BBC Proms - Season 59

First aired: 7/15/2005 29 episodes
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Episodes

1. First Night of the Proms Part One

Aired: 7/15/2005

BBC1 kicks off this centrepiece of the classical calendar for the first time, as Promenaders don their finery for the start of the 111th season of Henry Wood concerts at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Tonight's music is performed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Roger Norrington, and begins on a maritime theme with Berlioz's exuberant The Corsair overture. Janine Jansen is the soloist in Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in E minor, while Elgar's Overture: Cockaigne (in London Town), a colourful tour of the old capital, prefaces Tippett's oratorio A Child of Our Time, which airs on BBC2 from 8pm.

2. First Night of the Proms Part Two

Aired: 7/15/2005

Michael Tippett's powerful oratorio A Child of Our Time features in continuing live coverage from the Royal Albert Hall, London. The piece marks its composer's centenary as well as the 60th anniversary of the end of the Second World War. Roger Norrington conducts Indra Thomas (soprano), Christine Rice (mezzo-soprano), Ian Bostridge (tenor), Willard White (bass), and the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. Introduced by Alan Titchmarsh.

3. Prom 4: Richard Wagner - Die Walküre

Aired: 7/18/2005

Tenor Placido Domingo makes his long-awaited Proms debut in the Royal Opera House's new production of Wagner's epic Die Walkure, the second opera in the Ring cycle. The cast also includes baritone Bryn Terfel as Wotan and soprano Lisa Gasteen as Brunnhilde. Antonio Pappano conducts the Royal Opera House Orchestra. Charles Hazlewood introduces the first of this year's Proms from London's Royal Albert Hall.

Episode 4

4. Prom 5: Michael Berkeley, Benjamin Britten and Vaughan Williams

Aired: 7/19/2005

BBC National Orchestra of Wales - conducted by Richard Hickox - performs a new concerto by Michael Berkeley. Soprano Susan Gritton sings four songs by Benjamin Britten, and there is a performance of Vaughan Williams' 1913 work 'A London Symphony'. Live from Royal Albert Hall.

5. Prom 6: Musgrave, Rachmaninov and Nielson

Aired: 7/20/2005

Conductor Osma Vanska returns to the Proms with the BBC Symphony Orchestra for a concert in which elemental forces are at play. Thea Musgrave's Turbulent Landscapes was inspired by six dramatic paintings by Turner; Rachmaninov's passionate First Piano Concerto is performed by Stephen Hough; while the essence of life itself is the theme of Carl Nielsen's Symphony No 4, The Inextinguishable.

6. Prom 8: Stravinsky, MacMillan and Ravel

Aired: 7/21/2005

A performance of Stravinsky's musical fairytale The Nightingale and an extraordinary new commission for organ and orchestra by James MacMillan, A Scotch Bestiary, mark the BBC Philharmonic's first visit to this year's Proms. Gianandrea Noseda and James MacMillan himself are the respective conductors. Introduced by Charles Hazlewood live from London's Royal Albert Hall.

7. Prom 9: Mozart and Mahler

Aired: 7/22/2005

The conductor Christoph von Dohnanyi is renowned for his insightful interpretations of the great German Romantic repertoire - tonight, he conducts the Philharmonia Orchestra in Mahler's turbulent Fifth Symphony. That's preceded by one of Mozart's most charming works - the Third Violin Concerto - performed by soloist Christian Tetzlaff. Presented by Verity Sharp.

8. Prom 11: Mendelssohn, Bruch and Vaughan Williams

Aired: 7/23/2005

Mendelssohn's Overture: The Hebrides (Fingal's Cave), Vaughan Williams's A Sea Symphony (Symphony No 1) and Max Bruch's Violin Concerto No 1 in G minor, performed by Proms favourite Leila Josefowicz. Gerard Schwarz conducts the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Choir and Orchestra and the Chester Festival Chorus, with soprano Janice Watson and baritone Dwayne Croft. Verity Sharp hosts.

9. Prom 13: Elgar's The Dream of Gerontius

Aired: 7/24/2005

Elgar's great vision of a spiritual journey - The Dream of Gerontius - is performed by the Halle Choir, London Philharmonic Choir and Halle Orchestra, conducted by Mark Elder. The soloists are mezzo Alice Coote , tenor Paul Groves and bass Matthew Best. Verity Sharp presents the performance.

10. Prom 14: Tippett and Shostakovich

Aired: 7/25/2005

Michael Tippett 's mystical The Vision of St Augustine is followed by Shostakovich's Symphony No 10. Soprano Elizabeth Atherton and baritone Roderick Williams join the BBC Symphony Chorus and BBC National Orchestra of Wales under Richard Hickox.

