Episodes
| Episode | Title | First Broadcast | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Nixon In China, Act 1 | 20120905 | Live from the Royal Albert Hall, London Presented by Andrew McGregor John Adams conducts his stunning opera Nixon in China, with a star-studded cast, the BBC Singers & BBC SO. Alice Goodman's poetic, intensely original libretto is based on Richard and Pat Nixon's historic three-day visit to China in 1972. Protagonists viewed initially as transcendent iconic figures are not so much satirised as seen for what they are. The score pounds away eclectically with nods to Broadway and rock, Minimalism and Igor Stravinsky, but there's no mistaking the identity of the composer, who conducts tonight, nor the colour and brilliance of one of the iconic works of our time. The Anglo-American cast includes Robert Orth as Nixon, Jessica Rivera as Mrs. Nixon, Gerald Finley as Chou En-Lai and Kathleen Kim as Madame Mao. Adams: Nixon in China - Act I Madame Mao ..... Kathleen Kim (soprano) Chairman Mao ..... Alan Oke (tenor) Chou En-lai ..... Gerald Finley (bass-baritone) President Nixon ..... Robert Orth (baritone) Pat Nixon ..... Jessica Rivera (soprano) Kissinger ..... James Rutherford (bass) First Secretary to Mao ..... Stephanie Marshall (mezzo-soprano) Second Secretary to Mao ..... Louise Poole (mezzo-soprano) Third Secretary to Mao ..... Susan Platts (mezzo-soprano) Mark Grey (sound director) Paul Curran (stage director) BBC Symphony Orchestra John Adams (conductor). John Adams conducts Act 1 of his own opera Nixon in China. The world's greatest classical music festival - stunning performances and collaborations. |
| 01 | Prom 72 (part 1): English Music | 20140910 | Live from the Royal Albert Hall, London Presented by Christopher Cook The BBC Symphony Orchestra & Andrew Litton live at the BBC Proms in 20th century English music.: Vaughan Williams, Birtwistle & Walton's Viola Concerto with Lise Berthaud. Vaughan Williams: Fantasia on 'Greensleeves Sir Harrison Birtwistle: Exody 8.10pm Interval 8:35pm Walton: Viola Concerto Vaughan Williams: Symphony No. 4 in F minor Lise Berthaud (viola) Andrew Litton (conductor) The idyll of Vaughan Williams's Fantasia on 'Greensleeves' is soon abandoned in the composer's dark and questioning Symphony No. 4 and Birtwistle's Exody, an overwhelming musical labyrinth of sound. This year's composer focus on William Walton continues with his much-loved Viola Concerto - a work that had its premiere at the Proms, conducted by the composer and featuring composer and violist Paul Hindemith as soloist. Powerful, often dark music that looks far beyond the pastoral stereotypes. Tonight it is performed by BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist Lise Berthaud. The BBC SO in Vaughan Williams: Fantasia on Greensleeves and Harrison Birtwistle: Exody. The world's greatest classical music festival - stunning performances and collaborations. |
| 01 | Prom 72 (part 1): Nielsen And Ives | 20150909 | The BBC Symphony Orchestra, massed choirs and conductor Andrew Litton, live at the BBC Proms. There's Charles Ives' 4th Symphony and Henning Kraggerud plays Nielsen's Violin Concerto. Live from the Royal Albert Hall, London Presented by Fiona Talkington Nielsen: Springtime on Funen Nielsen: Violin Concerto 8.30 pm INTERVAL 8.50 pm Webster: In the Sweet By and By Zeuner: Ye Christian Heralds Marsh: Jesus, Lover of My Soul Mason: Nearer, My God, to Thee Ives: Symphony No. 4 Henning Kraggerud (violin) Malin Christensson (soprano) Ben Johnson (tenor) Neal Davies (bass-baritone) William Wolfram (piano) Tiffin Boys' Choir Tiffin Girls' Choir BBC Singers Crouch End Festival Chorus Andrew Litton (conductor) Fergus Macleod (sub-conductor) Ives's thrilling Fourth Symphony demands massive orchestral and choral forces, and it quotes from his own earlier works as well as from traditional American hymns. Completing this year's Nielsen concerto cycle at the BBC Proms is the Violin Concerto - a work that wears its technical demands with great delicacy. Nielsen also provides the concert opener, the folk-inspired choral cantata Springtime on Funen - Funen (Fyn) being the Danish island where the composer was born and grew up. Andrew Litton conducts the BBC Symphony Orchestra in music by Nielsen. The world's greatest classical music festival - stunning performances and collaborations. |
| 01 | Prom 72 (part 1): Verdi And Tchaikovsky | 20130905 | Live from the Royal Albert Hall, London Presented by Penny Gore The Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi and Xian Zhang at the BBC Proms perform Tchaikovsky's Manfred Symphony, and are joined by Joseph Calleja for arias by Verdi Verdi: La forza del destino - overture Verdi: Attila - 'O dolore! ed io vivea Verdi: I vespri siciliani - ' |
| 01 | Sibelius, Tchaikovsky | 20110908 | BBC PROMS 2011 Live from the Royal Albert Hall, London Presented by Petroc Trelawny One of the world's great orchestras comes to the Proms with a programme of familiar classics including Rachmaninov's Symphonic Dances, written for Philadelphia. Charles Dutoit conducts, and violinist Janine Jansen joins the orchestra for the ever-popular Tchaikovsky Concerto. These works are bookended by Sibelius's nationalistic tone poem and Ravel's apotheosis of the waltz, a piece whose unstoppable whirling may have been intended as a metaphor for the fate of European civilisation. Sibelius: Finlandia Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto Janine Jansen (violin) Philadelphia Orchestra Charles Dutoit (conductor). Charles Dutoit conducts the Philadelphia Orchestra in music by Sibelius and Tchaikovsky. The world's greatest classical music festival - stunning performances and collaborations. |
| 01 | Wagner, Davies, Bruckner - Part 1 | 20100908 | BBC PROMS 2010 Live from the Royal Albert Hall, London Presented by Penny Gore Bruckner, like his hero Wagner, composed on a vast scale. The BBC Symphony Orchestra's Chief Conductor, Jiri Belohlကvek, pairs the festive prelude from Act 3 of Wagner's 'swan knight' romance with the most overarching and open-hearted of Bruckner's nine symphonies - a work whose slow movement was composed in the shadow of Wagner's death and enshrines Bruckner's musical memorial to the man he revered as the 'Master'. Always a composer of vivid and funky surprises, Tansy Davies promises in her new work to take us on a journey through the Tarot pack. Wagner: Lohengrin - Prelude (Act 3) Tansy Davies: Wild Card (BBC Commission; World Premiere) Jiri Belohlကvek (conductor). BBC SO/Jiri Belohlavek in Wagner: Lohengrin (Prelude to Act 3). Tansy Davies: Wild Card. The world's greatest classical music festival - stunning performances and collaborations. |
| 02 | Nixon In China, Act 2 | 20120905 | Live from the Royal Albert Hall, London Presented by Andrew McGregor John Adams conducts his stunning opera Nixon in China, with a star-studded cast, the BBC Singers & BBC SO. Alice Goodman's poetic, intensely original libretto is based on Richard and Pat Nixon's historic three-day visit to China in 1972. Protagonists viewed initially as transcendent iconic figures are not so much satirised as seen for what they are. The score pounds away eclectically with nods to Broadway and rock, Minimalism and Igor Stravinsky, but there's no mistaking the identity of the composer, who conducts tonight, nor the colour and brilliance of one of the iconic works of our