BBC Proms - Season 21 / Year 2023
Season 21 / Year 2023
Episodes
First Night of the Proms
Clive Myrie is joined by special guests Sandi Toksvig and Anna Lapwood for the First Night of the Proms, live from the Royal Albert Hall. 2023's eight-week musical extravaganza launches in style with Sibelius's ever-popular Finlandia, Grieg's dramatic Piano Concerto performed by classical superstar Paul Lewis, and Britten's much-loved The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra.
The concert also includes a rare opportunity to hear Sibelius's Snofrid, making its Proms debut, and a world premiere from Ukrainian composer Bohdana Frolyak.
This musical feast is brought by the BBC Symphony Orchestra, with the BBC Symphony Chorus and BBC Singers under the baton of principal guest conductor Dalia Stasevska.
Vivaldi's Four Seasons at the Proms
Violinist and conductor Pekka Kuusisto is joined by innovative folk musician Ale Carr to perform Antonio Vivaldi's Four Seasons as it's never been heard before, reimagining the timeless concertos as a magical world of folklore. In a concert led by Kuusisto's love for the natural world, Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen open the concert with the David Attenborough-inspired work, Birds of Paradise by Andrea Tarrodi, before Beethoven's First Symphony brings the first half to a rousing close. Presented by Katie Derham from the Royal Albert Hall.
Beethoven's Fifth at the Proms
The BBC National Orchestra of Wales and conductor laureate Tadaaki Otaka perform Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, recorded on 19th July at the Royal Albert Hall. Star violinist Elena Urioste joins the orchestra to perform Samuel Coleridge-Taylor's Violin Concerto, and Rachmaninov's Five Études-tableaux receives its first ever Proms outing in orchestration by Respighi. Presented by Katya Adler.
Beethoven's Ninth at the Proms
Ryan Wigglesworth conducts the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra in Beethoven's Ninth Symphony in D minor, `Choral" - with its famous Ode to Joy finale - at the Royal Albert Hall. The orchestra is joined by the BBC Symphony Chorus and a team of Scottish soloists - soprano Eleanor Dennis, mezzo Karen Cargill, tenor Nicky Spence and bass-baritone Michael Mofidian - for this mighty musical tour-de-force.
Bollywood at the Proms
A musical tribute to the late Lata Mangeshkar, the Indian playback singer whose voice defined the sound of Bollywood for a generation of cinema-goers. Superstar singers Palak and Palash Muchhal, Indian classical musicians and Bollywood dancers join forces with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra in a glorious musical fusion that commemorates more than five decades of Lata's stellar career. On a night when the Royal Albert Hall takes on the spirit of Mumbai, presenter Nikki Bedi and special guests honour her impact across generations, cultures and continents.
Bomsori Plays Bruch at the Proms
South Korean virtuoso Bomsori performs Bruch's First Violin Concerto with the BBC Philharmonic, conducted by Anja Bihlmaier, in an evening of music inspired by the folk traditions of Hungary. Katya Adler is joined by composer and cellist Ayanna Witter-Johnson to discuss the enduring power of folk in a concert also featuring Brahms' Hungarian Dances and Bartok's Concerto for Orchestra. There's also a welcome return to the Proms, after almost a century, of the piece that launched the career of Croydon-based British composer, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor.
Dee Dee Bridgewater: Jazz Greats at the Proms
Grammy award-winning jazz singer Dee Dee Bridgewater joins trumpeter Sean Jones and Carnegie Hall's National Youth Jazz Orchestra, comprising outstanding young musicians from across the USA, as they make their BBC Proms debut. The concert promises big band classics, standards and contemporary works, exploring jazz's influence on hip-hop, R&B and pop. Presented by Clive Myrie.
Tchaikovsky and Prokofiev at the Proms
Star pianist Isata Kanneh-Mason makes her solo Proms debut with Prokofiev's third piano concerto, with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. Ryan Bancroft conducts the orchestra as they also take on Tchaikovsky's fifth symphony. Presented by Clive Myrie.
Yuja Wang Plays Rachmaninov at the Proms
Following their performance at last year's Proms, pianist Yuja Wang and conductor Klaus Mäkelä return to the Royal Albert Hall for one of the most eagerly awaited nights of the season. The couple dazzle their audience with Rachmaninov's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. Then baritone Thomas Hampson joins the orchestra for Walton's Belshazzar's Feast. Presented by Georgia Mann with special guests Wayne Marshall and Hannah Catherine Jones.
Felix Klieser Plays Mozart at the Proms
Virtuoso horn player Felix Klieser, who was born with arms and plays the instrument with his toes, makes his Proms debut with Mozart's Concerto No 4, with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Kirill Karabits. The orchestra also perform Rachmaninov's Second Symphony on what would have been the composer's 150th birthday, and the concert opens with music by the conductor's father - Ivan Karabits' first Concerto for Orchestra. Written to mark the 1,500th anniversary of the founding of Kyiv it's a colourful orchestral soundscape evoking chiming bells and a city in happier times. Presented by Petroc Trelawny, joined by Hannah French.
