BBC Proms 2008

Season 1 - BBC Proms 2008

• Season 1 Episode 15: The Last Night of the Proms Welsh baritone Bryn Terfel opens the second half of the traditional Last Night fesivities with a folk-song medley from the nations, while Roger Norrington presides over the event, conducting the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus and the BBC Singers. Presented live from the Royal Albert Hall by Clive Anderson and Suzy Klein. Digital viewers can choose to watch the Proms in the Park from either Hyde Park, Belfast, Glasgow or Swansea
• Season 1 Episode 14: Last Night of the Proms The climax of the classical music season at the Royal Albert Hall, where the BBC Symphony Orchestra, under conductor Roger Norrington, perform the event's traditional finale with the help of the Chorus and the BBC singers. The concert opens with a Beethoven overture, The Creatures of Prometheus. Welsh baritone Bryn Terfel sings arias by Wagner, Puccini and Verdi, while French pianist Helene Grimaud plays the Beethoven Fantasia in C minor, which foreshadows the Ninth Symphony's Ode to Joy. Presen…
• Season 1 Episode 13: Beethoven Night Virtuoso violinist Nikolaj Znaider plays Beethoven's Violin Concerto in D with the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester conducted by Colin Davis. Beethoven's Fifth Symphony is performed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by David Robertson. Beethoven enthusiast and expert, former newsreader John Suchet joins presenters Charles Hazlewood and Suzy Klein in the studio
• Season 1 Episode 12: Vaughan Williams Anniversary Highlights of a concert commemorating the 50th anniversary of Ralph Vaughan Williams' death. Andrew Davis conducts the BBC Symphony Orchestra in performances of Serenade to Music, Ninth Symphony, and Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis. Clemency Burton-Hill traces his music's links to literature, while archive material from the composer's heyday is shown. Presented by Charles Hazlewood and Suzy Klein
• Season 1 Episode 11: National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain The National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, conducted by Antonio Pappano, perform three pieces from 20th-century America - Varese's Ameriques, Rachmaninov's Fourth Piano Concerto, and Copland's Third Symphony, which together celebrate the openness and opportunity of the United States. Plus, highlights from last year's performance by the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela. Julian Lloyd Webber also discusses plans to change the teaching of music in schools with presenters Charles Hazlew…
• Season 1 Episode 10: Great Conductors Celebrated conductors Pierre Boulez and Daniel Barenboim discuss their friendship and the art of managing an orchestra. Boulez conducts the BBC Symphony Orchestra in a performance of Janacek's Sinfonietta, while Barenboim leads the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, formed of young Israeli and Palestinian musicians, in a rendition of Brahm's Fourth Symphony. Clive Anderson, host of Maestro - the BBC's search for a celebrity conductor - joins presenter Suzy Klein in the studio to talk about the art al…
• Season 1 Episode 9: Boulez & the BBC Symphony Orchestra Two of Czech composer Janacek's greatest non-theatrical works, Sinfonietta and Glagolitic Mass, are performed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, the London Symphony Chorus and organist Simon Preston, under conductor Pierre Boulez. There's also a rare chance to hear Janacek's Capriccio for piano and chamber ensemble, with pianist Jean-Efflam Bavouzet. Presented by Sara Mohr-Pietsch
• Season 1 Episode 8: The King's Singers Acclaimed vocal ensemble the King's Singers mark their 40th anniversary with a special performance, including renditions of traditional folk songs such as Greensleeves and Widdicombe Fair, and pieces by Poulenc and MacCabe. Plus, Suzy Klein speaks to the sextet about their vast repertoire, which encompasses a variety of musical styles, from Renaissance masterpieces to contemporary pop tunes
• Season 1 Episode 7: Classical Jazz Performances of jazz works including Gershwin's Strike Up the Band, Stravinsky's Ebony Concerto, and Bernstein's Prelude, Fugue and Riffs. Progressions for Piano and Orchestra by pianist Gwilym Simcock is one of three newly commissioned pieces in the programme. Featuring virtuoso clarinettist Michael Collins, TV choir master Gareth Malone and singer Jacqui Dankworth, with behind-the-scenes coverage presented by Charles Hazlewood
• Season 1 Episode 6: Beethoven & Mahler Donald Runnicles conducts a performance of Mahler's symphony-with-voices, Das Lied von der Erde, alongside Beethoven's First Symphony, featuring a performance of Der Abschied by accomplished mezzo-soprano Karen Cargill, supported by powerful tenor Johan Botha. Verity Sharp interviews the performers, and discusses the piece with singer Christine Rice, cellist Zoe Martlew and music publisher Kathryn Knight
• Season 1 Episode 5: Halle: 150th Anniversary Highlights of the 150th anniversary concert by Manchester's Halle Orchestra, conducted by Mark Elder. Performances include Butterworth's A Shropshire Lad and Bruch's First Violin Concerto, featuring soloist Janine Jansen. Presented by Suzy Klein and Charles Hazlewood, who are joined by Lancastrian bass John Tomlinson to discuss the history of the Halle and a film reflecting the orchestra's illustrious past
• Season 1 Episode 4: Messiaen - La Transfiguration: BBC National Orchestra of Wales Thierry Fischer conducts the BBC's National Orchestra of Wales, Symphony Chorus, National Chorus of Wales and the Philharmonia Voices in a performance of French composer Olivier Messiaen's La Transfiguration, which was inspired by the Gospels' accounts of the moment Jesus Christ was annointed as the Son of God. Presenter Suzy Klein is joined by composer Robert Saxton to discuss the piece
• Season 1 Episode 3: Nigel Kennedy: Classical and Jazz Violinist Nigel Kennedy makes his first appearance at the annual event in 21 years. He performs Elgar's Violin Concerto and excepts from his own late-night jazz Prom, as well as talking about his life, reputation as an unpredictable virtuoso, and how his career has taken him to Poland, where he lives and works. Presented by Charles Hazlewood and Suzy Klein
• Season 1 Episode 2: Proms on Four - Folk Day The opening concerts of BBC4's coverage of the Proms, beginning with a celebration of the diversity of folk music. Acts include 23-year-old singer and fiddler Bella Hardy, singer-songwriter Martin Simpson, and a performance on the main stage by the lively 11-piece band Bellowhead, winners of the 2008 Radio 2 Folk Award for best live act. Charles Hazlewood presents
• Season 1 Episode 1: First Night Live coverage from the Royal Albert Hall of the first night of the 114th season. The BBC Symphony Orchestra, under chief conductor Jiri Belohlavek, are joined by a host of international soloists, including American soprano Christine Brewer, French pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard and British oboist Nicholas Daniel. Organist Wayne Marshall opens the concert, which features works by Strauss, Beethoven, Mozart and Scriabin. Charles Hazlewood and Suzy Klein present