Making restitution: Sir Arthur Bliss' The Beatitudes returns to BBC Proms after a gap of 60 years

Bliss: The Beatitudes - Elizabeth Watts, Laurence Kilsby, 
BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Singers, Sakari Oramo
BBC Proms (Photo: Chris Christodoulou/ BBC)

Ruth Gips: Death on the Pale Horse, Grieg: Piano Concerto, Bliss: The Beatitudes; Elizabeth Watts, Laurence Kilsby, Lukas Sternath, BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony Chorus, BBC Singers, Sakari Oramo; BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall
Reviewed 7 September 2025

Bliss' powerful war-inspired cantata, written for the consecration of Coventry Cathedral and Ruth Gips' 1943 tone-poem with Grieg's concerto as a somewhat unlikely make-weight

Some works recover from a disastrous premiere whilst others simply disappear. Sir Arthur Bliss' large-scale choral cantata The Beatitudes was written for the consecration of Coventry Cathedral in 1962 alongside Britten's War Requiem. Logistics (and perhaps a bit of politicking) meant the premiere of Bliss' piece being bumped to the unsatisfactory Belgrave Theatre. The Beatitudes was performed at the BBC Proms two years late in 1964, but it took until 2012 for it to be finally performed in Coventry Cathedral.

On Sunday 7 September 2025, Bliss' The Beatitudes returned to the BBC Proms alongside another British work arising from the Second World War, Ruth Gips' Death on a Pale Horse. Rather curiously, Grieg's Piano Concerto was sandwiched in the middle and at least one couple in the audience, having listened attentively to the Grieg seem to have decided that the Bliss was not worth returning for.

Sakari Oramo conducted the BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Singers and BBC Symphony Chorus with Lukas Sternath as soloist in Grieg's Piano Concerto and soprano Elizabeth Watts and tenor Laurence Kilsby as soloists in Bliss' The Beatitudes.

Grieg: Piano Concerto - Lukas Stenrath, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Sakari Oramo - BBC Proms (Photo: Chris Christodoulou/ BBC)

BBC Proms: Two tempests, a fire and a swan, Thomas Adès conducts Sibelius, Gabriella Smith & his own music with BBC Symphony Orchestra

Gabriella Smith: Breathing Forests - James McVinnie, Thomas Adès, BBC Symphony Orchestra
BBC Proms (Photo: Andy Paradise/BBC)

Sibelius: The Swan of Tuonela, Gabriella Smith: Breathing Forests, Thomas Adès: Five Spells from The Tempest, Sibelius: The Tempest - Suite No. 1; James McVinnie, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Thomas Adès; BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall
Reviewed 2 September 2025

Mixing his own music with that of Sibelius and the UK premiere of a work written for the organ of the Walt Disney Hall in Los Angeles, Thomas Adès demonstrated a remarkable ear for creating sophisticated shifting palates of orchestral colour

When I spoke to organist James McVinnie last year [see my interview with him celebrating the Southbank Centre organ's 70th birthday], one of the works he mentioned was American composer Gabriella Smith's Breathing Forests so it was with great pleasure that we were able to catch McVinnie's performance in the UK premiere of the work at the BBC Proms.

At the Royal Albert Hall on Tuesday 2 September 2025, Thomas Adès conducted the BBC Symphony Orchestra in a programme that moved from Sibelius' The Swan of Tuonela to Gabriella Smith's Breathing Forests (with James McVinnie on the Royal Albert Hall organ), to Adès' own Five Spells from The Tempest and back to Sibelius with his The Tempest - Suite No. 1.

BBC Proms: Shostakovich's Lady Macbeth from massed BBC & ENO forces but Amanda Majeski's Katerina triumphs

Shostakovich's Lady Macbeth of Mstsensk - John Findon, Amanda Majeski, BBC Philharmonic, BBC Singers, ENO, John Storgårds - BBC Proms (Photo: BBC/ Andy Paradise)

Shostakovich's Lady Macbeth of Mstsensk; Amanda Majeski, Brindley Sherratt, John Findon, Nicky Spence, director: Ruth Knight, BBC Philharmonic, BBC Singers, Chorus & Orchestra of ENO, conductor: John Storgårds; BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall
Reviewed 1 September 2025

Massed forces bring out the power and savagery of Shostakovich's score but it was Amanda Majeski in a masterly account of the title role who really triumphed

One of the strands in this year's BBC Proms has been the 50th anniversary of the death of Dmitri Shostakovich and Monday 1 September at the Royal Albert Hall saw what must be the large-scale centre piece of these, a collaboration between the BBC Philharmonic and English National Opera to present Shostakovich's 1936 opera, Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk in all its messy magnificence. 

John Storgårds conducted the BBC Philharmonic and the brass section of the Orchestra of English National Opera with the BBC Singers, and Chorus of English National Opera. Amanda Majeski was Katerina with Brindley Sherratt as Boris, John Findon as Zinovy, Nicky Spence as Sergey plus Thomas Mole, Ronald Samm, Alaric Green, Chuma Sijeqa, William Morgan, Willard White and Niamh O'Sullivan. The semi-staging was directed by Ruth Knight.

