BBC Proms (1947)
The World's Greatest Classical Music Festival. The BBC Proms is a classical music festival held every summer at the Royal Albert Hall in London, and in recent years has explored an innovative series of Proms around the UK with concerts in all four nations. Its aim: to bring the best in classical music to the widest possible audience, which remains true to founder-conductor Henry Wood’s original vision in 1895. Whether you are a classical connoisseur or think classical music isn’t for you, there is something for everyone in the eight-week stretch of concerts.
Seasons & Episode
In her First Night of the Proms debut, conductor Elim Chan presents Beethoven’s iconic Fifth Symphony alongside Handel’s Music for the Royal Fireworks and Clara Schumann’s tender Piano Concerto, featuring star soloist Isata Kanneh-Mason.
The entire Hallé family visits from Manchester to celebrate Sir Mark Elder’s last season as Music Director after 25 years in the role. Together they present Sir James MacMillan’s Timotheus, Bacchus and Cecilia and Mahler’s life-affirming Symphony No. 5.
Verdi’s Requiem was first performed 150 years ago and given its British premiere at the Royal Albert Hall the following year. Ryan Bancroft leads the BBC NOW and massed singers in a performance of this vivid choral masterpieces.
The BBC Concert Orchestra and Guy Barker are joined by a starry line up of singers for a celebration of one of the most iconic voices of the 20th century, Sarah Vaughan, with songs including 'If You Could See Me Now’ and ‘Broken-Hearted Melody’.
Nicholas Collon and the BBC Philharmonic perform the most vibrant and unignorable symphony of the 20th century, Messiaen’s Turangalîla, after the world premiere of Anna Clyne’s The Gorgeous Nothings, written specially for the Proms
John Wilson and his Sinfonia of London perform a programme of scintillating American classics including Copland’s ballet Billy the Kid, haunting works by Barber and Ives, Gershwin’s jazz-infused Rhapsody in Blue and John Adam’s Harmonielehre.
Brothers Braimah and Sheku Kanneh-Mason and the Brazilian guitarist Plínio Fernandes join forces with the dynamic Fantasia Orchestra for a family-friendly concert of folk songs, dances, prayers and incantations
The National Youth Orchestra, comprising some of Britain’s most talented young players, performs Mahler’s anguished, ultimately triumphant Symphony No.1, alongside works by Wagner and Missy Mazzoli and a new commission from Dani Howard.
Edith Bowman presents a night for film lovers, with music from blockbusters including Everything Everywhere All at Once, All Quiet on the Western Front and Tár.
Sir Antonio Pappano and his London Symphony Orchestra are joined by three choirs and three outstanding vocal soloists for a work of hope that emerged from the ashes of destruction: Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem
Gemma New joins the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra for Mendelssohn’s musical retelling of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, following Mozart’s heavenly Clarinet Concerto with Anthony McGill and Mel Bonis’s colourful Salomé
For their only UK appearance of 2024, Sam Smith joins the BBC Concert Orchestra for a retrospective look at their seminal debut solo album In the Lonely Hour, released 10 years ago and featuring tracks such as ‘Stay With Me’ and ‘Lay Me Down’.
Holst’s suite The Planets is one of classical music’s most extraordinary acts of imagination. Student musicians from Helsinki and London unite to perform the work alongside Sibelius’s The Wood Nymph and a new piece from Finnish-American composer Lara Poe.
Aurora Orchestra and Nicholas Collon mark the 200th anniversary of Beethoven’s monumental Ninth Symphony by bringing their unique Orchestral Theatre approach to the iconic work with the help of the BBC Singers and the National Youth Choir of Great Britain
The BBC Concert Orchestra lends its power and exuberance to an evening that celebrates a pivotal movement in late 20th-century club culture. Get ready for all the glitz, glamour and groove of disco at the Proms!
Emanuel Ax, Leonidas Kavakos and Yo-Yo Ma come together to form a classical supergroup, bringing greater intimacy than ever before to Beethoven’s ‘Pastoral’ Sixth Symphony while also performing one of the composer’s best-loved chamber works.
Marking a century since Henry Mancini’s birth, Edwin Outwater and the BBC Concert Orchestra celebrate the man and his music in styles ranging from jazz to light classical and film music.
Riccardo Minasi conducts his dynamic Ensemble Resonanz in a pair of Mozart’s most thrilling overtures – from The Marriage of Figaro and Don Giovanni – alongside his achingly beautiful Sinfonia concertante and the ‘Jupiter’ Symphony
A celebration of some of the most exciting new classical music premiered in the Royal Albert Hall this summer chosen by Tom Service, presenter of Radio 3’s New Music Show.
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