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BBC Proms 2011 In Full | reviews, news & interviews

BBC Proms 2011 In Full

BBC Proms 2011 In Full

Full listings of all the Proms, premieres and performers, from Albeniz to Zinman

The 2011 BBC Proms open on Friday 15 July and close on Saturday 10 September. Strands linking the 90 concerts include Choral Sundays, film and TV music proms, French music, unusual concertos, Liszt and Frank Bridge focuses, and the first Comedy Prom. We bring you the full listings guide below and will be making our recommendations shortly before the box office opens on 7 May.

Choral Sundays feature large-scale works such as Havergal Brian’s Gothic Symphony (in its Proms premiere), Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis, Verdi and Mozart Requiems. Unusual concertos are featured, with multiple soloists including Martha Argerich in Beethoven’s Triple Concerto, concertos for flugelhorn and string quartet, and DJ Switch in Gabriel Prokofiev’s Concerto for Turntables and Orchestra. Liszt’s bicentenary is strongly marked, and there are focuses on Brahms, Frank Bridge, Bartók and Percy Grainger.

Gustavo Dudamel and the Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra, Nigel Kennedy in a solo Bach recital, three Film Music Proms, a TV Music Prom and the first Comedy Prom, hosted by comedian and pianist Tim Minchin, will be popular highlights. A French strand includes living composers Marc-André Dalbavie, Pascal Dusapin and Henri Dutilleux as well as Debussy, Ravel, Berlioz and Fauré.

11 new BBC commissions of pieces include Sally Beamish, Graham Fitkin, Joby Talbot, Robin Holloway and Stevie Wishart, with major premieres for Michael Berkeley, Judith Bingham, Sir Harrison Birtwistle, Elliott Carter, Sir Peter Maxwell Davies and Sir John Tavener among others.

Conductors include Bernard Haitink, Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Antonio Pappano, Charles Dutoit, Ivan Fischer, Zubin Mehta, Christophe Rousset and Valery Gergiev. Star soloists include pianists Martha Argerich, Marc-André Hamelin, Angela Hewitt, Stephen Hough, Lang Lang, Maria João Pires and András Schiff; violinists Nigel Kennedy, Tasmin Little, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Gil Shaham and Christian Tetzlaff; flautist Emmanuel Pahud and cellist Yo-Yo Ma. There are Proms debuts for pianists Khatia Buniatishvili, David Fray, Benjamin Grosvenor, Alice Sara Ott and Yuja Wang.

Seats go on sale on 7 May and Promming tickets (standing tickets bought on the day) remain at £5. All concerts at Royal Albert Hall 7.30pm except where otherwise marked. The very complicated BBC Proms website has full details

 

Week 1: 15-24 July

  • Friday 15 July (Prom 1), BBC Symphony Orchestra & Chorus BBC Singers, Jiří Bělohlávek (conductor), Benjamin Grosvenor (piano). Judith Weir world premiere, Brahms, Liszt PC 2, Janáček Glagolitic Mass
  • Saturday 16 July Prom 2), Orchestra and Chorus of the Academy of Santa Cecilia, Antonio Pappano (conductor). Rossini’s William Tell (concert performance in French), with Michele Pertusi
  • Sunday 17 July (Prom 3, 4pm), Stephen Farr (organ). Recital on the Albert Hall’s mighty organ, includes Alain, Liszt, Bach, Judith Bingham world premiere
  • Sunday 17 July (Prom 4, 7pm), BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Martyn Brabbins (conductor), Bach Choir, BBC National Chorus of Wales, Brighton Festival Chorus etc. Havergal Brian Gothic Symphony involving more than 1,000 performers
  • Monday 18 July, (Lunchtime Prom, Cadogan Hall 1pm) Mahan Esfahani (harpsichord). Bach Goldberg Variations
  • Monday 18 July (Prom 5), Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Myung-Whun Chung (conductor), Martha Argerich (piano), Renaud Capuçon (violin), Gautier Capuçon (cello). Messiaen, Dusapin, Beethoven triple concerto
  • Tuesday 19 July (Prom 6, 7pm), Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Myung-Whun Chung (conductor), Renaud Capuçon (violin), Gautier Capuçon (cello). Weber, Brahms double concerto, Stravinsky Rite of Spring
  • Tuesday 19 July, (Prom 7, 10pm) Belcea Quartet, Valentin Erben (cello). Schubert Quintet
  • Wednesday 20 July (Prom 8) BBC Symphony Orchestra, Jiří Bělohlávek (conductor), Jean-Guihen Queyras (cello). Dvorák CC, Smetana Má vlast
  • Thursday 21 July (Prom 9) Hallé, Sir Mark Elder (conductor), András Schiff (piano). Sibelius 7, Bartók PC 3, Janáček
  • Friday 22 July (Prom 10) BBC Philharmonic, Juanjo Mena (conductor), Steven Osborne (piano). Debussy, Ravel, Falla, Debussy
  • Saturday 23 July (Prom 11) BBC Concert Orchestra, Charles Hazlewood (conductor), John Hurt (narrator). Nitin Sawhney TV music for Human Planet, with video projections, plus artists from BBC Radio 3’s Music Planet series: including Ayarkhaan (Sakha Republic), Bibilang Shark-Calling Group (Papua New Guinea), Khusugtun (Mongolia), Rasmus Lyberth (Greenland), Enock Mbongwe (Zambia)
  • Sunday 24 July (Prom 12, 11am), morning repeat of previous evening’s Human Planet Prom
  • Sunday 24 July (Prom 13, 7pm) BBC Symphony Orchestra & Chorus, Semyon Bychkov (conductor). Verdi Requiem with soloists Marina Poplavskaya, Sonia Ganassi, Joseph Calleja and Ferruccio Furlanetto