For all the operatic talent on stage, it was very much the orchestra which was the focus here. The huge forces of the BBC Philharmonic and brass of the ENO Orchestra - 60 strings, triple woodwind, five horns, eight brass, eight percussionists plus 15 players from ENO in the choir stalls - almost filled the stage. There was a narrow acting area at the front of the stage but Ruth Knight's production made the most of what was available so the the theatrical performance took place in front and behind of the orchestra. Dramatically this was highly imaginative, make the best use of the stage and present the opera with great clarity. Unfortunately, the Royal Albert Hall is not the most sympathetic of venues and placing much of the action at the back of the stage, behind the orchestra rather compromised the balance. And even when singers were at the front of the stage, Shostakovich's exuberant orchestration overbalanced things.

Shostakovich: Lady Macbeth of Mstsensk - Amanda Majeski, Nicky Spence, BBC Philharmonic - BBC Proms (Photo: BBC/ Andy Paradise)

It was the orchestral performance that dominated. The opera, with its five orchestral interludes and strongly satirical writing (Shostakovich uses popular-style tunes to undercut some of the dramatic action) lent the whole a particularly savage feel. During the murder of Zinovy, Shostakovich writes jauntily for the orchestra but as rendered here by the massed forces on stage, the results were terrifying and causing Nicky Spence's (Sergey) dramatic efforts to strangle John Findon (Zinovy) to very much take second place in the drama. And there were moments when the grimly comic stage action seemed very much at odds with the savagely satirical writing in the orchestra.

BBC Proms: Rarely has large-scale Handel felt so vital & involving. Peter Whelan & the Irish Baroque Orchestra in the Dublin version of Alexander's Feast

Handel: Alexander's Feast - Hilary Cronin, Stuart Jackson, Peter Whelan, Irish Baroque Orchestra & Chorus - BBC Proms (Photo: Chris Christodoulou/ BBC)

Handel: Alexander's Feast (1742 version, modern premiere), Concerti a due cori; Hilary Cronin, Hugh Cutting, Stuart Jackson, Irish Baroque Orchestra & Chorus, Peter Whelan; BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall
Reviewed 30 August 2025

This was unashamedly Big Baroque with the Dublin version of Alexander's Feast where Peter Whelan drew a remarkably communicative and urgent performance from all his players.

Handel's Alexander's Feast tends to be something of an unsung gem amongst his oratorios, perhaps Dryden's text is somewhat too poetically diffuse for modern audiences to take to their heart but in the work Handel displays his masterly grasp of creating large scale structures by interweaving chorus, recitative and aria into something more. He wrote the work in 1736 as a result of a sustained campaign by his friends to get the composer setting some great English poets, a campaign that would lead to Handel's other Dryden and Milton settings.

Until this year, the work had only been performed twice at the BBC Proms, in 1964 and in 2006 (this latter performance in Mozart's re-orchestration). On Saturday 30 August for their first appearance at the BBC Proms (and only the second appearance ever of an ensemble from the Republic of Ireland), Peter Whelan and the Irish Baroque Orchestra chose to perform Handel's 1742 Dublin version of Alexander's Feast along with a selection of his Concerti a due cori. The orchestra was joined by the Irish Baroque Chorus and soloists soprano Hilary Cronin, alto Hugh Cutting and tenor Stuart Jackson.

When Handel visited Dublin in 1741 and 1742 he gave two subscription series which would include the premiere of Messiah and a serenata version of his last opera, Imeneo. He also planned on performing Alexander's Feast but a decree from the Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, Jonathan Swift, meant that Handel could no longer use the singing men from the cathedral. This meant that Alexander's Feast had to be adjusted. The result is structurally different from the 1736 version, with a third part, using text by Irish writer Newburgh Hamilton who had arranged Dryden's original, and solos rewritten for soprano Christina Avolio, alto Susannah Cibber (who was in Dublin avoiding a sex scandal in London and who made a big impression in the alto solos in Messiah) and tenor Callaghan McCarty who was a Dublin-based theatre singer.

Handel: Alexander's Feast - Irish Baroque Orchestra & Chorus - BBC Proms (Photo: Chris Christodoulou/ BBC)

As Peter Whelan explained to me when we chatted in July [see my interview, Spurred by the story-telling], he designed the performance partly for the Royal Albert Hall and this was certainly Big Baroque. We had a chorus of 40, and orchestra with 30 strings, four oboes, three bassoons and four horns. These latter looked and sounded pretty spectacular with their miles of tubing and highly characterful timbre. The continuo line-up included two harpsichords (one played by Whelan), two theorbos and organ.

The Glyndebourne Prom: Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro with a young cast on superb form

Mozart: Le nozze di Figaro - Huw Montague Rendall, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment - Glyndebourne at the BBC Proms (Photo: Chris Christodoulou/ BBC)

Mozart: Le nozze di Figaro: Tommaso Barea, Johann Wallroth, Huw Montague Rendall, Louise Alder, Adèle Charvet, director: Mariame Clément/Talia Stern, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, conductor: Riccardo Minasi, Glyndebourne Festival Opera; BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall
Reviewed 27 August 2025

An economical staging mixed comedy, tragedy and politics that allowed a cast mixing youth and experience to create one of the most satisfying performances of the opera I have seen in a long time

Mariame Clément's production of Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro debuted this summer at Glyndebourne and following a successful two month run, the performers came to rest at the Royal Albert Hall for the Glyndebourne Festival's annual visit to the BBC Proms. On 27 August 2025, Riccardo Minasi conducted the Orchestra of the Age of the Enlightenment with the Glyndebourne Chorus. Tommaso Barea was Figaro, Johanna Wallroth was Susanna, Huw Montague Rendall was the Count, Louise Alder was the Countess, Alessandro Corbelli was Bartolo, Madeleine Shaw was Marcellina, and Adèle Charvet was Cherubino. The semi-staging was directed by Talia Stern based on Mariame Clément's production at Glyndebourne.

