BBC Proms — Season 2016

Katie Derham presents the launch of the world's greatest classical music festival from the Royal Albert Hall. The celebrations open with Tchaikovsky's ravishing Romeo and Juliet overture, the first in a series of musical works during the season marking 400 years since the death of Shakespeare. The 2016 BBC Proms also throw a spotlight on the cello, and tonight the remarkable Argentine cellist Sol Gabetta makes her proms debut in Elgar's haunting Cello Concerto, the first of ten concertos for the instrument to be performed during the festival. Sakari Oramo conducts the BBC Symphony Orchestra.

Katie Derham presents the second half of the opening of the 2016 BBC Proms season from the Royal Albert Hall. Sakari Oramo conducts the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, the BBC National Chorus of Wales and mezzo-soprano soloist Olga Borodina in a performance of Prokofiev's celebrated cantata Alexander Nevsky. Created from the soundtrack Prokofiev originally composed for Sergey Eisenstein's landmark film, the music is dramatic and evocative, including the famous musical depiction of Battle on the Ice.

The popular Faure Requiem headlines this prom of choral classics performed by the Choir of King's College, Cambridge with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. Conducted by Stephen Cleobury, the programme also includes Mozart's Exsultate, jubilate, Haydn's Mass in Time of War and two Faure miniatures, and features an impressive line-up of soloists from across the British Isles - Lucy Crowe, Paula Murrihy, Robin Tritschler and Roderick Williams. Presented by Suzy Klein.

Katie Derham presents the Strictly Prom. Could this be the glitziest Prom ever? Get your dancing shoes on and join Katie and a whole host of favourite Strictly Come Dancing professionals as they celebrate the music of dance. The BBC Concert Orchestra, conducted by Gavin Sutherland, embarks on a musical journey from foxtrot and waltz, to paso doble and tango, taking in a wonderful panorama of dancing and some stunning orchestral interludes on the way.

Michael Tippett's secular oratorio A Child of Our Time is his most widely performed work. It is an impassioned protest against persecution and tyranny with an overriding message of peace.Renowned British baritone and composer Roderick Williams takes a look at the story behind A Child Of Our Time and introduces conductor Mark Wigglesworth, the BBC National Orchestra and Chorus of Wales and soloists Tamara Wilson (soprano), Susan Bickley (mezzo-soprano), Peter Hoare (tenor) and James Creswell (bass).In 1938 a young Polish Jew, whose parents were deported by the Nazis, shot a German diplomat in Paris. The Nazis seized on the assassination to rile Hitler's supporters into an anti-Semitic frenzy.Tippett shared the public horror at the events that followed and in 1939 began writing a musical protest, a work that expressed deep rage at the unprecedented crimes being committed by the Nazi regime, and despair at man's ability to commit acts of inhumanity.

After the success of last year's Ten Pieces Prom, comes another spectacular and surprising multimedia celebration of classical music. Featuring orchestral performances, video animation, dance, drama and special guests - direct from the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall.The BBC Philharmonic conducted by rising star Alpesh Chauhan is joined by a 450-strong children's Ten Pieces Choir assembled from schools around the country. Wayne Marshall gives the famous RAH organ an airing for Bach's Toccata and Fugue, and DJ Mr Switch shows his chops on the decks for Gabriel Prokofiev's dynamic Concerto For Turntables And Orchestra.American violinist Esther Yoo is the soloist for Vaughan Williams's spellbinding The Lark Ascending and winner of the BBC Young Musician of the Year Brass Category 2014 Matilda Lloyd makes her Proms solo debut with the sprightly 3rd movement from Haydn's Trumpet Concerto.The coverage is presented by Michelle Ackerley and the show is hosted onstage by Naomi Wilkinson and writer Lemn Sissay, whilst music, storylines and surprises weave around them...former footballer Dion Dublin shows his skills...Newsround reporter Leah Boleto is on the trail of mysterious creatures in central London - something to do a magical ring and Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries...actor Dan Starkey plays the part of Joseph Haydn, with the over-eager composer constantly interrupting proceedings to humourous effect.The creativity of the nation's children is again on show, with performances of their own art, writing, musical compositions and dance in response to the pieces.The Prom is the fittingly exuberant celebration of the second year of the BBC's biggest ever music education initiative, which has taken classical music to young people across the UK in innovative ways. It brings the acclaimed Ten Pieces II film to life as an immersive theatrical experience for all the family.