time. The Anglo-American cast includes Robert Orth as Nixon, Jessica Rivera as Mrs. Nixon, Gerald Finley as Chou En-Lai and Kathleen Kim as Madame Mao. Adams: Nixon in China - Act II Madame Mao ..... Kathleen Kim (soprano) Chairman Mao ..... Alan Oke (tenor) Chou En-lai ..... Gerald Finley (bass-baritone) President Nixon ..... Robert Orth (baritone) Pat Nixon ..... Jessica Rivera (soprano) Kissinger ..... James Rutherford (bass) First Secretary to Mao ..... Stephanie Marshall (mezzo-soprano) Second Secretary to Mao ..... Louise Poole (mezzo-soprano) Third Secretary to Mao ..... Susan Platts (mezzo-soprano) Mark Grey (sound director) Paul Curran (stage director) BBC Symphony Orchestra John Adams (conductor). John Adams conducts Act 2 of his own opera Nixon in China. The world's greatest classical music festival - stunning performances and collaborations. |
| 02 | Prom 72 (part 2): English Music | 20140910 | Live from the Royal Albert Hall, London Presented by Christopher Cook The BBC Symphony Orchestra & Andrew Litton live at the BBC Proms in 20th century English music.: Vaughan Williams, Birtwistle & Walton's Viola Concerto with Lise Berthaud. Vaughan Williams: Fantasia on 'Greensleeves Sir Harrison Birtwistle: Exody 8.10pm Interval 8:35pm Walton: Viola Concerto Vaughan Williams: Symphony No. 4 in F minor Lise Berthaud (viola) Andrew Litton (conductor) The idyll of Vaughan Williams's Fantasia on 'Greensleeves' is soon abandoned in the composer's dark and questioning Symphony No. 4 and Birtwistle's Exody, an overwhelming musical labyrinth of sound. This year's composer focus on William Walton continues with his much-loved Viola Concerto - a work that had its premiere at the Proms, conducted by the composer and featuring composer and violist Paul Hindemith as soloist. Powerful, often dark music that looks far beyond the pastoral stereotypes. Tonight it is performed by BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist Lise Berthaud. The BBC SO under Andrew Litton. Walton: Viola Concerto. Vaughan Williams: Symphony No 4. The world's greatest classical music festival - stunning performances and collaborations. |
| 02 | Prom 72 (part 2): Nielsen And Ives | 20150909 | The BBC Symphony Orchestra, massed choirs and conductor Andrew Litton, live at the BBC Proms. There's Charles Ives' 4th Symphony and Henning Kraggerud plays Nielsen's Violin Concerto. Live from the Royal Albert Hall, London Presented by Fiona Talkington Nielsen: Springtime on Funen Nielsen: Violin Concerto 8.30 pm INTERVAL 8.50 pm Webster: In the Sweet By and By Zeuner: Ye Christian Heralds Marsh: Jesus, Lover of My Soul Mason: Nearer, My God, to Thee Ives: Symphony No. 4 Henning Kraggerud (violin) Malin Christensson (soprano) Ben Johnson (tenor) Neal Davies (bass-baritone) William Wolfram (piano) Tiffin Boys' Choir Tiffin Girls' Choir BBC Singers Crouch End Festival Chorus Andrew Litton (conductor) Fergus Macleod (sub-conductor) Ives's thrilling Fourth Symphony demands massive orchestral and choral forces, and it quotes from his own earlier works as well as from traditional American hymns. Completing this year's Nielsen concerto cycle at the BBC Proms is the Violin Concerto - a work that wears its technical demands with great delicacy. Nielsen also provides the concert opener, the folk-inspired choral cantata Springtime on Funen - Funen (Fyn) being the Danish island where the composer was born and grew up. BBC Symphony Orchestra in Ives's Symphony No 4, plus Webster, Zeuner, Marsh and Mason. The world's greatest classical music festival - stunning performances and collaborations. |