11. Prom15: Fairy Tales

Aired: 7/26/2005

This season's theme of fairy tales is represented by Russian composer Liadov's tone-poem trilogy - Baba-Yaga, The Enchanted Lake and Kikimora - taken from old folk tales, and Stravinsky's ballet music The Fairy's Kiss, inspired by Hans Christian Andersen. Between are Knussen's settings of four poems by Walt Whitman , and the premiere of German composer Detlev Glanert 's Theatrum Bestiarum.

12. Prom 16: Ravel, Dutilleux, Stravinsky and Mussorgsky

Aired: 7/27/2005

The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra play Ravel's popular Mother Goose suite. There's also a new work - Correspondences - by France's most eminent composer Henri Dutilleux, featuring soprano Barbara Hannigan. Then it's back to the work of Ravel with his dazzling arrangement of Musorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition.

13. Prom 18: Adams, Corigliano and Prokofiev

Aired: 7/28/2005

Conductor Marin Alsop and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra bring American composer John Corigliano's new concerto The Red Violin to the Proms following its successful world premiere in Baltimore last year. Violin superstar Joshua Bell (for whom the piece was written) will perform the concerto. Plus an excerpt from John Adams's opera Nixon in China and music from Prokofiev's ballet Romeo and Juliet.

14. Prom 19: Russia Night

Aired: 7/29/2005

An all-Russian line-up, with excerpts from Tchaikovsky's The Snow Maiden, followed by Shostakovich's Violin Concerto No 1 played by the 20-year-old Armenian virtuoso Sergey Khachatryan. The concert concludes with Prokofiev's wartime Symphony No 5, written in support of the greatness of the human spirit. The BBC Philharmonic is led by their Russian-born principal guest conductor Vassily Sinaisky. Hosted by Charles Hazlewood.

15. Prom 21: Violins!! - Part 2

Aired: 7/30/2005

Viktoria Mullova is the soloist for the world premiere of Fraser Trainer's violin concerto For the Living, in the second of today's three Violins!! concerts at the Royal Albert Hall. Talented young players from across the UK join the BBC Symphony Orchestra and conductor. Martyn Brabbins for Respighi's The Pines of Rome and their own collaborative workshop piece Invisible Lines. Plus Bernstein's Overture: Candide and Britten's ever-popular The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra. With Charles Hazlewood.

16. Prom 23: Berlioz's Romeo and Juliet

Aired: 7/31/2005

Shakespeare's tale of doomed young love is brought to life in Berlioz's dramatic symphony Romeo et Juliette Nan Volkov conducts the BBC SSO and the London Symphony Chorus, with soloists Katarina Karneus (mezzo), Jean-Paul Fouchecourt (tenor) and John Relyea (bass). With Charles Hazlewood.

17. Prom 41: Daniel Barenboim and the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra

Aired: 8/14/2005

Following last year's sell-out success, celebrated conductor Daniel Barenboim returns to the Royal Albert Hall with his young orchestra of Arab and Israeli musicians - the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra. Soloists are showcased in Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante for oboe, clarinet, bassoon and horn. Following the interval the concert ends with Mahler's Symphony No 1 in D major. During the interval, Verity Sharp talks to Barenboim, plus guests Rob Cowan and James Murphy.

18. Prom 2: Arthur Sullivan's HMS Pinafore

Aired: 8/18/2005

WS Gilbert's libretto on ignorant sea lords combines with Arthur Sullivan 's memorable melodies in one of the duo's most enduring creations, HMS Pinafore. Charles Mackerras is at the helm and also conducts his own ballet Pineapple Poll, based on another of Gilbert's naval satires, with a re-orchestration of Sullivan's music. A cast of leading British artists take centre stage, including Richard Suart , Felicity Palmer and Sally Matthews , plus the Maida Vale Singers, the BBC Orchestra, and narration by Tim Brooke-Taylor . Alan Titchmarsh introduces the performance, recorded last month at London's Royal Albert Hall. Director Francesca Kemp ; Series editor Oliver Macfarlane

19. Prom 49: Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 in D minor, ‘Choral’

Aired: 8/20/2005

Live from the Royal Albert Hall, Kurt Masur conducts the London Philharmonic Choir and Orchestra, as well as a cast of international soloists, in the annual Proms rendition of Beethoven's life-affirming Choral symphony. Prior to the main performance, there's the UK premiere of The Light of the End, a piece by the highly individual Russian composer Sofia Gubaidulina. During the interval presenter Verity Sharp meets Kurt Masur and talks to guests John Deathridge, who holds the King Edward VII chair in music at King's College, London, and Tom Service, presenter of BBC Radio 3's Music Matters.

