Get all your news in one place.

100’s of premium titles.
One app.

Start reading

Get all your news in one place.

100’s of premium titles. One news app.

Start reading

The Latest Breaking News from Chris Christodoulou

First Night of the Proms review: 'who thought this was a good idea?'

4/5 The first night of the 2025 BBC Proms was a mixed bag, with one glaring misstep among the high points

Evening Standard

Prom 30: Bloch/NYO – a roof-raising display of virtuosity and shared joy

The National Youth Orchestra turned up the volume on Mahler’s First, a Wagner overture and premieres of Dani Howard and Missy Mazzoli … with a 100-strong choir joining in from the upper tiers and the aisles

The Guardian - UK

The week in classical: Don Giovanni Tenorio; Ariodante – review

Elegant Handel and a fizzing production of Gazzaniga’s rarely seen take on Don Giovanni provided two fine showcases for the next generation of opera talent

The Guardian - UK

From analysis to the latest developments in health,
read the most diverse news in one place.

BBC NOW/Bancroft review – anguished, beautiful Mahler and uplifting Schumann

Relocated and reprogrammed because of Raac checks closing the original venue, this season-opener of Mahler – with mezzo Christianne Stotijn – and Schumann did not disappoint

The Guardian - UK

‘A more hopeful kind of patriotism’: a first-timer goes to the Last Night of the Proms

Streamers, balloons, EU flags – and musical greatness – filled the air during a fun, energetic and diverse final concert of the Proms season. We sent a Last Night novice along to have his preconceptions shattered

The Guardian - UK

Prom 70: RLPO/Hindoyan/Tsujii review – eclectic stylish programme of snaps and sparks

The season’s penultimate Prom showcased the imaginative programming of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic’s Domingo Hindoyan with works by Rachmaninov and Bernstein alongside less well known pieces by Kapustin, Honegger and Ortiz

The Guardian - UK

Prom 69: Pygmalion/Pichon review – fascinating and moving take on Mozart’s Requiem

Raphaël Pichon interweaves Mozart’s unfinished masterpiece with the composer’s shorter vocal and choral meditations on mortality eliciting playing and singing of terrific immediacy

The Guardian - UK

Read news from The Economist, FT, and more,
with one subscription

Prom 52: Boston SO/ Nelsons review – weighty lyricism and ravishing reflection

The Boston Symphony showed signature depth in a grand Prokofiev Fifth, and splendidly contrasting textures in both Strauss and an emotionally driven premiere from US composer Julia Adolphe

The Guardian - UK

The week in classical: Proms 38 & 39; Prom 40; Trouble in Tahiti – review

Three Hungarian-inspired proms combine sizzling energy, Bartók and dadaist absurdity, while an intimate staging ramps up the angst in a bite-size Bernstein

The Guardian - UK

Prom 30: Sinfonia of London/Wilson review – this was Walton on steroids

The vivid immediacy and virtuosity of John Wilson’s Sinfonia made each piece sparkle and thrill, while Leeds winner Alim Beisembayev was a fluent soloist in Rachmaninov’s second piano concerto

The Guardian - UK

The week in classical: Prom 19: SCO/ Emelyanychev; Prom 22: BBC NOW/ Bancroft; Prom 24: BSO/ Karabits – review

A Victorian warhorse springs into life under the baton of Maxim Emelyanychev; Isata Kanneh-Mason makes fiendish Prokofiev look easy; and German horn virtuoso Felix Klieser sets an example to all

The Guardian - UK

Prom 21: BBCNOW/Bancroft review – all-American programme with a monumental finale

Derrick Skye’s ambitious Nova Plexus has power but felt earthbound ultimately; soloist Annelien Van Wauwe impressed with Copland’s Clarinet Concerto; and the 200-strong choir ensured a barnstorming second half

The Guardian - UK

The week in classical: BBC Proms week one; Ariadne auf Naxos – review

Record viewing and listening figures, plus keyboard wizardry from Paul Lewis, Benjamin Grosvenor and Stephen Hough, kicked off another year at the Proms. Elsewhere, Strauss’s Cretan romcom laid bare

The Guardian - UK

Prom 6: BBC Phil/ Wigglesworth/ Hough – fiery precision and brilliance

This stunning Prom featured Stephen Hough balancing bravura with lyricism in Rachmaninov’s First Piano Concerto, the premiere of Grace-Evangeline Mason’s quietly effective Ablaze the Moon and a finely judged reading of Mahler’s First Symphony

The Guardian - UK

Get all your
news in one place.

