James Naughtie introduces live coverage of the First Night live from London's Royal Albert Hall in a special concert to welcome American-born Leonard Slatkin to his first Prom season as chief conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra.

First Night of the Proms

BBC Proms 2001

Season 54

Live broadcast of Sally Beamish's Proms commission Knotgrass Elegy, Prokofiev's Second Violin Concerto, and Stravinsky's The Firebird.

A live broadcast of Nielsen's Symphony No 2 (The Four Temperaments), Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No 1, played by Louis Lortie, and Vaughan Williams' Symphony No 2 (A London Symphony).

A live broadcast from the Royal Albert Hall, London, featuring Berlioz's Le Corsaire, the world premiere of Stuart MacRae's Violin Concerto, performed by Tasmin Little, Britten's Les Illuminations and Strauss's Also Sprach Zarathustra.

Live from London's Royal Albert Hall where American soprano Renee Fleming makes her long-awaited Proms debut singing Mozart's motet Exsultate, jubilate and Richard Strauss's ravishing Four Last Songs of 1948. The first half also features Dvorak's Carnival Overture and Brahms's Variations on the St Anthony Chorale, while the all-Strauss second half begins with the colourful tone poem Don Juan. Christoph Eschenbach conducts the Philharmonia Orchestra and the concert is introduced by Stephanie Hughes.

Live from the Royal Albert Hall, a performance of Schoenberg's Variations for Orchestra Op 31, Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No 1 in F sharp minor and Kurt Weill's one-act opera Royal Palace.

Live from the Royal Albert Hall, a concert featuring Varese's Arcana, violinist Joshua Bell playing Bernstein's Serenade and his West Side Story Suite, and Ravel's Bolero. Performed by the BBC Philharmonic.

Mariella Frostrup presents highlights of a concert from the Royal Albert Hall featuring classical music voted for in a Radio Times poll of the Nation's Favourite Music. The Royal Scottish National Orchestra, led by conductor Paul Daniel , performs renditions of Elgar's Enigma Variations, Bruch's Violin Concerto No 1, and Puccini's aria 0 Mio Babbino Caro , with celebrated violinist Nadja Salerno -Sonnenberg and Russian soprano Elena Prokina also performing.

The Nation's Favourite Prom

Including works by Debussy, Britten and Finzi. Featuring singers Lillian Watson, Pamela Helen Stephen and Philip Langridge.

Stephanie Hughes introduces tonight's programme live from London's Albert Hall, consisting of a single work and featuring the annual appearance at the Proms of the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, conducted by Andrew Davis. The piece is Oliver Messiaen's distinctive Turangalila Symphony, scored for a huge orchestra and featuring solo piano performed by Pierre-Laurent Aimard, and Cynthia Millar on the ondes martenot.

Sir Andrew Davis conducts Sally Beamish's Knotgrass Elegy.

Nielsen's Symphony No 2, Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No 1 and London Symphony by Vaughan Williams.

Manfred Honeck, who stands in for an indisposed Neeme Jarvi, conducts the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra and the BBC Singers in a concert recorded in London's Royal Albert Hall on 9 August. It offers a rare chance to hear highlights of Grieg's incidental music for Ibsen's Peer Gynt in dramatic context. Actor Simon Callow - who introduces tonight's Prom in the absence of Paul Scofield - narrates the Norwegian play in English, Bo Skovhus performs the title role, Anitra is played by Inge Kosmo, while soprano Barbara Bonney sings the part of Solveig.

Including Le Corsair by Berlioz and Britten's Les Illuminations.

Live from the Royal Albert Hall in London, James Naughtie presents an evening of music performed by Japan's leading orchestra, the NHK Symphony, conducted by Charles Dutoit. The concert commences with Japanese composer Toru Takemitsu's Ceremonial - an Autumn Ode and featuring a solo by Mayumi Miyata on the sho, a traditional Japanese reed instrument. Then, Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No 3, with acclaimed pianist Martha Argerich. Finally, after the interval, a performance of Shostakovich's Fifth Symphony, subtitled "A Soviet Artist's Practical Creative Reply to Just Criticism".

Wayne Marshall the celebrated pianist, organist and conductor presents a concert of American and Russian music from London's Royal Albert Hall. The programme includes Copland's El salon Mexico, Barber's Adagio for Strings and Rachmaninov's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini with the pianist Stephen Hough as soloist. The BBC Symphony Orchestra will be under the baton of Leonard Slatkin, its new chief conductor.

Featuring music by Schoenberg and Weill, from the Royal Albert Hall.

Tonight featuring the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra with their music director Herbert Blomstedt who is making his Proms' debut. Michael Aspel introduces this concert from London's Royal Albert Hall which includes Dvorak's symphony No 9 From the New World and Mendelssohn's Overture to A Midsummer Night's Dream.

James Naughtie introduces live coverage from London's Royal Albert Hall.

This year's Proms have explored the countryside and nature. Tonight the London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Sir Colin Davis, perform a programme linked by a pastoral theme that includes Sibelius's late tone-poem The Oceanides, Sir Michael Tippett's The Rose Lake and Beethoven's Symphony No 6 the Pastoral.

Stephanie Hughes introduces the first half of this evening's traditional celebration live from the Royal Albert Hall, with Leonard Slatkin conducting the BBC Symphony Orchestra for the finale of the Proms season. The programme includes Verdi's Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves from Nabucco, while the pastoral theme is represented by Finzi's The Fall of the Leaf and Constant Lambert's famous Rio Grande.

Last Night of the Proms

BBC1 takes over live coverage of the spectacular finale to the 2001 Prom season. The BBC Symphony Orchestra's American conductor, Leonard Slatkin, lends a transatlantic theme to proceedings, which include John Adams's Short Ride in a Fast Machine and a Sousa march made famous by Monty Python. American mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade makes her Proms debut with Canteloube's Songs of the Auvergne and the evening concludes with the traditional sing-along, joined by those gathered at Proms in the Park locations around the country. Presented by Stephanie Hughes.

[Editor's note:  The programme was subject to change due to 9/11.  These details, from the billing in the Radio Times, may be incorrect.]

Highlights from this year, featuring a tribute to composer Gerald Finzi. Conducted by Richard Hickox.

Proms 2001

The young French pianist gives a stylish performance of Beethoven's Fourth Concerto.

Helene Grimaud at the Proms

A musical retrospective featuring Sally Beamish's first Proms commission, Knotgrass Elegy, Prokofiev's Second Violin Concerto (played by Canadian violinist James Ehnes); and Stravinsky's Firebird suite. Andrew Davis conducts the BBC Symphony Orchestra.

The Best of the Proms 2001

Featuring Varese's Arcana, a work inspired by the occult philosophy of Paracelsus. Plus American violinist Joshua Bell plays Bernstein's Serenade, and the UK premiere of his West Side Story Suite. The concert ends with Ravel's ever-popular Bolero. The BBC Philharmonic is conducted by Yan Pascal Tortelier.

Featuring Berlioz's Overture Le Corsaire; the world premiere of Stuart MacRae's Violin Concerto, played by Tasmin Little; Britten's Les Illuminations, with soprano

Inger Dam-Jensen; and Strauss's Also Sprach Zarathustra - the tone-poem that was featured in Stanley Kubrick's film 2001: a Space Odyssey.

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.

First Night of the Proms

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