Proms At Christmas 2021 [BBC Proms]

Title

First
Broadcast

Comments

Bach's St Matthew Passion

20211230

Another chance to hear Arcangelo, Jonathan Cohen and a stellar cast of soloists perform one of the greatest sacred masterworks of the Baroque at the 2021 BBC Proms.

From the Royal Albert Hall, London

Presented by Andrew McGregor

Bach: St Matthew Passion, Part I

c. 20:10

Live Interval: Andrew is joined by Lucy Winkett, the Rector of St James's Church, Piccadilly.

c. 20:35

Bach: St Matthew Passion, Part II

Louise Alder (soprano)

Iestyn Davies (counter-tenor)

Stuart Jackson (Evangelist)

Hugo Hymas (tenor)

Roderick Williams (baritone)

Matthew Rose (Christ)

Choristers of St Paul's Cathedral Choir

Arcangelo Chorus

Jonathan Cohen (harpsichord/director)

Bach's crowning masterpiece, the St Matthew Passion combines moments of extraordinary fragility and tenderness with raw choral power and explosive jubilation, bitter grief with passages of consolation. With double chorus and orchestra, its scope and ambition is vast - a piece made for the Royal Albert Hall. Following on from their gripping account of Handel's Theodora in 2018, period-instrument ensemble Arcangelo and Director Jonathan Cohen return to the Proms, joined by a glittering line-up of soloists including Roderick Williams and rising star Stuart Jackson.

Arcangelo and Jonathan Cohen perform Bach's sacred masterpiece at the 2021 BBC Proms.

BBC Concert Orchestra And James Mcvinnie

20211222

Another chance to hear the BBC Concert Orchestra and Principal Guest Conductor Anna-Maria Helsing with organist James McVinnie at the 2021 BBC Proms in music by Rautavaara, Arvo Part, Philip Glass and ending with Samy Moussa's A Globe Itself Infolding.

Recorded at the Royal Albert Hall, London in September.

Presented by Georgia Mann

Rautavaara's expansive Cantus Arcticus pairs field recordings of bird song with live orchestra; exciting and inventive organ virtuoso James McVinnie plays Philip Glass's hypnotic Mad Rush for solo organ, and joins the BBC CO for Canadian composer Samy Moussa's 2014 piece A Globe in itself Infolding. The chill-out vibe runs through two short pieces by Johann Johannsson; and envelop yourself in the warm atmosphere of Judith Weir's Still, Glowing.

Rautavaara Cantus Arcticus Op.61 for orchestra & taped bird song

Judith Weir Still, Glowing

Philip Glass Mad Rush*

Arvo P䀀rt Festina Lente for string orchestra and harp

Johann Johannsson Good Night Day

Messiaen La Joie de la gr ce from Livre du Saint Sacrement

Johann Johannsson A Sparrow Alighted on Our Shoulder

Samy Moussa A Globe Itself Infolding *

James McVinnie (organ)

Anna-Maria Helsing (conductor)

James McVinnie is a chameleon among organists who has held titles at Westminster Abbey and St Paul's Cathedral, yet also worked with Philip Glass and The National's Bryce Dessner. In a Prom that explores the organ in a contemporary light, he navigates the time-warping oscillations of Philip Glass's Minimalist Mad Rush, before giving the UK premiere of Samy Moussa's A Globe Itself Infolding with the BBC Concert Orchestra and Principal Guest Conductor Anna-Maria Helsing.

The BBC Concert Orchestra, conducted by Anna-Maria Helsing, with organist James McVinnie.

Charlotte Bray, Walton And Arnold

20211220

Another chance to hear The BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sakari Oramo from the 2021 BBC Proms, in music by Charlotte Bray, Foulds, Arnold, and Timothy Ridout is the soloist in Walton's Viola Concerto.

Presented by Martin Handley at the Royal Albert Hall

John Foulds: Le cabaret (Overture to a French Comedy)

William Walton: Viola Concerto

Interval

Paul Harris, co-author of 'Malcolm Arnold: Rogue Genius' talks to Martin Handley about the music and turbulent life of this most misunderstood of British composers, whose reputation took a dive after the 1950s.