100’s of premium titles.
One news app.

The Guardian - UK

Prom 1: BBCSO/Stasevska review – energy, ovations and defiance open season

A programme ranging from Sibelius, Grieg and Britten to a world premiere by Ukrainian Bohdana Frolyak opened the Proms with conductor Dalia Stasevska engaged and outgoing.

The Guardian - UK

Requiem to revolution via Aeneas and Kafka’s Earplugs: our 10 Proms picks

As the BBC unveils this year’s Proms programme, we pick 10 concerts not to be missed

Liverpool Echo

Meet the Philharmonic's chief conductor who wants to 'welcome' everybody in 'wonderful' Liverpool

Domingo Hindoyan became the chief conductor at the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra in 2021

The Guardian - UK

Prom 69: Missa Solemnis review – urgency and majesty as Gardiner makes Beethoven thrill

Beethoven’s great choral work was vivid and electrifying in this Proms performance, with soloists Lucy Crowe and Giovanni Sala particularly impressive

Get all your
news in one place.

100’s of premium titles.
One news app.

The Guardian - UK

Prom 66: BBCSO/Canellakis review – Jolas puts her tongue in her cheek

Betsy Jolas’s bTunes is a witty ode to our attention-sapping times, while Karina Canellakis commanded Mahler’s First Symphony with an expressive and sharply etched performance

The Guardian - UK

Prom 62: Berlin Phil/Petrenko review – sinister magic marks a concert of startling brilliance

Petrenko proved his mastery of Mahler’s Seventh yet again as he brought out its lurking ambiguity in a performance that hovered between dream and nightmare

The Guardian - UK

The week in classical: The Dream of Gerontius, Bach’s Mass in B minor and Nathan Laube at the Proms

Jamie Barton and Allan Clayton lead a dream Gerontius in a week of choral epics at the Proms. Elsewhere, deep listening and silence…

The Guardian - UK

Prom 59: The Dream of Gerontius review – outstanding Clayton helps create a season highlight

Edward Gardner conducted the London Philharmonic and the combined choirs of the LPO and Hallé to give a perfectly judged performance of Elgar’s great choral work

Evening Standard

BBC Proms 2022: Prom 44 Ethel Smyth review - a triumphant return for her long-forgotten Mass

There’s been a recent resurgence of interest in the early 20th century composer and this was a triumphant return for her Mass

The Guardian - UK

Prom 35: Oslo Philharmonic/Mäkelä review – breathtaking Yuja Wang reveals new depths to Liszt

The pianist gave a virtuosic but exquisitely controlled account of Liszt’s flamboyant First Piano Concerto, on a stunning night at the Proms that also featured exceptional playing of Sibelius and Strauss

The Guardian - UK

Proms 28 & 29 Mahler Chamber Orch/Andsnes review – exquisite grace brings Mozart’s musical storytelling to life

In two concerts of Mozart works from 1785 and 1786, Leif Ove Andsnes and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra collaborated as creative equals, with pristine focus and quicksilver touch

1 2

People

From analysis to the latest developments in health,
read the most diverse news in one place.

Organisations

the BBC Symphony Orchestra

BBC Symphony Orchestra

15 stories

Berlin Philharmonic

14 stories

London Philharmonic Orchestra

13 stories

Sinfonia

11 stories

the Royal Academy of Music

11 stories

Read news from The Economist, FT, and more,
with one subscription

Topics

Places

Fourteen days free

Download the app

One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.