A concert performance of Beethoven's only opera, Fidelio, conducted by Daniel Barenboim, accompanied by a cast of international singers and the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, formed of young Israeli and Arab musicians.  The opera is a passionate protest against political injustice and a hymn of praise to the power of human love. Sung in German, this performance uses English narration written by the orchestra's co-founder, the late Edward Said.  Presenter and Beethoven enthusiast John Suchet is joined by some of the artists and special guests.

Prom 50: Beethoven's Fidelio

Prom 56: Lang Lang Plays Chopin

Prom 48: Barenboim and West-Eastern Divan

Coverage of the first night of the 115th season, which begins on a grand scale with five soloists, chorus and orchestra. Jiri Belohlavek conducts the BBC Symphony Orchestra, with soprano Ailish Tynan and mezzo Alice Coote, pianists Stephen Hough and Katia and Marielle Labeque.  Tonight's programme includes Stravinsky's Fireworks, Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No 3 in E flat, Poulenc's Concerto for two pianos, Elgar's In the South (Alassio) and Brahms's Alto Rhapsody. During the interval, presenters Clive Anderson and Suzy Klein talk to the artists and special guests.

First Night at the Proms

Vassily Sinaisky conducts the BBC Philharmonic in Elgar's Symphony No 2 in E flat to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the composer's death. Also on the programme are Ernest Moeran's Symphony in G and Gerald Finzi's Grand Fantasia and Toccata, featuring piano soloist Leon McCawley. Presented by conductor Charles Hazlewood.

Prom 9: Elgar Anniversary

Jun Markl conducts the Orchestre National de Lyon in a concert from the Royal Albert Hall on the theme of the musical links between the East and the West.  Featuring Takemitsu's Ceremonial: An Autumn Ode and Green, Debussy's Estampes - Pagodes and La Mer, and Ravel's Tzigane. With a performance by Japanese violinist Akiko Suwanai and an introduction to oriental instrument the sho by Mayumi Miyata. Coverage is presented by conductor Charles Hazlewood, with Clemency Burton-Hill.

Prom 10: Orchestre National de Lyon

From the Royal Albert Hall, Clive Anderson introduces a special Prom marking the anniversaries of three great British composers, Delius, Elgar and Holst, who died 75 years ago.  Sir Charles Mackerras conducts the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra in a performance of Holst's mystical Planets Suite, Elgar's spirited Cockaigne Overture, and Delius's evocative Song of the High Hills, with soloists Rebecca Evans and Toby Spence.

Prom 12: 1934

Prom 19 - Berlioz and Mendelssohn

Stellar young conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin makes his Proms debut with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra.  The concert celebrates two anniversaries; the centenary year of Stravinsky's first collaboration with the Ballet Russes and the bicentenary of Mendelssohn's birth.  The music from Pulcinella, one of Stravinsky's eleven ballets, will open the programme, followed by the ever popular Schumann Piano Concerto in A Minor played by Nicholas Angelich. Mendelssohn's Fifth Symphony provides the climax to the evening.  Presented by Petroc Trelawny.

Prom 20 - Stravinsky and Schumann

Live from the Royal Albert Hall Clive Anderson introduces a Prom celebrating 75 years of classic MGM film musicals. Songs from unforgettable movies including The Wizard of Oz, Gigi and Singing in the Rain are performed by conductor John Wilson and his hand-picked orchestra with singing stars from the classical and musical theatre worlds.

Prom 22: A Celebration of Classic MGM Film Musicals

In a tribute to his native Italy, conductor Gianandrea Noseda and the BBC Philharmonic perform Mendelssohn's Italian Symphony, Sir Peter Maxwell Davies's Roma Amor, Respighi's Pines of Rome and two Rossini arias performed by the Alaskan mezzo-soprano Vivica Genaux. Suzy Klein presents.