Charlotte Bray: Where Icebergs Dance Away (UK premiere)

Malcolm Arnold: Symphony No. 5

Timothy Ridout (viola)

Sakari Oramo (conductor)

A world away from centenary composer Malcolm Arnold's reputation for light music and film scores, the Fifth Symphony is a richly layered work full of irony, pain and loss. An opening musical garden of memories' pays affectionate homage to departed friends, while the scherzo flirts with jazz and the finale offers a tantalising glimpse of heaven before snatching it cruelly away. BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist Timothy Ridout is the soloist in Walton's poetic Viola Concerto, which was given its world premiere at the Proms in 1929. Global warming is the stimulus behind Charlotte Bray's Where Icebergs Dance Away, which draws on the work of American artist Zaria Forman.

Another chance to hear Sakari Oramo and the BBC Symphony Orchestra at the 2021 BBC Proms.

Eight Seasons

20211220

From the BBC Proms 2021: Joshua Bell directs the Academy of St Martin in the Fields in Vivaldi's The Four Seasons and Astor Piazzolla's The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires.

Presented by Penny Gore, at the Royal Albert Hall, London.

Antonio Vivaldi: The Four Seasons

Astor Piazzolla: The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires (arr. Leonid Desyatnikov)

Joshua Bell (director/violin)

From an icy Italian winter to the heady, sensual warmth of a South American summer: violinist Joshua Bell leads the Academy of St Martin in the Fields on a musical journey through the sights and sounds of two continents and four very different seasons. Inspired by Vivaldi's best-known work, Piazzolla - Argentina's 20th-century tango king, whose 100th anniversary we celebrate this year - created his own response, complete with musical quotations. While Vivaldi's virtuosic concertos celebrate contrast - the freshness of spring, with its sudden thunderstorms, versus the languid heat of summer - Piazzolla's musical landscape remains more constant, always swaying to the pervasive rhythm of the tango.

Joshua Bell directs the Academy of St Martin in the Fields at the 2021 BBC Proms.

George Lewis And Beethoven

20211222

From the 2021 BBC Proms: BBC SSO & Ilan Volkov with soprano Lucy Crowe. A new work, Minds in Flux, by George Lewis; and Beethoven's Symphony No 2 and concert aria Ah! perfido

Recorded at the Royal Albert Hall, London

Presented by Kate Molleson

George Lewis: Minds in Flux

Interval

Kate Molleson talks to George Lewis about the forces that have influenced him as a composer and artist.

Part 2

Beethoven: Concert aria Ah! perfido

Beethoven: Symphony No 2

Lucy Crowe, soprano

BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra

Ilan Volkov, conductor

Another chance to hear the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and Principal Guest Conductor Ilan Volkov pair Beethoven's dramatic concert aria Ah! perfido' with the Second Symphony - a work whose vitality and smiling' mood belie the private struggles and despair of a composer wrestling with hearing loss. Plus a commission from celebrated American composer George Lewis. This recent work blends a conventional orchestra with spatialised electronics, exploiting the unique space of the Royal Albert Hall to create, in Lewis's words, a medium for meditation on what processes of decolonisation might sound like'.

The BBC SSO, conducted by Ilan Volkov, and soprano Lucy Crowe at the 2021 BBC Proms.

John Wilson Conducts The Sinfonia Of London

20211224

From the 2021 BBC Proms: Another chance to hear John Wilson conduct the Sinfonia of London in Strauss's Die Fledermaus Overture and Korngold's Symphony. Francesca Chiejina joins them for Berg's Seven Songs.

From the Royal Albert Hall, London

Presented by Petroc Trelawny.

Johann Strauss II: Die Fledermaus - overture

Alban Berg: Seven Early Songs

Maurice Ravel: La valse

INTERVAL: Petroc Trelawny talks to Gavin Plumley about Korngold and his world.

Erich Korngold: Symphony in F sharp

Francesca Chiejina, (soprano)

Sinfonia of London, John Wilson (conductor)

Another chance to hear The Sinfonia of London make its much-anticipated official concert debut under John Wilson, who re-established the ensemble in 2018. Following on from their award-winning recording, this orchestral army of generals' brings with it Korngold's stirring, filmic Symphony in F sharp. It's part of a musical bird's-eye view of 19th- and 20th-century Vienna that also includes the overture to Die Fledermaus and Ravel's dizzying La valse.

Another chance to hear John Wilson conduct the Sinfonia of London at the 2021 BBC Proms.

Last Night Of The Proms 2021

20211231

Another chance to hear tenor Stuart Skelton and accordionist Ksenija Sidorova join the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, BBC Singers and conductor Sakari Oramo for the grand finale at the Royal Albert Hall, London.

