Announcement,
BBC Proms 2024 - Our Top Related Recordings
Copies of the Proms Guide can be purchased via our books department.
First Night of the Proms - Friday 19th July, 6.30pm
Handel, Bruckner, Clara Schumann, Nobuto, Beethoven (Isata Kanneh-Mason, BBC Symphony Orchestra & Chorus, Elim Chan)
Romance: The Piano Music of Clara Schumann
Isata Kanneh-Mason (piano), Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Holly Mathieson
'Kanneh-Mason’s interpretation [of the Piano Concerto] is as convincing as any of the nine rivals available...If you buy only one disc of Clara Schumann in her bicentenary year, this is the one to have.' (International Piano)
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV
Due for release on 9th August.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV
'Ogonek may be possessed of a still-developing orchestral imagination but on the evidence of this vivacious, diverting score it is developing in the right direction.' (BBC Music Magazine)
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV
Prom 4 - Sunday 21st July, 7.30pm
Mahler: Symphony No. 9 (Hallé, Sir Mark Elder)
'It’s [the] sense of life ebbing away that Elder’s beautifully alert but emotionally circumspect performance captures so well...The Hallé’s playing is often magnificent.' (The Times)
Available Formats: 2 CDs, MP3, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV
Prom 9 - Thursday 25th July, 7.30pm
Mahler: Kindertotenlieder (Alice Coote, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Ryan Wigglesworth)
'A mezzo can bring so many colours to the expression, and in that respect Alice Coote matches the previously unsurpassable challenge of Janet Baker with Barbirolli.' (BBC Music Magazine)
Available Formats: SACD, MP3, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV
Prom 10 - Friday 26th July, 7.30pm
Cheryl Frances-Hoad: Cello Concerto, ‘Earth, Sea, Air’ (Laura van der Heijden, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Ryan Wigglesworth)
Earth, Sea, Air: British Music For Cello and Orchestra
Laura van der Heijden (cello), BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Ryan Wigglesworth
'More memorable than the melodic material itself is the steady accumulation of tension through the ingeniously varied episodes of ‘Earth’, and the soft swell of ‘Sea’ takes over as though van der Heijden had walked down to the shore.' (The Strad)
Available Formats: SACD, MP3, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV
Prom 14 - Monday 29th July, 7.30pm
Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 5 'Emperor' (Yunchan Lim, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Paavo Järvi)
'These are thrilling performances of Chopin’s studies, the technique dazzlingly immaculate and the musical impulses propelling it often startlingly original.' (The Guardian)
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res+ FLAC/ALAC/WAV
Prom 15 - Tuesday 30th July, 7.30pm
Anna Clyne: The Gorgeous Nothings - world premiere (BBC Philharmonic, Nicholas Collon)
Anna Clyne: Mythologies
Irene Buckley (voice), Jennifer Koh (violin), BBC Symphony Orchestra, Marin Alsop, Sakari Oramo, Andrew Litton, André de Ridder
'Wildly exuberant, [Masquerade] suited its celebratory purpose to a T – and its live recording does likewise in opening this album of showstopping orchestral works' (BBC Music Magazine)
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC/ALAC/WAV
Prom 16 - Wednesday 30th July, 7.30pm
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 4 (BBC Philharmonic, John Storgårds)
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 13; Arvo Part: de Profundis
Albert Dohmen (bass-baritone), Estonian National Male Choir, BBC Philharmonic, John Storgårds
'Storgårds has shown his affinity for the composer in every disc of this complete series of the Shostakovich symphonies (still in progress). Here, he does not strive after extremes or try out any special effects: the slow music does not drag and the climaxes are not harrowingly expressionistic.'
View all instalments of Storgårds's ongoing Shostakovich series.
Available Formats: SACD, MP3, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV
Prom 21 - Sunday 4th August, 7.00pm
American Classics: works by Copland, Barber, Ives, Gershwin and Adams (Sinfonia of London, John Wilson)
'John Wilson shows an instinctive flair for Copland's syncopated and changing rhythms, and brings out all the music's broad humour and intimate poetry' (BBC Music Magazine)
Available Formats: SACD, MP3, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV
Rodgers & Hammerstein: Carousel
Nathaniel Hackmann (Billy), Mikaela Bennett (Julie), Sierra Boggess (Carrie), Julian Ovenden (Enoch Snow), Francesca Chiejina (Nettie), David Seadon-Young (Jigger), ‘Carousel’ Ensemble, Sinfonia of London, John Wilson
Due for release on 13th September.
Available Formats: 2 SACDs, MP3, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV
Prom 27 - Friday 9th August, 6.00pm
Saariaho: Mirage (BBC Symphony Orchestra, Sakari Oramo)
Saariaho: Notes On Light, Orion & Mirage
Karita Mattila (soprano), Anssi Karttunen (cello), Orchestre de Paris, Christoph Eschenbach
'Musical textures that shimmer, scintillate, explode, darken and extinguish are her bridge between modernism and tradition, and potentially also the listener's path from familiar modes of listening into her fascinating, never vulgarly gratifying, realm of sonic imagination.' (Gramophone Guide)
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC/ALAC/WAV
Prom 30 - Saturday 10th August, 7.30pm
Dani Howard: new work - world premiere (National Youth Orchestra, Tess Jackson)
Dani Howard: Orchestral Works
Peter Moore (trombone), Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Michael Seal, Pablo Urbina
'A confident, often brilliant command of the orchestra animates all the works selected for her debut album...From the outset, each piece seizes the initiative and does not let go.'
