A performance to end the show on a high note
Following his previous acclaimed performance in 2014, Finnish Chief Conductor Sakari Oramo returns to the Royal Albert Hall to conduct the
Last Night of the Proms (Saturday, BBC2, 7.45pm, BBC1, 8.50pm).
Back then, the Scottish Independence Referendum was at the forefront of most people's minds, and the Proms people have chosen to bring back Oramo in the year of Brexit, to unite the nation in what is still one of the British of occasions. The celebrations will led by the combined forces of the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus and the BBC Singers. Peruvian tenor Juan Diego Flórez is the star soloist tonight, bringing some sparkling arias from the operas of Gioachino Rossini, Gaetano Donizetti and Jacques Offenbach. Born in Lima in 1973, Flórez is very much the bel canto tenor of choice, with his fluid, expressive singing and dazzling virtuosity. His operatic and recital appearances at some of the most prestigious venues around the world have earned him the acclaim of critics and audiences alike, and he is sure to bring the house down tonight. Also on the programme is the world premiere of a piece by young Scottish composer Tom Harrold written for and performed by the PromsYouth Ensemble along with players from the BBC Symphony Orchestra. We'll also hear Alexander Borodin's exuberant Polovtsian Dances, Benjamin Britten's Matinées musicales, George Butterworth's The Banks Of Green Willow, and Jonathan Dove's Our revels now are ended, with baritone Duncan Rock. In the second half over on BBC1, presenter Katie Derham returns as the world's greatest music festival reaches its grand finale. In this Olympic year, part two begins with American composer Michael Torke's Javelin which was originally performed at the opening ceremony of the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. The overture which Torke describes as his 'most John Williams-like piece', is eight minutes in duration, as also takes much inspiration from Tchaikovsky and Beethoven's musical gestures. And, as usual, the 2016 Proms season comes to an end with the climax of evergreen favourites Rule Britannia, Land of Hope and Glory and Jerusalem. So, wherever in the UK (or around the world) you happen to be from, have your flags at the ready, and paint your face if you wish, as it is going to be another Last Night to remember.