BBC Music Magazine’s Proms Picks
The editorial team name the concerts most firmly marked in their diaries
Prom 8 20 July
Prom 18 28 July
Young guns: pianist Bertrand Chamayou and (below) maestro Teodor Currentzis
Mendelssohn, Schumann and more
Pianist Bernard Chamayou delighted us all at this year’s BBC Music Magazine Awards, where, as well as coming to pick up the Chamber Award, he also treated us to a little Debussy. And so we await his BBC Proms debut this year in Mendelssohn’s First Piano Concerto with particular relish. The BBC National Orchestra of Wales, celebrating its 90th anniversary this year (see p46), will accompany him before performing the original 1841 version of Schumann’s ebullient Symphony No. 4. These substantial works are prefaced by pieces by two female composers from the 20th century, both of whose lives were cut tragically short: the impressionistic Nocturne by Morfydd Owen and a melancholic diptych by Lili Boulanger.
Freya Parr Editorial assistant
Beethoven’s Symphonies Nos 2 & 5
Teodor Currentzis doesn’t often conduct in the UK, but he’s nevertheless made his mark with audiences here. That’s thanks to a thrilling trio of Mozart opera recordings and, earlier this year, a devastating interpretation of Tchaikovsky’s Pathétique Symphony.
But this summer it’s pure Beethoven. Currentzis isn’t one to do anything by halves – when he was unhappy with parts of his Don Giovanni recording, he redid the whole lot – and this year he’s heading to Vienna to record all nine of Beethoven’s symphonies. Back in London, for his Proms debut, he’s focusing on just
two: the bubbling Second (1802) and famous Fifth (1808). Currentzis’s period-instrument orchestra Musicaeterna is sure to bring an unexpected twist to these brilliant masterpieces.
Rebecca Franks Managing editor
Prom 32 6 August
Inside Shostakovich
Part concert, part lecture, this Late Night Prom sees the Aurora Orchestra digging deep into Shostakovich’s Ninth Symphony, which it performs from memory. A feat of cerebral endurance at which this orchestra has become something of a specialist, it follows memorised performances of Mozart and Beethoven symphonies at previous BBC Proms. Ahead of its performance in full, conductor Nicholas Collon and presenter Tom Service deconstruct the music with fascinating insights and live excerpts. The work is also preceded by Shostakovich’s lively Piano Concerto No 2, in which pianist Denis Kozhukhin does the solo honours.
Michael Beek Reviews editor
Proms 38 & 39 11 August
Bernstein’s West Side Story
It’s time to channel your inner Jet. Or do you see yourself as more of a Shark? The rival New York gangs bring their feud to the Royal Albert Hall in what should be a memorable two-concert performance of Bernstein’s sizzling musical. Among this rowdy Big Apple bickering emerges a heart-breaking Romeo and Juliet-inspired love story and, setting the brilliant words of Stephen Sondheim, a glorious score that includes some of the US composer’s best known tunes – ‘America’, ‘Tonight’ and ‘Maria’ to name but three. Controlling it all is John Wilson, who conducts his own John Wilson Orchestra and a cast including Ross Lekites as Tony. May the Jets roar and the Sharks bite! Jeremy Pound Deputy editor
