Every season of BBC Proms ever, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best seasons of BBC Proms!

The BBC broadcast the Last Night at the Proms for the first time on Saturday the 6th of September 1947

First Broadcast

Neville Marriner conducts leader Kenneth Sillito and the Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields on Fri 12 Aug 1983 at Royal Albert Hall

Prom 21: Sir Neville Marriner at the Proms

Jean Sibelius

Tapiola

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Piano Concerto No. 23 in A major

Carl Nielsen

Symphony No. 4, ‘The Inextinguishable’

Prom 14

Dvořák - Overture 'Carnival'

R. Strauss - Concerto for Horn No. 1 in E flat major, Op 11

Vaughan Williams - 5 Mystical Songs

Barber - Toccata festiva, Op 36

Sir Peter Maxwell Davies - Ojai Festival Overture

Puccini - Madama Butterfly

Rodgers - Oklahoma! (arr. Robert Russell Bennett)

Cole Porter - Kiss Me, Kate

Sullivan - The Mikado

John Philip Sousa - March 'The Liberty Bell'

Elgar - Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1 in D major ('Land of Hope and Glory') 

Henry Wood - Fantasia on British Sea Songs (with additional Songs arranged by Stephen Jackson)

Parry - Jerusalem

Anonymous - National Anthem (arr. Henry Wood)

Last Night of the Proms

John Taverner

In nomine

Peter Maxwell Davies

First Fantasia on an 'In nomine' of John Taverner

Ludwig van Beethoven

Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major

Edward Elgar

Symphony No 3 (elab. Payne)

BBC1 kicks off this centrepiece of the classical calendar for the first time, as Promenaders don their finery for the start of the 111th season of Henry Wood concerts at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

Tonight's music is performed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Roger Norrington, and begins on a maritime theme with Berlioz's exuberant The Corsair overture. Janine Jansen is the soloist in Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in E minor, while Elgar's Overture: Cockaigne (in London Town), a colourful tour of the old capital, prefaces Tippett's oratorio A Child of Our Time, which airs on BBC2 from 8pm.

First Night of the Proms Part One

Michael Tippett's powerful oratorio A Child of Our Time features in continuing live coverage from the Royal Albert Hall, London. The piece marks its composer's centenary as well as the 60th anniversary of the end of the Second World War.  Roger Norrington conducts Indra Thomas (soprano), Christine Rice (mezzo-soprano), Ian Bostridge (tenor), Willard White (bass), and the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. Introduced by Alan Titchmarsh.

First Night of the Proms Part Two

Tenor Placido Domingo makes his long-awaited Proms debut in the Royal Opera House's new production of Wagner's epic Die Walkure, the second opera in the Ring cycle. The cast also includes baritone Bryn Terfel as Wotan and soprano Lisa Gasteen as Brunnhilde. Antonio Pappano conducts the Royal Opera House Orchestra.  Charles Hazlewood introduces the first of this year's Proms from London's Royal Albert Hall.

Prom 4: Richard Wagner - Die Walküre

BBC National Orchestra of Wales - conducted by Richard Hickox - performs a new concerto by Michael Berkeley. Soprano Susan Gritton sings four songs by Benjamin Britten, and there is a performance of Vaughan Williams' 1913 work 'A London Symphony'. Live from Royal Albert Hall.

Prom 5: Michael Berkeley, Benjamin Britten and Vaughan Williams

Conductor Osma Vanska returns to the Proms with the BBC Symphony Orchestra for a concert in which elemental forces are at play. Thea Musgrave's Turbulent Landscapes was inspired by six dramatic paintings by Turner; Rachmaninov's passionate First Piano Concerto is performed by Stephen Hough; while the essence of life itself is the theme of Carl Nielsen's Symphony No 4, The Inextinguishable.

Prom 6: Musgrave, Rachmaninov and Nielson

A performance of Stravinsky's musical fairytale The Nightingale and an extraordinary new commission for organ and orchestra by James MacMillan, A Scotch Bestiary, mark the BBC Philharmonic's first visit to this year's Proms. Gianandrea Noseda and James MacMillan himself are the respective conductors. Introduced by Charles Hazlewood live from London's Royal Albert Hall.

Prom 8: Stravinsky, MacMillan and Ravel

The conductor Christoph von Dohnanyi is renowned for his insightful interpretations of the great German Romantic repertoire - tonight, he conducts the Philharmonia Orchestra in Mahler's turbulent Fifth Symphony. That's preceded by one of Mozart's most charming works - the Third Violin Concerto - performed by soloist Christian Tetzlaff.  Presented by Verity Sharp.

Prom 9: Mozart and Mahler

Mendelssohn's Overture: The Hebrides (Fingal's Cave), Vaughan Williams's A Sea Symphony (Symphony No 1) and Max Bruch's Violin Concerto No 1 in G minor, performed by Proms favourite Leila Josefowicz. Gerard Schwarz conducts the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Choir and Orchestra and the Chester Festival Chorus, with soprano Janice Watson and baritone Dwayne Croft. Verity Sharp hosts.

Prom 11: Mendelssohn, Bruch and Vaughan Williams

Elgar's great vision of a spiritual journey - The Dream of Gerontius - is performed by the Halle Choir, London Philharmonic Choir and Halle Orchestra, conducted by Mark Elder. The soloists are mezzo Alice Coote , tenor Paul Groves and bass Matthew Best. Verity Sharp presents the performance.

Prom 13: Elgar's The Dream of Gerontius

Michael Tippett 's mystical The Vision of St Augustine is followed by Shostakovich's Symphony No 10. Soprano Elizabeth Atherton and baritone Roderick Williams join the BBC Symphony Chorus and BBC National Orchestra of Wales under

Richard Hickox.