20. Prom 57: Valery Gergiev conducts the World Orchestra for Peace

Aired: 8/27/2005

Live from the Royal Albert Hall, dynamic conductor Valery Gergiev leads the World Orchestra for Peace in a concert of opera and fantasy. Founded by the late Georg Solti for the 50th anniversary of the UN in 1995 the ensemble comprises players from leading professional orchestras around the world. Making its second visit to the Proms, to mark the 60th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, the orchestra plays music by Rossini, Debussy, Wagner, Rimsky-Korsakov and the world premiere of a new work by Esa-Pekka Salonen. During the interval presenter Verity Sharp talks to the orchestra's current music director, the lively Mr Gergiev.

21. Prom 59: David Zinman conducts the Tonhalle Orchestra

Aired: 9/1/2005

Zurich's Tonhalle Orchestra makes a welcome return for a programme which includes music by Wagner, Beethoven and Richard Strauss. With David Zinman wielding the baton, the orchestra begins with the tempestuous overture to The Flying Dutchman by Wagner, followed by Beethoven's Piano Concerto No 3 in C Minor, featuring pianist Emanuel Ax. Finally, the Royal Albert Hall will be filled with the rousing opening bars of Stanley Kubrick's epic 2001: a Space Odyssey, part of Richard Strauss 's lofty tone poem. Also Sprach Zarathustra. Alan Titchmarsh hosts this recording of the August Bank Holiday concert.

22. Prom 66: Sir Colin Davies conductions the Juilliard Orchestra

Aired: 9/3/2005

Colin Davis conducts students from London's Royal Academy of Music and New York's Juilliard School in tonight's live concert at the Royal Albert Hall, which begins with two wartime works. Aaron Copland's majestic Fanfare for the Common Man for brass and percussion was written in 1942 as a tribute to those fighting the Second World War. In contrast, Ralph Vaughan Williams's bleak Sixth Symphony from 1948 suggests a desolate postwar landscape. The programme concludes with what is perhaps Hector Berlioz's best-known work, the dazzling Symphonie Fantastique, in which the composer explores his real life obsession with a beautiful actress. With Charles Hazlewood.

23. Prom 67: Zemlinsky and Brahms

Aired: 9/4/2005

Zemlinsky's Die Seejungfrau, based on Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid, is followed by Brahms's German Requiem, written in memory of his mother and his friend and supporter, Robert Schumann. James Conlon conducts the BBC Symphony Chorus and Orchestra and the Philharmonic Chorus. Hosted by Charles Hazlewood. The concert is also live on BBC Radio 3 from 6.30pm. New. Interactive: digital viewer, can access music notes via the red button

24. Prom 68: Britten, Rawsthorne and Tchaikovsky

Aired: 9/5/2005

Britten's Four Sea Interludes are performed by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales under conductor Rumon Gamba. Howard Shelley is the soloist in Alan Rawsthorne 's Piano Concerto No 2, and the programme concludes with Tchaikovsky's Symphony No 4 in F minor.

25. Prom 69: Thomas Adès and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe

Aired: 9/6/2005

Thomas Ades. the British composer and conductor. premieres his Violin Concerto with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe and soloist Anthony Marwood. The concert also includes Beethoven's Namensfeier overture and Symphony No 4 in B flat. Presented by Charles Hazlewood.

26. Prom 71: Zubin Mehta and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra

Aired: 9/7/2005

A rare London appearance for acclaimed conductor Zubin Mehta who leads the Vienna Philharmonic as they perform Haydn's Drumroll Symphony and Alban Berg's Three Fragments from his opera Wozzeck, concluding with Stravinsky's exhilarating orchestral masterpiece The Rite of Spring.

27. Prom 72: Bruckner's Symphony No. 8 in C minor

Aired: 9/8/2005

In its second Proms appearance this season, the Vienna Philharmonic performs Bruckner's immense Symphony No 8 in C minor under conductor Christoph Eschenbach. Presented by Verity Sharp.

28. Prom 73: Esa-Pekka Salonen conducts the Helsinki Symphony Orchestra

Aired: 9/9/2005

The Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra is conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen. Two French orchestral classics frame the programme, Debussy's "La Mer" and Ravel's "Daphnis and Chloe". Also on the bill is Sibelius's magical tone poem "Luonnotar" and Mark-Anthony Turnage's trumpet concerto "From the Wreckage".

29. Prom 74: Last Night of the Proms

Aired: 9/10/2005

Live at London's Royal Albert Hall, Alan Titchmarsh introduces the final concert in the Proms season. A nautical theme is reflected with Walton's Overture: Portsmouth Point and Lambert's The Rio Grande. Between these are Handel's Ombra Mai Fu (Xerxes), Dove Sei (Rodelinda) and Se Parla net Mio Cor (Giustino), and Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez. Joining the BBC Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Paul Daniel, is Andreas Scholl, the first countertenor to appear at the Last Night, who will sing the Handel arias; while guitar legend John Williams is the soloist in the concerto by Rodrigo.