The Orchestra of the Age of the Enlightenment was pressed towards the rear of the stage, making extensive use of the risers which created a substantial acting area, though as is usual with these Glyndebourne Proms, there was little opportunity for eye contact between conductor Riccardo Minasi and his cast.

The set, such as it was, consisted of two doors which were made extensive use of, plus sundry elements of set dressing moved around by stage crew - chairs, tables, a screen for the Countess to change behind in Act Two and the bath for the Count in Act Three.

Mozart: Le nozze di Figaro - Louise Alder, Pippa Barton - Glyndebourne at the BBC Proms (Photo: Chris Christodoulou/ BBC)

Clément's production used a traditional, 18th century setting which meant that costumes (designer Julia Hansen) and action all gave a clear presentation of the hierarchy in the palace. Unlike the festival's previous 1960s-set production directed by Michael Grandage, the notion of droit de Seigneur was a clear and present danger here, forming a strong political thread throughout the action. Stern's boiling down of the original production used the limited resources (two doors, a chair, a sheet, a screen) to maximum effect so that the farcical elements were wittily done without too much suspension of disbelief.

BBC Proms: A performance to treasure as Fabio Luisi & the Danish National Symphony Orchestra celebrate their centenary with Beethoven, Bent Sørensen & Anna Clyne

Danish National Symphony Orchestra, Fabio Luisi - BBC Proms at Royal Albert Hall (Photo: BBC/Chris Christodoulou)

Bent Sørensen: Evening Land, Anna Clyne: The Years, Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 in D minor, ‘Choral’; Clara Cecilie Thomsen, Jasmin White, Issachah Savage, Adam Pałka, Danish National Symphony Orchestra, Danish National Concert Choir, Fabio Luisi; BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall

Beethoven's choral symphony in a performance full of vivid energy and intense detail yet never straining for a sense of scale. The orchestra's principal conductor brought discipline and imagine to an oft repeated work.

The Danish National Symphony Orchestra (DR Symfoniorkestret) is celebrating its centenary. It was created in 1925 as part of the founding of DR (Danish Broadcasting Corporation), partly in emulation of the BBC where the predecessor to the BBC Philharmonic had been created in 1922. As part of the celebrations the orchestra and its chief conductor, Fabio Luisi paid a visit to the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall on Thursday 21 August 2025 along with the Danish National Concert Choir (DR Koncertkoret) and soloists Clara Cecilie Thomsen, Jasmin White, Issachah Savage and Adam Pałka to perform Bent Sørensen's Evening Land, Anna Clyne's The Years and Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 in D minor, ‘Choral’.

We began with Evening Land by Danish composer Bent Sørensen who has a long relationship with the orchestra. This was only the third of Sørensen's pieces to be performed at the Proms and one of those previous performances was given by the Danish National Symphony Orchestra on a previous visit in 2008. Evening Land was commissioned by the New York Philharmonic in 2017, the piece now features regularly in Danish National Symphony Orchestra programmes. It is inspired by an image Sørensen had from his childhood on the island of Zealand in Denmark which he recalled whilst in New York so that "the vision of quiet – mixed with the new vision of flashes of light and bustling activity".

Clara Cecilie Thomsen, Jasmin White, Issachah Savage, Adam Pałka - BBC Proms at Royal Albert Hall (Photo: BBC/Chris Christodoulou)

BBC Proms - Classics, bon-bons and an engagingly fresh account of an enduring masterpiece, Nil Venditti conducts BBC National Orchestra of Wales

Great British Classics - BBC Singers, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Nil Venditti - BBC Proms 2025 (Photo: BBC / Chris Christodoulou)

Great British Classics: Walton, Vaughan Williams, Coleridge-Taylor, Britten, William Mathias, John Rutter, Avril Coleridge-Taylor, Grace Williams, Elgar; Liya Petrova, BBC Singers, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Nil Venditti; BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall
Reviewed 5 August 2025

The Italian-Turkish conductor mixed establish classics with varied bon-bons including John Rutter's 80th birthday commission and ending with an engagingly fresh account of Elgar's enduring masterpiece

Tuesday 5 August's concert at the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall was billed as Great British Classics. True, Nil Venditti did conduct the BBC National Orchestra of Wales in Walton's Crown Imperial, Vaughan Williams' The Lark Ascending (with violinist Liya Petrova), Britten's Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes and Elgar's Enigma Variations but someone had been rooting around in the library cupboards and so these works were shaken up with a selection of lesser-known bon-bons in the manner of a pre-War programmes. It was a very Proms programme too, mixing a cappella music from the BBC Singers with full orchestra in a way that few promoters could afford. But it meant that we heard part-songs by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor and his daughter, Avril Coleridge Taylor, along with William Mathias' Dance Overture, Grace Williams' Elegy for Strings and the premiere of a BBC commission, John Rutter's Bird Songs.