Prom 14: Tippett and Shostakovich

This season's theme of fairy tales is represented by Russian composer Liadov's tone-poem trilogy - Baba-Yaga, The Enchanted Lake and Kikimora - taken from old folk tales, and Stravinsky's ballet music The Fairy's Kiss, inspired by Hans Christian Andersen. Between are

Knussen's settings of four poems by Walt Whitman , and the premiere of German composer Detlev Glanert 's Theatrum Bestiarum.

Prom15: Fairy Tales

The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra play Ravel's popular Mother Goose suite. There's also a new work - Correspondences - by France's most eminent composer Henri Dutilleux, featuring soprano Barbara Hannigan. Then it's back to the work of Ravel with his dazzling arrangement of Musorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition.

Prom 16: Ravel, Dutilleux, Stravinsky and Mussorgsky

Conductor Marin Alsop and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra bring American composer John Corigliano's new concerto The Red Violin to the Proms following its successful world premiere in Baltimore last year. Violin superstar Joshua Bell (for whom the piece was written) will perform the concerto. Plus an excerpt from John Adams's opera Nixon in China and music from Prokofiev's ballet Romeo and Juliet.

Prom 18: Adams, Corigliano and Prokofiev

An all-Russian line-up, with excerpts from Tchaikovsky's The Snow Maiden, followed by Shostakovich's Violin Concerto No 1 played by the 20-year-old Armenian virtuoso Sergey Khachatryan. The concert concludes with Prokofiev's wartime Symphony No 5, written in support of the greatness of the human spirit. The BBC Philharmonic is led by their Russian-born principal guest conductor Vassily Sinaisky. Hosted by Charles Hazlewood.

Prom 19: Russia Night

Viktoria Mullova is the soloist for the world premiere of Fraser Trainer's violin concerto For the Living, in the second of today's three Violins!! concerts at the Royal Albert Hall. Talented young players from across the UK join the BBC Symphony Orchestra and conductor.  Martyn Brabbins for Respighi's The Pines of Rome and their own collaborative workshop piece Invisible Lines. Plus Bernstein's Overture: Candide and Britten's ever-popular The Young

Person's Guide to the Orchestra. With Charles Hazlewood.

Prom 21: Violins!! - Part 2

Shakespeare's tale of doomed young love is brought to life in Berlioz's dramatic symphony Romeo et Juliette Nan Volkov conducts the BBC SSO and the London Symphony Chorus, with soloists Katarina Karneus (mezzo), Jean-Paul Fouchecourt (tenor) and John Relyea (bass). With Charles Hazlewood.

Prom 23: Berlioz's Romeo and Juliet

Following last year's sell-out success, celebrated conductor Daniel Barenboim returns to the Royal Albert Hall with his young orchestra of Arab and Israeli musicians - the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra. Soloists are showcased in Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante for oboe, clarinet, bassoon and horn. Following the interval the concert ends with Mahler's Symphony No 1 in D major.  During the interval, Verity Sharp talks to Barenboim, plus guests Rob Cowan and James Murphy.

Prom 41: Daniel Barenboim and the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra

WS Gilbert's libretto on ignorant sea lords combines with Arthur Sullivan 's memorable melodies in one of the duo's most enduring creations, HMS Pinafore.  Charles Mackerras is at the helm and also conducts his own ballet Pineapple Poll, based on another of Gilbert's naval satires, with a re-orchestration of Sullivan's music. A cast of leading British artists take centre stage, including Richard Suart , Felicity Palmer and Sally Matthews , plus the Maida Vale Singers, the BBC Orchestra, and narration by Tim Brooke-Taylor .  Alan Titchmarsh introduces the performance, recorded last month at London's Royal Albert Hall.  Director Francesca Kemp ; Series editor Oliver Macfarlane

Prom 2: Arthur Sullivan's HMS Pinafore

Live from the Royal Albert Hall, Kurt Masur conducts the London Philharmonic Choir and Orchestra, as well as a cast of international soloists, in the annual Proms rendition of Beethoven's life-affirming Choral symphony. Prior to the main performance, there's the UK premiere of The Light of the End, a piece by the highly individual Russian composer Sofia Gubaidulina.  During the interval presenter Verity Sharp meets Kurt Masur and talks to guests John Deathridge, who holds the King Edward VII chair in music at King's College, London, and Tom Service, presenter of BBC Radio 3's Music Matters.

Prom 49: Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 in D minor, ‘Choral’

Live from the Royal Albert Hall, dynamic conductor Valery Gergiev leads the World Orchestra for Peace in a concert of opera and fantasy. Founded by the late Georg Solti for the 50th anniversary of the UN in 1995 the ensemble comprises players from leading professional orchestras around the world. Making its second visit to the Proms, to mark the 60th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, the orchestra plays music by Rossini, Debussy, Wagner, Rimsky-Korsakov and the world premiere of a new work by Esa-Pekka Salonen.  During the interval presenter Verity Sharp talks to the orchestra's current music director, the lively Mr Gergiev.

Prom 57: Valery Gergiev conducts the World Orchestra for Peace

Zurich's Tonhalle Orchestra makes a welcome return for a programme which includes music by Wagner, Beethoven and Richard Strauss. With David Zinman wielding the baton, the orchestra begins with the tempestuous overture to The Flying Dutchman by Wagner, followed by Beethoven's Piano Concerto No 3 in C Minor, featuring pianist Emanuel Ax. Finally, the Royal Albert Hall will be filled with the rousing opening bars of Stanley Kubrick's epic 2001: a Space Odyssey, part of Richard Strauss 's lofty tone poem.  Also Sprach Zarathustra. Alan Titchmarsh hosts this recording of the August Bank Holiday concert.

