The end of the BBC’s Proms is in sight: the classical music festival closes on Saturday with the famous Last Night. These last eight weeks have seen 90 concerts in London’s Royal Albert Hall but also this year in Bristol, Gateshead, Aberdeen, Newport, Belfast, and Nottingham, each one live on Radio 3 and online and streamable until 13 October. From the roof-raising sounds of Handel’s Messiah with six choirs on Choral Day, to starry debutants and the welcome return of a much-loved Proms regular, and daleks to Disco it’s been a hugely varied and lively season.
There was new music from Thomas Adès, Dani Howard, Hans Abrahamsen and Francisco Coll – among many others, and rareties included Busoni’s epic piano concerto and Julius Eastman‘s only surviving orchestra score. Our reviewers have loved the Berlin Philharmonic’s two concerts, also Klaus Mäkelä with the Orchestre de Paris, and the Aurora orchestra’s exploration of Beethoven’s choral symphony was another five-star review.
What about you? What have been your Proms highlights, whether you were there in person or listening on the radio?
You can look back on our coverage here, and browse the full season here. Every concert is available to stream on BBC Sounds until 13 October.