Proms 67 & 68 2 September
A Boston and Berlin double
As the leaves begin to turn, the BBC Proms invites two major orchestras from overseas to indulge in Romantic reflections on life and nature. Performed by the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Mahler’s epic Symphony No. 3, with its allusions to birdsong, dances, marches and songs, is the late-19th century’s ultimate tribute to the world around us. For those of us sticking around until the evening, the offerings are, if anything, even more enticing: the Berlin Phil in Strauss’s heroic Don Juan,a sweeping portrait of power and passion; and Death and Transfiguration, a glimpse into the fragility and transience of human existence. And while Beethoven at first joins in the existential angst, his dancing shoes are firmly at hand… Oliver Condy Editor
PROM 26
10.15-11.30pm RAH
Purcell Dido and Aeneas – excerpts, The Fairy Queen – Chaconne: Dance for Chinese Man and Woman, Graupner Dido, Queen of Carthage – excerpts, Sartorio Julius Caesar in Egypt – excerpts, Locke
The Tempest – Curtain Tune, Handel Julius Caesar in
Egypt – ‘Che sento? Oh Dio!... Se pietà di me non senti’, Castello Sonata No. 15, Cavalli Dido – ‘Rè de’ Getuli altero… Il mio marito’, Hasse Mark Antony and Cleopatra – ‘Morte col fiero aspetto’, Handel Concerto grosso No. 8. Anna Prohaska (soprano), Il Giardino Armonico/giovanni Antonini
FRIDAY 3 AUGUST
PROM 27 7.30-9.45pm RAH
Folk Music around Britain and Ireland. Julie Fowlis (presenter, singer, instrumentalist), Jarlath Henderson, Sam Lee (singer), The Unthanks (English folk group), ALAW (Welsh folk group), BBC Concert Orchestra/stephen Bell
SATURDAY 4 AUGUST
PROMS AT… 3-4.15pm, 7.30-8.45pm
At Lincoln Drill Hall. Stravinsky The Soldier’s Tale. Hebrides Ensemble/william Conway
PROM 28 7.30-9.45pm RAH
Musorgsky (orchestrated by Rimsky-korsakov) A Night on Bare Mountain, George Benjamin Dance Figures, Ravel Piano Concerto for the Left Hand, Ligeti Lontano, Debussy La mer. Tamara Stefanovich (piano), National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain/ George Benjamin
SUNDAY 5 AUGUST
PROM 29 3-5.40pm RAH
Bach Brandenburg Concerto
No. 1, Mark-anthony Turnage Maya (UK premiere), Bach Brandenburg Concerto No. 3, Brandenburg Concerto No. 5, Anders Hillborg Bach Materia (UK premiere), Uri Caine Hamsa (UK premiere). Pekka Kuusisto, Antje Weithaas (violin), Maya Beiser (cello), Fiona Kelly (flute), Uri Caine (piano),
Mahan Esfahani (harpsichord), Swedish Chamber Orchestra/ Thomas Dausgaard
PROM 30 7.30-9.50pm RAH
JS Bach Brandenburg Concerto No. 4, Brandenburg Concerto No. 6, Brandenburg Concerto No. 2, Olga Neuwirth Aello – ballet mécanomorphe
(UK premiere), Brett Dean Approach – Prelude to a Canon (UK premiere), Steve Mackey Triceros (UK premiere). Antje Weithaas (violin), Brett Dean, Tabea Zimmermann (viola), Claire Chase, Fiona Kelly (flute), Mårten Larsson
(oboe), Håkan Hardenberger (trumpet), Swedish Chamber Orchestra/thomas Dausgaard
MONDAY 6 AUGUST
PROMS CHAMBER MUSIC 4 1-2pm CH