Prom 59: David Zinman conducts the Tonhalle Orchestra

Colin Davis conducts students from London's Royal Academy of Music and New York's Juilliard School in tonight's live concert at the Royal Albert Hall, which begins with two wartime works. Aaron Copland's majestic Fanfare for the Common Man for brass and percussion was written in 1942 as a tribute to those fighting the Second World War. In contrast, Ralph Vaughan Williams's bleak Sixth Symphony from 1948 suggests a desolate postwar landscape. The programme concludes with what is perhaps Hector Berlioz's best-known work, the dazzling Symphonie Fantastique, in which the composer explores his real life obsession with a beautiful actress. With Charles Hazlewood.

Prom 66: Sir Colin Davies conductions the Juilliard Orchestra

Zemlinsky's Die Seejungfrau, based on Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid, is followed by Brahms's German Requiem, written in memory of his mother and his friend and supporter, Robert Schumann. James Conlon conducts the BBC Symphony Chorus and Orchestra and the Philharmonic Chorus. Hosted by Charles Hazlewood. The concert is also live on BBC Radio 3 from 6.30pm. New. Interactive: digital viewer, can access music notes via the red button

Prom 67: Zemlinsky and Brahms

Britten's Four Sea Interludes are performed by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales under conductor Rumon Gamba.  Howard Shelley is the soloist in Alan Rawsthorne 's Piano Concerto No 2, and the programme concludes with Tchaikovsky's Symphony No 4 in F minor.

Prom 68: Britten, Rawsthorne and Tchaikovsky

Thomas Ades. the British composer and conductor. premieres his Violin Concerto with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe and soloist Anthony Marwood. The concert also includes Beethoven's Namensfeier overture and Symphony No 4 in B flat. Presented by Charles Hazlewood.

Prom 69: Thomas Adès and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe

A rare London appearance for acclaimed conductor Zubin Mehta who leads the Vienna Philharmonic as they perform Haydn's Drumroll Symphony and Alban Berg's Three Fragments from his opera Wozzeck, concluding with Stravinsky's exhilarating orchestral masterpiece The Rite of Spring.

Prom 71: Zubin Mehta and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra

In its second Proms appearance this season, the Vienna Philharmonic performs Bruckner's immense Symphony No 8 in C minor under conductor Christoph Eschenbach. Presented by Verity Sharp.

Prom 72: Bruckner's Symphony No. 8 in C minor

The Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra is conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen. Two French orchestral classics frame the programme, Debussy's "La Mer" and Ravel's "Daphnis and Chloe". Also on the bill is Sibelius's magical tone poem "Luonnotar" and Mark-Anthony Turnage's trumpet concerto "From the Wreckage".

Prom 73: Esa-Pekka Salonen conducts the Helsinki Symphony Orchestra

Live at London's Royal Albert Hall, Alan Titchmarsh introduces the final concert in the Proms season. A nautical theme is reflected with Walton's Overture: Portsmouth Point and Lambert's The Rio Grande.  Between these are Handel's Ombra Mai Fu (Xerxes), Dove Sei (Rodelinda) and Se Parla net Mio Cor (Giustino), and Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez.  Joining the BBC Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Paul Daniel, is Andreas Scholl, the first countertenor to appear at the Last Night, who will sing the Handel arias; while guitar legend John Williams is the soloist in the concerto by Rodrigo.

Prom 74: Last Night of the Proms

Wednesday 19 July 2006

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Concerto for Piano No. 23 in A major, K 488 BBC Symphony Orchestra Richard Goode piano Jiří Bělohlávek conductor Anton Bruckner Symphony No. 9 in D minor BBC Symphony Orchestra Jiří Bělohlávek conductor

Thursday 31 August 2006

Jiri Belohlavek conducts the BBC Symphony Orchestra, performing Walton's Overture 'Portsmouth Point', Elgar's Cello Concerto and Beethoven's 9th Symphony.

First Night of the Proms

The BBC Concert Orchestra performs a selection of film compositions to mark the BAFTA's 60th anniversary and the Summer of the British Film. With Richard E Grant.

Film Prom - Prom 2

First transmitted in 2007. Charles Hazlewood introduces a night of French Baroque performed by English Baroque Soloists and Monteverdi Choir, including works by Rameau and Campra.

Rameau and Campra - Prom 3

Suzy Klein introduces the Chorus and Orchestra of Santa Cecilia, Rome, and an international quartet of young singers as they perform Rossini's theatrical Stabat Mater, conducted by Antonio Pappano. The orchestra is joined by the Swingle Singers for Luciano Berio's modern masterpiece, Sinfonia.

Rossini and Berio - Prom 4

The BBC Symphony Orchestra perform Leonard Bernstein's Second Symphony, The Age of Anxiety, and Charles Ives' Fourth Symphony.

American Classics - Prom 5

The BBC Symphony Chorus, the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the Gondwana Voices perform Brett Dean's Vexations and Devotions.

Beethoven and Brett Dean - Prom 13

Conductor Sir Roger Norrington and the Handel and Haydn Society of Boston are joined by singers Sally Matthews, Toby Spence and Jonathan Lemalu for a performance of Joseph Haydn's oratorio, The Seasons. Presented by Charles Hazlewood.

Haydn's Seasons - Prom 14

Suzy Klein introduces les Musiciens du Louvre, Grenoble, under their founding conductor Marc Minkowski in an entirely French programme which includes Bizet's incidental music to L'Arlesienne and Berlioz's song-cycle Les nuits d'ete, sung by Anne-Sophie von Otter.