Prom 29: Mendelssohn's Italian Symphony

One of the towering forces in British music today, Oliver Knussen, conducts the BBC Symphony Orchestra in a colourful programme that includes Stravinsky's musical poker-game Jeu de Cartes, Respighi's Fountains of Rome, the Proms premiere of Virga by the young Scot Helen Grime, Balakirev's oriental fantasy Islamey and Knussen's own Horn Concerto, performed by Martin Owen. Presented by Suzy Klein.

Prom 30  - Knussen Conducts Knussen

From the Royal Albert Hall, the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain returns to the Proms under its new principal conductor Vasily Petrenko. The concert opens with Tchaikovsky's famous Piano Concerto No 1 with Stephen Hough as soloist, and after Lutoslawski's showpiece Concerto for Orchestra the programme ends with Respighi's musical depiction of Roman festivals. Presented by Katie Derham.

Prom 31: National Youth Orchestra

Suzy Klein presents as Stravinsky's riotous Rite of Spring comes to the Proms, played by the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra with conductor Ilan Volkov.  Ravel's choreographic poem La Valse begins the programme, followed by the world premiere of Korean composer Unsuk Chin's Cello Concerto, written especially for the solo cellist Alban Gerhardt.

Prom 38: Stravinsky's Rite of Spring

Charles Hazlewood presents as the Proms mark the 75th birthday of one of Britain's greatest living composers, Sir Harrison Birtwistle, with a rare performance of the central act of his monumental opera The Mask of Orpheus. It is performed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Singers and a cast that includes Alan Oke and Christine Rice, and conducted by Martyn Brabbins with Ryan Wigglesworth.  Brabbins opens the concert with Popcorn Superhet Receiver by Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood, a piece which won the Radio 3 Listeners' Award at the 2006 British Composer Awards.  Stravinsky's elegant ballet music Apollo contrasts these two contemporary works.

Prom 39: Birtwistle's Mask of Orpheus

To celebrate Handel's 250th anniversary, Harry Christophers and The Sixteen perform some favourite Handel hits, including the coronation anthem Zadok the Priest, the ever-popular Arrival of the Queen of Sheba and the aria Endless Pleasure from his opera Semele, with soprano Carolyn Sampson as soloist. Martha Kearney presents and is joined by some of the artists and other special guests.

Prom 36: Handel Anniversary Highlights

Suzy Klein introduces a performance of Handel's oratorio Samson, which tells the dramatic story of the last days of the great Israelite warrior. Composed within a few weeks of Handel's Messiah and based on a text by John Milton, it became one of Handel's most successful and popular oratorios.  Harry Bicket conducts a starry line-up of British singers, including Susan Gritton as Dalila and Mark Padmore as Samson

Prom 47: Handel's Samson

Charles Hazlewood presents as Daniel Barenboim's unique West-Eastern Divan orchestra, which brings together young players from both sides of the Arab-Israeli divide, celebrates its tenth anniversary with a programme including Liszt's Les Preludes, the Prelude and Liebestod from Wagner's opera Tristan und Isolde, and Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique.

Classical superstar Lang Lang returns to the Proms to play an eternal favourite, Chopin's Piano Concerto No 2 in F Minor. Also in the programme are the UK premiere of British composer Rebecca Saunders's revised work 'traces' and Richard Strauss's epic symphonic poem, the Alpine Symphony. The concert is performed by one of the world's longest-standing orchestras, the Staatskapelle Dresden, conducted by Fabio Luisi.

Tchaikovsky dominates the evening, as Stephen Hough concludes his one-man piano marathon with the Concert Fantasia in G Minor for piano and orchestra. Cellist Steven Isserlis also plays Tchaikovsky, in his Variations on a Rococo Theme, followed by the tumultuous symphonic fantasy, Francesca da Rimini.  The BBC Symphony Orchestra begin the evening with Agon, one of eleven Stravinsky ballets performed at the Proms this season, under the baton of David Robertson.

