people's violinist' has recorded Bach concertos with the Irish Chamber Orchestra and with members of the Berlin Philharmonic. Discovering something new every time he explores the composer's music, Kennedy points up the parallels with jazz. Bach loved the dance forms of his own day and his music benefits from being played with emotional freedom and a keen rhythmic sense. Saturday 6 August 10.00pm – c. 11.00pm Royal Albert Hall J. S. Bach Partita for Solo Violin No. 3 in E major, BWV 1006 - No. 1 Preludio (4 mins) J. S. Bach Partita for Solo Violin No. 2 in D minor, BWV 1004 (36 mins) J. S. Bach Das Pendel (arr. Kennedy) (7 mins) Waller How can you face me now? (arr. Nigel Kennedy) (7 mins) (encore) Waller Honeysuckle Rose (arr. Nigel Kennedy) (7 mins) (encore) Waller Viper’s Drag (arr. Nigel Kennedy) (5 mins) (encore) Nigel Kennedy violin Rolf Bussald guitar Yaron Stavi double bass Krzysztof Dzeidzic percussion
Assisted by guest star Chloë Hanslip, Keith Lockhart and the BBC Concert Orchestra bring the silver-screen excitement of music associated with the cinema, from Pinewood to Hollywood, from Psycho to Star Wars, with a special tribute to the late John Barry. Friday 12 August 7.00pm – c. 9.20pm Royal Albert Hall Classical for starters Herrmann Music from The Man Who Knew Too Much, Citizen Kane, and Psycho (18 mins) Ennio Morricone Cinema Paradiso - theme (7 mins) Walton Henry V - suite (arr. Muir Mathieson) (21 mins) INTERVAL John Williams Music from Star Wars, Schindler's List and Harry Potter (14 mins) Jonny Greenwood Norwegian Wood - suite (arr. Robert Ziegler) (10 mins) BBC Commission, World Premiere Sir Richard Rodney Bennett Murder on the Orient Express - suite (8 mins) Barry Out of Africa - Love Theme (7 mins) Various Music from the James Bond films (10 mins) Ennio Morricone The Good, the Bad and the Ugly - Main Theme (3 mins) (encore) Chloë Hanslip violin Rory Kinnear narrator BBC Concert Orchestra Keith Lockhart conductor
The five inventive multitaskers of the Spaghetti Western Orchestra have their own way of presenting film music in concert. Fascinated by the scores of Ennio Morricone, they have devised an unclassifiable entertainment in which his epic soundtracks for film maker Sergio Leone are recreated with extraordinary virtuosity on instruments both conventional and rather less so. 'We really embraced the absurdity of a bunch of Aussie guys trying to do what Morricone did with a cast of hundreds and so we went about listening to the music and exploring the idea that every sound is equal and giving equal importance to all sounds.' Expect a loose narrative, new uses for the asthma inhaler and the cornflake packet, and a rich harvest of post-modern laughs. Friday 12 August 10.15pm – c. 11.30pm Royal Albert Hall Spaghetti Western Orchestra There will be no interval
Musician, actor, comedian and rock 'n' roll superstar Tim Minchin hosts a Proms first - the Comedy Prom. Joined by guests including BBC Two Maestro winner Sue Perkins, musical cabaret duo Kit and The Widow, soprano Susan Bullock and rising star British pianist Danny Driver (making his Proms debut), Tim will weave his way through a spectacular evening of comedy, musical fun and surprises. Also appearing Beardyman, The Boy with Tape on his Face, Doc Brown, and the Mongrels. Marking the centenary year of Franz Reizenstein, one of the highlights is sure to be his Concerto Populaire, a whistlestop tour through competing favourite piano concertos. The programme offers a fresh, accessible and funny take on the Proms, accompanied on a grand scale by the ever-versatile BBC Concert Orchestra under Andrew Litton (guest conductor) and Jules Buckley (music director). Saturday 13 August 7.30pm – c. 9.40pm Royal Albert Hall Classical for starters There will be one interval