French Classics - Prom 22

Suzy Klein introduces the European premiere of Esa-Pekka Salonen's Piano Concerto, performed by Yefim Bronfman and the BBC Symphony Orchestra and conducted by the composer. The programme also includes excerpts from Berlioz's Romeo and Juliet.

Salonen Conducts Salonen - Prom 23

Suzy Klein introduces four varied and colourful works from the twentieth century. Sibelius' Tapiola, Britten's Piano Concerto, Varese's Ecuatorial and Debussy's La Mer are performed by the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra under Ilan Volkov, with soloist Steven Osborne.

2 hours

Twentieth Century Classics - Prom 24

Mark Elder conducts as the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain performs works by Prokofiev, Shostakovich and Aaron Jay Kernis. Introduced by Howard Goodall.

NYO - Prom 29

Suzy Klein introduces Daniele Gatti conducting the Royal Philharmonic in the Enigma Variations, to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Elgar's birth.

Elgar's Enigma - Prom 31

Suzy Klein introduces acclaimed soprano Renee Fleming as she returns to the Proms to perform songs by Alban Berg and Erich Korngold. She's accompanied by the BBC Philharmonic and conductor Gianandrea Noseda, who also perform Beethoven's 8th Symphony in F major and Schumann's 2nd Symphony in C major.

Renee Fleming Sings Berg - Prom 32

Suzy Klein introduces Britten's Sinfonia da Requiem and Mahler's 10th Symphony. Gianandrea Noseda conducts the BBC Philharmonic.

Britten and Mahler - Prom 33

A prom by the European Union Youth Orchestra conducted by Sir Colin Davis. The theme of nature links two great symphonies - Sibelius's Fifth and Brahms's Third.

EUYO Prom

Verity Sharp introduces baritone Matthias Goerne singing a selection from Mahler's Des Knaben Wunderhorn, with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony conducted by Paavo Jarvi. Also, Weber's Oberon Overture and Schoenberg's orchestration of Brahms's ambitious Piano Quartet.

Mahler and Brahms - Prom 40

A reinterpretation with improvisation of Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, Stravinsky's Petrushka and three dance episodes from Bernstein's On the Town.

Stravinsky's Petrushka - Prom 41

The Simon Bolivar National Youth Orchestra of Venezuela play Shostakovich's Tenth Symphony and symphonic dances from West Side Story.

Simon Bolivar National Youth Orchestra of Venezuela

Aled Jones with a Prom featuring music by Handel performed by Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and Freiburg Baroque Orchestra.

Handel at the Proms

Nicholas Owen introduces a Prom by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra conducted by Bernard Haitink, featuring music by Wagner and Debussy.

Haitink - Prom 55

Petroc Trelawny introduces Britten's Four Sea Interludes and Prokofiev's Fifth Symphony, performed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra under their chief conductor, Jiri Belohlavek. They are joined by pianist Ivo Kahanek for a rare performance of Martinu's Fourth Piano Concerto.

Britten and Prokofiev - Prom 56

From the Royal Albert Hall, Charles Hazlewood introduces a concert by the San Francisco Symphony led by Michael Tilson Thomas. Featuring Charles Ives' 3rd Symphony.

Prom 64

Petroc Trelawny introduces a bank holiday concert featuring star of the West End and Broadway, Michael Ball, as he comes to the Proms for the first time. With special guests and the BBC Concert Orchestra, conducted by Callum McLeod.

An Evening with Michael Ball - Prom 58

Petroc Trelawny introduces Valery Gergiev conducting the London Symphony Orchestra in an all Russian programme of Tchaikovsky and Prokofiev.

Tchaikovsky and Prokofiev - Prom 59

Charles Hazlewood introduces Mahler's Seventh Symphony, a colossal journey from darkness to light, performed by the acclaimed San Francisco Symphony under Michael Tilson Thomas.

Mahler's 7th Symphony - Prom 65

Live from the Royal Albert Hall, Alan Titchmarsh introduces the final concert of the Proms season. Including Dvorak's Overture Otello.

Murray Gold - Doctor Who

Copland - Fanfare for the Common Man

Mark-Anthony Turnage - Three Asteroids

Holst - The Planets

Wagner - Die Walküre, WWV 86b

Prokofiev - Romeo and Juliet, Suite No. 2, Op 64b

Ron Grainer - Doctor Who Theme (arr. Murray Gold)

Doctor Who at the Proms

A trio of works from America. Copland's great Third Symphony - with its portrayal of the wide, open spaces of North America - includes a striking reprise of the classic Fanfare for the Common Man at the start of the last movement. The symphony dates from the end of the Second World War and captures something of the sense of optimism of the American people at the time. From 25 years earlier, though sounding far more recent, comes Edgard Varèse's Amériques, whose title, he claimed, was 'symbolic of discoveries, of new worlds on Earth, in the sky or in the minds of men'; the first work that the Frenchman completed after arriving in New York, this still strikingly original score was premiered in Philadelphia by Leopold Stokowski. So too was Rachmaninov's Fourth (and last) Piano Concerto, also composed in the USA, where the composer had settled after leaving Russia in 1917. Rachmaninov himself was the soloist at the 1927 premiere; tonight it's the fearlessly virtuosic Boris Berezovsky.

National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain

John Wilson and his hand-picked Orchestra celebrate 75 years of MGM musicals with songs from unforgettable movie classics, including The Wizard of Oz, Meet Me in St Louis, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, High Society, Gigi and Singin' in the Rain.