The great conductor Bernard Haitink marks the 50th anniversary year of his first appearance at the Proms with Mahler's 3rd symphony. One of the most powerful and expansive musical visions of nature ever created, this is Mahler's personal hymn to the natural world. The London Symphony Orchestra is joined by the mezzo-soprano Sarah Connolly, the women's voices of the London Symphony Chorus and the Tiffin Boys' Choir. Presented from the Royal Albert Hall by Suzy Klein.

A celebration and reinterpretation of the music of the late David Bowie with the Berlin-based musicians' collective Stargaze and its artistic director Andre de Ridder. They are joined by guest singers and collaborators including Marc Almond, Laura Mvula, John Cale, Paul Buchanan, Conor O'Brien, Amanda Palmer and countertenor Phillippe Jaroussky, and with arrangements from Jherek Bischoff, David Lang, Anna Meredith, Greg Saunier, Josephine Stephenson and Michael Van der Aa. This rare collaboration promises to deliver a unique re-imagining of the Bowie catalogue with fresh interpretations of his classic works.

Shakespeare's influence on the world has been profound, and on no-one more so than Berlioz, who fell in love with The Bard's work in 1827 and so began a life-long passion for all things Shakespearean.How fitting then to mark 400 years since Shakespeare's death with a performance of Berlioz's dramatic symphony Romeo and Juliet, the grandest of his Shakespeare-inspired works.Sir John Eliot Gardiner conducts the Orchestre Revolutionnaire et Romantique, the Monteverdi Choir, the National Youth Choir of Scotland and soloists Julie Boulianne (mezzo-soprano), Jean–Paul Fouchecourt (tenor) and Laurent Naouri (bass), as Berlioz tells his version of this most famous of stories.

Two Russian heavyweights and a living Scottish composer are the focus of tonight's prom, featuring the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra under the direction of chief conductor in waiting, Thomas Dausgaard.Finnish soloist Pekka Kuusisto performs Tchaikovsky's passionate and virtuosic Violin Concerto. It is followed by Petrushka, the first of a trio of landmark Stravinsky ballet scores for the Ballet Russes to be performed by Scottish orchestras over this Proms weekend.And the concert opens with a world premiere of the first part of a new BBC commission from Helen Grime. Two Eardley Pictures - I: Catterline in Winter was inspired by the landscape paintings of Joan Eardley and folk music of the far North-East.

It's all about space and science, as the National Youth Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Youth Choir and conductor Edward Gardner play a galaxy of awe-inspiring music live from the Royal Albert Hall.It's an out-of-this world presentation of brand new sounds and much-loved classics. The concert launches with the London premiere of Iris ter Schiphorst's Gravitational Waves, before blasting off to Strauss's Also sprach Zarathustra (better known as the music from Space Odyssey).The final destination is Holst's mighty Planets, with further embellishment from Colin Matthews' Pluto. Big music for a big orchestra.Presented by Clemency Burton-Hill and former NYO-er and composer Lloyd Coleman, the music will be peppered with exciting insights in to the music and the impassioned players.

Proms favourites the John Wilson Orchestra and their eponymous conductor celebrate the music and lyrics of one of the greatest song-writing partnerships in American history, George and Ira Gershwin. Expect hit after hit as singers Julian Ovenden, Louise Dearman and Matthew Ford perform crowd pleasers like Fascinatin' Rhythm, They All Laughed and many more. Classic orchestral numbers, including An American in Paris and a Rhapsody In Blue Overture, complete the line-up in a concert that features a bumper crop of the brothers' best-known tunes.

Valery Gergiev conducts the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra in three popular classics - Ravel's hypnotic Bolero, the ravishing suite from Richard Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier and Rachmaninov's romantic third piano concerto, with the outstanding young pianist Behzod Abduraimov.Also in the programme is Galina Ustvolskaya's searing third symphony, Jesus Messiah, Save Us!, with text read tonight by Alexei Petrenko. Presented by Katie Derham.

BBC Prom from the Royal Albert Hall which celebrates the career of composer, arranger, producer and conductor Quincy Jones. Jules Buckley and his Metropole Orkest lead the festivities on stage, celebrating Quincy's compositions, arrangements and productions from a career that has lasted over half a century. The musical and orchestral journey looks back at Quincy's early film and TV scores as well as his collaborations with the likes of Count Basie and Ray Charles, along with his momentous and iconic production work with The Brothers Johnson and Michael Jackson. Bringing the proceedings up to date is a line-up of inventive and prodigious multi-instrumentalists including Quincy's proteges Jacob Collier, Cuban pianist and composer Alfredo Rodriguez and Cameroonian bassist, composer and vocalist Richard Bona - all showcasing brand new compositions and musical tributes to one of the most influential jazz artists of the 20th century. Presented by Clemency Burton-Hill and Clarke Peters.

