Proms 2011 Prom 51: Wagner, Liszt, Kevin Volans & Brahms

First the familiar strains of Wagner's rousing overture. Next a real rarity: Liszt's La notte is an extended version of a piano piece from the Années de pèlerinage to which the composer added a middle section recalling his Hungarian roots.

A late work that he wanted played at his own funeral, it is new to the Proms. So too is Kevin Volans's concerto, hot off the press and written for tonight's soloist. Expect the unexpected from a creative figure born in South Africa but now resident in Ireland whose output resists compartmentalisation.

The long shadow of Ludwig van Beethoven inhibited Brahms's early attempts at symphonic writing but he surpassed all expectations with the magnificence of his First Symphony.