Amazingly, although all the original orchestral parts were lost when the studio destroyed its music library to make way for a car park, Wilson has succeeded in reconstructing the scores by painstakingly transcribing each soundtrack by ear. He is joined by starry singers from the classical and musical theatre worlds, as well as by the elite Maida Vale Singers

Prom 22 - A Celebration of Classic MGM Film Musicals

Prom 59: Tonhalle Orchestra

Mahler Symphony No. 8 in E flat major

'Symphony of a Thousand' (82 mins)

Mardi Byers: soprano

Twyla Robinson: soprano

Malin Christensson: soprano

Stephanie Blythe: mezzo-soprano

Kelley O'Connor: mezzo-soprano

Stefan Vinke: tenor

Hanno Müller-Brachmann: bass-baritone

Tomasz Konieczny: bass

Choristers of St Paul's Cathedral

Choristers of Westminster Abbey

Choristers of Westminster Cathedral

BBC Symphony Chorus

Crouch End Festival Chorus

Sydney Philharmonia Choirs

BBC Symphony Orchestra

Jirí Belohlávek conductor

First Night -Mahler Symphony no 8 in E Flat major

Wagner: The Mastersingers of Nuremberg

An Opera in Three Acts

Concert staging, sung in German

Bryn Terfel: Hans Sachs

Raymond Very: Walther von Stoltzing

Amanda Roocroft: Eva

Christopher Purves: Beckmesser

Andrew Tortise: David

Anna Burford: Magdalene

David Soar: Nightwatchman

Brindley Sherratt: Pogner

Simon Thorpe: Kothner

David Stout: Nachtigall

Paul Hodges: Schwartz

Rhys Meirion: Zorn

Andrew Rees: Eisslinger

Stephen Rooke: Moser

Arwel Huw Morgan: Foltz

Geraint Dodd: Vogelgesang

Owen Webb: Ortel

Chorus and Orchestra of Welsh National Opera

Lothar Koenigs conductor

Wagner - Die Meistersinger

Schumann - Manfred, Op 115 (orch. Gustav Mahler)

Rachmaninov - Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor

Tchaikovsky - Manfred

Royal Liverpool Philharmonic - Manfred

Britten: Sinfonia da Requiem Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 1 in D flat major Alexander Toradze, piano Shostakovich: Symphony No. 7 in C major, 'Leningrad' BBC National Orchestra of Wales Thierry Fischer conductor

Britten-Prokofiev-Shostakovich

Doctor Who returns to the Proms with a new show hosted by the stars of the series - Karen Gillan (aka the Doctor's companion Amy Pond), Arthur Darvill (aka Rory Williams) and featuring a special guest appearance by Matt Smith (aka the Doctor).

The concert features Murray Gold's music for the television series, including his latest re-imagining of Ron Grainier's classic theme tune performed by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, the London Philharmonic Choir, soloists Yamit Mamo and Mark Chambers, and conducted by Ben Foster.

With exclusive behind-the-scenes access, specially-edited sequences from the most recent series, a host of monsters laying siege to the Royal Albert Hall and a new scene written especially for the Proms by Steven Moffat and featuring the Time Lord himself, this is an intergalactic musical adventure like no other.

Brett Dean: Amphitheatre (London premiere) (10 mins) Mahler: Des Knaben Wunderhorn – selection (23 mins) Ekaterina Gubanova mezzo-soprano Shostakovich: Symphony No. 10 in E minor (50 mins) The Australian Youth Orchestra Sir Mark Elder conductor

Dean-Mahler-Shostakovich

Marking the 80th birthday of one of Broadway's great innovators, this ﬁrst ever all-Sondheim Prom draws together leading ﬁgures of the opera and theatre worlds, plus some further special guests.

Bryn Terfel – a magnetic Sweeney Todd, as he proved at the Royal Festival Hall in 2007 – leads a starry cast, joined by aspiring young performers supported by the BBC Performing Arts Fund. On the bill are excerpts from the horror-opera Sweeney Todd, the Ingmar Bergman-inspired A Little Night Music and the fairy-tale compendium of Into the Woods, as well as excerpts from Company, Paciﬁc Overtures and Sunday in the Park with George.

Prom 19 - Sondheim at 80

Mahler: Symphony No. 3 in D minor (100 mins)

Karen Cargill: mezzo-soprano

Edinburgh Festival Chorus (women's voices)

Royal Scottish National Orchestra Junior Chorus

BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra

Donald Runnicles conductor

Sung in German, Fixed subtitles in English, commentary in English

Mahler Symphony No.3 in D minor

Mahler Symphony No. 5 in C sharp minor World Orchestra for Peace Valery Gergiev conductor

Mahler Symphony No.5 in C-Sharp minor(Gergiev)

Paul Dukas - L' apprenti sorcier

Julian Anderson - Fantasias

Berlioz - Symphonie fantastique, Op 14

National Youth Orchestra

Chopin: Piano Concerto No. 2 in F minor Encore - Gluck, transcribed Sgambati: Excerpt from Orfeo et Eurydice Nelson Freire: piano Ravel: Daphnis and Chloë – Suite No. 2 BBC Symphony Orchestra Lionel Bringuier conductor Katy Derham, Hostess

Chopin-Ravel

Verdi: La forza del destino – overture (8 mins)

Dallapiccola Partita (27 mins)

Sarah Tynan: soprano

Bruch: Violin Concerto No.1 in G minor (25 mins)

James Ehnes: violin

Encore - Paganini: Caprice 16

Schumann Symphony No. 4 in D minor (revised version) (38 mins)