 

Week 2: 25-31 July

  • Monday 25 July (Lunchtime Prom, Cadogan Hall 1pm) Elias Quartet, Julian Bliss (clarinet). Purcell, Sally Beamish world premiere string quartet, Brahms clarinet quintet
  • Monday 25 July (Prom 14) Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra, Sir Roger Norrington (conductor). Mahler 9
  • Tuesday 26 July (Prom 15) London Philharmonic Orchestra & Choir, Vladimir Jurowski (conductor), Jean-Efflam Bavouzet (piano). Kodály, Bartók PC 1, Liszt Faust Symphony
  • Wednesday 27 July (Prom 16, 7pm) Arditti Quartet, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Thierry Fischer (conductor). Berlioz, Faure, Pascal Dusapin UK premiere for string quartet and orchestra, Stravinsky Firebird
  • Wednesday 27 July, (Prom 17, 10pm) Aruna Sairam (vocalist), Hari Sivanesan (veena), Patri Satish Kumar (mridangam), Bangalore RN Prakash (ghatam), Jyotsna Srikanth (violin), Pirashanna Thevarajah (percussion).
  • Thursday 28 July (Prom 18) BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Thierry Fischer (conductor), Emmanuel Pahud (flute). Beethoven, Marc-André Dalbavie & Elliott Carter flute concertos, Beethoven 1 & 7
  • Friday 29 July (Prom 19) BBC Symphony Orchestra, Oliver Knussen (conductor), Claire Booth (soprano). Honegger, Bridge, Berg, Castiglioni, Debussy
  • Saturday 30 July (Prom 20, 11am) Aurora Orchestra, Nicholas Collon (conductor), children’s choirs, Louise Fryer (presenter). A Horrible Histories Prom.
  • Saturday 30 July (Prom 21) City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra & Chorus, Andris Nelsons (conductor), Midori (violin), Nadezhda Serdiuk (mezzo-soprano). R Strauss, Walton VC, Prokofiev Alexander Nevsky, R Strauss Salome
  • Sunday 31 July (Prom 22, 7pm) BBC Philharmonic, Gianandrea Noseda (conductor), Chorus of the Mariinsky Theatre, Svetla Vassileva (soprano), Misha Didyk (tenor), Alexei Tanovitsky (baritone). All Rachmaninov, including The Bells
 