Italian-Turkish conductor Nil Venditti was appointed principal guest conductor of the Royal Northern Sinfonia last September and she seems to be developing a relationship with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, giving seven concerts with them during their 2025/26 season.

We began with Walton's Coronation March 'Crown Imperial' which was written for the 1936 Coronation and gave the first glimpse of a rather different Walton to his earlier music. Here we heard it in Vilem Tausky's reduced orchestration (which still included double woodwind, five horns, three trumpets and three trombones). Venditti's approach was brisk, it opened full of impetus and energy enlivened by crisp rhythms with the noble second subject rather flowing and youthful in feel. Hardly Imperial at all.

Vaughan Williams: The Lark Ascending - Liya Petrova, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Nil Venditti - BBC Proms 2025 (Photo: BBC / Chris Christodoulou)

Vaughan Williams' The Lark Ascending was completed in 1914 and premiered in 1920, so it should not surprise us that the work's pastoral melancholy goes far beyond the George Meredith poem that inspired it. Soloist Liya Petrova made the violin's opening slow, meditative and thoughtful. The strings were impressively hushed when joining her, and there was a mysterious melancholy to the piece. Throughout Venditti avoided hints of folk rumbustiousness, the faster section was only just perky and the closing pages returned to the meditative feel.

Music on a summer’s day. How lovely! Avid Prommer Tony Cooper explores the 2025 BBC Proms

Bliss' The Beatitudes performed in Coventry Cathedral for the first time, the building for which it was commissioned and written; Orla Boylan (soprano), Andrew Kennedy (tenor), Sheffield Philharmonic Chorus, BBC Philharmonic, Paul Daniel (conductor) in 2012

The BBC Proms eight-week season features over 3000 artists and the first ‘all-night’ Prom in almost half a century. Avid Prommer, Tony Cooper, reports on the world’s largest classical-music festival that helps to make summer tick.

When the BBC Proms arrives, summer, in my humble opinion, arrives, too. A feast of music like no other, the Proms (running from Friday 18th July to Saturday 13th September) offers so much over its packed eight-week season with a total of 86 concerts at the Royal Albert Hall. 

This is the first complete Proms series that Sam Jackson, who took over the post of controller of BBC Radio 3 and director of the Proms from David Pickard a couple of years ago, is responsible for. He has most certainly come up with an interesting, varied and attractive programme that should find widespread appeal among hard-headed Prommers while helping to attract new audiences. 

Branching out, too, the Proms takes off to Bradford as part of Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture as well as Sunderland while returning to Bristol and Gateshead for two three-day weekend residencies with a special Prom in Belfast to mark the centenary of Radio 4’s popular ‘Shipping Forecast’ focusing on music inspired by the sea. 

From RVW's Sancta Civitas & Bliss' The Beatitudes to Reich's The Desert Music & Birtwistle's Earth Dances, plus 19 premieres: the BBC Proms 2025

This years BBC Proms are the first under the stewardship of Sam Jackson, controller of BBC Radio 3 who took over the Proms this year from David Pickard. Running from 18 July to 13 September, the festival features 72 Proms at the Royal Albert Hall and 14 at venues around the UK.

The First Night opens with the Birthday Fanfare for Sir Henry Wood, by Sir Arthur Bliss, who died fifty years ago this year. Sakari Oramo conducts the BBC Symphony Orchestra in an evening that also include Ralph Vaughan Williams' rarely performed Sancta Civitas which was completed 100 years ago, and the premiere of Errollyn Wallen's The Elements, a BBC commission.

Bliss anniversary celebrations during the season also include his cantata The Beatitudes, premiered in Coventry at the same time as Britten's War Requiem and rather overshadowed by that work. The Beatitudes is well worth exploring and I look forward to hearing the work with Oramo conducting the BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony Chorus and BBC Singers in a programme that also includes Ruth Gipps' Death on a Pale Horse.

Major anniversaries include Shostakovich who also died fifty years ago.

From the London Eye to the Northern Lights: BBC Radio 3’s 25 for 25: Sounds of the Century

The London Eye (Photo: Diego Delso, Wikimedia CC BY-SA 4.0)

On Saturday 25 January, BBC Radio 3 launched 25 for 25: Sounds of the Century, its sequence of 25 commissions celebrating and commemorating some of the biggest events of the 21st century so far.  Recorded by BBC performing groups and Radio 3 New Generation Artists, the new commissions have their first broadcast on Saturday Morning with Tom Service each week and are then presented across the Radio 3 schedule throughout the week following their premiere, including plays on Breakfast, Essential Classics and In Tune. 

The series launched on Saturday 25 January with the premiere of Anna Clyne’s The Eye, performed by the BBC Philharmonic with conductor Ben Gernon, taking The London Eye as a starting point for a reflection on the new millennium.

The new works include Errollyn Wallen’s Remembering 2012 (London 2012 Olympics) by New Generation Artists, the Chaos Quartet), Stephen Hough's Nocturne for September 10th 2001 (the 9/11 terrorist attacks) with performed by former New Generation Artist Elisabeth Brauß) and Thea Musgrave’s In memoriam 2022 (the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II) performed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra led by Nil Venditti, with oboist Nicholas Daniel and violinist Johan Dalene, Nkeiru Okoye’s And The People Celebrated (the 2008 election of the first African-American US President, Barack Obama) with the BBC Concert Orchestra led by George Morton, and narrator Paterson Joseph), Karl Jenkins’ The Signs Still Point the Way (the COVID pandemic) with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and BBC Singers) and Rakhi Singh’s There is nothing in the sky (the Manchester Arena bombing) performed by the BBC Philharmonic.