Stanford A soft day, Parry Weep you no more, sad fountains, Vaughan Williams The House of Life – ‘Love-sight’, Gurney Thou didst delight my eyes, Somervell Into my heart an air that kills, Bridge Come to me in my dreams, Howells Goddess of Night, Bridge Journey’s
End, Britten A Sweet Lullaby (world premiere), Somnus (world premiere), A Charm of
Lullabies, Holst Journey’s End, Mark-anthony Turnage Farewell (world premiere), Lisa Illean Sleeplessness… Sails (BBC commission, world premiere). Sarah Connolly (mezzosoprano), Joseph Middleton (piano)
PROM 31 7-9pm RAH
Bernstein Candide – Overture, Gershwin Piano Concerto, Ives Symphony No. 2. Inon Barnatan (piano), Minnesota Orchestra/ Osmo Vänskä
PROM 32 10.15-11.30pm RAH
Shostakovich Piano Concerto No. 2, Symphony No. 9. Denis Kozhukhin (piano), Tom Service (presenter), Aurora Orchestra/ Nicholas Collon
TUESDAY 7 AUGUST
PROM 33 7.30-9.35pm RAH
Thea Musgrave Phoenix Rising, Brahms A German Requiem. Golda Schultz (soprano), Johan Reuter (baritone),
BBC Symphony Orchestra,
BBC Symphony Chorus/ Richard Farnes
WEDNESDAY 8 AUGUST
PROM 34 7-9.05pm RAH
Walton Overture ‘Portsmouth Point’, Copland Connotations, Britten Les illuminations, Four Sea Interludes from ‘Peter Grimes’, Barber Two Scenes from ‘Anthony and Cleopatra’. Sally Matthews (soprano), BBC Philharmonic/juanjo Mena
PROM 35 10.15-11.30pm RAH
Hercules & Love Affair, serpentwithfeet (Djs/dance music projects), Sharon
Van Etten (singer), Heritage Orchestra/jules Buckley
THURSDAY 9 AUGUST
PROM 36 7.30-9.45pm RAH
Webern Five Pieces for Orchestra, Mahler Symphony No. 10 – Adagio, Wagner Die Walküre, Act 1. Anja Kampe (Sieglinde), Robert Dean Smith (Siegmund), Franz-josef Selig (Hunding), Philharmonia Orchestra/esa-pekka Salonen
FRIDAY 10 AUGUST
PROM 37 7.30-9.35pm RAH
Haydn The Creation – Chaos, Bernstein Symphony No. 1 ‘Jeremiah’, Mahler Symphony No. 1. Elizabeth Deshong (mezzo-soprano), Orchestra of the Academy of Santa Cecilia, Rome/sir Antonio Pappano
SATURDAY 11 AUGUST
PROM 38 & 39 3.30-5.40pm, 8-10.10pm RAH
Bernstein West Side Story (concert performance). Ross Lekites (Tony), Students from Artsed and Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts, John Wilson Orchestra/john Wilson
SUNDAY 12 AUGUST
PROM 40 4-6pm RAH
Mendelssohn A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Overture, Saintsaëns Violin Concerto No. 3, Bridge Lament (Catherine, aged 9, ‘Lusitania’ 1915), Beethoven Symphony No. 4. Academy of St Martin in the Fields/joshua Bell (violin/director)
PROM 41 8-9.55pm RAH
Lili Boulanger Pour les funérailles d’un soldat, Elgar Cello Concerto, Vaughan Williams Dona nobis pacem. Sophie Bevan (soprano), Neal Davies (baritone), Jean-guihen Queyras (cello), BBC SO & Chorus/edward Gardner
MONDAY 13 AUGUST
PROMS CHAMBER MUSIC 5
1 2PM CH Xenakis Rebonds B, Simon Holt Quadriga (world premiere), Suzanne Farrin new work (BBC commission, world premiere), Xenakis Tetras. Colin Currie (percussion), JACK Quartet
PROM 42 7.30-9.40pm RAH
Pärt Symphony No. 3, Grieg
Piano Concerto, Sibelius Symphony No. 5. Khatia Buniatishvili (piano), Estonian Festival Orchestra/paavo Järvi