BBC Philharmonic

Gianandrea Noseda conductor

Vocals with fixed English subtitles

Commentary in English

Interval cut

Verdi-Dallapiccola-Bruch-Schumann

J. S. Bach, orch. Stokowski:  Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565 (10 mins)

J. S. Bach, orch. Henry Wood: 'Suite No. 6' - Prelude; Finale (6 mins)

Tarik O'Regan: Latent Manifest (5 mins)

(BBC commission: world premiere)

Walton: The Wise Virgins – suite (21 mins)

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

Andrew Litton conductor

During interval: Brandenburg Concerto No. 2, recorded earlier in the day

English Baroque Soloists

Sir John Eliot Gardiner conductor

Grainger: Blithe Bells (4 mins)

J. S. Bach, arr. Sargent: Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D major, BWV 1068 - Air (6 mins)

Alissa Firsova: Bach Allegro (5 mins)

(BBC commission: world premiere)

J. S. Bach, arr. Bantock: Chorale Prelude 'Wachet auf, ruft uns due Stimme', BWV 645 (5 mins)

J. S. Bach, arr. Respighi: Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor, BWV 582 (13 mins)

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

Andrew Litton conductor

Commentary in English

J.S. Bach

Arvo Pärt: Cantus in memoriam Benjamin Britten (7 mins)

Britten: Four Sea Interludes from 'Peter Grimes' (17 mins)

Huw Watkins: Violin Concerto

(BBC commission: world premiere) (20 mins)

Alina Ibragimova: violin

Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5 in D minor (50 mins)

BBC Symphony Orchestra

Edward Gardner conductor

In memoriam Benjamin Britten

The Philharmonia Orchestra play Mosolov's The Foundry, Pärt's Symphony No. 4 "Los Angeles", Ravel's Piano Concerto for the Left Hand & Scriabin's The Poem of Ecstasy.

The Philharmonia Orchestra

Oklahoma: excerpts (13 mins) Carousel: excerpts (26 mins) South Pacific: excerpts (17 mins) The King and I: (arr. Edward B. Powell) Overture (6 mins) Flower Drum Song: excerpts (11 mins) The Sound of Music: excerpts (12 mins) Cast includes: Kim Criswell Sierra Boggess Anna-Jane Casey Julian Ovenden Rod Gilfry Maida Vale Singers John Wilson Orchestra John Wilson conductor

A Celebration of Rogers & Hammerstein

Mark-Anthony Turnage: Hammered Out

(BBC co-commission with LA Philharmonic: world premiere) (c15 mins)

Barber: Violin Concerto (25 mins)

Encore: J. S. Bach: Gavotte en rondeau from Violin Partita 3

Gil Shaham: violin

Sibelius Symphony: No. 2 in D major (40 mins)

BBC Symphony Orchestra

David Robertson conductor

Commentary in English

Turnage-Barber-Sibelius

Jamie Cullum & The Heritage Orchestra

Hindemith: Symphony 'Mathis der Maler' (27 mins) Mahler: Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen (17 mins) Christian Gerhaher: baritone Bruckner: Symphony No. 9 in D minor (65 mins) Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester Herbert Blomstedt conductor Commentary in English, vocals with fixed English subtitles Interval cut

Hindemith-Mahler-Bruckner

Rameau: Dardanus – suite (18 mins) Canteloube: Songs from the Auvergne – selection (25 mins): Pastourelle Deux Bourrées: N'ai pas iéu de mio Une jionto pastouro Té, l'co té! Bailero Malurous qu'o uno fenno Anna Caterina Antonacci: soprano Martin Matalon: Lignes de fuite UK premiere) (18 mins) Mussorgsky, arr. Henry Wood: Pictures at an Exhibition (30 mins) BBC National Orchestra of Wales François-Xavier Roth conductor

Rameau-Canteloube-Matalon

Wagner - Parsifal

R. Strauss - Vier Letzte Lieder

Schoenberg - Five Orchestral Pieces, Op. 16

Webern - Six Pieces, Op 6

Berg - Three Pieces, Op 6

Simon Rattle & Berliner Philharmoniker

The Royal Scottish National Orchestra and its French-born Music Director, Stéphane Denève, join Paul Lewis as he rounds off his cycle of the five Beethoven piano concertos with the last and most proudly majestic of them all.

Taking up this afternoon's Italian theme, they play spectacular orchestral showpieces by Berlioz and Respighi, inspired respectively by Rome's lively street life and its imperial past; while, cementing Celtic connections, they introduce a recent symphonic suite drawn from the Scottish composer James MacMillan's opera The Sacrifice, inspired by the medieval folk tales of The Mabinogion and premiered to great acclaim by Welsh National Opera in 2007.

    * Berlioz Overture 'Roman Carnival' (9 mins)

    * Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 5 in E flat major, Op. 73 'Emperor' (38 mins)

    * interval

    * James Macmillan The Sacrifice – Three Interludes

      (London premiere) (15 mins)

    * Respighi Pines of Rome (23 mins)

    * Paul Lewis piano

    * Royal Scottish National Orchestra

    * Stéphane Denève conductor

Royal Scottish National Orchestra

Tradition meets high jinks as Jiří Bělohlávek conducts his second Last Night, while the spirit of Henry Wood presides, as always, over the grand finale of the Proms. Renée Fleming lends her lustrous soprano to music by Strauss, Dvořák and Smetana. Former Radio 3 New Generation Artist Maxim Rysanov gives Tchaikovsky's popular cello variations a new voice, and loyal Prommers can spot the last traces of the season's Wood, Parry, Wagner, Rodgers and Hammerstein and opera themes.