Some of the milestones seem designed specifically to give the composers' a headache. Erland Cooper’s Birds of Paradise pays tribute to David Attenborough’s eight-decade-long career with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and conductor Jack Sheen, Anselm McDonnell reflects on the Paris Climate Agreement with the BBC Singers, Héloïse Werner is inspired by the first image of a black hole with BBC Singers. Cassie Kinoshi celebrates record sightings of humpback whales in 2021 with New Generation Artists, the Kleio Quartet and Kristina Arakelyan is inspired by Northern Lights for the BBC Philharmonic with the composer at the piano. One wonders what Gerald Barry will make of the first recorded sound on Mars with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and Jack Sheen.

Of particular personal interest, Elena Kats-Chernin with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra celebrates the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act. Other notable commissions include Jasdeep Singh Degun commemorating the great Indian sitar player Vilayat Khan, who died in 2004, with BBC Philharmonic, Gavin Higgins reflecting the End of UK deep-pit coal mining in 2015 with BBC Symphony Orchestra.

Northern Lights captured by Rebecca Saxton over Great Chishill Windmill, Royston, UK, 10 October 2024, with a Nikon D750 camera and 24-70mm lens (Photo via BBC Sky at Night magazine)

Anna Clyne's piece can be found by scrolling through Tom Service's 25 January programme on BBC Sounds but I do hope the BBC are going to give us a proper website with a way to hear everything. See the full list below.

A broad & eclectic range of calming classical music: BBC Radio 3 Unwind launched on BBC Sounds.

This morning, BBC Radio 3 Unwind launched on BBC Sounds. Billed as a new 24/7 stream showcasing a broad and eclectic range of calming classical music, at first you wonder whether it might be entirely forgettable 'calming' background music. 

But we are promised a schedule that champions music by living composers, with a particular focus on those from the UK, with emerging artist-composers, as well as showcasing BBC Introducing artists, bringing their music to a wider audience. We are also promised music of under-represented composers, and as well as live and specially recorded repertoire from the BBC Orchestras and Choirs and Radio 3’s New Generation Artists. 

The stream will also include content promoting focus and relaxation, and contributions from guest experts and academics in fields such as psychology, neuroscience, and mental health. The presenter line-up is, at least, intriguing with Edith Bowman, Dr Sian Williams, Niall Breslin and AFRODEUTSCHE, joining more familiar Radio 3 names such as Ólafur Arnalds, Sara Mohr-Pietsch, Hannah Peel and Izzy Judd. 

Alongside new shows, BBC Radio 3 Unwind includes popular programmes such as Ultimate Calm with Ólafur Arnalds and The Music & Meditation Podcast with NAO and Izzy Judd, as well as simulcasting Radio 3’s Night Tracks with Sara Mohr-Pietsch and Hannah Peel. Its schedule also includes some of BBC Sounds’ most listened to and relaxing music mixes, such as the Mindful Mix, Piano Focus and The Sleeping Forecast.

BBC Radio 3 Unwind is on BBC Sounds.

A pathway for the next generation of young voices: BBC Singers and National Youth Choir announce three-year partnership

BBC Singers and National Youth Voices with Nicholas Chalmers
at the BBC Singers' Centenary Concert, October 2024

The BBC Singers and the National Youth Choir have announced a three-year partnership between the two organisations to open the pathway for the next generation of young voices. The partnership will centre on the collective ambition for young singers to gain invaluable experience of performing and recording together, focusing on education initiatives to provide opportunities for students from across the country to experience the joy of singing. It will encompass work involving National Youth Choir’s oldest singers, aged 18-25; its chamber ensemble, National Youth Voices; and its professional development scheme for singers, conductors and composers; the Emerging Professional Artists programme.

The two groups shared the stage at the BBC Proms earlier this year performing Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 from memory with Aurora Orchestra, and the National Youth Choir joined the BBC Singers at their centenary concert at the Barbican on 2 October 2024, where they performed Numbers by former National Youth Choir Young Composer Shruthi Rajasekar, led by Nicholas Chalmers, who is principal conductor of the National Youth Choir’s flagship ensemble, National Youth Choir (18-25 Years), and associate conductor, learning at the BBC Singers.

Prom 52: Intelligent, vivid & satisfying account of Bizet's Carmen from Rihab Chaied, Evan LeRoy Johnson & Anja Bihlmaier at Glyndebourne's visit to the BBC Proms

Bizet: Carmen - Rihab Chaieb, Evan LeRoy Johnson, Glyndebourne Chorus, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Anja Bihlmaier - Glyndebourne Festival at BBC Proms (Photo: BBC/Andy Paradise )

Bizet: Carmen; Rihab Chaied, Evan LeRoy Johnson, Lukasz Goliński, Janai Brugger, director: Diane Paulus/Adam Torrance, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Anja Bihlmaier; Glyndebourne Festival at the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall
Reviewed 29 August 2024

Strong cast, a stripped down yet intelligent production and superb conducting lead to a profoundly involving and musically satisfying performance