TUESDAY 14 AUGUST
PROM 43 7.30-9.40pm RAH
Brahms Violin Concerto, David Robert Coleman Looking for Palestine (London premiere), Scriabin The Poem of Ecstasy. Elsa Dreisig (soprano),
Lisa Batiashvili (violin), West-eastern Divan Orchestra/ Daniel Barenboim
WEDNESDAY 15 AUGUST
PROM 44 7.30-9.25pm RAH
Debussy Prélude à l’aprèsmidi d’un faune, Lili Boulanger Psalm 130 ‘Du fond de l’abîme’, Debussy Nocturnes, Ravel Boléro. Justina Gringyt˙e (mezzo), City of Birmingham SO, Chorus & Youth Chorus/ Ludovic Morlot
THURSDAY 16 AUGUST
PROM 45 7-9pm RAH
Debussy Jeux, Ravel (orch. Yan Maresz) Violin Sonata in G (UK premiere of this orchestration), Stravinsky Petrushka (1911 version). Renaud Capuçon (violin), Orchestre de la Suisse Romande/jonathan Nott
PROM 46 RAH
10.15-11.30pm
Programme to include Laura Jurd new work (world premiere), Gershwin (arr. Grofé) Rhapsody in Blue (original jazz band version). Benjamin Grosvenor (piano), National Youth Jazz Orchestra/guy Barker & Mark Armstrong
FRIDAY 17 AUGUST
PROM 47 7.30-9.35pm RAH
Elgar Introduction and Allegro, Venables/bartók Venables
Plays Bartók (BBC commission, world premiere), Prokofiev Symphony No. 5. Pekka Kuusisto (violin), BBC SO/ Sakari Oramo
SATURDAY 18 AUGUST
PROM 48 7.30-9.40pm RAH
Ravel Mother Goose (ballet), Ravel Shéhérazade, Ravel L’enfant et les sortilèges (concert performance; sung in French, with surtitles). Magdalena Ko ená (Child), Patricia Bardon (Mother/ Shepherd/dragonfly), Jane Archibald (Fire/nightingale/ Princess), Anna Stéphany (Chair/white Cat/chinese Cup/squirrel), Elizabeth Watts (Shepherdess/bat/owl), Sunnyboy Dladla (Teapot/little Old Man/tree-frog), Gavan Ring (Grandfather Clock/black Cat), David Shipley (Tree/armchair), London Symphony Orchestra & Chorus/simon Rattle
SUNDAY 19 AUGUST
PROM 49 11am-1.15pm RAH
Agata Zubel Fireworks (UK premiere), Chopin Piano Concerto No. 2, Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 5. Seong-jin Cho (piano), European Union Youth Orchestra/gianandrea Noseda
PROM 50 8-10.25pm RAH
Mozart Clarinet Concerto, Mahler Symphony No. 5. Annelien Van Wauwe (clarinet),
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra/thomas Dausgaard
MONDAY 20 AUGUST
PROMS CHAMBER MUSIC 6 1-2pm CH
Bridge Music, when soft voices die, Vaughan Williams Rest, Holst Nunc dimittis, Laura Mvula The Virgin of Montserrat (BBC commission, world premiere), Parry Songs of Farewell. BBC Singers/
Sakari Oramo
PROM 51 7.30-9.30pm RAH
Wagner Parsifal – Prelude to Act 1, Richard Strauss Four Last Songs, Per Nørgård Symphony No. 3 (UK premiere). Malin Byström (soprano), London Voices, National Youth Chamber Choir of Great Britain, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra/ Thomas Dausgaard
TUESDAY 21 AUGUST
PROM 52 7-9pm RAH
Wagner The Flying Dutchman – Overture, Rolf Wallin Violin Concerto (world premiere), Sibelius Symphony No. 2.
Alina Ibragimova (violin),
Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra/ Edward Gardner
WEDNESDAY 22 AUGUST
PROM 54 7.30-9.40pm RAH
Enescu Suite No. 1 - Prélude à l’unison, Bartók Music for
Strings, Percussion and Celesta, Mahler Symphony No. 4.