| 02 | Prom 72 (part 2): Verdi And Tchaikovsky | 20130905 | Live from the Royal Albert Hall, London Presented by Penny Gore The Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi and Xian Zhang at the BBC Proms perform Tchaikovsky's Manfred Symphony, and are joined by Joseph Calleja for arias by Verdi Verdi: La forza del destino - overture Verdi: Attila - 'O dolore! ed io vivea Verdi: I vespri siciliani - ' |
| 02 | Rachmaninov, Ravel | 20110908 | BBC PROMS 2011 Live from the Royal Albert Hall, London Presented by Petroc Trelawny One of the world's great orchestras comes to the Proms with a programme of familiar classics including Rachmaninov's Symphonic Dances, written for Philadelphia. Charles Dutoit conducts, and violinist Janine Jansen joins the orchestra for the ever-popular Tchaikovsky Concerto. These works are bookended by Sibelius's nationalistic tone poem and Ravel's apotheosis of the waltz, a piece whose unstoppable whirling may have been intended as a metaphor for the fate of European civilisation. Rachmaninov: Symphonic Dances Ravel: La valse Janine Jansen (violin) Philadelphia Orchestra Charles Dutoit (conductor). Philadelphia Orchestra/Charles Dutoit. Rachmaninov: Symphonic Dances. Ravel: La valse. The world's greatest classical music festival - stunning performances and collaborations. |
| 02 | Wagner, Davies, Bruckner - Part 2 | 20100908 | BBC PROMS 2010 Live from the Royal Albert Hall, London Presented by Penny Gore Bruckner, like his hero Wagner, composed on a vast scale. The BBC Symphony Orchestra's Chief Conductor, Jiri Belohlကvek, pairs the festive prelude from Act 3 of Wagner's 'swan knight' romance with the most overarching and open-hearted of Bruckner's nine symphonies - a work whose slow movement was composed in the shadow of Wagner's death and enshrines Bruckner's musical memorial to the man he revered as the 'Master'. Always a composer of vivid and funky surprises, Tansy Davies promises in her new work to take us on a journey through the Tarot pack. Bruckner: Symphony No. 7 in E major Jiri Belohlကvek (conductor). The BBC Symphony Orchestra under Jiri Belohlavek performs Bruckner's Symphony No 7 in E. The world's greatest classical music festival - stunning performances and collaborations. |
| 03 | Nixon In China, Act 3 | 20120905 | Live from the Royal Albert Hall, London Presented by Andrew McGregor John Adams conducts his stunning opera Nixon in China, with a star-studded cast, the BBC Singers & BBC SO. Alice Goodman's poetic, intensely original libretto is based on Richard and Pat Nixon's historic three-day visit to China in 1972. Protagonists viewed initially as transcendent iconic figures are not so much satirised as seen for what they are. The score pounds away eclectically with nods to Broadway and rock, Minimalism and Igor Stravinsky, but there's no mistaking the identity of the composer, who conducts tonight, nor the colour and brilliance of one of the iconic works of our time. The Anglo-American cast includes Robert Orth as Nixon, Jessica Rivera as Mrs. Nixon, Gerald Finley as Chou En-Lai and Kathleen Kim as Madame Mao. Adams: Nixon in China - Act III Madame Mao ..... Kathleen Kim (soprano) Chairman Mao ..... Alan Oke (tenor) Chou En-lai ..... Gerald Finley (bass-baritone) President Nixon ..... Robert Orth (baritone) Pat Nixon ..... Jessica Rivera (soprano) Kissinger ..... James Rutherford (bass) First Secretary to Mao ..... Stephanie Marshall (mezzo-soprano) Second Secretary to Mao ..... Louise Poole (mezzo-soprano) Third Secretary to Mao ..... Susan Platts (mezzo-soprano) Mark Grey (sound director) Paul Curran (stage director) BBC Symphony Orchestra John Adams (conductor). John Adams conducts Act 3 of his own opera Nixon in China. The world's greatest classical music festival - stunning performances and collaborations. |