Glyndebourne Opera has been performing Bizet's Carmen this Summer in a new production by Diane Paulus, with the lead roles double cast and with two conductors. Following the end of the run, the company brought the production to the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall on Thursday 29 August 2024. Anja Bihlmaier (the recently announce principal guest conductor with the BBC Philharmonic, who conducted the August performances at Glyndebourne) was the conductor with a cast that mixed the first cast Carmen, Rihab Chaieb [whom we saw as Charlotte in Zurich Opera's production of Massenet's Werther earlier this year, see my review], and the other principals from the second cast with Evan LeRoy Johnson as Don Jose, Lukasz Goliński as Escamillo and Janai Brugger as Micaëla, plus Dingle Yandell as Zuniga, Thomas Mole as Moralès, Elisabeth Boudreault as Frasquita, Kezia Bienek as Mercédès, Loïc Félix as Le Dancaïre, and François Piolino as Le Remendado, with the Glyndebourne Chorus and London Philharmonic Orchestra, Glyndebourne Youth Opera and members of Trinity Boys Choir. Adam Torrance directed, based on Diane Paulus' production for the Glyndebourne Festival.

For all its extreme popularity, Carmen presents a series of challenges, the Spanish-isms and Opéra Comique element cannot be ignored and directorial decisions have to be made. But more than that, too often productions concentrate on what we might call the socialogical elements, creating intense drama at the expense of the whole. For all the difficulty of the work's reception, Carmen is a carefully crafted drama that mixes tragedy with comedy and poignant moments, along with the need to entertain.

Bizet: Carmen - Lukasz Golinski, Dingle Yandell, Glyndebourne Chorus, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Anja Bihlmaier - Glyndebourne Festival at BBC Proms (Photo: BBC/Andy Paradise )

Reading reviews of Diane Paulus' original productionn and seeing Adam Torrance's semi-staging based on it, what impressed was the way that we had all the features from the libretto, without any adjustments. Torrance gave us a very straightforward and insightful modern-dress Carmen, stripped down but with all the elements including the lighter scenes in Act Two, and plenty of dancing. It provided a strong showcase for some vivid characters. There was dialogue too, not heaps, but more than in some productions; though no-one was credited for sound design, the dialogue was amplified which was probably sensible given the venue.

Prom 50: Two rarities and a classic from Jakub Hrůša and Czech Philharmonic

Dvorák: Piano Concerto - Mao Fujita, Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Jakub Hruša - BBC Proms (Photo: BBC/Andy Paradise )

Vítězslava Kaprálová: Military Sinfonietta, Dvořák: Piano Concerto in G minor, Janáček: Glagolitic Mass; Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Mao Fujita, Corinne Winters, Bella Adamova, David Butt Philip, Pavel Švingr, Christian Schmitt, City of Prague Philharmonic Choir, Jakub Hrůša; BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall
Reviewed 28 August 2024

Two rarities and a classic in a prom which showed the Czech orchestra's superb quality, allied to fine performances and soloists

Jakub Hrůša and the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra returned to the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall on Wednesday 28 August 2024 giving us another treat pairing Czech rarities with something familiar. Their second programme featured the first ever performance at the BBC Proms of Vítězslava Kaprálová's Military Sinfonietta, Dvořák's Piano Concerto in G minor with soloist Mao Fujita, and Janáček's Glagolitic Mass with soloists Corinne Winters (soprano), Bella Adamova (mezzo-soprano), David Butt Philip (tenor) and Pavel Švingr (bass, replacing Brindley Sherratt), plus Christian Schmitt (organ) and the City of Prague Philharmonic Choir.

Vítězslava Kaprálová is one of those figures who blazed brilliantly yet briefly. Born in Brno in 1915, she studied in Brno and Prague, but an encounter with Bohuslav Martinů led her to Paris where she had a long and intense relationship with the composer, both professional and personal. She married the son of Czech painter Alphonse Mucha in 1940, but died in June that year. Her Military Sinfonietta was written whilst she was still a student at Prague Conservatory and the work was written against the backdrop of pressure from Nazi Germany for the Czech Republic to cede territory. 

Janácek: Glagolitic Mass - Corinne Winters, City of Prague Philharmonic Choir, Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Jakub Hruša - BBC Proms (Photo: BBC/Andy Paradise )

She conducted the Czech Philharmonic in the premiere at a gala in Prague in 1937, the first woman to conduct the orchestra. She conducted a performance in London in June 1938 for the International Festival of Contemporary Music, when she became the first woman to conduct the BBC Symphony Orchestra. Rather embarrassingly, given this link, the performance of her Military Sinfonietta is the first time any of her works have been performed at the Proms.

Prom 49: A consumate & deeply felt account of Suk's masterful Asrael Symphony crowns the Czech Philharmonic's first appearance at the 2024 BBC Proms

Dvorák: Cello Concerto - Anastasia Kobekina, Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Jakub Hruša - BBC Proms (Photo: BBC/Andy Paradise )

Dvořák: Cello Concerto, Suk: Asrael Symphony; Anastasia Kobekina, Czech Philharmonic Orchestra; Jakub Hrůša; BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall
Reviewed 27 August 2024

The Czech orchestra impresses with its superb accompaniment to Kobekina's idiomatic approach to the concerto, and then Suk's huge symphony receives a superb performance, completely consumate and deeply felt

The Czech Philharmonic Orchestra and its principal guest conductor, Jakub Hrůša, have been on a tour of European Summer festivals with stops at Elbphilharmonie Sommer in Hamburg, the Lucerne Festival and Wiesbaden's Rheingau Musik Festival with a final stop at the BBC Proms with two concerts. For their first concert, on Tuedsay 27 August 2024 at the Royal Albert Hall, Jakub Hrůša conducted the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra in Dvořák’s Cello Concerto, with soloist Anastasia Kobekina, and Josef Suk's Asrael Symphony.