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV
Prom 32 - Monday 12th August, 7.30pm
Karl Jenkins: Stravaganza (Jess Gillam, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Nil Vendetti)
Karl Jenkins: Stravaganza
Jess Gillam (soprano saxophone), Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Karl Jenkins
Due for release on 9th August.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV
Prom 37 - Saturday 17th August, 7.30pm
Britten: War Requiem (Natalya Romaniw, Allan Clayton, Will Liverman, London Symphony Orchestra & Chorus, BBC Symphony Chorus, Sir Antonio Pappano)
Britten: War Requiem
Anna Netrebko (soprano), Ian Bostridge (tenor), Thomas Hampson (baritone), Orchestra e Coro dell' Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia
'The orchestral sound is vivid...Pappano’s is an impressive achievement, and one I will return to often.' (MusicWebInternational)
Available Formats: MP3, FLAC/ALAC/WAV
Prom 45 - Saturday 24th August, 7.30pm
Mahler: Rückert-Lieder and Sibelius: Symphony No. 5 (Jamie Barton, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Dalia Stasevska)
'Barton seems now to be the equal of any dramatic mezzo before the public....These are some of the most beautiful recordings I have ever heard. Anyone who loves the human voice should own this.' (American Record Guide)
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV
'These readings by the Lahti Symphony and well-regarded Dalia Stasevska could not be bettered for their acuity of insight, aided by analytical sound and Eila Tarasti’s annotations. Whether or not Leiviskä’s time has now come, her music is eminently worth getting to know.' (Gramophone)
Available Formats: SACD, MP3, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV
Prom 54 - Saturday 31st August, 4.00pm
Beethoven for Three (Emanuel Ax, Leonidas Kavakos, Yo-Yo Ma)
Beethoven for Three: Symphony No. 6 and Piano Trio Op. 1 No. 3
Leonidas Kavakos (violin), Yo-Yo Ma (cello), Emanuel Ax (piano)
'Kavakos, Ma and Ax play with profound sensitivity throughout, and the symphony’s many magical moments lose next to nothing in translation.' (Gramophone)
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV
Prom 55 - Saturday 31st August, 8.00pm
Robert Schumann: Piano Concerto (Víkingur Ólafsson, Berliner Philharmoniker, Kirill Petrenko)
Víkingur Ólafsson (piano)
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res+ FLAC/ALAC/WAV
Prom 58 - Tuesday 3rd September, 7.30pm
Stravinsky: Petrushka & Debussy: Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune (Orchestre de Paris, Klaus Mäkelä)
Stravinsky: Pétrouchka & Debussy: Jeux & Prélude à l'Après-midi d'un faune
Orchestre de Paris, Klaus Mäkelä
'The headline feature of this terrific Petrushka is characterisation. It’s a performance full of animation and incident and from the Orchestre de Paris and their impressive line-up of wind soloists a dancer’s sensibility.' (Gramophone)
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV
Prom 62 - Friday 6th September, 8.00pm
Mahler: Symphony No. 6 (Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Sir Simon Rattle)
'There’s no doubt that the Munich-based orchestra is among the best in the world today...But what lifts this up among the very best Sixth Symphony recordings is the finale.' (BBC Music Magazine)
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV
Prom 66 - Sunday 8th September, 7.30pm
Tchaikovsky arr. Ellington/Strayhorn: The Nutcracker (Chineke! Orchestra, Andrew Grams)
'Find the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy just a little too sweet? Then savour Sugar Rum Cherry, from Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn’s 1960s jazz reworking of Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker Suite (1892)...It’s the latest life-enhancing recording from Chineke! Orchestra (Chineke!/Decca) and guaranteed to put a smile on your face.' (The Guardian)
Available Formats: MP3, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV
Prom 71 - Thursday 12th September, 10.15pm
JS Bach: The Art of Fugue (Sir András Schiff)
'Schiff makes a persuasive case, if not a definitive one, for the clavichord as an equally revelatory vehicle for the pieces as harpsichord or piano.' (Sunday Times)
Available Formats: 2 CDs, MP3, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV
Prom 72 - Friday 13th September, 7.30pm
Farrenc: Symphony No. 3 & Beethoven: Symphony No. 3 'Eroica' (Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Antonello Manacorda)
'As a complete experience the assembled works prove both illuminating and rewarding. While tremendously fresh and vigorous...the gut-and-wood soundworld of Insula is sympathetically at one with Farrenc’s spirited aesthetic.' (BBC Music Magazine)
Available Formats: 2 CDs, MP3, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV
'With exemplary recorded sound, Manacorda and his players vividly convey the sheer physicality of Beethoven’s sound world. I also hear countless details in these familiar scores that I’d barely noticed before.' (Gramophone)
Available Formats: 5 CDs, MP3, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV
Last Night of the Proms - Saturday 14th September, 7.00pm
Works by Saint‐Saëns, Carlos Simon, Ives, Fauré, Puccini et al (Angel Blue, Stephen Hough, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Chorus & Singers, Sakari Oramo)
Due for release on 23rd August.
Available Formats: SACD, MP3, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res+ FLAC/ALAC/WAV
'Never before has a burn come simply from listening to a vocal recital...you can easily see why she shot to fame at Los Angeles Opera...She’s so sultry, dramatic and spine-tingling.' (The Times)
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, Hi-Res FLAC/ALAC/WAV
Saint-Saëns: The Complete Works for Piano & Orchestra
Stephen Hough (piano), City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Sakari Oramo
'It must be said straight away that Hough sounds the complete insider. He commands the range of the big statements, whatever their character, as well as sparkle and panache, a sense of drama and seemingly inexhaustible stamina.' (Gramophone Guide)
Available Formats: 2 CDs, MP3, FLAC/ALAC/WAV
