All posts tagged: Strauss

BBCPhil/Storgårds / Park & Jupiter Ensemble reviews – stylish Strauss and lyrical Sibelius … and a lutenist’s singalong | Classical music

BBCPhil/Storgårds / Park & Jupiter Ensemble reviews – stylish Strauss and lyrical Sibelius … and a lutenist’s singalong | Classical music

A late-night Prom can sometimes serve as a musical Rennie, a soothing digestif after 90 minutes of heavyweight orchestral fare. Fortunately, none was needed here. In the early evening programme John Storgårds kept the BBC Philharmonic sufficiently light on its feet, while Sueye Park made the most poetic of Proms debuts in Sibelius’s violin concerto, a cornerstone work she owned from start to finish. If the opening wash of strings was barely audible over the whirr of the Royal Albert Hall air-con, it wasn’t long before the South Korean violinist grabbed our attention, her lean, silvery tone penetrating and intensely lyrical. In fact, Storgårds seemed to worry unnecessarily, keeping the orchestral volume on a low simmer for much of the work’s span. Park, an enthralling musical raconteur, imbued the first movement with a forthright romantic sweep before conjuring the kind of laser-focused, ethereal fireworks that set the finale dancing. Dramatically assured: John Storgårds conducts the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra Photograph: BBC/ Chris Christodoulou Betsy Jolas, who turns 100 in two weeks’ time, composed Tales of a …

Magnificent minimalism, sizzling Strauss, bracing Berlioz: Guardian critics’ top picks for Proms 2026 | Proms 2026

Magnificent minimalism, sizzling Strauss, bracing Berlioz: Guardian critics’ top picks for Proms 2026 | Proms 2026

Ecstatic baroque and early music If 19th-century repertoire thrives on scale and scope, baroque and early music is all about intimacy: the husk of bow on gut strings, the purity of an unaccompanied voice. It’s music that often struggles to find a place at the Proms, but clever choices make for an intriguing lineup this year. Lutenist Thomas Dunford’s Ensemble Jupiter is a period band with the swagger and spontaneity of a rock group. They’re joined by exciting young tenor Laurence Kilsby for a late-night programme of Purcell, Handel, and John Dowland (21 July). Cabaret vibes meet immaculate style. There’s further blurring of the edges in Notre-Dame organist Olivier Latry’s recital (26 July) – an all-Bach programme including transcriptions by Duruflé and Widor, and an improvisation by Latry himself on the letters of Bach’s name – as well as by the Swedish Chamber Orchestra (16 August), who trace the evolution of dance through works by Rameau, Bach and Handel, along with Beethoven. The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and a dream team of soloists …