Anna Lucia Richter (soprano), Budapest Festival Orchestra/ Iván Fischer
THURSDAY 23 AUGUST
PROM 55 7.30-9.40pm RAH
Liszt Hungarian Rhapsody
No. 1, Brahms Hungarian Dance No. 1, Liszt Hungarian Rhapsody No. 3, Sarasate Zigeunerweisen, Brahms Hungarian Dance No. 11, Brahms Symphony No. 1. József Lendvay Sr, József Lendvay Jr (violin), Jeno Lisztes (cimbalom), Budapest Festival Orchestra/iván Fischer
FRIDAY 24 AUGUST
PROM 56 7.30-9.55pm RAH
Mozart Piano Concerto No. 21, Bruckner Symphony No. 5. Benjamin Grosvenor (piano), BBC So/sakari Oramo
SATURDAY 25 AUGUST
PROM 57 7.30-9.55pm RAH
Bernstein On the Town (concert performance). Nathaniel Hackmann (Gabey), Louise Dearman (Hildy), London Symphony Orchestra/
John Wilson
SUNDAY 26 AUGUST
PROM 58 7.30-9.40pm RAH
The Sound of an Orchestra. Royal Philharmonic Orchestra/ Joshua Weilerstein, Gerard Mcburney (creative director), Mike Tutaj (projection design)
MONDAY 27 AUGUST
PROMS CHAMBER MUSIC 7 1-2pm CH
Bernstein La bonne cuisine, Fancy Free – ‘Big Stuff’, Conch Town (UK premiere), Trouble in Tahiti – ‘What a movie!’, Bushra El-turk Crème Brûlée on a Tree (BBC commission, world premiere), Copland Pastorale, Barber Hermit Songs Op. 29 – ‘Sea Snatch’, ‘The Monk and His Cat’, Blitzstein ‘Modest Maid’, ‘Stay in My Arms’, Sondheim A Little Night Music – ‘The Miller’s Son’. Wallis Giunta (mezzo), Michael Sikich, Iain Farrington (piano), Toby Kearney, Owen Gunnell (percussion)
PROM 59 4.15-5.30pm RAH
Relaxed Prom. A concert
suitable for children and adults with learning disabilities, as well as those who are deaf, hard of hearing, blind and partially sighted. Programme to include music by Bernstein, Holst, Rachmaninov and Tchaikovsky, plus the London premiere of a work by Alexander Campkin. James Redwood (presenter), BSO Resound/james Rose, Bournemouth So/sian Edwards PROM 60 8-10.20pm RAH
Bernstein Slava! (A Political Overture), Symphony No. 2, Shostakovich Symphony No. 5. Jean-yves Thibaudet (piano), Baltimore So/marin Alsop
TUESDAY 28 AUGUST
PROM 61 7.30-9.45pm RAH
Liszt Piano Concerto No. 2, Bruckner Symphony No. 4 ‘Romantic’. Yefim Bronfman (piano), Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra/ Yannick Nézet-séguin
WEDNESDAY 29 AUGUST
PROM 62 6-8.15pm RAH
Elgar In the South (Alassio), Iain Bell Aurora (BBC co-commission, world premiere), Richard Strauss Das Rosenband, Ständchen, Wiegenlied, Zueignung, Bartók Concerto for Orchestra.
Diana Damrau (soprano), Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra/vasily Petrenko PROM 63 9.30Pm-12am RAH
Bach The Well-tempered Clavier – Book 2. András Schiff (piano)
THURSDAY 30 AUGUST
PROM 64 7.30-9.05pm RAH
Verdi Requiem. Lise Davidsen (soprano), Karen Cargill (mezzo), Dmytro Popov (tenor), Tomasz Konieczny (bass), London Philharmonic Orchestra & Choir/andrés Orozco-estrada
FRIDAY 31 AUGUST
PROM 65 7.30-9.30pm RAH
Ravel La valse, Berio Sinfonia, Stravinsky The Rite of Spring. London Voices, BBC SO/ Semyon Bychkov PROM 65A 10.15-11.30pm RAH
Youssou Ndour & Le Super Étoile de Dakar (ensemble)
SATURDAY 1 SEPTEMBER
PROMS AT… 3-5pm
At Alexandra Palace. Music by contemporaries of Sullivan, including Parry, Coleridge-taylor and Stanford. Sullivan Trial by Jury. Neal Davies (Learned Judge), Mary Bevan (Plaintiff), Sam Furness (The Defendant), Ross Ramgobin (Counsel for the Plaintiff), BBC Singers, BBC Concert Orchestra/jane Glover PROM 66 7.30 9.55PM RAH Dukas La péri – Fanfare, Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 3, Schmidt Symphony No. 4.
