Proms 2011 Prom 61: Fitkin & Beethoven

Featured artist Yo-Yo Ma takes centre stage with a new work conceived especially for him by a composer who prizes clarity and a straightforward approach.

After the interval, the BBC SO's Principal Guest Conductor, David Robertson, directs the traditional annual Proms performance of Beethoven's Ninth, perhaps the richest, most provocative statement in the symphonic canon.

An impressive team of soloists joins the BBC Symphony Chorus to project the finale's optimistic vision of hard-won triumph over adversity.