Suk's masterwork was making only its second appearance at the BBC Proms. Czech Philharmonic and Hrůša have recorded Asrael for a Suk cycle they are currently preparing for Pentatone, whilst Hrůša conducted the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra (of which he is chief conductor) in Suk's Asrael Symphony at the Edinburgh International Festival earlier this month.

Dvorák: Cello Concerto - Anastasia Kobekina, Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Jakub Hruša - BBC Proms (Photo: BBC/Andy Paradise )

Dvořák’s Cello Concerto was written for his friend cellist Hanuš Wihan in 1894 whilst Dvořák was working in New York at the National Conservatory for Music, and one of the more unlikely impetuses for the work is that whilst in New York, Dvořák heard the premiere Cello Concerto No. 2 by composer and cellist Victor Herbert, one of the teachers at the conservatory. Herbert's use of a cello in a concerto was unusual at the time but the writing convinced Dvořák. Another inspiration is that whilst writing it, he learned that his sister-in-law was dying and she was the woman that Dvořák had originally been in love with!

Prom 40: Transcending limitations, Bach's St John Passion from Masaaki Suzuki and Bach Collegium Japan at BBC Proms

Bach: St John Passion - Benjamin Bruns, Christian Immler, Masaaki Suzuki, Bach Collegium Japan at BBC Proms (Photo: BBC/ Mark Allen)

Bach: St John Passion; Benjamin Bruns, Christian Immler, Carolyn Sampson, Alexander Chance, Shimon Yoshida, Bach Collegium Japan, Maasaki Suzuki; BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall
Reviewed 19 August 2024

Ultimately this was Maasaki Suzuki's evening as he forcefully directed the music that he knows and loves, giving us a personal vision that more than filled the hall

The BBC Proms provide the opportunity for a large number of people to hear a remarkably diverse range of music, but with the proviso that not everything is really suited to the wide open spaces of the Royal Albert Hall and visiting ensembles, often on a tour of more conventional venues, can struggle to fit the hall's distinctive acoustics.

Maasaki Suzuki and the Bach Collegium Japan are in the middle of a Summer tour and their London stop at the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall gave us a chance to hear Suki's masterly approach to Bach's St John Passion with Benjamin Bruns as Evangelist, Christian Immler as Christus and the bass soloist, plus soloists Carolyn Sampson, Alexander Chance and Shimon Yoshida.

Bach: St John Passion - Alexander Chance, Masaaki Suzuki, Bach Collegium Japan at BBC Proms (Photo: BBC/ Mark Allen)

Suzuki used 17 choristers with the soloists singing in the choir thus bringing the number up to 20/21, and an instrumental ensemble with 13 strings, and in the hall this meant that balance was somewhat off. In the big choruses, the upper strings simply did not carry against the choral sound, though the bass line, reinforced by double bass, bassoon and magnificent contrabassoon, was strong. But this is a compromise we must happily make to enable us to hear this ensemble. On the plus side, the soloists were all well attuned to the hall and there were none of the audibility problems that occurred in Saturday's performance of Britten's War Requiem [see my review]. 

The results were absorbing, at times thrilling and undoubtedly moving, but let us not kid ourselves, what we heard was probably a world away from anything Bach might have expected. But Bach's music is able to transcend the limitations and strictures of any particular performance.

Prom 37: intense contrasts thundering cannonades to personal intimacy, Antonio Pappano conducts Britten's War Requiem at the BBC Proms

Britten: War Requiem - Allan Clayton, Natalya Romaniw, Antonio Pappano, Will Liverman, London Symphony Orchestra at the BBC Proms with chorus directors Mariana Rosas and Neil Ferris (Photo: BBC/Chris Christodoulou)

Britten: War Requiem; Natalya Romaniw, Allan Clayton, Will Liverman, London Symphony Chorus, BBC Symphony Chorus, Tiffin Boys Choir, Antonio Pappano; BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall
Reviewed 17 August 2024

Antonio Pappano draws an evening of intense contrasts from his performers from thundering cannonades to intense, personal intimacy, yet always with a sense of discipline and clarity

Britten's War Requiem has been a presence at the BBC Proms since 1963, a year after the premiere, and was last at the BBC Proms in 2019 when Peter Oundjian conducted the Royal Scottish National Orchestra (with Allan Clayton as tenor soloist).  This year the work returned on Saturday 17 August 2024, with Antonio Pappano conducting the London Symphony Orchestra with soloists Natalya Romaniw (soprano), Allan Clayton (tenor) and Will Liverman (baritone), plus the London Symphony Chorus and the BBC Symphony Chorus, with a boys choir drawn from the Tiffin Boys Choir (director James Day) with boys from HM Chapel Royal, Hampton Court Palace, and Temple Church.

