Work: Don Juan, Op.20

John Wilson brings his Sinfonia of London to the BBC Proms to crown the Ravel 150 celebrations with a glowing performance of his hedonistic symphonie chorégraphique.

Salonen and the Orchestre de Paris opened the Elbphilharmonie season with a vivid journey from Strauss’s dramatic energy, through a reflective new Horn Concerto, to Sibelius’s luminous, precise grandeur.

By the close of the performance, one sensed that the audience’s exhilaration stemmed less from polished execution and more from a shared immersion in the music’s dramatic arc—elements that lingered as the defining memory of this eventful evening.