Presented by Georgia Mann and Petroc Trelawny

Gity Razaz: Mother (BBC commission: world premiere)

Malcolm Arnold: Variations for orchestra on a Theme of Ruth Gipps

Barber: Adagio

Ravel: Tombeau de Couperin - Rigaudon

Franck Angelis: Fantasie on a theme of Piazzolla - Chiquilin de Bachin

Wagner: Wesendonck Lieder - Im Treibhaus

The Mastersingers of Nuremberg - Prize Song (Morgenlich leuchtend in rosigem Schein')

Interval: Georgia and Petroc are joined by Rob Rinder and together they look back at some of the highlights of the last six weeks of thrilling music making at the BBC Proms 2021.

Florence Price: Symphony No.1 - Juba Dance' (3rd movt)

Piazzolla: Libertango

Anibal Troilo: Sur

Peter Allen: I still call Australia home

Henry Wood: Fantasia on British Sea-Songs

Thomas Arne: Rule, Britannia! (arr. Sargent)

Edward Elgar: Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1 in D major, 'Land of Hope and Glory

Hubert Parry: Jerusalem (orch. Elgar)

The National Anthem (arr. Britten)

Auld lang syne

Stuart Skelton, tenor

Ksenija Sidorova, accordion

BBC Symphony Chorus

Sakari Oramo, conductor

Another chance to hear the BBC SO and conductor Sakari Oramo close the 2021 season.

Pavel Kolesnikov Plays Bach's Goldberg Variations

20211226

From the BBC Proms: Another chance to hear Russian pianist Pavel Kolesnikov perform Bach's Goldberg' Variations for solo piano.

From the Royal Albert Hall

Presented by Ian Skelly

JS Bach: Goldberg Variations

Pavel Kolesnikov, piano

Is it a coded message, an exercise in numerology. Is it a glorious attempt to marry old and new, or is it a nocturnal, private, fanciful tale?' Russian-born Pavel Kolesnikov asked these questions and more when he took up the challenge of deciphering one of the undeniable peaks of the piano repertoire, Bach's Goldberg' Variations. And, going by the judgement of The Guardian, which declared that Kolesnikov's recent recording of the work stands alone' - the Russian-born pianist has found some answers. Bach's beguiling sequence of a gentle Aria followed by 30 miniature variations was designed for the refreshment of the spirits', a mindful mix from the 18th century.

There will be no interval

From the BBC Proms: Pavel Kolesnikov plays Bach's Goldberg Variations.

Proms Festival Orchestra Conducted, By Mark Wigglesworth

20211226

Another chance to hear the Proms Festival Orchestra conducted by Mark Wigglesworth perform Shostakovish and Mahler's Fifth Symphony at the 2021 BBC Proms.

From the Royal Albert Hall, London

Presented by Ian Skelly

Shostakovich: Festive Overture, Op 96

Mahler: Symphony No 5 in C sharp minor

Mark Wigglesworth, conductor

After a year in which venues fell quiet and orchestras downsized, tonight's Prom is a celebration of all an orchestra can do. A specially assembled Proms Festival Orchestra - made up of leading freelance musicians and conducted by Mark Wigglesworth - performs two colourful showpieces of the repertoire. Shostakovich's Festive Overture bubbles over with a fresh exuberance that reflects the fact that its composer wrote it in two days flat.

Mahler's Fifth Symphony spans an expressive chasm from the Funeral March of the first movement to a precariously unhinged Scherzo via the work's lingering, lyrical soul: the heartrendingly beautiful Adagietto, written as a musical love letter to his wife Alma.

There will be no interval.

The Proms Festival Orchestra and Mark Wigglesworth play Mahler at the 2021 BBC Proms.

Saint-saens' Organ Symphony And Beethoven's Fourth Piano Concerto

20211228

From the BBC Proms: Another chance to hear Sir Mark Elder conduct the Hall退 with pianist Benjamin Grosvenor and organist Anna Lapwood in music by Unsuk Chin,, Beethoven and Saint?Sa뀀ns.

From the Royal Albert Hall. London.

Presented by Martin Handley.

Unsuk Chin: Subito con forza

Ludwig van Beethoven: Piano Concerto No 4 in G major (cadenzas: Saint-Sa뀀ns)

Interval: From Beethoven to Saint-Saens - Martin Handley in conversation with 19th century music expert Katy Hamilton.