The performers filled the stage and choir stalls, the wide open spaces of the hall seeming ideal for this work. But Britten's score pits the large scale against the intimate, and Antonio Pappano drew a remarkable dynamic range from his performers, from hushed, barely there to sheer terror. However, whatever the dynamic, the approach was always disciplined and even in the noisy cannonades of the Libera me, there was a clarity to the textures. Throughout, Pappano seemed to encourage a crispness of diction from his choral singers so that the very opening of the work was strong and intent, despite the hushed tones. This strength of character and intent wove its way throughout the performance.

Britten: War Requiem - Natalya Romaniw, Allan Clayton, Antonio Pappano, Will Liverman, London Symphony Chorus, BBC Symphony Chorus, London Symphony Orchestra at the BBC Proms (Photo: BBC/Chris Christodoulou)

As has become the norm with this work, Pappano conducted both the orchestra and the chamber ensemble (placed stage left). His two male soloists, Allan Clayton and Will Liverman, seemed to both be deliberately holding back, drawing us toward them. Both gave us moments when they easily filled the hall, but a lot of the time the performance made us work to listen hard, the result was some magic moments but a tendency for the Wilfred Owen settings to seem somewhat muted (at least from our seats in the stalls, it may well be different on the radio or on TV).

German conductor Anja Bihlmaier has been appointed principal guest conductor of the BBC Philharmonic,

Beethoven: Violin Concerto - Tobias Feldmann, Anja Bihlmaier, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra - BBC Proms (Photo: BBC/Andy Paradise)

German conductor Anja Bihlmaier has been appointed principal guest conductor of the BBC Philharmonic, starting in September, working alongside the orchestra's chief conductor, John Storgårds. Bihlmaier conduct the BBC Philharmonic at the BBC Proms last night (8 August 2024) in a programme the consisted of Beethoven's Violin Concerto with soloist Tobias Feldmann, Brahms' Symphony No. 4 and Sarah Gibson’s warp & weft, inspired by the work of Canadian artist Miriam Schapiro.

Bihlmaier commented, "From our first concert at Bridgewater Hall, playing Shostakovich and Dvorak, I felt a special bond and mutual trust with the musicians. I love their dedication, their virtuosity and willingness to experiment, their sense of humour and most importantly their great passion for the music, and how they bring it to life for their audience. Our Proms concert last year and Bruckner 7 in Manchester were unforgettable highlights. I look forward to continuing our journey, hoping to achieve something special in the vibrant city of Manchester and at the BBC Proms."

Bihlmaier studied at the Hochschule für Musik Freiburg and the Mozarteum Salzburg, where she was a pupil of Dennis Russell Davies and Jorge Rotter. She has been chief conductor of the Residentie Orkest since August 2021, conducted the August performances of Glyndebourne’s production of Carmen.

Prom 26 is available on BBC Sounds. Full details from the BBC website.

Prom 24: Vividness & virtuosity in an astonishing danced staging of Purcell's The Fairy Queen with Les Arts Florissants & Mourad Merzouki's Companie Käfig,

Purcell: The Fairy Queen; Les Arts Florissants, singers from Le Jardin des Voix, dancers from Companie Käfig - BBC Proms (Photo: BBC/ Chris Christodoulou)

Purcell: The Fairy Queen; Les Arts Florissants, singers from Le Jardin des Voix, dancers from Companie Käfig, director: Mourad Merzouki, conductor Paul Agnew; BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall

Merzouki's staging showcased the astonishing virtuosity of his dancers and the engaging way singers and dancers combined, conveying their sheer enjoyment of the music

Everyone has their own idea about what to with Purcell's The Fairy Queen. Containing some of his finest theatre music, the work as originally performed, with nearly two hours of sub-par spoken dialogue, does not appeal to regular theatre going, though I think to hear and see The Fairy Queen in a production that recreated the effects of the original would be revelatory. For most dramatic performances, Purcell's music is taken on its own with a new storyline, though frankly, I think Benjamin Britten had the right of it, cutting and reshaping the music into a more satisfactory whole.

On 6 August 2024, Purcell's The Fairy Queen was presented at the Royal Albert Hall as part of the BBC Proms in a semi-staging by choreographer Mourad Merzouki which was a collaboration between Les Arts Florissants and Merzouki's Companie Käfig. Paul Agnew conducted Les Arts Florissants with singers from their young artist scheme, Le Jardin des Voix, Paulina Francisco, Georgia Burashko, Rebecca Leggett, Juliette Mey, Ilja Aksionov, Rodrigo Carreto, Hugo Herman-Wilson and Benjamin Schiilperoort, and eight dancers from Companie Käfig, Baptiste Coppin, Samuel Florimond, Anahi Passi, Alary-Youra Ravin, Daniel Saad and Timothée Zig.

Purcell: The Fairy Queen; Les Arts Florissants, singers from Le Jardin des Voix, dancers from Companie Käfig - BBC Proms (Photo: BBC/ Chris Christodoulou)

The 29-strong instrumental ensemble, led by Augusta McKay Lodge, was pushed to the rear of the stage with the front area being taken over by the staging. Costumes by Claire Schirck were uniform, black suits and white shirts in the first half, with coloured shirts in the second half, and lighting by Fabrice Sarcy brought out the theatrical nature of the undertaking.