Performer: Guy Johnston

Cellist Guy Johnston joins Sakari Oramo and the BBC Symphony for a Prom journeying from humanity's darkest shadows to radiant optimism.

Warm Vaughan Williams and energetic Richter and Vivaldi from MacGregor and the BPO strings, with an astonishing performance of Tavener’s The Protecting Veil from Guy Johnston the highlight. 

Schubert and Saint-Saëns provide an elegant first half before a change of tone and pace with Bruckner's Sixth Symphony. 

Thrills and disappointment in equal measure in mixed performances of two core repertory works under Mark Wigglesworth at the Lighthouse, Poole. 

The eclectic programme of 19th-century concerto and symphony, coupled with a world premiere, failed to yield any knockout performance from this team. 

Cecil Armstrong Gibbs’ largely forgotten Symphony no. 2, "Odysseus" proves exhausting, while works by Ireland and Howells tap into rich veins of mythical wistfulness and excruciating pain.