Camille Saint?Sa뀀ns: Symphony No. 3 in C minor, 'Organ

Benjamin Grosvenor (piano)

Anna Lapwood (organ)

Sir Mark Elder (conductor)

What I have here accomplished, I will never achieve again.' So wrote Camille Saint-Sa뀀ns of his last - and greatest - symphony, a work full of melody, invention and sonic drama (not to mention a piano duet effect he liked so much he recycled it in The Carnival of the Animals). Just as the mighty Organ' Symphony rewrote the 19th-century musical rules, so Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 4 scandalised audiences some 80 years earlier, with its revolutionary opening and tender, slow-movement battle between soloist and orchestra - famously compared to Orpheus taming the Furies. Beethoven is also the inspiration for Unsuk Chin's volatile Subito con forza, given its UK premiere here by Sir Mark Elder and the Hall退.

From the BBC Proms, Sir Mark Elder conducts the Halle.

Sheku Kanneh-mason Plays Dvo\u0159\u00e1k's Cello Concerto

20211229

Another chance to hear Domingo Hindoyan conduct the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic in music by Grace-Evangeline Mason, Richard Strauss and Dvo?ကk's Cello Concerto with Sheku Kanneh-Mason at the 2021 BBC Proms.

From the Royal Albert Hall, London

Presented by Ian Skelly

Grace-Evangeline Mason: The Imagined Forest (BBC co-commission with Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra: world premiere)

Dvo?ကk: Cello Concerto in B minor

Interval: Pianist David Owen Norris explores musical reworkings through the centuries.

Richard Strauss: Don Juan

Paul Hindemith: Symphonic Metamorphosis of Themes by Carl Maria von Weber

Sheku Kanneh-Mason (cello)

Conductor Domingo Hindoyan

Former BBC Young Musician winner Sheku Kanneh-Mason returns to the Proms as the soloist in Dvo?ကk's Cello Concerto. A new Proms commission written for the Royal Albert Hall's 150th anniversary by former BBC Young Composer winner Grace-Evangeline Mason contrasts with two scintillating orchestral showpieces - Hindemith's jovial reworking of themes by Weber for what was initially intended as a ballet, and Richard Strauss's colourful take on the Spanish lothario Don Juan. The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra makes its first Proms appearance under its new chief conductor, Domingo Hindoyan.

Domingo Hindoyan conducts the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic and Sheku Kanneh-Mason.

Sir George Benjamin Conducts The Mahler Chamber Orchestra

20211221

From the BBC Proms 2021: Sir George Benjamin conducts the Mahler Chamber Orchestra in the premiere of his Concerto for Orchestra and Pierre-Laurent Aimard plays Ravel's Piano Concerto.

Presented by Penny Gore, from the Royal Albert Hall, London

Oliver Knussen: The Way to Castle Yonder

Henry Purcell: Three Consorts (1680) transcr. Benjamin; world premiere

Maurice Ravel: Piano Concerto in G major

George Benjamin: Concerto for Orchestra (World Premiere - BBC co-commission with Mahler Chamber Orchestra)

Pierre?Laurent Aimard (piano)

Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Sir George Benjamin (conductor)

When the 20-year-old George Benjamin's Ringed by the Flat Horizon was performed at the Proms in 1980, it marked an arrival for a precociously talented young composer. Now established as one of the greats of his generation, he returns to conduct regular collaborators, the Mahler Chamber Orchestra and pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard, in a concert featuring Ravel's jazz-infused Piano Concerto, an operatic pot-pourri' by his friend, the late Oliver Knussen, the world premiere of his own Concerto for Orchestra and his new reworkings of Fantasias by Purcell, the English Orpheus'.

Sir George Benjamin conducts the Mahler Chamber Orchestra at the 2021 BBC Proms.

Sir John Eliot Gardiner Conducts The Monteverdi Choir And English Baroque Soloists

20211221

From the BBC Proms 2021: Sir John Eliot Gardiner conducts the Monteverdi Choir & English Baroque Soloists in music by Bach and Handel, including Dixit Dominus.

Presented by Ian Skelly from the Royal Albert Hall, London

Handel: Cantata 'Donna, che in ciel

J S Bach: Christ lag in Todes Banden, BWV 4

Handel: Dixit Dominus

Ann Hallenberg (mezzo-soprano)

Conductor Sir John Eliot Gardiner

Sir John Eliot Gardiner makes his 60th Proms appearance directing his own Monteverdi Choir and English Baroque Soloists in Handel's vividly theatrical Dixit Dominus - a concerto for choir that blazes with virtuosity and colour. It's paired with Bach's Easter cantata Christ lag in Todes Banden - a fiery, dramatic setting of Luther's popular hymn. Mezzo-soprano Ann Hallenberg is the soloist in the young Handel's cantata of praise to the Virgin Mary, Donna, che in ciel, containing music the composer later borrowed for his opera Agrippina.