Sir Andras Schiff at the Proms
Celebrated pianist András Schiff plays Schumann's Piano Concerto at the BBC Proms alongside the world-famous Budapest Festival Orchestra and their founder-conductor Ivan Fischer. The Schumann is bookended by the overture to Der Freischütz by Weber and Mendelssohn's Scottish Symphony, which was inspired by a ruined chapel echoing with the ghost of Mary, Queen of Scots. Clive Myrie presents, and is joined by Joanna MacGregor.
NYO at the Proms
Soprano Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha joins the National Youth Orchestra for a night of joyously defiant music. Strauss' Four Last Songs, considered by some the most beautiful music ever written, is played alongside Hindemith and Copland, all conducted by Carlos Miguel Prieto. Composer Errollyn Wallen debuts a new piece written especially for the orchestra's 2023 summer tour. Presented by Jess Gillam with special guests Alexis Ffrench and Vikki Stone.
John Wilson Celebrates Rachmaninov at the Proms
Conductor John Wilson and his orchestral supergroup, the Sinfonia of London, continue the 150th anniversary celebrations of Rachmaninov with his much-loved Second Piano Concerto.
Northern Soul at the Proms
The roof of the Royal Albert Hall nearly comes off in this special Prom dedicated to northern soul, curated by Wigan's Stuart Maconie and Manchester's Joe Duddell.
Mindful Mix at the Proms
Musical meditation with Grammy-nominated vocal group VOCES8 and a playlist that drifts from the Renaissance to Radiohead.
Sir Simon Rattle at the Proms
The conductor takes to the Royal Albert Hall stage for his final UK performance as music director of the London Symphony Orchestra. Together, this renowned and dynamic partnership poignantly mark the end of an era with Mahler's epic, all-encompassing Symphony - his Ninth. Known as the 'farewell symphony', it is shrouded in loss, complete with a dazzling spectrum of joy and despair, and ending in tranquillity and stillness. Katie Derham presents.
Chineke! at the Proms
Chineke! Orchestra makes its hotly anticipated annual Proms outing, this year conducted by Anthony Parnther.
New Music at the Proms with Tom Service
The presenter of Radio 3's New Music Show chooses his standout premieres and commissions from this year's Proms, all of which Tom believes respond to the world with joy, beauty and optimism. Highlights include Andrea Tarrodi's Birds of Paradise, inspired by footage from David Attenborough's Planet Earth, Ukrainian composer Bohdana Frolyak's Let There Be Light, and Errolyn Wallen's new work The Whole World, for the National Youth Orchestra.
Mozart's Great Mass at the Proms
John Butt conducts Baroque ensemble the Dunedin Consort in Mozart's Great Mass in C minor, recorded at the BBC Proms on Sunday August 6. They are joined on stage by an all-star roster of vocal soloists - Nardus Williams, Lucy Crowe, Jess Dandy, Benjamin Hulett and Robert Davies - for this much-loved work, which takes up the entire second half of the concert. for the first half, the ensemble performs a series of shorter pieces by JS Bach and CPE Bach, two men who inspired Mozart in the creation of his mighty Mass. Presented by Katie Derham, with guest Anna Lapwood.
Last Night of the Proms (Part 1)
Katie Derham presents live coverage from the Royal Albert Hall of the first part of the climax of the classical music festival, and is joined by guests Sandi Toksvig and Danielle de Niese. On stage, cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason and Norweigan soprano Lise Davidsen join the BBC Symphony Orchestra and conductor Marin Alsop. This first half of the night's celebrations includes music by Verdi, Wagner, Bruch and Mascagni and a world premiere from rising star James B Wilson, specially commissioned to commemorate the BBC's centenary last year. The night kicks off with Richard Strauss's swashbuckling Don Juan.
Last Night of the Proms (Part 2)
Katie Derham introduces the conclusion of the closing concert, joined by Sandi Toksvig and Danielle de Niese. Cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason and soprano Lise Davidsen perform a variety of music from Coleridge-Taylor's Deep River and an aria by Kalman, to Villa Lobos' Bachianas Brasilieras and the score from forthcoming superhero movie The Marvels. The BBC Symphony Orchestra perform the traditional selection of British classics under the baton of Maestro Marin Alsop.
Unmissable Moments: Proms 2023
A whistlestop tour through eight weeks of performances from the spectacular array of superstar musicians who have graced the Royal Albert Hall stage this summer. The programme is packed with some of the biggest tunes in classical music, with Beethoven's biggest hits, memorable Mozart and a celebration of Rachmaninov sitting alongside performances from the likes of Yuja Wang, Pekka Kuusisto, and Isata Kanneh-Mason. Plus, symphonic treatments of Northern Soul classics, jazz anthems and music all the way from Bollywood to Hollywood.
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