BBC Proms - Season 18 / Year 2020
Season 18 / Year 2020
Episodes
First Night of the Proms
Katie Derham presents the First Night of the live classical music festival, with a feast of performances including Beethoven's Third Symphony, Aaron Copland's Quiet City, and a new work by young British composer Hannah Kendall, all performed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra and BBC Singers, under conductor Sakari Oramo. Katie and special guest Stephen Fry also celebrate the return of live music to the Royal Albert Hall.
Sir Simon Rattle and the LSO
Sir Simon Rattle and the London Symphony Orchestra perform a packed programme, featuring star pianist Mitsuko Uchida playing Beethoven, works by much-loved British composers Elgar and Vaughan Williams, and a new composition by Thomas Adès. Suzy Klein presents from the Royal Albert Hall.
Nicola Benedetti and Alina Ibragimova
Violin superstars Nicola Benedetti and Alina Ibragimova lead a high-energy evening of baroque music by Vivaldi, Handel, Bach, and little-known English composer Charles Avison. If three double violin concertos weren't enough, there's also a double oboe concerto. With the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, led by Jonathan Cohen. Presented by Danielle de Niese.
Anoushka Shankar and Gold Panda
At the Royal Albert Hall, Indian sitar player and composer Anoushka Shankar participates in an evening dedicated to her father and musical guru, Ravi, in what would have been his centenary year. Anoushka is joined in the first half by electronic music guru Gold Panda for a new imagining of Ravi's music. In the second half, conductor Jules Buckley, the Britten Sinfonia and soloist Manu Delago accompany Anoushka in a selection of her music. Presented by Josie d'Arby.
Laura Marling and the 12 Ensemble
Mercury Prize-nominated artist Laura Marling teams up with the pioneering strings-based collective the 12 Ensemble for a retrospective journey through her back catalogue, as well as showcasing tracks from her current album, Song for our Daughter. In her first Prom as a headliner, Laura will perform an acoustic set accompanied by brand-new string arrangements from the unconducted 12 Ensemble. Presented by Suzy Klein.
Exploring Beethoven's Seventh
To celebrate Beethoven's 250th anniversary, Tom Service presents a concert in which conductor Nicholas Collon and the Aurora Orchestra unpick Beethoven's Seventh Symphony to explore the composer's creative genius, before performing the work from memory. Also on the bill at the Royal Albert Hall is a new work by British composer Richard Ayres, whose piece is inspired by Beethoven's struggle with his loss of hearing.
Sheku and Isata Kanneh-Mason
Siblings Sheku and Isata Kanneh-Mason take to the stage for their first Prom together to present an evening of chamber music for cello and piano. Featuring works by Beethoven, Rachmaninov, American composer Samuel Barber, and English composer Frank Bridge, the brother and sister pairing bring their unique musical chemistry to the Royal Albert Hall. Presented by Tom Service, with guest Joanna MacGregor.
Last Night of the Proms
Katie Derham hosts the climax of the classical music festival, live from the Royal Albert Hall, drawing a unique season of live performances to a celebratory close. Soprano Golda Schultz and violinist Lisa Batiashvili join Dalia Stasevska, the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the BBC Singers in a programme that includes music from Mozart's Marriage of Figaro, a world premiere from Andrea Tarrodi, music by Richard Strauss, Stephen Sondheim's A Little Night Music, and The Lark Ascending by Vaughan Williams. The night comes to a jubilant close with all the traditional favourites, including the Fantasia on British Sea-Songs, You'll Never Walk Alone, Rule, Britannia, Pomp and Circumstance March No 1, and Jerusalem.
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[NOTE: Episodes shown only in the UK are listed in Season 0, first digit of episode number indicated UK series.]