Sir John Eliot Gardiner conducts music by Bach and Handel at the 2021 BBC Proms.

Episodes

Title	First Broadcast	Comments
Bach's St Matthew Passion	20211230	Another chance to hear Arcangelo, Jonathan Cohen and a stellar cast of soloists perform one of the greatest sacred masterworks of the Baroque at the 2021 BBC Proms. From the Royal Albert Hall, London Presented by Andrew McGregor Bach: St Matthew Passion, Part I c. 20:10 Live Interval: Andrew is joined by Lucy Winkett, the Rector of St James's Church, Piccadilly. c. 20:35 Bach: St Matthew Passion, Part II Louise Alder (soprano) Iestyn Davies (counter-tenor) Stuart Jackson (Evangelist) Hugo Hymas (tenor) Roderick Williams (baritone) Matthew Rose (Christ) Choristers of St Paul's Cathedral Choir Arcangelo Chorus Jonathan Cohen (harpsichord/director) Bach's crowning masterpiece, the St Matthew Passion combines moments of extraordinary fragility and tenderness with raw choral power and explosive jubilation, bitter grief with passages of consolation. With double chorus and orchestra, its scope and ambition is vast - a piece made for the Royal Albert Hall. Following on from their gripping account of Handel's Theodora in 2018, period-instrument ensemble Arcangelo and Director Jonathan Cohen return to the Proms, joined by a glittering line-up of soloists including Roderick Williams and rising star Stuart Jackson. Arcangelo and Jonathan Cohen perform Bach's sacred masterpiece at the 2021 BBC Proms.
BBC Concert Orchestra And James Mcvinnie	20211222	Another chance to hear the BBC Concert Orchestra and Principal Guest Conductor Anna-Maria Helsing with organist James McVinnie at the 2021 BBC Proms in music by Rautavaara, Arvo Part, Philip Glass and ending with Samy Moussa's A Globe Itself Infolding. Recorded at the Royal Albert Hall, London in September. Presented by Georgia Mann Rautavaara's expansive Cantus Arcticus pairs field recordings of bird song with live orchestra; exciting and inventive organ virtuoso James McVinnie plays Philip Glass's hypnotic Mad Rush for solo organ, and joins the BBC CO for Canadian composer Samy Moussa's 2014 piece A Globe in itself Infolding. The chill-out vibe runs through two short pieces by Johann Johannsson; and envelop yourself in the warm atmosphere of Judith Weir's Still, Glowing. Rautavaara Cantus Arcticus Op.61 for orchestra & taped bird song Judith Weir Still, Glowing Philip Glass Mad Rush* Arvo P䀀rt Festina Lente for string orchestra and harp Johann Johannsson Good Night Day Messiaen La Joie de la gr ce from Livre du Saint Sacrement Johann Johannsson A Sparrow Alighted on Our Shoulder Samy Moussa A Globe Itself Infolding * James McVinnie (organ) Anna-Maria Helsing (conductor) James McVinnie is a chameleon among organists who has held titles at Westminster Abbey and St Paul's Cathedral, yet also worked with Philip Glass and The National's Bryce Dessner. In a Prom that explores the organ in a contemporary light, he navigates the time-warping oscillations of Philip Glass's Minimalist Mad Rush, before giving the UK premiere of Samy Moussa's A Globe Itself Infolding with the BBC Concert Orchestra and Principal Guest Conductor Anna-Maria Helsing. The BBC Concert Orchestra, conducted by Anna-Maria Helsing, with organist James McVinnie.
Charlotte Bray, Walton And Arnold	20211220	Another chance to hear The BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sakari Oramo from the 2021 BBC Proms, in music by Charlotte Bray, Foulds, Arnold, and Timothy Ridout is the soloist in Walton's Viola Concerto. Presented by Martin Handley at the Royal Albert Hall John Foulds: Le cabaret (Overture to a French Comedy) William Walton: Viola Concerto Interval Paul Harris, co-author of 'Malcolm Arnold: Rogue Genius' talks to Martin Handley about the music and turbulent life of this most misunderstood of British composers, whose reputation took a dive after the 1950s. Charlotte Bray: Where Icebergs Dance Away (UK premiere) Malcolm Arnold: Symphony No. 5 Timothy Ridout (viola) Sakari Oramo (conductor) A world away from centenary composer Malcolm Arnold's reputation for light music and film scores, the Fifth Symphony is a richly layered work full of irony, pain and loss. An opening musical garden of memories' pays affectionate homage to departed friends, while the scherzo flirts with jazz and the finale offers a tantalising glimpse of heaven before snatching it cruelly away. BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist Timothy Ridout is the soloist in Walton's poetic Viola Concerto, which was given its world premiere at the Proms in 1929. Global warming is the stimulus behind Charlotte Bray's Where Icebergs Dance Away, which draws on the work of American artist Zaria Forman. Another chance to hear Sakari Oramo and the BBC Symphony Orchestra at the 2021 BBC Proms.