The Chamber Orchestra of Europe is celebrating its 30th anniversary with two years of Brahms under Bernard Haitink, and brings a pair of concertos and a pair of symphonies to the Proms. Haitink describes the COE as 'a group of exceptionally talented musicians. As true chamber musicians, they are used to listening to each other, without being exclusively focused on the conductor. This matches exactly the idea I have of conducting an orchestra.' After Brahms's relatively mellow Third Symphony, one of the world's best-loved pianists performs a work boiling over with youthful passions. The same musicians return with more Brahms in Prom 49. Friday 19 August 7.00pm – c. 9.00pm Royal Albert Hall Piano music Brahms Symphony No. 3 in F major (38 mins) INTERVAL Brahms Piano Concerto No. 1 in D minor (45 mins) Schumann Fantasiestücke, Op 12 - No. 1 Des Abends (4 mins) (encore) Emanuel Ax piano Chamber Orchestra of Europe Bernard Haitink conductor
Angela Hewitt picks up the Brahms thread from the early evening Prom and launches this Late Night Prom that takes in an unjustly neglected score by Brahms's mentor, Robert Schumann, before observing the composer through the prism of an admirer, Arnold Schoenberg. Andrew Manze, conducting his first Prom as Associate Guest Conductor of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, sees Brahms as a misunderstood figure, full of warmth. He will bring his own insights to an increasingly popular arrangement in which Schoenberg incorporates some surprising 20th-century effects. Don't miss the Gypsy-style finale! Friday 19 August 10.00pm – c. 11.20pm Royal Albert Hall Piano music Brahms Three Intermezzos, Op. 117 - Nos. 1 & 2 (7 mins) Schumann Introduction and Concert Allegro, Op. 134 (13 mins) Brahms Piano Quartet No. 1 in G minor (arr. Schoenberg) (42 mins) Angela Hewitt piano BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra Andrew Manze conductor
The Chamber Orchestra of Europe's second pairing of Brahms masterworks opens with a work long central to Emanuel Ax's repertoire which he has recorded with tonight's conductor. Brahms's Second Piano Concerto is even bigger in scale than the First and just as technically demanding. After the interval, the composer's astonishing final symphony, where the balance between expressiveness and iron structural control is most perfectly maintained. It ends with an imposing set of variations, Brahms's late-Romantic take on the Baroque-style passacaglia, which uses material borrowed from J. S. Bach. Saturday 20 August 7.30pm – c. 9.40pm Royal Albert Hall Piano music Brahms Piano Concerto No. 2 in B flat major (50 mins) INTERVAL Brahms Symphony No. 4 in E minor (42 mins) Emanuel Ax piano Chamber Orchestra of Europe Bernard Haitink conductor
A celebration of the Golden Age of Hollywood film musicals featuring Annalene Beechey, Charles Castronovo, Matthew Ford, Sarah Fox, Caroline O'Connor, Clare Teal, the Maida Vale Singers, John Wilson Orchestra and John Wilson (conductor). The appearances of John Wilson and his hand-picked, high-octane orchestra have been among the most sensational Proms events of recent years. Joined by a formidable line-up of today's vocal stars, they give what one critic has described as 'the auditory equivalent of a steam-clean' to another cache of show-stoppers. 'Hooray for Hollywood' takes us from the dawn of the talkies and the birth of the movie musical through to the 1960s. An extended sequence pays special tribute to the RKO films of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, who was born 100 years ago. Monday 29 August 7.30pm – c. 9.35pm Royal Albert Hall Choral music and singing events, Classical for starters There will be one interval
Sir Colin Davis tackles a work whose uncompromising nature makes it as great a challenge as anything in the choral repertoire, whether you regard it as a statement of the composer's belief in the spiritual potential of man or his faith in a supreme being. 'A musician must make affirmations,' says Davis. 'If a musician cannot believe in music as a universal ideal, what is he left with? We may be encircled by gloom but music gives us a chance to throw what Meredith calls "that faint thin line upon the shore". ... Beethoven is a man at war with himself but a man who is determined to win.' Sunday 4 September 7.00pm – c. 8.40pm Royal Albert Hall Choral music and singing events Beethoven Missa Solemnis (90 mins) Helena Juntunen soprano Sarah Connolly mezzo-soprano Paul Groves tenor Matthew Rose bass London Philharmonic Choir London Symphony Chorus London Symphony Orchestra Sir Colin Davis conductor