Week 3: 1-8 August

  • Monday 1 August (Lunchtime Prom, Cadogan Hall 1pm) Les Talens Lyriques, Christophe Rousset (director, harpsichord), Eugénie Warnier (soprano). Couperin, Lully, Rameau, Montéclair
  • Monday 1 August (Prom 23) BBC Philharmonic, Gianandrea Noseda (conductor), Stephen Hough (piano). Beethoven 4, Saint-Saëns PC 5, Liszt Dante symphony
  • Tuesday 2 August (Prom 24, 7pm) BBC Symphony Orchestra & Singers, Sir Andrew Davis (conductor), Tasmin Little (violin). Elgar VC, Grainger, R Strauss Till Eulenspiegel
  • Tuesday 2 August (Prom 25, 10.15pm) June Tabor, Wilson Family, BBC Singers, Kathryn Tickell Band, Northern Sinfonia, John Harle (conductor). Percy Grainger and his folk music sources
  • Wednesday 3 August (Prom 26) BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Donald Runnicles (conductor), Lynn Harrell (cello), Edinburgh Festival Chorus. Debussy, Dutilleux, Ravel Boléro & Daphnis and Chloë
  • Thursday 4 August (Prom 27, 7pm) BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Donald Runnicles (conductor), Hillevi Martinpelto (soprano). Robin Holloway world premiere 5th concerto for orchestra, R Strauss Four Last Songs, Brahms 2
  • Thursday 4 August (Prom 28, 10pm) The Tallis Scholars, Peter Phillips (conductor). All Victoria including Officium defunctorum (Requiem)
  • Friday 5 August (Prom 29) Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra, Gustavo Dudamel (conductor), National Youth Choir of Great Britain. Mahler 2 Resurrection Symphony
  • Saturday 6 August (Prom 30, 6.30pm) National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, Vladimir Jurowski (conductor), Benjamin Grosvenor (piano), DJ Switch dj (turntables). Gabriel Prokofiev Concerto for Turntables and Orchestra, Britten PC, Sergei Prokofiev Romeo and Juliet
  • Saturday 6 August (Prom 31, 10pm) Nigel Kennedy (violin). J S Bach
  • Sunday 7 August (Prom 32, 7pm) BBC Symphony Orchestra, Edward Gardner (conductor), Christian Tetzlaff (violin), Melanie Diener (soprano), Ekaterina Gubanova (mezzo-soprano), Stuart Skelton (tenor), Christopher Purves (baritone), BBC Singers. Brahms VC, Mahler Das klagende Lied
 

Week 4: 8-14 August

  • Monday 8 August (Lunchtime Prom, Cadogan Hall 1pm) Khatia Buniatishvili (piano). Liszt including sonata in B minor, Prokofiev sonata 7
  • Monday 8 August (Prom 33) Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Sakari Oramo (conductor), Alice Sara Ott (piano). Sibelius 6, Grieg PC, Nielsen 4 The Inextinguishable
  • Tuesday 9 August (Prom 34, 7pm) BBC National Orchestra of Wales, François-Xavier Roth (conductor), Thomas Trotter (organ). Bridge, Holt, Dupré & Saint-Saëns 3 Organ’Symphony
  • Wednesday 10 August (Prom 35, 7pm) Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Kirill Karabits (conductor), Ailish Tynan (soprano). Liszt, Glière soprano concerto, Rachmaninov 2
  • Wednesday 10 August (Prom 36, 10.15pm) Steve Reich (conductor), Ensemble Modern, Synergy Vocals. 75th birthday Reich fest, including Music for 18 Musicians
  • Thursday 11 August (Prom 37) BBC Philharmonic, Vassily Sinaisky (conductor), Dejan Lazić (piano), Julian Lloyd Webber (cello). Bridge, Brahms “piano” concerto (arranged from VC), Holst & Elgar Enigma Variations
  • Friday 12 August (Prom 38, 7pm) BBC Concert Orchestra, Keith Lockhart (conductor), Chloë Hanslip (violin). Film Music Prom including Morricone, Walton, John Williams, Richard Rodney Bennett, John Barry
  • Friday 12 August (Prom 39, 10.15pm) Spaghetti Western Orchestra. Unusual arrangements of Morricone and other Western film composers
  • Saturday 13 August (Saturday Matinee, Cadogan Hall 3pm) London Sinfonietta, Nicholas Collon (conductor), Paul Silverthorne (viola). Richard Rodney Bennett, Dutilleux, Maconchy
  • Saturday 13 August (Prom 40) Comedy Prom, with Tim Minchin, Sue Perkins, Kit and the Widow, BBC Concert Orchestra, Jules Buckley (conductor).
  • Sunday 14 August (Prom 41, 7pm) BBC Symphony Orchestra & Chorus etc, Jiří Bělohlávek (conductor), Amanda Roocroft (soprano). Purcell arr Joby Talbot, Britten including Sinfonia da Requiem & Spring Symphony
 