Eight Seasons	20211220	From the BBC Proms 2021: Joshua Bell directs the Academy of St Martin in the Fields in Vivaldi's The Four Seasons and Astor Piazzolla's The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires. Presented by Penny Gore, at the Royal Albert Hall, London. Antonio Vivaldi: The Four Seasons Astor Piazzolla: The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires (arr. Leonid Desyatnikov) Joshua Bell (director/violin) From an icy Italian winter to the heady, sensual warmth of a South American summer: violinist Joshua Bell leads the Academy of St Martin in the Fields on a musical journey through the sights and sounds of two continents and four very different seasons. Inspired by Vivaldi's best-known work, Piazzolla - Argentina's 20th-century tango king, whose 100th anniversary we celebrate this year - created his own response, complete with musical quotations. While Vivaldi's virtuosic concertos celebrate contrast - the freshness of spring, with its sudden thunderstorms, versus the languid heat of summer - Piazzolla's musical landscape remains more constant, always swaying to the pervasive rhythm of the tango. Joshua Bell directs the Academy of St Martin in the Fields at the 2021 BBC Proms.
George Lewis And Beethoven	20211222	From the 2021 BBC Proms: BBC SSO & Ilan Volkov with soprano Lucy Crowe. A new work, Minds in Flux, by George Lewis; and Beethoven's Symphony No 2 and concert aria Ah! perfido Recorded at the Royal Albert Hall, London Presented by Kate Molleson George Lewis: Minds in Flux Interval Kate Molleson talks to George Lewis about the forces that have influenced him as a composer and artist. Part 2 Beethoven: Concert aria Ah! perfido Beethoven: Symphony No 2 Lucy Crowe, soprano BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra Ilan Volkov, conductor Another chance to hear the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and Principal Guest Conductor Ilan Volkov pair Beethoven's dramatic concert aria Ah! perfido' with the Second Symphony - a work whose vitality and smiling' mood belie the private struggles and despair of a composer wrestling with hearing loss. Plus a commission from celebrated American composer George Lewis. This recent work blends a conventional orchestra with spatialised electronics, exploiting the unique space of the Royal Albert Hall to create, in Lewis's words, a medium for meditation on what processes of decolonisation might sound like'. The BBC SSO, conducted by Ilan Volkov, and soprano Lucy Crowe at the 2021 BBC Proms.
John Wilson Conducts The Sinfonia Of London	20211224	From the 2021 BBC Proms: Another chance to hear John Wilson conduct the Sinfonia of London in Strauss's Die Fledermaus Overture and Korngold's Symphony. Francesca Chiejina joins them for Berg's Seven Songs. From the Royal Albert Hall, London Presented by Petroc Trelawny. Johann Strauss II: Die Fledermaus - overture Alban Berg: Seven Early Songs Maurice Ravel: La valse INTERVAL: Petroc Trelawny talks to Gavin Plumley about Korngold and his world. Erich Korngold: Symphony in F sharp Francesca Chiejina, (soprano) Sinfonia of London, John Wilson (conductor) Another chance to hear The Sinfonia of London make its much-anticipated official concert debut under John Wilson, who re-established the ensemble in 2018. Following on from their award-winning recording, this orchestral army of generals' brings with it Korngold's stirring, filmic Symphony in F sharp. It's part of a musical bird's-eye view of 19th- and 20th-century Vienna that also includes the overture to Die Fledermaus and Ravel's dizzying La valse. Another chance to hear John Wilson conduct the Sinfonia of London at the 2021 BBC Proms.