Tradition meets high jinks once again as Edward Gardner conducts his first Last Night of the Proms. For this grandest of grand finales there are two very special guests. Since her first Proms appearance in 1995, Susan Bullock has emerged as Britain's leading dramatic soprano, specialising in what she calls 'the large ladies' of the repertoire. None is more challenging than Brünnhilde, whose Immolation Scene concludes Wagner's epic Ring cycle. Also featured is a classical music superstar, as popular in the West as in his native China. Lang Lang plays Liszt at his most dazzling on this, his sixth visit to the Proms. Bartók's thrilling suite provides a blast of exotic orchestral colour. Arne, Parry and Elgar bring down the curtain in traditional fashion. But first the Master of the Queen's Music pays tribute to the Promenaders' fundraising efforts on behalf of the Musicians Benevolent Fund in his new work. Saturday 10 September 7.30pm – c. 10.45pm Royal Albert Hall Choral music and singing events, Piano music Sir Peter Maxwell Davies Musica benevolens (c4 mins) Musicians Benevolent Fund commission: World Premiere Bartók The Miraculous Mandarin - suite (20 mins) Wagner Götterdämmerung - Immolation Scene (18 mins) Liszt Piano Concerto No. 1 in E flat major (19 mins) INTERVAL Chopin Grande Polonaise brillante, Op. 22 (9 mins) Grainger Mo nighean dubh (My Dark-Haired Maiden) (4 mins) Britten The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra (20 mins) Rodgers The Sound of Music - 'Climb ev'ry mountain' (arr.Robert Russell Bennett) (4 mins) Rodgers Carousel - 'You'll never walk alone' (arr. Jackson) (3 mins) Elgar Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1 in D major ('Land of Hope and Glory') (8 mins) Arne Rule Britannia (8 mins) Parry Jerusalem (orch. Elgar) (4 mins) Traditional The National Anthem (2 mins) Lang Lang piano Susan Bullock soprano BBC Symphony Chorus BBC Symphony Orchestra Edward Gardner conductor
Mahler Symphony No. 8 in E flat major 'Symphony of a Thousand' (82 mins) Mardi Byers: soprano Twyla Robinson: soprano Malin Christensson: soprano Stephanie Blythe: mezzo-soprano Kelley O'Connor: mezzo-soprano Stefan Vinke: tenor Hanno Müller-Brachmann: bass-baritone Tomasz Konieczny: bass Choristers of St Paul's Cathedral Choristers of Westminster Abbey Choristers of Westminster Cathedral BBC Symphony Chorus Crouch End Festival Chorus Sydney Philharmonia Choirs BBC Symphony Orchestra Jirí Belohlávek conductor
Wagner: The Mastersingers of Nuremberg An Opera in Three Acts Concert staging, sung in German Bryn Terfel: Hans Sachs Raymond Very: Walther von Stoltzing Amanda Roocroft: Eva Christopher Purves: Beckmesser Andrew Tortise: David Anna Burford: Magdalene David Soar: Nightwatchman Brindley Sherratt: Pogner Simon Thorpe: Kothner David Stout: Nachtigall Paul Hodges: Schwartz Rhys Meirion: Zorn Andrew Rees: Eisslinger Stephen Rooke: Moser Arwel Huw Morgan: Foltz Geraint Dodd: Vogelgesang Owen Webb: Ortel Chorus and Orchestra of Welsh National Opera Lothar Koenigs conductor
Schumann - Manfred, Op 115 (orch. Gustav Mahler) Rachmaninov - Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor Tchaikovsky - Manfred
Britten: Sinfonia da Requiem Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 1 in D flat major Alexander Toradze, piano Shostakovich: Symphony No. 7 in C major, 'Leningrad' BBC National Orchestra of Wales Thierry Fischer conductor
Doctor Who returns to the Proms with a new show hosted by the stars of the series - Karen Gillan (aka the Doctor's companion Amy Pond), Arthur Darvill (aka Rory Williams) and featuring a special guest appearance by Matt Smith (aka the Doctor). The concert features Murray Gold's music for the television series, including his latest re-imagining of Ron Grainier's classic theme tune performed by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, the London Philharmonic Choir, soloists Yamit Mamo and Mark Chambers, and conducted by Ben Foster. With exclusive behind-the-scenes access, specially-edited sequences from the most recent series, a host of monsters laying siege to the Royal Albert Hall and a new scene written especially for the Proms by Steven Moffat and featuring the Time Lord himself, this is an intergalactic musical adventure like no other.
