En direct, Vidéo: Rechercher des critiques de musique classique, opéra et ballet | Jerusalem

The 2016 Proms come to a riotous close at the Royal Albert Hall.

Flags, balloons and musical revelry bring the BBC Proms season to a close. 

Sakari Oramo prend les rênes de cette dernière nuit des Proms, aux côtés de l'éblouissante violoniste Janine Jansen et du BBC Symphony Orchestra.

The Last Night of the Proms provided a welcome tying-up of the various strands that have permeated this year’s season: British light music, the 60th anniversary of the Coronation, a host of premières and new BBC commissions, and the significant anniversaries of a number of composers (including the big-hitters of the season, Wagner and Britten).

The Last Night of the Proms isn’t really a concert at all; it’s two very different concerts put on one after the other. The first is something like what we’re used to from a Prom, with big-name soloists performing alongside the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the BBC Symphony Chorus in world premières and classic works from the repertoire.

The Last Night of the Proms isn't really a concert: it's more like going to the cast party for the Proms season.

I have to confess that an event like this is not within my normal musical radar. My music reviewing and listening is predominantly serious classical, and most of it is for a specialist part of that wide repertoire. So it was a slightly brave, or foolhardy, idea to offer to review one of these musical spectaculars at my local castle.