Last Night Of The Proms 2021	20211231	Another chance to hear tenor Stuart Skelton and accordionist Ksenija Sidorova join the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, BBC Singers and conductor Sakari Oramo for the grand finale at the Royal Albert Hall, London. Presented by Georgia Mann and Petroc Trelawny Gity Razaz: Mother (BBC commission: world premiere) Malcolm Arnold: Variations for orchestra on a Theme of Ruth Gipps Barber: Adagio Ravel: Tombeau de Couperin - Rigaudon Franck Angelis: Fantasie on a theme of Piazzolla - Chiquilin de Bachin Wagner: Wesendonck Lieder - Im Treibhaus The Mastersingers of Nuremberg - Prize Song (Morgenlich leuchtend in rosigem Schein') Interval: Georgia and Petroc are joined by Rob Rinder and together they look back at some of the highlights of the last six weeks of thrilling music making at the BBC Proms 2021. Florence Price: Symphony No.1 - Juba Dance' (3rd movt) Piazzolla: Libertango Anibal Troilo: Sur Peter Allen: I still call Australia home Henry Wood: Fantasia on British Sea-Songs Thomas Arne: Rule, Britannia! (arr. Sargent) Edward Elgar: Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1 in D major, 'Land of Hope and Glory Hubert Parry: Jerusalem (orch. Elgar) The National Anthem (arr. Britten) Auld lang syne Stuart Skelton, tenor Ksenija Sidorova, accordion BBC Symphony Chorus Sakari Oramo, conductor Another chance to hear the BBC SO and conductor Sakari Oramo close the 2021 season.
Pavel Kolesnikov Plays Bach's Goldberg Variations	20211226	From the BBC Proms: Another chance to hear Russian pianist Pavel Kolesnikov perform Bach's Goldberg' Variations for solo piano. From the Royal Albert Hall Presented by Ian Skelly JS Bach: Goldberg Variations Pavel Kolesnikov, piano Is it a coded message, an exercise in numerology. Is it a glorious attempt to marry old and new, or is it a nocturnal, private, fanciful tale?' Russian-born Pavel Kolesnikov asked these questions and more when he took up the challenge of deciphering one of the undeniable peaks of the piano repertoire, Bach's Goldberg' Variations. And, going by the judgement of The Guardian, which declared that Kolesnikov's recent recording of the work stands alone' - the Russian-born pianist has found some answers. Bach's beguiling sequence of a gentle Aria followed by 30 miniature variations was designed for the refreshment of the spirits', a mindful mix from the 18th century. There will be no interval From the BBC Proms: Pavel Kolesnikov plays Bach's Goldberg Variations.
Proms Festival Orchestra Conducted, By Mark Wigglesworth	20211226	Another chance to hear the Proms Festival Orchestra conducted by Mark Wigglesworth perform Shostakovish and Mahler's Fifth Symphony at the 2021 BBC Proms. From the Royal Albert Hall, London Presented by Ian Skelly Shostakovich: Festive Overture, Op 96 Mahler: Symphony No 5 in C sharp minor Mark Wigglesworth, conductor After a year in which venues fell quiet and orchestras downsized, tonight's Prom is a celebration of all an orchestra can do. A specially assembled Proms Festival Orchestra - made up of leading freelance musicians and conducted by Mark Wigglesworth - performs two colourful showpieces of the repertoire. Shostakovich's Festive Overture bubbles over with a fresh exuberance that reflects the fact that its composer wrote it in two days flat. Mahler's Fifth Symphony spans an expressive chasm from the Funeral March of the first movement to a precariously unhinged Scherzo via the work's lingering, lyrical soul: the heartrendingly beautiful Adagietto, written as a musical love letter to his wife Alma. There will be no interval. The Proms Festival Orchestra and Mark Wigglesworth play Mahler at the 2021 BBC Proms.
Saint-saens' Organ Symphony And Beethoven's Fourth Piano Concerto	20211228	From the BBC Proms: Another chance to hear Sir Mark Elder conduct the Hall退 with pianist Benjamin Grosvenor and organist Anna Lapwood in music by Unsuk Chin,, Beethoven and Saint?Sa뀀ns. From the Royal Albert Hall. London. Presented by Martin Handley. Unsuk Chin: Subito con forza Ludwig van Beethoven: Piano Concerto No 4 in G major (cadenzas: Saint-Sa뀀ns) Interval: From Beethoven to Saint-Saens - Martin Handley in conversation with 19th century music expert Katy Hamilton. Camille Saint?Sa뀀ns: Symphony No. 3 in C minor, 'Organ Benjamin Grosvenor (piano) Anna Lapwood (organ) Sir Mark Elder (conductor) What I have here accomplished, I will never achieve again.' So wrote Camille Saint-Sa뀀ns of his last - and greatest - symphony, a work full of melody, invention and sonic drama (not to mention a piano duet effect he liked so much he recycled it in The Carnival of the Animals). Just as the mighty Organ' Symphony rewrote the 19th-century musical rules, so Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 4 scandalised audiences some 80 years earlier, with its revolutionary opening and tender, slow-movement battle between soloist and orchestra - famously compared to Orpheus taming the Furies. Beethoven is also the inspiration for Unsuk Chin's volatile Subito con forza, given its UK premiere here by Sir Mark Elder and the Hall退. From the BBC Proms, Sir Mark Elder conducts the Halle.