Brett Dean: Amphitheatre (London premiere) (10 mins) Mahler: Des Knaben Wunderhorn – selection (23 mins) Ekaterina Gubanova mezzo-soprano Shostakovich: Symphony No. 10 in E minor (50 mins) The Australian Youth Orchestra Sir Mark Elder conductor
Marking the 80th birthday of one of Broadway's great innovators, this first ever all-Sondheim Prom draws together leading figures of the opera and theatre worlds, plus some further special guests. Bryn Terfel – a magnetic Sweeney Todd, as he proved at the Royal Festival Hall in 2007 – leads a starry cast, joined by aspiring young performers supported by the BBC Performing Arts Fund. On the bill are excerpts from the horror-opera Sweeney Todd, the Ingmar Bergman-inspired A Little Night Music and the fairy-tale compendium of Into the Woods, as well as excerpts from Company, Pacific Overtures and Sunday in the Park with George.
Mahler: Symphony No. 3 in D minor (100 mins) Karen Cargill: mezzo-soprano Edinburgh Festival Chorus (women's voices) Royal Scottish National Orchestra Junior Chorus BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra Donald Runnicles conductor Sung in German, Fixed subtitles in English, commentary in English
Mahler Symphony No. 5 in C sharp minor World Orchestra for Peace Valery Gergiev conductor
Paul Dukas - L' apprenti sorcier Julian Anderson - Fantasias Berlioz - Symphonie fantastique, Op 14
Chopin: Piano Concerto No. 2 in F minor Encore - Gluck, transcribed Sgambati: Excerpt from Orfeo et Eurydice Nelson Freire: piano Ravel: Daphnis and Chloë – Suite No. 2 BBC Symphony Orchestra Lionel Bringuier conductor Katy Derham, Hostess
Verdi: La forza del destino – overture (8 mins) Dallapiccola Partita (27 mins) Sarah Tynan: soprano Bruch: Violin Concerto No.1 in G minor (25 mins) James Ehnes: violin Encore - Paganini: Caprice 16 Schumann Symphony No. 4 in D minor (revised version) (38 mins) BBC Philharmonic Gianandrea Noseda conductor Vocals with fixed English subtitles Commentary in English Interval cut
J. S. Bach, orch. Stokowski: Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565 (10 mins) J. S. Bach, orch. Henry Wood: 'Suite No. 6' - Prelude; Finale (6 mins) Tarik O'Regan: Latent Manifest (5 mins) (BBC commission: world premiere) Walton: The Wise Virgins – suite (21 mins) Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Andrew Litton conductor During interval: Brandenburg Concerto No. 2, recorded earlier in the day English Baroque Soloists Sir John Eliot Gardiner conductor Grainger: Blithe Bells (4 mins) J. S. Bach, arr. Sargent: Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D major, BWV 1068 - Air (6 mins) Alissa Firsova: Bach Allegro (5 mins) (BBC commission: world premiere) J. S. Bach, arr. Bantock: Chorale Prelude 'Wachet auf, ruft uns due Stimme', BWV 645 (5 mins) J. S. Bach, arr. Respighi: Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor, BWV 582 (13 mins) Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Andrew Litton conductor Commentary in English
Arvo Pärt: Cantus in memoriam Benjamin Britten (7 mins) Britten: Four Sea Interludes from 'Peter Grimes' (17 mins) Huw Watkins: Violin Concerto (BBC commission: world premiere) (20 mins) Alina Ibragimova: violin Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5 in D minor (50 mins) BBC Symphony Orchestra Edward Gardner conductor
The Philharmonia Orchestra play Mosolov's The Foundry, Pärt's Symphony No. 4 "Los Angeles", Ravel's Piano Concerto for the Left Hand & Scriabin's The Poem of Ecstasy.