Week 5: 15-21 August

  • Monday 15 August (Lunchtime Prom, Cadogan Hall 1pm) Nicholas Daniel oboe, Tom Poster (piano), Aronowitz Ensemble. Britten & Bridge
  • Monday 15 August (Prom 42) Orchestra of the Mariinsky Theatre, Valery Gergiev (conductor). Tchaikovsky’s complete ballet Swan Lake
  • Tuesday 16 August (Prom 43, 7pm) Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Andrew Litton (conductor), Yuja Wang (piano). Copland, Bax 2, Barber, Bartók PC 2,  Prokofiev 4
  • Wednesday 17 August (Prom 44) Philharmonia Orchestra, Esa-Pekka Salonen (conductor), Lisa Batiashvili (violin). Shostakovich incl VC 1, Stravinsky Petrushka, Tchaikovsky Francesca da Rimini
  • Thursday 18 August, (Prom 45, 7pm) BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Ilan Volkov (conductor), Viktoria Mullova (violin), Matthew Barley (cello). Thomas Larcher Double Concerto (world premiere), Bruckner 5
  • Thursday 18 August (Prom 46, 10.15pm) Viktoria Mullova (violin), Matthew Barley (cello), Julian Joseph (piano), Paul Clarvis & Sam Walton (percussion). Bratsch, Kodaly, and arrangements of Hungarian folk music and jazz
  • Friday 19 August (Prom 47, 7pm) Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Bernard Haitink (conductor), Emanuel Ax (piano). Brahms 3 & PC 1
  • Friday 19 August (Prom 48, 10pm) BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Andrew Manze (conductor),  Angela Hewitt (piano). Brahms, Schumann
  • Saturday 20 August ( Saturday Matinee at Cadogan Hall, 3pm) London Sinfonietta, David Atherton (conductor), BBC Singers, Nicolas Hodges (piano). Maxwell Davies, Georges Aperghis world premiere, Harrison Birtwistle UK premiere
  • Saturday 20 August (Prom 49) Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Bernard Haitink (conductor), Emanuel Ax (piano). Brahms 4 & PC 2
  • Sunday 21 August (Prom 50, 7pm) City of London Sinfonia, Stephen Layton (conductor). Britten, Colin Matthews world premiere, Mozart Requiem with Polyphony, Emma Bell (soprano), Ian Bostridge (tenor)

 

Week 6: 22-28 August

  • Monday 22 August (Lunchtime Prom, Cadogan Hall 1pm) Emmanuel Pahud (flute), Eric Le Sage (piano). Martinů, Dutilleux, Prokofiev
  • Monday 22 August (Prom 51) BBC Symphony Orchestra, Jiří Bělohlávek (conductor), Barry Douglas (piano). Wagner, Liszt, Kevin Volans PC world premiere, Brahms 1
  • Tuesday 23 August (Prom 52) London Symphony Orchestra, Valery Gergiev (conductor), Leonidas Kavakos (violin). Prokofiev 1 & 5, Dutilleux  VC L’arbre des songes
  • Wednesday 24 August (Prom 53, 7pm) Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester, Sir Colin Davis (conductor), Susan Graham (mezzo-soprano). Stravinsky Symphony in 3 mvmts, Ravel Shéhérazade, Tchaikovsky  4
  • Wednesday 24 August (Prom 54, 10pm) Marc–André Hamelin (piano). Liszt
  • Thursday 25 August (Prom 55, 7pm) Glyndebourne Festival Opera, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Ottavio Dantone (conductor). Handel’s Rinaldo with Sonia Prina and Sandrine Piau
  • Friday 26 August (Prom 56) BBC Symphony Orchestra, Semyon Bychkov (conductor), Kirill Gerstein (piano). R Strauss & Mahler 6
  • Saturday 27 August (Saturday Matinee, Cadogan Hall 3pm) BBC Singers, Sinfonye, Robert Hollingworth & Stevie Wishart (conductors). Hildegard of Bingen, Britten, Birtwistle, Wishart world premiere
  • Saturday 27 August (Prom 57) Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, David Zinman (conductor), Maria João Pires (piano). Anders Hillborg UK premiere, Mozart PC 27,  Beethoven 3
  • Sunday 28 August (Prom 58, 7pm), Gabrieli Consort and Players, Paul McCreesh (conductor), Wrocław Philharmonic Choir etc. Mendelssohn’s Elijah, complete, with soloists Rosemary Joshua, Sarah Connolly, Robert Murray & Simon Keenlyside

 

