TAKE IT AWAY, MAESTRO!
The pick of this year’s Proms, with a hint of reggae and disco . . .
THE world’s largest classical festival gets under way tonight with the launch of this year’s Proms at the Royal Albert Hall. With Sheku Kanneh-Mason, West Side Story, disco and reggae on the menu, here are the pick of the shows. FIRST NIGHT
The Proms open with the first of several concerts marking 100 years since the end of World War I. Tonight’s curtain raiser is an all-British affair, with pieces by holst and Vaughan Williams that were premiered the year the Great War ended.
There’s also a new work — Five Telegrams by contemporary composer Anna Meredith — based on letters sent home from the front by young soldiers (8.15pm, tonight).
SHEKU TO SHINE AGAIN
hAVInG captured hearts at the Royal Wedding in May, cellist Sheku KannehMason returns to the Proms for a concert to mark the 40th anniversary of the BBC’s Young Musician, a competition he won in 2016. he will be joined by contenders from previous years, including violinist nicola Benedetti, in a programme that includes Saint-Saëns’s Carnival Of The Animals
(7pm, Sunday). FRENCH FLAIR
TheRe’S a strong Gallic flavour this year, with Claude Debussy a recurring presence alongside Ravel, Fauré, Messiaen and Berlioz. A new production of Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande is a highlight. Marking a century since the composer’s death, the operatic fairytale pairs the London Philharmonic with Austrian soprano Christina Gansch (6.30pm, Tuesday).
REGGAE & RUMBA
AuSTRALIAn producer and keyboardist Jake Savona is the prime mover behind havana Meets Kingston, a late-night Prom fusing the sounds of Cuba and Jamaica. Original members of havana’s Buena Vista Social Club, whose self-titled album was a hit in 1997, will be joined by some of Jamaica’s finest for an evening of reggae and rumba (10.15pm, July 31).
LINCOLN CALLING
FOLLOWInG last year’s visit to hull, the event takes an August trip to Lincoln for two performances of Stravinsky’s The Soldier’s Tale. Performed by The hebrides ensemble, the theatrical piece tells the story of a hapless soldier who sells his soul — and violin — to the devil (3pm and 7.30pm, August 4, Lincoln Drill Hall).
DMITRI FROM MEMORY
LOnDOn’S Aurora Orchestra have become Albert hall regulars by playing famous symphonies without sheet music. This year conductor nicholas Collon is attempting Dmitri Shostakovich’s daunting ninth, a five-movement piece lasting 26 minutes. Collon chats to radio presenter Tom Service before the performance (10.15pm, August 6).
PARTY PROM
hAVInG topped the albums chart in January with Classic house, a collaboration with DJ Pete Tong, Jules Buckley and his excellent heritage Orchestra salute The Big Apple with their traditional latenight Prom. new York: Sound Of A City explores punk, rap and disco with help from dance trio hercules & Love Affair and singersongwriter Sharon Van etten (10.15pm, August 8).
SHARKS & JETS
The Proms mark the centenary of Leonard Bernstein’s birth with John Wilson and his orchestra playing two Saturday performances of West Side Story, the American composer’s classic 1957 musical about new York street gangs The Sharks and The Jets. Bernstein’s 1944 production, On The Town, also gets its own Prom later in the series (3.30pm and 8pm, August 11).
LUNCH WITH LAURA
SInGeR Laura Mvula has played the Proms before, but this year debuts as a composer. her eightminute choral piece Love Like A Lion gets its world premiere with the BBC Singers in London’s Cadogan hall (1pm, August 20, Cadogan Hall).
BEETHOVEN FROM BERLIN
COnDuCTOR Kirill Petrenko leads the Berliner Philharmonic for two nights of music. The first stars pianist Yuja Wang, who plays a Prokofiev piano concerto. The second features Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony ( 7.30pm, September 1; 8pm, September 2).
TANGO TREAT
The Proms should witness plenty of Latin passion as the Britten Sinfonia are joined by pianist Pablo Ziegler and bandoneon player héctor Del Curto in an homage to classic Argentinian tango and the more modern styles developed in the Fifties by Astor Piazzolla (7.30pm, September 4).
LAST NIGHT
The Proms finale is classical music’s biggest singalong, and this year will be no exception, with conductor Sir Andrew Davis overseeing Jerusalem and Pomp And Circumstance plus a new piece by Roxanna Panufnik. Saxophonist Jess Gillam solos and the nearby Proms In The Park features soul divas Gladys Knight and Lisa Stansfield
(7.15pm, September 8). ALL concerts are at the Albert Hall unless indicated. Every Prom is live on Radio 3 and the BBC website, with some events on BBC One, Two and Four. Promming (standing) tickets are available for £6 on the day. For other tickets, visit bbc.co.uk/proms