Multimillion-selling jazz supremo and master of all musical trades Jamie Cullum returns to the BBC Proms following his sell-out appearance in 2010. This time Jamie is joined by the talented conductor, composer and arranger Jules Buckley and the renegade musicians who make up The Heritage Orchestra. London's Roundhouse Choir, the Remi Harris Trio and emerging talent from BBC Introducing's canon join Jamie as he offers his own take on a collection of classic pop songs and delivers improvisational numbers from his enviable back catalogue and repertoire.

The Proms festival celebrates the Rio 2016 Olympics with a visit from Brazil's Sao Paulo Symphony Orchestra, conducted by their musical director Marin Alsop. The concert gets off the mark with the UK premiere of Marlos Nobre's Kabbalah, followed by Grieg's Piano Concerto, with soloist Gabriela Montero. A movement from Villa-Lobos's Bachianas brasileiras lends a latin flavour to proceedings, before Rachmaninov's Symphonic Dances brings them to a close.

Sir Mark Elder returns to the Royal Albert Hall with his orchestra, the Halle. They begin with a performance of Berlioz's overture King Lear, inspired by that most tragic of Shakespeare's plays. Colin Matthews's Berceuse for Dresden has its London premiere, featuring solo cellist Leonard Elschenbroich. This piece was written to mark the rebuilding of the Dresden Frauenkirche, the church bombed by the Allies in 1945. The concert concludes with Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde, featuring mezzo-soprano Alice Coote and tenor Gregory Kunde.

The Aurora Orchestra with conductor and founder Nicholas Collon return to the Proms with another performance entirely from memory. Not a note of music or a single music stand will be seen on the Royal Albert Hall stage as they tackle Mozart's final symphony, a piece packed full of joy and invention. Presenter Tom Service explores the process of committing a complete symphony to memory and, with the orchestra's help, unpicks this work on stage for the Proms audience, deconstructing the final movement to explore Mozart's compositional genius.

From the Royal Albert Hall, Petroc Trelawny presents three works by Mozart, all written during the final months of his life. Conductor Ivan Fischer and the Budapest Festival Orchestra are joined by Neal Davies for the concert aria Per questa bella mano, and clarinettist Akos Acs is the soloist in the Clarinet Concerto in A major. The prom concludes with Mozart's Requiem, as bass soloist Neal Davies returns to the stage with the soprano Lucy Crowe, mezzo-soprano Barbara Kozelj and tenor Jeremy Ovenden. The orchestra and soloists are joined by one of Europe's leading choirs, Collegium Vocale Gent.

Sir Simon Rattle conducts the Berlin Philharmonic in Mahler's Symphony no 7. Closely associated with both live performances and recordings of the Mahler symphonies throughout his career, Rattle steers the world-leading orchestra through the intense drama of this huge and complex but emotionally powerful orchestral work, marshalling unconventional instruments including cowbells, mandolin and guitar. The Mahler is preceded by a short work by iconoclastic French composer Pierre Boulez, who died in January 2016 aged 90. Written to mark his 40th birthday in 1965, Eclat is a study of resonance written for 15 instruments. The title means 'burst' but also 'fragment, explosion, reflections of light', and it references Boulez's own dual roles as conductor and composer by giving the conductor control over when and how to cue elements of the ten-minute piece.

The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra perform Tchaikovsky's fourth symphony with their new Music Director, 30 year old Lithuanian Mirga Gražinyte-Tyla.Mozart's overture to The Magic Flute and a new piece by Hans Abrahamsen also feature in this broadcast presented by American soprano Angel Blue.Written in 1877 Tchaikovsky's fourth symphony famously explores the forces of fate wrestling with human happiness, through music that is tragic, yearning and celebratory.The curtain-raiser is Mozart's overture to his opera The Magic Flute. The overture packs a punch. Playful inventiveness, dramatic shifts between sparkling melodies, and the famous Masonic three chords which open and punctuate it.The concert also features the London premiere of Danish composer Hans Abrahamsen's acclaimed new work "Let me tell you". The work features Canadian soprano Barbara Hannigan balances vocal dexterity with emotional subtlety to create a powerful interpretation of Hamlet's troubled Ophelia.

