BBC Henry Wood Promenade Concerts

Pictures at the Proms
The encore, “Happy Birthday to You”, summoned by leader Stephen Bryant was a nice tribute to Leonard Slatkin at, this, his 60th-birthday concert, given on the day itself. The party...
Vespers of 1610
This performance of Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610, in Robert King’s own performing edition, was a marvel of compromise between coping with an inappropriate acoustic (given the size of the forces...
Mutter & Previn
Odd when you think of it: André Previn has not appeared at the Proms since a 1987 concert with the Royal Philharmonic; then its back to 1974 – the era...
Australian Youth Orchestra
The Australian Youth Orchestra gave an excellent account of itself, allied to an authoritative contribution from Lawrence Foster. He clearly won the players’ trust as a guide – perhaps, even,...
Chamber Music No.7
Having featured his Fourth Symphony earlier this Proms season, it was fitting that Ives's other culminating work be included too. And who better to perform the Concord Sonata than Pierre-Laurent...
Khamma
The wide-ranging remit of the Proms these days makes it easy to ignore a concert of such focused and unassumingly logical programming as this one. Two of the works are...
Orchestre de Paris
The theme of this concert was ‘valediction’. At the time of writing these works, both composers knew their own deaths were imminent. Berio, an atheist, set texts that probe men’s...
Voigt and Gatti
This was a high-risk programme even if it didn’t look like one. After conducting the Eroica with the RPO in Florida this February, Daniele Gatti berated the audience for applauding...
Glyndebourne Double Bill
For its annual Proms showcase Glyndebourne unveiled semi-staged versions of two short operas concerned with greed and the disposal of accumulated wealth on death. This interesting double-bill in a visually...
Sāvitri
Judging by the crowds streaming out of the Albert Hall upon my arrival to this late-night Prom there was a more than a respectable size of audience to hear the...
Lausanne Chamber Orchestra
It’s an unwise man that thinks the only cultural product of Switzerland is the cuckoo clock. While perhaps a little bereft of composers (claim half a point if you said...
St Petersburg Philharmonic 2
In gratifyingly neutral light, a near capacity audience assembled to witness this enjoyable if unadventurous programme. Yuri Temirkanov has had Evgeny Mravinsky’s old orchestra at his disposal for some time...
Swedish Chamber Orchestra
Thomas Dausgaard is formidable. Under his direction the Swedish Chamber Orchestra is tightly drilled and yet plays willingly, exultantly, with panache and bravura. It won my respect for every piece...
St Petersburg Philharmonic 1
A near-capacity crowd gathered at the Royal Albert Hall to hear some authentic Russian music-making by Yuri Temirkanov and his St Petersburg forces.Glinka’s melancholic Valse-Fantaisie was originally for the piano...
Chamber Music No.6
As summer dies and autumn was already making itself felt on this rain-drenched Monday, it was perhaps fitting that this Chamber Prom should be such a sombre affair. Not that...