Yuja Wang (piano), Berlin Philharmonic/kirill Petrenko
SUNDAY 2 SEPTEMBER
PROM 67 2-3.50pm RAH
Mahler Symphony No. 3. Susan Graham (mezzo), CBSO Chorus (female voices) & Youth Chorus, Boston So/andris Nelsons PROM 68 8-10.05pm RAH
Richard Strauss Don Juan, Death and Transfiguration, Beethoven Symphony No. 7. Berlin Philharmonic/
Kirill Petrenko
MONDAY 3 SEPTEMBER
PROMS CHAMBER MUSIC 8 1-2pm CH
Lili Boulanger Nocturne for violin and piano, Trois morceaux for piano, Debussy Sonata for Flute, Viola and Harp, Nina enk Baca (BBC commission, world premiere), Ravel Introduction and Allegro. Soloists of the Berlin Philharmonic: Maja Avramovi´c, Daishin Kashimoto (violin), Amihai Grosz (viola), Bruno Delepelaire (cello), Emmanuel Pahud (flute), Andreas Ottensamer (clarinet), Marie-pierre Langlamet (harp), Alasdair Beatson (piano) PROM 69 7.30-9.50pm RAH
Bernstein Serenade after Plato’s ‘Symposium’, Shostakovich Symphony No. 4. Baiba Skride (violin), Boston Symphony Orchestra/andris Nelsons
TUESDAY 4 SEPTEMBER
PROM 70 7.30-9.45pm RAH
Tango Prom. Pablo Ziegler (piano), Héctor Del Curto (bandoneon), Claudio Ragazzi (guitar), Pedro Giraudo (double bass), Franco Pinna (drums), Britten Sinfonia/clark Rundell
WEDNESDAY 5 SEPTEMBER
PROM 71 7.30-9.40pm RAH
Berlioz Overture ‘Le corsaire’, La mort de Cléopâtre, The Trojans – Royal Hunt and Storm, The Trojans – Dido’s death scene, Harold in Italy. Antoine Tamestit (viola), Joyce Didonato (mezzo), Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique/john Eliot Gardiner
THURSDAY 6 SEPTEMBER
PROM 72 7-8.35pm RAH
Britten War Requiem. Erin
Wall (soprano), Allan Clayton (tenor), Russell Braun (baritone), Huddersfield Choral Society, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Chorus & Junior Chorus/peter Oundjian PROM 73 10.15-11.30pm RAH
Hildegard von Bingen Ordo virtutum – In principio omnes, Padilla Deus in adiutorium, Gallus Pater noster, Allegri Miserere, Tallis Te lucis ante terminum I, Pärt Nunc dimittis, Browne O Maria salvatoris mater. Tallis Scholars/peter Phillips
FRIDAY 7 SEPTEMBER
PROM 74 7-10.05pm RAH
Handel Theodora. Louise Alder (Theodora), Iestyn Davies (Didymus), Benjamin Hulett (Septimius), Ann Hallenberg (Irene), Tareq Nazmi (Valens), Arcangelo/jonathan Cohen
SATURDAY 8 SEPTEMBER
PROM 75 7.15-10.30pm RAH
Last Night of the Proms. Roxanna Panufnik Songs of Darkness, Dreams of Light (BBC commission, world premiere), Stanford Songs of the Sea, Parry Blest Pair of Sirens, Milhaud Scaramouche, Rodgers Carousel – ‘Soliloquy’, Rodgers (arr. Wood) Fantasia on British Sea-songs, Arne (arr. Sargent) Rule, Britannia!, Elgar Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1 (‘Land of Hope and Glory’), Parry (orch. Elgar) Jerusalem, The National Anthem, Auld Lang Syne. Jess Gillam (saxophone), Gerald Finley (baritone), BBC Singers, BBC SO & Chorus/sir Andrew Davis.