Sheku Kanneh-mason Plays Dvo\u0159\u00e1k's Cello Concerto	20211229	Another chance to hear Domingo Hindoyan conduct the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic in music by Grace-Evangeline Mason, Richard Strauss and Dvo?ကk's Cello Concerto with Sheku Kanneh-Mason at the 2021 BBC Proms. From the Royal Albert Hall, London Presented by Ian Skelly Grace-Evangeline Mason: The Imagined Forest (BBC co-commission with Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra: world premiere) Dvo?ကk: Cello Concerto in B minor Interval: Pianist David Owen Norris explores musical reworkings through the centuries. Richard Strauss: Don Juan Paul Hindemith: Symphonic Metamorphosis of Themes by Carl Maria von Weber Sheku Kanneh-Mason (cello) Conductor Domingo Hindoyan Former BBC Young Musician winner Sheku Kanneh-Mason returns to the Proms as the soloist in Dvo?ကk's Cello Concerto. A new Proms commission written for the Royal Albert Hall's 150th anniversary by former BBC Young Composer winner Grace-Evangeline Mason contrasts with two scintillating orchestral showpieces - Hindemith's jovial reworking of themes by Weber for what was initially intended as a ballet, and Richard Strauss's colourful take on the Spanish lothario Don Juan. The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra makes its first Proms appearance under its new chief conductor, Domingo Hindoyan. Domingo Hindoyan conducts the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic and Sheku Kanneh-Mason.
Sir George Benjamin Conducts The Mahler Chamber Orchestra	20211221	From the BBC Proms 2021: Sir George Benjamin conducts the Mahler Chamber Orchestra in the premiere of his Concerto for Orchestra and Pierre-Laurent Aimard plays Ravel's Piano Concerto. Presented by Penny Gore, from the Royal Albert Hall, London Oliver Knussen: The Way to Castle Yonder Henry Purcell: Three Consorts (1680) transcr. Benjamin; world premiere Maurice Ravel: Piano Concerto in G major George Benjamin: Concerto for Orchestra (World Premiere - BBC co-commission with Mahler Chamber Orchestra) Pierre?Laurent Aimard (piano) Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Sir George Benjamin (conductor) When the 20-year-old George Benjamin's Ringed by the Flat Horizon was performed at the Proms in 1980, it marked an arrival for a precociously talented young composer. Now established as one of the greats of his generation, he returns to conduct regular collaborators, the Mahler Chamber Orchestra and pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard, in a concert featuring Ravel's jazz-infused Piano Concerto, an operatic pot-pourri' by his friend, the late Oliver Knussen, the world premiere of his own Concerto for Orchestra and his new reworkings of Fantasias by Purcell, the English Orpheus'. Sir George Benjamin conducts the Mahler Chamber Orchestra at the 2021 BBC Proms.
Sir John Eliot Gardiner Conducts The Monteverdi Choir And English Baroque Soloists	20211221	From the BBC Proms 2021: Sir John Eliot Gardiner conducts the Monteverdi Choir & English Baroque Soloists in music by Bach and Handel, including Dixit Dominus. Presented by Ian Skelly from the Royal Albert Hall, London Handel: Cantata 'Donna, che in ciel J S Bach: Christ lag in Todes Banden, BWV 4 Handel: Dixit Dominus Ann Hallenberg (mezzo-soprano) Conductor Sir John Eliot Gardiner Sir John Eliot Gardiner makes his 60th Proms appearance directing his own Monteverdi Choir and English Baroque Soloists in Handel's vividly theatrical Dixit Dominus - a concerto for choir that blazes with virtuosity and colour. It's paired with Bach's Easter cantata Christ lag in Todes Banden - a fiery, dramatic setting of Luther's popular hymn. Mezzo-soprano Ann Hallenberg is the soloist in the young Handel's cantata of praise to the Virgin Mary, Donna, che in ciel, containing music the composer later borrowed for his opera Agrippina. Sir John Eliot Gardiner conducts music by Bach and Handel at the 2021 BBC Proms.