Week 7: 29 August-4 September

  • Monday 29 August (Lunchtime Prom, Cadogan Hall 1pm) Yo-Yo Ma (cello), Kathryn Stott (piano). Graham Fitkin, Egberto Gismonti/Geraldo Carneiro, Rachmaninov
  • Monday 29 August (Prom 59) John Wilson and his Orchestra. Hooray for Hollywood, one of three film music Proms
  • Tuesday 30 August (Prom 60) Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, Jaap van Zweden (conductor), David Fray (piano). Mozart PC 25, Bruckner 8
  • Wednesday 31 August (Prom 61) BBC Symphony Orchestra & Chorus, David Robertson (conductor), Yo-Yo Ma (cello). Graham Fitkin cello concerto world premiere, Beethoven 9
  • Thursday 1 September (Prom 62) Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Zubin Mehta (conductor), Gil Shaham (violin). Webern Passacaglia, Bruch VC 1, Albéniz, Rimsky-Korsakov
  • Friday 2 September (Prom 63, 7pm) Budapest Festival Orchestra, Iván Fischer (conductor), Dejan Lazić (piano). Liszt, Mahler
  • Friday 2 September (Prom 64, 10pm) Budapest Festival Orchestra, Ivan Fischer (conductor). Audience Choice Prom - what it says
  • Saturday 3 September (Saturday Matinee, Cadogan Hall 3pm) Natalie Clein cello, Britten Sinfonia, BBC Singers, David Hill (conductor). Tippett, Tavener, Gubaidulina
  • Saturday 3 September (Prom 65, 7pm) BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Jac van Steen (conductor), Marc-André Hamelin (piano), David Goode (organ). Elgar, Michael Berkeley organ concerto London premiere, Rachmaninov Paganini Rhapsody, Kodály
  • Sunday 4 September (Prom 66, 4pm) Thierry Escaich (organ). Recital on the Albert Hall’s mighty organ, includes Bach, Thierry Escaich UK premiere, Franck, Liszt
  • Sunday 4 September (Prom 67, 7pm) London Symphony Orchestra & Chorus, Sir Colin Davis (conductor). Beethoven Missa Solemnis with Carmen Giannattasio, Sarah Connolly, Paul Groves & Matthew Rose

 

Week 8: 5-10 September

  • Monday 5 September (Lunchtime Prom, Cadogan Hall 1pm) Christian Tetzlaff (violin), Lars Vogt (piano). Mozart, Bartók
  • Monday 5 September (Prom 68) Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Manfred Honeck (conductor), Hélène Grimaud (piano). Braunfels, Beethoven PC 4, Tchaikovsky 5
  • Tuesday 6 September (Prom 69) Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Manfred Honeck (conductor), Anne-Sophie Mutter (violin). Wagner, Rihm, Mahler 5
  • Wednesday 7 September (Prom 70, 7pm) BBC Symphony Orchestra, David Robertson (conductor), Christian Tetzlaff (violin). Bridge, Birtwistle VC UK premiere, Holst Planets
  • Wednesday 7 September (Prom 71, 10.15pm) BBC Big Band, Jiggs Whigham (conductor), Claire Martin (vocalist). Centenary tribute to jazz legend Stan Kenton
  • Thursday 8 September (Prom 72) Philadelphia Orchestra, Charles Dutoit (conductor), Janine Jansen (violin). Sibelius, Tchaikovsky VC, Rachmaninov, Ravel
  • Friday 9 September (Prom 73) Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique, Sir John Eliot Gardiner (conductor). Concert performance of Weber’s Der Freischütz as arranged by Berlioz in French, with soloists Andrew Kennedy, Sophie Karthäuser, Gidon Saks, Virginie Pochon, Matthew Brook & Monteverdi Choir
  • Saturday 10 September (Hyde Park, from 3pm) Proms in the Park open-air concert with fireworks finale and big-screen link to…
  • Saturday 10 September (Prom 74) Last Night of the Proms: BBC Symphony Orchestra & Chorus, BBC Singers, Edward Gardner (conductor), Lang Lang (piano), Susan Bullock (soprano). Includes Maxwell Davies world premiere, Bartók Miraculous Mandarin, Wagner Götterdämmerung - Immolation Scene, Liszt PC 1, Chopin, Britten Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra, Rule Britannia, Jerusalem etc

All concerts at the Royal Albert Hall, Kensington Gore, London SW7, at 7.30pm except where otherwise marked. The BBC Proms website has full details

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