The BBC Proms season for 2024 has been announced, with 90 concerts that mix traditional repertoire with concerts by artists such as Florence + The Machine, Sam Smith and Bristol’s Paraorchestra. Following a lean period during Covid, international orchestras are back in full force, with performances from the Berlin Philharmonic, Orchestre de Paris and the West-Eastern Divan. The season will also include a tribute to Sir Andrew Davis, the jovial conductor who led the Last Night concert on a dozen occasions, after his death last week.
Proms director David Pickard’s swansong is set to be one of the most diverse programmes in years, reflecting BBC Radio 3’s mission to engage new audiences in classical music. That means storied pieces like Britten’s War Requiem and Verdi’s Requiem will rub shoulders with a Doctor Who Prom, a concert dedicated to folk-rock troubadour Nick Drake, and an evening of music by Pink Panther composer Henry Mancini. Pickard stated that this isn’t an artist going into the Proms instead of Glastonbury, but “an artist knowing about the orchestral setting of everything that we do, and creating something bespoke and exciting for us.”
The season will kick off on July 19th, with Hong Kong-born conductor Elim Chan leading the BBC Symphony Orchestra in performances of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony and Handel’s Music for the Royal Fireworks. Other star soloists will include Isata Kanneh-Mason, Sheku Kanneh-Mason, Yo-Yo Ma, Dame Evelyn Glennie, South Korean prodigy Yunchan Lim and Patricia Kopatchinskaja. The famed Last Night concert will be held at the Royal Albert Hall on September 14th, conducted by Sakari Oramo and will continue to feature Rule, Britannia!, which has become increasingly controversial because of its lyrics.
There will also be concerts in Gateshead, Belfast, Newport, Nottingham and Aberdeen, with a mini-season at Bristol’s newest concert hall in August. The Bristol Beacon will host a CBeebies concert and the Proms debut of the Paraorchestra, performing Mozart’s Symphony No 40 from memory. Bristol will also mark the 100th anniversary of the BBC Singers, a year after they were threatened with closure due to budget cuts.
Pickard stated that he would feel a “particular sadness” on his last Last Night in September, but promised to be back in the audience next year, when Jackson and Hannah Donat will take over the festival. Every Prom will be broadcast live on Radio 3 and BBC Sounds for 12 months, with highlights and full concerts also shown on BBC TV and iPlayer over 24 separate broadcasts. Tickets will be available from May 18th, with on-the-day “Promming” tickets priced at £8 including booking fees, and seated tickets starting from £10 plus booking fees
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