Oklahoma: excerpts (13 mins) Carousel: excerpts (26 mins) South Pacific: excerpts (17 mins) The King and I: (arr. Edward B. Powell) Overture (6 mins) Flower Drum Song: excerpts (11 mins) The Sound of Music: excerpts (12 mins) Cast includes: Kim Criswell Sierra Boggess Anna-Jane Casey Julian Ovenden Rod Gilfry Maida Vale Singers John Wilson Orchestra John Wilson conductor
Mark-Anthony Turnage: Hammered Out (BBC co-commission with LA Philharmonic: world premiere) (c15 mins) Barber: Violin Concerto (25 mins) Encore: J. S. Bach: Gavotte en rondeau from Violin Partita 3 Gil Shaham: violin Sibelius Symphony: No. 2 in D major (40 mins) BBC Symphony Orchestra David Robertson conductor Commentary in English
Hindemith: Symphony 'Mathis der Maler' (27 mins) Mahler: Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen (17 mins) Christian Gerhaher: baritone Bruckner: Symphony No. 9 in D minor (65 mins) Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester Herbert Blomstedt conductor Commentary in English, vocals with fixed English subtitles Interval cut
Rameau: Dardanus – suite (18 mins) Canteloube: Songs from the Auvergne – selection (25 mins): Pastourelle Deux Bourrées: N'ai pas iéu de mio Une jionto pastouro Té, l'co té! Bailero Malurous qu'o uno fenno Anna Caterina Antonacci: soprano Martin Matalon: Lignes de fuite UK premiere) (18 mins) Mussorgsky, arr. Henry Wood: Pictures at an Exhibition (30 mins) BBC National Orchestra of Wales François-Xavier Roth conductor
Wagner - Parsifal R. Strauss - Vier Letzte Lieder Schoenberg - Five Orchestral Pieces, Op. 16 Webern - Six Pieces, Op 6 Berg - Three Pieces, Op 6
The Royal Scottish National Orchestra and its French-born Music Director, Stéphane Denève, join Paul Lewis as he rounds off his cycle of the five Beethoven piano concertos with the last and most proudly majestic of them all. Taking up this afternoon's Italian theme, they play spectacular orchestral showpieces by Berlioz and Respighi, inspired respectively by Rome's lively street life and its imperial past; while, cementing Celtic connections, they introduce a recent symphonic suite drawn from the Scottish composer James MacMillan's opera The Sacrifice, inspired by the medieval folk tales of The Mabinogion and premiered to great acclaim by Welsh National Opera in 2007. * Berlioz Overture 'Roman Carnival' (9 mins) * Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 5 in E flat major, Op. 73 'Emperor' (38 mins) * interval * James Macmillan The Sacrifice – Three Interludes (London premiere) (15 mins) * Respighi Pines of Rome (23 mins) * Paul Lewis piano * Royal Scottish National Orchestra * Stéphane Denève conductor
Tradition meets high jinks as Jiří Bělohlávek conducts his second Last Night, while the spirit of Henry Wood presides, as always, over the grand finale of the Proms. Renée Fleming lends her lustrous soprano to music by Strauss, Dvořák and Smetana. Former Radio 3 New Generation Artist Maxim Rysanov gives Tchaikovsky's popular cello variations a new voice, and loyal Prommers can spot the last traces of the season's Wood, Parry, Wagner, Rodgers and Hammerstein and opera themes. A festive new piece by Jonathan Dove opens the evening; a contemporary hornpipe forms an upbeat to anniversary composer Arne's Rule, Britannia!; and audiences around the UK can join the Royal Albert Hall crowd in singing along to excerpts from Lohengrin and Carousel in a climax to the BBC's opera season
John Wilson and his hand-picked Orchestra celebrate 75 years of MGM musicals with songs from unforgettable movie classics, including The Wizard of Oz, Meet Me in St Louis, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, High Society, Gigi and Singin' in the Rain. Amazingly, although all the original orchestral parts were lost when the studio destroyed its music library to make way for a car park, Wilson has succeeded in reconstructing the scores by painstakingly transcribing each soundtrack by ear. He is joined by starry singers from the classical and musical theatre worlds, as well as by the elite Maida Vale Singers
The Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich under conductor David Zinman plays music by Schubert, Mahler and Golijov. American soprano Dawn Upshaw is the soloist in the UK premiere of Golijov's acclaimed new work 'She Was Here' based on four Schubert songs, and Upshaw returns at the end of Mahler's Fourth Symphony to give the angel's-eye view of Heaven. The concert begins with Schubert's overture written as incidental music to the play Rosamunde. This live prom from the Royal Albert Hall is introduced by Clive Anderson.
