Performer: Sir Antonio Pappano

A revelatory orchestral performance and a cast led by Andreas Schager, Christopher Maltman and Elisabeth Strid make this a Siegfried for the record books.

Tchaikovsky and Vaughan Williams make rare bedfellows, but Pappano's grip on these disparate scores impresses, with the London Symphony Chorus and Orchestra on wondrous form. 

In expert hands, a terrifying 12-tone opera and a heroic piano concerto rattle the walls in Prague’s Rudolfinum.

The King made a surprise visit to the prestigious conducting competition in London, currently being filmed for a Sky Arts series Making A Maestro, broadcast next spring. 

Buffetted from symphonies, opera and ballet to West End musicals, film scoring sessions, and maybe even Glastonbury, the life of the freelance musician can be as chaotic as it is thrilling.

The second half of this year’s Proms season heats up with visits from the Czech Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic, Orchestre de Paris and Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra – along with operas by Bizet and Britten.