BBC Proms 2017
Royal Albert Hall 14th July to 9th September
The biggest classical music festival in the world is back with a season built around anniversaries—Ella Fitzgerald, the Reformation, the Russian Revolution—as well as visits from top-flight artists. The season sprints out of the gate to the motoric rhythms of John Adams, who celebrates his 70th birthday this year, and two of Europe’s great orchestras: Daniel Barenboim and the Staatskapelle Berlin launch a cycle of Elgar symphonies, while Bernard Haitink and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe perform Mozart and Schumann. Other highlights include the UK premiere of James MacMillan’s A European Requiem, and a programme of water-themed works performed in Hull. Don’t miss the Aurora Orchestra’s annual performance from memory—this year, Beethoven’s Eroica.
Tenebrae: Path of Miracles
St Bartholomew-the-Great, London, 7th July, touring until 28th October
Nigel Short’s award-winning chamber choir celebrates its 15th anniversary with an ambitious national tour. British composer Joby Talbot’s Camino de Santiago-inspired cantata Path of Miracles has become a cult classic, loved for its contemplative beauty, and mystical charge. This musical patchwork is a rich, generous work whose gentle spirituality speaks powerfully in our secular age.
Cheltenham Music Festival
Venues across Cheltenham 1st to 16th July
The Cheltenham Festival packs serious star-power. The Halle, CBSO and Chineke! (the UK’s first BAME orchestra) go head-to-head in music by Mahler, Tchaikovsky and Stravinsky, with recitals by Bryn Terfel and pianist Jean-Efflam Bavouzet. Lucy Parham joins up with actor Henry Goodman for an evening exploring the life and music of Rachmaninov.
Royal Albert Hall 14th July to 9th September
The biggest classical music festival in the world is back with a season built around anniversaries—Ella Fitzgerald, the Reformation, the Russian Revolution—as well as visits from top-flight artists. The season sprints out of the gate to the motoric rhythms of John Adams, who celebrates his 70th birthday this year, and two of Europe’s great orchestras: Daniel Barenboim and the Staatskapelle Berlin launch a cycle of Elgar symphonies, while Bernard Haitink and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe perform Mozart and Schumann. Other highlights include the UK premiere of James MacMillan’s A European Requiem, and a programme of water-themed works performed in Hull. Don’t miss the Aurora Orchestra’s annual performance from memory—this year, Beethoven’s Eroica.
Tenebrae: Path of Miracles
St Bartholomew-the-Great, London, 7th July, touring until 28th October
Nigel Short’s award-winning chamber choir celebrates its 15th anniversary with an ambitious national tour. British composer Joby Talbot’s Camino de Santiago-inspired cantata Path of Miracles has become a cult classic, loved for its contemplative beauty, and mystical charge. This musical patchwork is a rich, generous work whose gentle spirituality speaks powerfully in our secular age.
Cheltenham Music Festival
Venues across Cheltenham 1st to 16th July
The Cheltenham Festival packs serious star-power. The Halle, CBSO and Chineke! (the UK’s first BAME orchestra) go head-to-head in music by Mahler, Tchaikovsky and Stravinsky, with recitals by Bryn Terfel and pianist Jean-Efflam Bavouzet. Lucy Parham joins up with actor Henry Goodman for an evening exploring the life and music of Rachmaninov.
