Performer: Sakari Oramo

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

The young Spanish violinist proves an ardent advocate for a work originally dismissed as a “Hollywood Concerto” as the BBC Symphony Orchestra closes its Barbican season.

Sakari Oramo and Annsi Karttunen bring Northern lights and folklore to the Philharmonie, closing on a touch of Czech optimism with Dvořák’s Eighth Symphony.

Yeol Eum Son’s Britten Piano Concerto formed the evening’s centre of gravity, played with lucid line, structural command and sudden fire. In Brahms’ Second Symphony, Sakari Oramo found conviction, proportion and a warmth that felt earned rather than applied.

Yeol Eum Son's superb performances of Bartók and Finzi are matched by intense and heady readings of Stravinsky and Weir by the BBC Symphony Orchestra under Sakari Oramo. 

After a performance of Magnus Lindberg’s First Violin Concerto by Lisa Batiashvili at the Barbican, Stravinsky’s Perséphone stands the test of time. 

Stretching over 8 weeks, and with concerts in London and 6 cities across the UK, this year’s BBC Proms has a vast offering – including guest orchestras, premieres, and celebrations of Holst, Bruckner and Schoenberg.

The BBC’s announcement of its decision to shutter the BBC Singers, and to aim for 20% redundancies in its English orchestras, has attracted criticism.

In 2023 the Savonlinna Opera Festival once again offers a unique, summertime operatic experience – situated in a medieval lakeside castle.