Royal Albert HallKensington Gore, London, Greater London, SW7 2AP, United Kingdom
Festival: BBC Proms
Dates/times in London time zone
| Tuesday 28 July 2026 | 19:00 |
Programme
| Turnage, Mark-Anthony (b. 1960) | Festen: Suite (BBC co-commission: UK premiere) | |
| Britten, Benjamin (1913-1976) | Cello Symphony, Op.68 | |
| Sibelius, Jean (1865-1957) | Symphony no. 2 in D major, Op.43 |
Performers
| Guy Johnston | Cello |
| BBC Symphony Orchestra | |
| Sakari Oramo | Conductor |
Fifty years since Benjamin Britten’s death, former BBC Young Musician winner Guy Johnston brings the composer’s Cello Symphony to the Proms. Originally written for Mstislav Rostropovich, it’s the composer at his most intense: a tour de force for the soloist, set against a brooding, often eerie orchestral backdrop. There’s darkness in Sibelius’s Symphony No. 2 as well – gloriously thrown aside in the glowing finale – but is it the weight of Russian political oppression or of personal loss? The concert opens with the UK premiere of Mark-Anthony Turnage’s Festen Suite, adapted from the composer’s multi-Olivier-Award-winning 2025 opera.
Seats from £16.28 to £59.12 (including booking fee*)