A festive new piece by Jonathan Dove opens the evening; a contemporary hornpipe forms an upbeat to anniversary composer Arne's Rule, Britannia!; and audiences around the UK can join the Royal Albert Hall crowd in singing along to excerpts from Lohengrin and Carousel in a climax to the BBC's opera season

Last Night of The Proms

New British music, Brahms, Liszt and a lavish choral work blaze a trail for some of 2011's Proms musical strands. Benjamin Grosvenor made his Proms debut, and there's Janáček's extraordinary celebration of Slavic culture, the Glagolitic Mass.

Friday 15 July

7.30pm – c. 9.40pm 

Royal Albert Hall

Choral music and singing events, Piano music

Judith Weir

Stars, Night, Music and Light (c4 mins)

BBC Commission, World Premiere

Brahms

Academic Festival Overture (11 mins)

Liszt

Piano Concerto No. 2 in A major (20 mins)

INTERVAL

Janáček

Glagolitic Mass (45 mins)

Benjamin Grosvenor piano

Hibla Gerzmava soprano

Dagmar Pecková mezzo-soprano

Stefan Vinke tenor

Jan Martiník bass

David Goode organ

BBC Singers

BBC Symphony Chorus

BBC Symphony Orchestra

Jiří Bělohlávek conductor

In the first half of his second Prom Myung-Whun Chung pairs works by German Romantics from opposite ends of the 19th century, including the meltingly beautiful Brahms Double Concerto with Renaud and Gautier Capuçon.

After the interval comes a piece with French connections which swept away that old order. A sensational succès de scandale in 1913 for Diaghilev and his Ballets Russes, The Rite of Spring not only prompted the most famous riot in musical history but sounds sensational still, rediscovering rhythm as music's primal driving force.

Tuesday 19 July

7.00pm – c. 9.00pm 

Royal Albert Hall

Classical for starters

Weber

Oberon - overture (9 mins)

Brahms

Concerto in A minor for Violin and Cello (Double Concerto) (32 mins)

INTERVAL

Stravinsky

The Rite of Spring (33 mins)

Renaud Capuçon violin

Gautier Capuçon cello

Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France

Myung-Whun Chung conductor

Weber, Brahms & Stravinsky

Thursday 21 July

7.30pm – c. 9.45pm 

Royal Albert Hall

Piano music

Sibelius

Scènes historiques - Suite No. 2 (19 mins)

Sibelius

Symphony No. 7 in C major (23 mins)

INTERVAL

Bartók

Piano Concerto No. 3 (24 mins)

Janáček

Sinfonietta (24 mins)

András Schiff piano

Hallé

Sir Mark Elder conductor

Sibelius, Bartók and Janáček

Basque-born Juanjo Mena, recently named Chief Conductor of the BBC Philharmonic, makes his Proms debut with this dazzling Franco-Spanish evening.

Debussy's three orchestral Images are interspersed with evocations of an idealised South filled with the rhythms of Gypsy dancing and the scent of jasmine.

The brilliant showpieces of Ravel are complemented by Falla's Impressionistic Andalusian concerto, in which the orchestra is joined by pianist Steven Osborne.

Friday 22 July

7.30pm – c. 9.50pm 

Royal Albert Hall

Classical for starters, French music concerts and events, Piano music

Debussy

Images - Gigues (7 mins)

Ravel

Rapsodie espagnole (15 mins)

Debussy

Images - Rondes de printemps (9 mins)

INTERVAL

Ravel

Alborado del gracioso (8 mins)

Falla

Nights in the Gardens of Spain (24 mins)

Debussy

Images - Ibéria (20 mins)

Steven Osborne piano

BBC Philharmonic

Juanjo Mena conductor

Debussy, Ravel & Falla

Music composed by Nitin Sawhney for the Human Planet television series, and performances by artistst including Ayarkhaan (Sakha Republic), Bibilang Shark-Calling Group (Papua New Guinea), Khusugtun (Mongolia), Rasmus Lyberth (Greenland), and Enock Mbongwe (Zambia). BBC Concert Orchestra, Charles Hazlewood (conductor) and Paul Rose (presenter)..

Big-screen video projections and excerpts from Nitin Sawhney's score for the acclaimed landmark BBC One series Human Planet, alongside artists heard in BBC Radio 3's accompanying Music Planet series.

Saturday 23 July

7.30pm – c. 9.45pm 

Royal Albert Hall

For families

There will be one interval

Human Planet Prom

The ultimate in dramatic intensity, this extraordinary work speaks of heaven and hell, fire and earth, darkness and light in music that is as much theatrical as devotional.

The Requiem is always a special event - the more so when we have on the podium a Verdi specialist whose recent Cologne recording, which also featured Ferruccio Furlanetto, has been much acclaimed.

Tonight's stellar line-up also includes Marina Poplavskaya and Joseph Calleja, who both sang alongside Furlanetto in last year's Simon Boccanegra.

Sunday 24 July

7.00pm – c. 8.40pm 

Royal Albert Hall

Choral music and singing events

Verdi

Requiem (86 mins)

Marina Poplavskaya soprano

Mariana Pentcheva mezzo-soprano

Joseph Calleja tenor

Ferruccio Furlanetto bass

BBC Symphony Chorus

BBC National Chorus of Wales

London Philharmonic Choir

BBC Symphony Orchestra

Semyon Bychkov conductor

Verdi – Requiem

Sir Roger Norrington has chosen Mahler's last completed symphony for his final concerts as Principal Conductor of the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra, a post he has held since 1998.

Written at a time of personal crisis, the Ninth begins with what some have heard as the irregular rhythm of Mahler's own failing heartbeat and it ends with a long fade to eternal nothingness. In between comes perhaps the greatest, certainly the most cathartic, of all late- Romantic symphonies. Sadly, the composer did not live to hear it.

