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Proms At... Cadogan is underpinned by a historical journey celebrating some of the most notable women composers of the past, from Hildegard of Bingen (22 July) to a new BBC commission from Freya Waley-Cohen (9 September). It also marks anniversaries of Barbara Strozzi (29 July) and Clara Schumann (26 August). Each concert contains at least one work by a woman composer.
Published: 17 April 2019
Two further Proms At… events: a celebration of Henry Wood at Holy Sepulchre London (17 August); and a showcase of provocative and boundary-crossing composer-performers at Battersea Arts Centre (27 July - main image).
In the bicentenary year of Queen Victoria’s birth, Stephen Hough performs Mendelssohn’s Piano Concerto No. 1 on the ‘Erard’ piano, loaned from the Royal Collection by Her Majesty The Queen; the first time the piano will be played outside Buckingham Palace. The programme also includes songs written by Prince Albert (16 August).
The Proms celebrates Berlioz at 150 by demonstrating his skills as a master story-teller:
- Joyce DiDonato performs Les nuits d’été with the National Youth Orchestra of the USA, conducted by Sir Antonio Pappano (11 August)
- Sir Mark Elder conducts the Hallé Orchestra in L’enfance du Christ (14 August)
- Sir John Eliot Gardiner and the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique present Berlioz’s rarely performed Benvenuto Cellini (2 September)
- Nicholas Collon and Aurora Orchestra bring a dramatic treatment of Symphonie fantastique with actor Mathew Baynton (12 September)
Other composer anniversaries: Louis Andriessen at 80, Peter Eötvös at 75 and Sir James MacMillan at 60. A special focus on Weinberg, who would have been 100, includes his Symphony No. 3, String Quartet No. 7 and the London premiere of his Cello Concerto.
Violin concertos have a special focus with well-loved and lesser-known works from Tchaikovsky to Korngold. Pekka Kuusisto performs Sibelius’s Violin Concerto in a Prom where he is joined by Finnish folk musicians (3 August).
Principal Conductor of the BBC Philharmonic Omer Meir Wellber (23 July) and Principal Guest Conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra Dalia Stasevska (6 August) both make their Proms debuts this summer.
Offering an informal environment accessible to all, the Relaxed Prom features music by Rachmaninov and Tchaikovsky with the BBC Philharmonic and Ben Gernon (6 August).
Martyn Brabbins presents a 21st-century companion to Elgar’s ‘Enigma’ Variations 120 years on. Based on a new anonymously written theme, this work features variations by 14 composers including Sally Beamish, Sir Harrison Birtwistle, Dai Fujikura and Judith Weir (13 August).
Western classical music in China is enjoying an unparalleled renaissance. The Shanghai Symphony Orchestra - 140 this year - makes its Proms debut this season, conducted by Long Yu (1 September).
Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood curates a Late Night Prom culminating in the world premiere of his Horror Vacui. The piece simulates electronic sound using 68 string instruments played acoustically (10 September).
International orchestras
- Bamberg Symphony Orchestra with Jakub Hrůša
20 July - Orchestra of the Royal Academy of Music and The Juilliard School with Edward Gardner
22 July - Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra with Mariss Jansons
30-31 July - National Youth Orchestra of the USA with Sir Antonio Pappano
11 August - West-Eastern Divan Orchestra with Daniel Barenboim
12 August - Metropole Orkest with Jules Buckley
21 August - Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra with Andris Nelsons
23 August - Orchestre de Paris with Daniel Harding
26 August - Shanghai Symphony Orchestra with Long Yu
1 September - Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra with Bernard Haitink and Andrés Orozco-Estrada
3-4 September - Staatskapelle Dresden with Myung-Whun Chung
5 September - Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen with Constantinos Carydis
7 September - Czech Philharmonic with Semyon Bychkov
10 September - NDR Radiophilharmonie Hannover with Andrew Manze
13 September
Soloists include...
- Nicola Benedetti - violin
27 July - Lise Davidsen - soprano
10 August - Joyce DiDonato - mezzo-soprano
11 August - Martha Argerich - piano
12 August - Dame Sarah Connolly - mezzo-soprano
14 August - Stephen Hough - piano
16 August - Sheku Kanneh-Mason - cello
22 August - Seong-Jin Cho - piano
24 August - Murray Perahia - piano
3 September - Yuja Wang - piano (pictured above)
5 September - Christine Goerke - soprano
9 September - Jamie Barton - mezzo-soprano
14 September
Proms debuts include...
- Asmik Grigorian - soprano
19 July - Nemanja Radulović - violin
21 July - Yeol Eum Son - piano
23 July - Cappella Mediterranea - ensemble
29 July - Claudia Mahnke - mezzo-soprano
1 August - Solomon’s Knot - ensemble
14 August - Catriona Morison - mezzo-soprano
15 August - Elim Chan - conductor
15 August - Mariam Batsashvili - piano
18 August - Cody Quattlebaum - bass-baritone
30 August - Eric Lu - piano
1 September - Daniel Pioro - violin
10 September