Murray Gold - Doctor Who Copland - Fanfare for the Common Man Mark-Anthony Turnage - Three Asteroids Holst - The Planets Wagner - Die Walküre, WWV 86b Prokofiev - Romeo and Juliet, Suite No. 2, Op 64b Ron Grainer - Doctor Who Theme (arr. Murray Gold)
A trio of works from America. Copland's great Third Symphony - with its portrayal of the wide, open spaces of North America - includes a striking reprise of the classic Fanfare for the Common Man at the start of the last movement. The symphony dates from the end of the Second World War and captures something of the sense of optimism of the American people at the time. From 25 years earlier, though sounding far more recent, comes Edgard Varèse's Amériques, whose title, he claimed, was 'symbolic of discoveries, of new worlds on Earth, in the sky or in the minds of men'; the first work that the Frenchman completed after arriving in New York, this still strikingly original score was premiered in Philadelphia by Leopold Stokowski. So too was Rachmaninov's Fourth (and last) Piano Concerto, also composed in the USA, where the composer had settled after leaving Russia in 1917. Rachmaninov himself was the soloist at the 1927 premiere; tonight it's the fearlessly virtuosic Boris Berezovsky.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Concerto for Piano No. 23 in A major, K 488 BBC Symphony Orchestra Richard Goode piano Jiří Bělohlávek conductor Anton Bruckner Symphony No. 9 in D minor BBC Symphony Orchestra Jiří Bělohlávek conductor
Dvořák - Overture 'Carnival' R. Strauss - Concerto for Horn No. 1 in E flat major, Op 11 Vaughan Williams - 5 Mystical Songs Barber - Toccata festiva, Op 36 Sir Peter Maxwell Davies - Ojai Festival Overture Puccini - Madama Butterfly Rodgers - Oklahoma! (arr. Robert Russell Bennett) Cole Porter - Kiss Me, Kate Sullivan - The Mikado John Philip Sousa - March 'The Liberty Bell' Elgar - Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1 in D major ('Land of Hope and Glory') Henry Wood - Fantasia on British Sea Songs (with additional Songs arranged by Stephen Jackson) Parry - Jerusalem Anonymous - National Anthem (arr. Henry Wood)
Katie Derham presents a new weekly review of the standout performances, artists and stories from the 2013 Proms season. In this episode, she looks back on the musical highlights of the opening fortnight, including a special report from Daniel Barenboim's Ring Cycle. Her studio guests include conductor Semyon Bychkov, soprano Susan Bullock and pianist Stephen Hough - and there is a special performance from one of the star soloists of the season, young Japanese pianist Nobuyuki Tsujii.
Katie Derham looks back on another week of concerts from the BBC Proms, including a spectacular performance of Ravel's Bolero featuring Spanish dancers. Her studio guests include jazz pianist Julian Joseph, composer Tarik O'Regan, and ballerina Tamara Rojo.
Katie Derham looks back on another week of concerts from the BBC Proms, including soloist Mitsuko Uchida's performance of Beethoven's Piano Concerto No 4. Her studio guests include conductor Vasily Petrenko, and trumpeter Alison Balsom, and we spend 24 hours with violinist Daniel Hope on a whirlwind day.
Plot of this episode is not specified yet. Please check back later for more update.
Josie D'Arby and Zeb Soanes present highlights from the Last Night of the Proms celebrations around the UK, giving a flavour of the individual nations' unique concert events. Former Spice Girl Melanie C, Alfie Boe and violinist Jennifer Pike mark the return of the Scottish event to Glasgow Green. In Wales, set against the backdrop of Caerphilly Castle, featured performers include trumpeter Alison Balsom and West End stars John Owen Jones and Sophie Evans. Soprano Katherine Jenkins, violinist Chloe Hanslip and Lithuanian accordion player Martynas entertain the crowds gathered on the spectacular quayside at the Titanic Visitor Centre in Belfast, and in London's Hyde Park, Bryan Ferry, tenor Joseph Calleja and Nigel Kennedy provide added sparkle to the festivities, drawing this summer's Proms season to a close.
Joining Beethoven Unleashed, a year-long, BBC-wide marathon marking the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth, a BBC Grand Virtual Orchestra made up of over 300 BBC musicians perform Beethoveniana by composer Iain Farrington, a brand new reworking of Beethoven’s nine symphonies commissioned by the BBC Proms to celebrate the opening of the 2020 Proms season. Farrington describes his work as 'taking Beethoven's music and putting it in a musical washing machine to see which colours run'. Director Toby Amies brings the music to life in this film, premiering exclusively on BBC Four, Choreographed by Cameron McMillan, starring dancers Emma Farnell-Watson and Joshua Smith together in their own lockdown bubble.
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