Tonight's performance promises to be both a moving occasion and a revealing one, taking up the faster pacing and purer orchestral sonorities of the composer's own time.

Monday 25 July

7.30pm – c. 9.00pm 

Royal Albert Hall

Mahler

Symphony No. 9 (73 mins)

Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra (SWR)

Sir Roger Norrington conductor

Mahler – Symphony No. 9

Vladimir Jurowski's Hungarian Prom kicks off with Kodály's effervescent Dances of Galánta.

Bartók's more acerbically ebullient First Piano Concerto will give pianist Jean-Efflam Bavouzet a chance to use both hands: his previous Proms appearances, in 2008 and 2010, both involved pieces conceived for the left hand alone!

In tonight's second half, an influential masterwork from one of this year's featured composers, born 200 years ago. Liszt's A Faust Symphony 'in three character portraits, after Goethe' will be played in the version that concludes with a grandiose setting of the 'Chorus mysticus' unheard at the Proms since 1967.

Tuesday 26 July

7.30pm – c. 9.55pm 

Royal Albert Hall

Choral music and singing events, Piano music

Kodály

Dances of Galánta (16 mins)

Bartók

Piano Concerto No. 1 (24 mins)

INTERVAL

Liszt

A Faust Symphony (62 mins)

Jean-Efflam Bavouzet piano

Marco Jentzsch tenor

London Philharmonic Choir (men's voices)

London Symphony Chorus (men's voices)

London Philharmonic Orchestra

Vladimir Jurowski conductor

Kodály, Bartók & Liszt

Anyone who has split their sides laughing at CBBC's hit television series Horrible Histories now has the chance to see and hear the cast perform some of the most popular songs from the show, ranging from the Savage Stone Age and the Vicious Vikings to the Gorgeous Georgians and the Vile Victorians.

Backed by children's choirs and the Aurora Orchestra, the songs will be interspersed with some great music by composers such as King Henry VIII, Lully, Mozart and the prolific 'Anon'.

Horrible Histories, based on the best-selling books by Terry Deary with illustrations by Martin Brown, has proved a massive success. Children love the series, and the songs (music by Richie Webb) have proved among the most memorable elements of the show. Come to see the stars and sing along!

Following the success of the first-ever signed Prom last year, Dr Paul Whittaker, Artistic Director of Music and the Deaf, returns to guide you through this free Prom.

Saturday 30 July

11.00am – c. 1.00pm 

Royal Albert Hall

Choral music and singing events, For families

Louise Fryer (presenter), Horrible Histories cast, Choirs from The Music Centre, Kids Company Choir, Aurora Orchestra and Nicholas Collon (conductor).

There will be one interval.

Horrible Histories – Free Family Prom

Strauss at his most passionate (and lascivious!) bookends a concert full of spectacle and panache.

At its heart is the patriotic cantata Prokofiev drew from his music for Eisenstein's epic film about a medieval Russian hero's defeat of the Teutonic invader. That score had quite an impact on Walton's own wartime work for the cinema but it is the subtler brio of his Violin Concerto that is heard before the interval.

Midori is one of relatively few international superstars to have taken up a piece whose formidable technical challenges were actively encouraged by Jascha Heifetz, its original soloist, but whose lyricism is all pervasive too.

Saturday 30 July

7.30pm – c. 9.55pm 

Royal Albert Hall

Choral music and singing events

R. Strauss

Don Juan (17 mins)

Walton

Violin Concerto (32 mins)

INTERVAL

Prokofiev

Alexander Nevsky - cantata (40 mins)

R. Strauss

Salome - Dance of the Seven Veils (12 mins)

Midori violin

Nadezhda Serdiuk mezzo-soprano

CBSO Chorus

City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra

Andris Nelsons conductor

Strauss, Walton & Prokofiev

Tasmin Little and Sir Andrew Davis tackle a favourite concerto which the violinist has only recently felt ready to commit to disc.

It is preceded by one of Elgar's most radical part-songs, notated in two keys simultaneously in a manner which might be said to parallel the incorrigible experiments of Percy Grainger.

To mark the 50th anniversary of that composer's death, his In a Nutshell suite receives a first outing at the Proms, reaching its popular march finale by way of some unpredictable and darkly complex invention. Once considered dangerously radical itself, Strauss's perky symphonic poem documents the adventures of a purely mythical rascal.

Tuesday 2 August

7.00pm – c. 9.15pm 

Royal Albert Hall

Choral music and singing events, Classical for starters

Elgar

There is sweet music (4 mins)

Elgar

Violin Concerto (50 mins)

INTERVAL

Grainger

Irish Tune from County Derry (4 mins)

Grainger

Suite 'In a Nutshell' (20 mins)

R. Strauss

Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche (15 mins)

Tasmin Little violin

BBC Singers

BBC Symphony Orchestra

Sir Andrew Davis conductor

Elgar, Grainger & Strauss

The World's Greatest Classical Music Festival.  The BBC Proms is a classical music festival held every summer at the Royal Albert Hall in London, and in recent years has explored an innovative series of Proms around the UK with concerts in all four nations. Its aim: to bring the best in classical music to the widest possible audience, which remains true to founder-conductor Henry Wood’s original vision in 1895.  Whether you are a classical connoisseur or think classical music isn’t for you, there is something for everyone in the eight-week stretch of concerts.

The Best Seasons of BBC Proms

The Best Seasons of BBC Proms

Season 78

Season 1

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Season 56

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Season 61

Season 62

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