The penultimate concert in the 2016 Proms season features Verdi's thunderous Requiem.Marin Alsop is at the helm conducting the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and the BBC Proms Youth Choir.Tom Service introduces for television and talks to Marin Alsop backstage. The soloists line-up for Verdi's largest scale non-operatic work are soprano Tamara Wilson, mezzo-soprano Alisa Kolosova, tenor Michael Fabiano and bass Morris Robinson.Verdi's Requiem had its British premiere in 1875 at the Royal Albert Hall with the composer himself conducting. Its fire and brimstone depiction of death and destruction never fails to appeal, most famously of all in the tumultuous Dies Irae.

A spectacular celebration of Ten Pieces of classical music from Bach to Bernstein, featuring the BBC Philharmonic, a massed children's choir, dancers, big screens and special guests - fun for all the family from the Royal Albert Hall.Hosts Naomi Wilkinson and poet Lemn Sissay are joined by former footballer Dion Dublin, and Newsround reporter Leah Boleto is on the trail of mysterious flaming rings in central London - something to do with Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries. Actor Dan Starkey plays the part of Joseph Haydn, with the over-eager 18th century composer constantly interrupting proceedings to humorous effect. Music, storylines and surprises weave around them...The BBC Philharmonic is conducted by rising star Alpesh Chauhan and young musicians from the Greater Manchester Musical Hub play side-by-side on two pieces. A 400-strong Ten Pieces children's choir - assembled from schools around the country - joins in for a thunderous Dies Irae from Verdi's Requiem. Wayne Marshall gives the famous Royal Albert Hall organ an airing with Bach's Toccata and DJ Mr Switch shows his scratching skills in Gabriel Prokofiev's dynamic Concerto for Turntables and Orchestra. American violinist Esther Yoo is the soloist for Vaughan Williams's spellbinding The Lark Ascending and former BBC Young Musician Matilda Lloyd makes her Proms solo debut with Haydn's sprightly Trumpet Concerto.The creativity of the nation's children is on show with performances of their own art, musical compositions and dance. The extraordinary Able Orchestra - a group including children with severe disabilities - create their own music and visual composition, the Animate Orchestra perform their lively piece of mixed musical styles, dancers from Wildern School in Southampton interpret Shostakovich's thrilling 10th Symphony and a brother and sister act from Somerset play their flute and piano melody.The Prom is the fittingly exuberant finale of the second year of the BBC's biggest ever music education initiative, which takes classical music to young people across the UK in fresh and exciting ways. It brings the acclaimed Ten Pieces II film to life as an exciting theatrical experience for all the family.

Live from the Royal Albert Hall, Katie Derham introduces the final concert of the 2016 BBC Proms.The celebrations are led by the combined forces of the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus and the BBC Singers, with Finnish Chief Conductor Sakari Oramo who returns to conduct the Last Night of the Proms for the second time.Peruvian tenor Juan Diego Florez is the star soloist tonight, bringing some sparkling arias from the operas of Rossini, Donizetti and Offenbach.Also on the programme is the world premiere of a piece by young Scottish composer Tom Harrold written for and performed by the Proms Youth Ensemble along with players from the BBC Symphony Orchestra. We'll also hear Borodin's exuberant Polovtsian Dances, Britten's Matinées musicales, Butterworth's The Banks Of Green Willow, and Jonathan Dove's Our revels now are ended, with baritone Duncan Rock.

In the second half of the Last Night of the Proms from the Royal Albert Hall Katie Derham introduces the revelries live as the world's greatest music festival reaches its grand finale.In this Olympic year, the second half begins with American composer Michael Torke's Javelin which was originally performed at the opening ceremony of the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.A hand-picked selection of young singers perform Vaughan Williams' 1938 tribute to Henry Wood's 50th anniversary - Serenade to Music.The cross-genre British composer Anne Dudley contributes a special arrangement entitled ¡Fiesta Caribeña! And star tenor Juan Diego Florez returns to perform more spine-tingling Donizetti.We take a trip around the UK in a celebration of Henry Wood's Fantasia on British Sea Songs with contributions from the Proms in the Park in Colwyn Bay, Glasgow Green and Belfast.And the 2016 Proms season comes to an end with the climax of Rule Britannia, Land of Hope and Glory and Jerusalem. The BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus and the BBC Singers are conducted by Sakari Oramo.

The Last Night, Proms in the Park celebrations from venues around the UK. Diane-Louise Jordan and Anita Rani present a mix of classical and contemporary performances, including Tony Hadley and BBC Young Musician 2016 Sheku Kanneh-Mason in Colwyn Bay; operatic soprano Lesley Garrett, joined by star of musical theatre John Owen Jones at Belfast's Titanic Slipways; KT Tunstall in Glasgow Green; while American music legends Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons top the bill in London's Hyde Park. All accompanied by the BBC's acclaimed orchestras.