Prom 57: Tchaikovsky Night

The Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich under conductor David Zinman plays music by Schubert, Mahler and Golijov. American soprano Dawn Upshaw is the soloist in the UK premiere of Golijov's acclaimed new work 'She Was Here' based on four Schubert songs, and Upshaw returns at the end of Mahler's Fourth Symphony to give the angel's-eye view of Heaven. The concert begins with Schubert's overture written as incidental music to the play Rosamunde. This live prom from the Royal Albert Hall is introduced by Clive Anderson.

Prom 59: Tonhalle Orchestra

Charles Hazlewood presents as Vladimir Jurowski, the LPO's principal conductor, brings an intriguing and eclectic programme to the Proms, including Bacchanale by Ibert, Debussy's ballet score Jeux, Mozart's Sonata for Two Pianos played by Pierre-Laurent Aimard and Tamara Stefanovich, and Brahms's First Symphony.

Prom 64: Jurowski & London Philharmonic

Charles Hazlewood presents as the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra, conducted by Jonathan Nott, perform Mahler's heartbreaking Songs on the Death of Children with baritone soloist Matthias Goerne, and two works made famous by Stanley Kubrick's film 2001 - Strauss's visionary Also sprach Zarathustra and Ligeti's Atmospheres.

Prom 65: Gustav Mahler Jugend Orchester

A prom celebrating the four major composers whose anniversaries are being marked throughout the year: Purcell, Handel, Haydn and Mendelssohn.  The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, conducted by Sir Roger Norrington, play Purcell's Abdelazar Suite which includes the theme used by Britten in his Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra; Handel's ever popular Water Music; Haydn's dramatic concert aria Scena di Berenice with soloist Joyce DiDonato as the distraught lover; and Mendelssohn's evocation of Scotland in his Symphony No 3, 'Scottish'. Introduced by Clive Anderson at the Royal Albert Hall.

Prom 53: Composers of the Year

Charles Hazlewood presents as the world-renowned Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra bring two great symphonies to the Proms with Haydn's Symphony No 98 in B-flat and Schubert's 'Great' Symphony No 9 in C. Conducted by Franz Welser-Most.

Prom 73: Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra

Charles Hazlewood introduces the annual Proms performance of Beethoven's 9th, his life-affirming choral symphony, recorded earlier in the season with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, soloists Rebecca Evans, Caitlin Hulcup, Anthony Dean Griffey and James Rutherford, with the City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus conducted by Ilan Volkov.  Stravinsky's ballet music Orpheus opens the programme.

Prom 40: Beethoven's 9th Symphony

Live from the Royal Albert Hall, Clive Anderson introduces the final concert of the 2009 Proms season. The evening gets under way with a Flourish of Fireworks by Oliver Knussen and then works by anniversary composers Purcell and Haydn feature the evening's soloists, mezzo-soprano Sarah Connolly and trumpet player Alison Balsom. The first half ends with an exotic masterpiece for chorus and orchestra by the Brazilian composer Villa-Lobos.  The BBC Singers, the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus are conducted by David Robertson. During the interval there are highlights from Proms in the Park in London, Salford, Swansea, Glasgow and Hillsborough Castle in Northern Ireland.

Last Night of the Proms - Part One

Live from the Royal Albert Hall, Clive Anderson introduces the spectacular climax to the 2009 Proms season.  American conductor David Robertson is master of ceremonies for the first time, with two top soloists: mezzo soprano Sarah Connolly and trumpet player Alison Balsom, and the combined forces of the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Symphony Chorus and the BBC Singers.  There's music for fireworks, music to dance to and music played by vacuum cleaners, in a festive evening that culminates in the singing of the famous tunes by Arne, Parry and Elgar.

Last Night of the Proms - Part Two

Episode 100

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.

Prom 50: Beethoven's Fidelio

Seasons80

Season 63 Episodes27

Discussion

Episode Summary